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From Reviuo to Ad-titude: Building, Learning, and Growing
From Side Hustles to Service Businesses, and Everything In Between
Hey everyone! Welcome to Episode 7 of my newsletter. Let’s dive in!
First, everything's going smoothly with Reviuo—good MRR and some solid learnings. But honestly, I’ve never really pushed it to scale from day one. I’m still figuring out why I treated it as a side hustle rather than going all-in. Lessons learned, right?
Lately, I’ve gotten interested in the service business, especially after doing some freelancing work through Reviuo. That sparked an idea, and I decided to start a service company. I didn’t want to do it alone, so I reached out to my friend Tharun, who I met at a business meeting in Chennai. Luckily, he was just as excited about it, and together we started a marketing agency called "Revolve."
We got our first client through our networking group, but the project wasn’t as smooth as we’d hoped. It was a tough one, but we learned a lot—especially about managing client expectations and making sure we’re clear on everything from the get-go.
Not long after, we landed our second client GoPocket, again through our network. Around this time, I also connected with a new friend and mentor, Raghuram Rajamani, CEO at Codifi. He’s been like a brother, guiding me through so many aspects of the business. This time, we applied all the lessons from our first project, and things went a lot better. One big takeaway for me was the importance of having a system in place. I didn’t realize how crucial that was, especially since I didn’t have much experience with B2B businesses or handling clients.
As we kept growing, Tharun and I knew we needed more brains on board, so we met up with Sudharsan and Rohit, who had solid experience working at one of Coimbatore’s top digital marketing agencies. We had a great chat over coffee at Put Kadalai and decided to team up. Unfortunately, Rohit eventually left to study abroad, so it’s just the three of us—Tharun, Sudharsan, and me—continuing the journey.
With Sudharsan’s agency experience, we gained a whole new perspective on the business. We rebranded ourselves as "Ad-titude" and, thanks to Sudharsan’s network, secured two new clients: Shasha and Samskaara. These clients were from industries I’d never explored before—like fintech, clinics, and schools—so it was another round of great lessons, especially about adapting to new sectors and managing diverse projects.
We also expanded our team, bringing in some freelancers and we’re a team of 10. I’ve learned so much about client management, internal team coordination, sales, and just running a business in general.
On top of all that, something exciting happened—one of my clients expressed interest in buying Reviuo. After some thought, I decided to sell Reviuo for a few thousand dollars. It was a tough decision, but I’m thrilled with how it turned out.
So, here we are—Rapitpro, Ad-titude, and Reviuo (until recently) are all doing well, and I’m riding this wave of excitement.
Lessons Learned:
The Power of Mentorship: Having someone to guide you, as Raghuram has for me, can make all the difference in navigating new challenges.
Adaptability is Key: Working with clients in new industries taught me the importance of being flexible and open to learning.
Systems Matter: Implementing a solid system early on can save a lot of headaches down the road.
Client Handling: Effective client management is crucial—it’s all about clear communication, managing expectations, and delivering consistent value.
Collaboration is Crucial: Bringing together people with different skills and experiences can elevate your business to new heights.
As a little takeaway, I’ll leave you with this quote:
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” That’s exactly what this journey has been—lots of small steps, plenty of learning, and a whole lot of growth.
See you in the next episode!
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