Welcome back to the WebPulse Founder Diary.
This is the series where we talk about what is working, what is not, and what we are learning as we grow WebPulse.
The goal is simple:
Give people a real look inside the business.
Not just the polished version.
Not just the wins.
But the actual decisions, bottlenecks, experiments, and questions that come with building a company.
This week’s update is about growth.
WebPulse has doubled MRR since January.
That is exciting.
But growth also creates pressure.
It forces you to ask better questions:
- Who do we need to hire?
- What should stay founder-led?
- Where are the bottlenecks?
- How do we generate more qualified conversations?
- How do we improve the service every month?
- How do we prepare for a market that is changing fast?
That is where we are right now.
The First Big Focus: Hiring Carefully
Last week, we shared that WebPulse was looking for three roles:
- Project Manager
- Sales Representative
- Web Designer / Developer
At this stage of the company, these hires matter a lot.
When a company is small, early hires are disproportionately impactful.
The right person can help the business move faster, improve the client experience, and create more breathing room.
The wrong person can slow everything down.
That is why we are trying to follow the old advice:
Hire slow. Fire fast.
For us, that means we are looking closely at people already in our network or connected to people we trust.
We posted the roles on Facebook and LinkedIn, and that led to several promising conversations.
Some were with people we had not talked to in a while.
Some were with people we did not expect to be interested.
That was encouraging.
The project manager and sales roles have both started good conversations, but the biggest immediate need is still web designer and developer support.
Why Web Designer And Developer Support Is The Hardest Role To Fill
The web designer and developer role is tricky because we are looking for a very specific type of person.
We need someone who can do more than just make a website look good.
We need people who understand:
- design
- development
- user experience
- website structure
- technical problem-solving
- custom builds
- client expectations
- how websites support search and AI visibility
The challenge is that strong designers and developers are usually already busy.
They may have long-term contracts.
They may work full-time.
They may have more work than they can handle.
So we are trying to be patient.
Chris has already found a couple of solid developers who have come onto the team and done great work, which is encouraging.
The talent is out there.
But this is not a role we want to rush.
Growth Creates Bottlenecks
Doubling MRR since January has been a huge win.
But it has also made one thing clear:
We need more systems.
Growth is fun until the company starts depending too much on a few people holding everything together.
That is where bottlenecks show up.
For WebPulse, one of the biggest current bottlenecks is qualified conversations.
When we are in the right sales conversations, our conversion rate is strong.
The problem is getting more of those conversations on the calendar.
That is why we are investing more seriously in outbound lead generation.
Why We Are Testing Outbound Lead Generation
One question people may ask is:
“If WebPulse does AI visibility, why are you doing outbound?”
The answer is simple.
We are doing AI visibility.
We are actively working on making WebPulse the recommended vendor for companies looking for AEO, GEO, ChatGPT visibility, Perplexity visibility, and AI search strategy.
We are building our own digital footprint.
We are improving our website.
We are creating content.
We are requesting reviews.
We are doing the same things we recommend to clients.
But the market is still catching up.
More companies are starting to understand AI visibility, but many are still six months away from realizing how much they need it.
That creates an interesting challenge.
We believe AI visibility will become one of the most important areas of search over the next 12 to 18 months.
But we cannot sit around and wait for the market to fully catch up.
So we are doing both.
We are investing in AI visibility for the long term.
And we are building outbound lead generation to create more conversations right now.
AI Visibility Is Early, But We Are Not Waiting
The companies that wait until AI visibility is obvious may already be behind.
Search is moving quickly.
Google is becoming more AI-driven.
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other AI tools are already influencing how people find information, compare options, and decide who to trust.
The way customers discover businesses is changing.
But the market does not always move at the same speed as the technology.
That is why timing matters.
Right now, we are trying to position WebPulse ahead of the wave.
We are working to make sure that when more companies realize they need help showing up in AI search, WebPulse is already visible, credible, and recommended.
That does not happen overnight.
It comes from doing the work early.
Why Inbound Still Matters
Even though we are testing outbound, we are not walking away from inbound.
In fact, we are leaning into it.
We are continuing to create YouTube content.
We are building content on the website.
We are improving our own AI visibility.
We are soliciting reviews.
We are strengthening our digital footprint.
That is the same approach we recommend to clients.
AI visibility is not one magic tactic.
It is a multifaceted strategy.
It includes:
- website clarity
- service pages
- content
- reviews
- social media
- YouTube
- directories
- third-party mentions
- brand consistency
- technical SEO
- conversion rate optimization
- testing across AI models
The businesses that win in AI search will be the ones that are clear, credible, and consistent across the internet.
That is what we are building for ourselves.
We Are Also Looking At Trade Shows
Another area we are considering is trade shows.
There are certain verticals we serve where trade shows could potentially be valuable.
The right people may be in the room.
The challenge is that trade shows can be a big investment.
Travel, booth costs, time, materials, and follow-up all add up.
And at this stage, we want to be careful about putting money into something where the return is still fuzzy.
That does not mean we will not do it.
It just means we are still evaluating.
The question is not:
“Could trade shows work?”
The question is:
“Which trade shows are worth the investment, and how would we measure the return?”
That is the kind of thing we are still figuring out.
Improving The Service Every Month
On the operations side, Chris is continuing to improve the service.
That is important because AI visibility is a fast-moving target.
People who have worked in SEO or advertising know how difficult it can be to figure out what Google is doing and what actually moves the needle.
AI visibility is even more complex because there are more players involved.
ChatGPT.
Perplexity.
Gemini.
Google AI.
Claude.
Different models.
Different answers.
Different sources.
Different ways of citing, summarizing, and recommending companies.
That means we have to keep testing.
We have to keep watching what is changing.
We have to keep learning what actually helps clients show up more often.
And we have to keep improving the service every month.
AI Visibility Takes A Multifaceted Approach
One thing we are very transparent about with clients is that AI visibility usually takes a multifaceted approach.
It is not just one blog post.
It is not just one keyword.
It is not just one technical fix.
To be cited, understood, and recommended by AI, businesses often need to strengthen multiple parts of their digital footprint.
That may include:
- clearer website copy
- stronger service pages
- improved conversion paths
- more authoritative content
- better reviews
- stronger third-party signals
- social media consistency
- YouTube content
- industry directories
- structured information
- ongoing testing
We are also experimenting with additional ways we may be able to make a bigger impact for clients.
We are not ready to announce anything yet.
But we are testing.
And once we have tested those ideas for a few months and seen positive results, we will look at rolling them out.
The Bigger Lesson For Businesses
The bigger takeaway from this Founder Diary is not just what WebPulse is doing.
It is what this stage of growth teaches.
When you are growing, you have to build the machine while still driving the car.
You have to service clients while improving the service.
You have to generate leads while building long-term visibility.
You have to hire carefully without waiting too long.
You have to test new channels without getting distracted.
You have to prepare for the future while still creating pipeline today.
That is the balance we are trying to strike.
AI visibility is the future of search.
But the business still has to run today.
That means outbound, inbound, hiring, operations, service quality, and execution all matter.
What We Are Focused On Now
Right now, WebPulse is focused on a few key priorities:
- hiring the right early team members
- adding more web designer and developer support
- generating more qualified sales conversations
- testing outbound lead generation
- continuing to build inbound content
- improving our own AI visibility
- requesting more reviews
- strengthening our digital footprint
- exploring trade shows and other outreach channels
- improving the service every month
This is the work behind the scenes.
It is not always flashy.
But it is what makes the next stage of growth possible.
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