The Idea

Breakcold was born out of Belinga’s frustration with traditional CRMs that failed to integrate social selling with cold email outreach. As sales evolved, platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter became key to closing deals, but legacy CRMs remained email-centric. Identifying this gap, Belinga aimed to build a CRM that blended social interactions with traditional cold outreach. He wanted to build a platform that offered sales teams the ability to manage both in one place.

Belinga knew that the sales process in 2024 was vastly different from a decade ago, and social selling had become a powerful driver for building relationships. His vision was clear: help sales teams engage prospects on platforms they already use—LinkedIn and Twitter—while also automating emails to save time. This vision set the foundation for Breakcold.

Challenges

Building and launching a CRM in an already crowded market wasn’t easy. Breakcold faced several major challenges:

• Competition from established CRMs: Giants like Salesforce and HubSpot dominated the space, making it tough for newcomers to gain traction.
• Rapid development without VC backing: Without venture capital funding, Breakcold needed to scale quickly while keeping costs down. Arnaud had to be strategic with growth tactics and product features.

Additionally, Breakcold needed to prove that combining cold outreach and social selling could outperform the traditional methods still favored by many businesses.

Industry Context

The CRM industry is fiercely competitive, with big players offering a wide range of features that cater to enterprise clients. However, many of these tools lack true integration with social selling. This has become increasingly critical in the digital age. Sales teams today are expected to engage prospects not just via cold emails, but also through platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, where decision-makers are actively engaging(Decisive Marketer).

With social selling on the rise, Breakcold entered the market at the right time. It offered SMBs a tool designed for modern sales workflows, combining the best of cold outreach with social engagement.

Founders

Arnaud Belinga transitioned from law to tech startups, driven by his frustration with outdated sales tools. Belinga’s background in cold email outreach helped him identify the need for a CRM that incorporated social media interactions to drive deals faster. His hands-on approach involved building in public and engaging directly with users on platforms like Twitter to refine Breakcold’s product roadmap.

Belinga’s transparency in sharing the startup’s growth journey, from $0 to $20,000 MRR, has earned him a dedicated following of indie hackers and early adopters, who have been instrumental in the company’s growth.

Product

Breakcold’s CRM combines traditional sales features with modern social selling tools:

• Social selling integration: Sales teams can interact with prospects directly through their LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, tracking posts and engagement in one central location.
• Cold outreach automation: Breakcold automates follow-up emails while allowing salespeople to manage social interactions simultaneously.
• Task management and collaboration: The platform includes task-tracking features and supports collaboration among team members, ensuring that no lead falls through the cracks.

This combination makes Breakcold a unique solution that caters to the needs of modern sales teams.

USP

The key differentiator for Breakcold is its social CRM capabilities. Unlike traditional CRMs, which focus mainly on emails and deal tracking, Breakcold integrates LinkedIn interactions into the sales workflow. Users can engage with LinkedIn posts directly from the CRM, helping them build relationships while managing their pipeline. The platform also supports unlimited users, which makes it a cost-effective option compared to CRMs that charge per seat.

Competitors

Breakcold’s major competitors include:

• Salesforce: A robust CRM with extensive features, but with a focus on enterprise-level companies.
• HubSpot: A widely used CRM, though more complex and expensive for small businesses.
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Focuses on social selling, but lacks the multi-channel outreach capabilities of Breakcold.

Breakcold sets itself apart by seamlessly combining these different outreach channels, offering a more streamlined approach.

Build

Breakcold’s build process was fast and lean. After purchasing a domain on December 26 2021, Belinga and his team built an MVP in just two weeks, attracting over 250 beta users. The MVP focused on the essential features: automated outreach and social engagement tracking. By keeping the product simple and functional, the team was able to quickly launch and start generating revenue(Decisive Marketer).

Belinga’s approach to development relied heavily on user feedback. Through customer interviews and hands-on support, the team continuously iterated on the product to better suit the needs of early users.

Implementation

To foster rapid growth, Breakcold employed an aggressive Lifetime Deal (LTD) strategy targeting early adopters in SaaS communities. Instead of opting for platforms like AppSumo, which would take a 70% cut, Breakcold ran a 7-day LTD on its platform, attracting users through Facebook groups and affiliates. By creating urgency, with the price increasing every two days, they secured $13,500 in 24 hours.

Belinga reached out to Facebook group admins and affiliates, who contributed over 30% of the total revenue during the LTD. This allowed Breakcold to onboard users quickly, even as a brand-new product.

Growth

Breakcold’s fast growth was fueled by the success of the LTD and early engagement from SaaS early adopters. With 250 beta users within the first few weeks and two paying customers just a week later, Breakcold quickly hit its initial milestones. The strategic use of affiliates, customer support, and outreach through niche SaaS communities helped the company generate significant revenue early on.

By leveraging the LTD to create urgency and onboard users quickly, Breakcold managed to gain momentum in a highly competitive market.

Breakcold saw rapid user adoption thanks to its multi-channel approach and content-driven growth strategy. By offering a unique solution that blended social selling with traditional cold outreach, Breakcold gained traction in the competitive CRM space. Regular feature updates and user feedback loops have helped Breakcold continue to evolve, positioning it as a favorite among sales teams looking for more modern tools(SalesCRM).

Since its inception, Breakcold has grown rapidly, experiencing a 200% year-over-year growth rate during its early stages. Much of this growth can be attributed to its unique value proposition in integrating social selling with CRM functionalities. Breakcold also uses SEO and targeted outreach to acquire new customers, with the founder actively participating in SaaS communities online.

Breakcold’s growth has been driven by several strategic pillars:

• Free trial and pricing: Breakcold offers a 14-day free trial and competitive pricing for unlimited users, making it accessible to startups and small businesses.
• LinkedIn community engagement: The founder, Arnaud, heavily leveraged his brand on LinkedIn to drive awareness and sales, creating a community of early adopters and supporters.
• Product-led growth: The tool’s features speak for themselves, and Breakcold relies on strong word-of-mouth and user-driven growth to acquire new customers.

Pricing

Breakcold’s pricing is simple and affordable:

• CRM Essentials: Unlimited users, full CRM, and social selling features.
• CRM Pro: Adds advanced cold email automation and personalized sales outreach.

Key Takeaways

• Rapid MVP development: Breakcold went from an idea to a fully functional MVP in just two weeks, launching with 250 beta users.
• Lifetime deal strategy: A short, strategic LTD helped Breakcold make $13,500 in 24 hours and secure its first wave of paying customers.
• Focus on social selling: By integrating social selling into its CRM, Breakcold differentiated itself in a crowded market.
• Affiliate marketing success: Affiliates played a critical role in generating over 30% of the launch’s revenue.

Breakcold’s journey from an MVP to a revenue-generating product in just three weeks is a testament to the power of smart product development, community engagement, and rapid execution. By identifying a gap in the CRM market and leveraging social selling alongside traditional cold outreach, Arnaud Belinga built a product that resonates with modern sales teams. As Breakcold continues to grow, its focus on combining social media and sales tools sets it apart in an increasingly competitive CRM landscape.

If you’re interested in identifying profitable gaps, here’s our guide on “How to Find Niche Markets with High Growth Potential”.