Joost de Valk

I always am.

No, not really.

So we build a software plugin for WordPress that is basically an extension that allows you to optimize your site better.

And there's a free version of that plugin and a premium version of that plugin.

So it's mostly a freemium model.

And

Some of it is SaaS now because it connects to a service called My Yoast, which has some added features.

But most of it right now is a pure freemium software play.

So the first version of Yoast SEO was released in 2014.

Early 2014.

No, 2013.

And then the first premium version of Yoast was somewhere around 2014.

Okay.

I started out with a free plugin and had a million users and then decided maybe I should make some money from it.

I've been a speaker on the SEO speaking circuit for ages.

So I just told my friends and they told all their other friends.

And so people at SEO conferences started talking about it.

And at that time, WordPress was growing almost just as fast as it was now.

And we were one of the better SEO plugins and that word spread rather quickly.

So mostly through word of mouth.