How Pierre-Antoine de Preux and Iman Gadzhi Are Growing AgenciFlow

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Topics covered

• From an influencer software idea to running agencies, and back to software
• What AgenciFlow does for agency owners and their clients
• How the partnership with Iman Gadzhi came about
• Early growth through a referral program inside Iman's education business
• The marketing plan beyond Iman's personal brand
• Focusing on smaller teams, not enterprise agencies
• A bootstrapped path to an exit, and taking money off the table

Show notes

🔄 From software to agency and back again

Pierre's story started with software, not an agency. Around 2015 he wanted to build an Upwork-style platform where brands could find influencers. He had no real experience building websites or companies, went the classic route of trying to raise money, and got no bites from investors.

The brands he was talking to struggled with their own social media, so he started helping them. That became a social media agency, then websites, including more than 150 Wix sites. With his math background, he saw that buying ads was a lot like online trading, so he moved into programmatic and Facebook ads as an ecommerce partner agency. He eventually let his developers go, kept one, and slowly turned the old platform into a tool for his own agency. That tool became the first version of AgenciFlow.

“software is very much Capital intensive versus agency you can make cash flow right away”

Pierre-Antoine de Preux, 6:43

📊 Launch and early numbers

Pierre says AgenciFlow opened to the public in January 2022, after some early sign-ups the previous October. At the time of recording, more than six and a half thousand agencies had signed up, and around 13,000 users including team members and contractors. He mentions around 45,000 documents saved and hundreds of thousands of messages sent. Two big updates were about to ship, which he saw as completing version one. He also says the name is likely to change, because the tool suits more than agencies.

🤝 How the Iman Gadzhi partnership happened

In 2018 Pierre bought an Instagram account whose previous owner followed Iman Gadzhi. That's how he first saw Iman, and he bought Iman's course on a Black Friday deal. He liked the content, especially on onboarding. After struggling to get users for his first platform, he knew he'd want an existing audience next time.

Later, his wife's business, Female Startup Club, launched an ads course with Pierre teaching. They worked with Iman's agency to sell it, and that got Pierre close enough to pitch the idea. Iman had a bigger vision for the product, and they joined forces.

Pierre says about 95% of current customer acquisition comes from the referral program between Iman's education business and AgenciFlow. The software is taught inside Iman's program, and student success staff now help with a sales process for it. He says around 2,000 agencies were added in the last month alone.

“if I start this again I would definitely want to do it with someone that already has an existing audience”

Pierre-Antoine de Preux, 10:56

📣 Marketing beyond one personal brand

So far, Pierre says, they've focused on the product and let clients come. To hit their goals, they need to go beyond Iman's reach. The plan he lays out:

• Affiliate partnerships built into other top course providers' programs, with a goal of about five in the next year.
• A big push on SEO, plus Google Ads to reinforce it.
• An outbound sales engine aimed at more established agencies. The ideal user has at least three clients, so they're less likely to churn.
• Possibly a public affiliate program around the end of Q2 the next year, along the lines of what ClickFunnels has done.

🎯 Small teams, not enterprise

Michael asks whether AgenciFlow is aimed at boutique agencies or at agencies with 50 to 100+ people. Pierre says smaller teams, possibly forever. He's focused on teams under 100. Very large teams bring compliance and security requirements and need an experienced sales team, which isn't part of the plan. He also sees use well beyond agencies, with coaches, consultants, freelancers, accounting firms, real estate agencies and lawyers already using it.

💰 Bootstrapped, with an exit in mind

Pierre says he and Iman have reverse engineered the business toward a possible exit in about four to five years. It's fully bootstrapped and they don't plan to raise. He walks through how founders of venture-backed companies can end up with around 10% of the equity after several rounds. A lower valuation can still be better if you own all of the business.

He's also seen friends grind for years at startups hoping for a big exit that never came. So he wants the option to take some money off the table along the way, and he plans to replace himself in the CEO role within the next year or so.

“we will own 100 of the business”

Pierre-Antoine de Preux, 22:38

🎥 Why a personal brand matters

Pierre's closing advice comes from watching Iman's content engine: if you have something to say, say it online. In the agency space, where you sell higher-ticket services, one or two extra clients a month makes a big difference, and prospects who've watched your content are already halfway sold.

“if you have anything to say just try and say it online because it does matter”

Pierre-Antoine de Preux, 27:41

About Pierre-Antoine de Preux

Pierre-Antoine de Preux is originally from Switzerland and is one of the co-founders of AgenciFlow. The software gives agencies an online space to talk to clients, send invoices and manage team members. His co-founder is Iman Gadzhi, who is discussed in the episode but doesn't appear on camera.

Pierre has a bachelor's in math and a master's in statistical and mathematical modeling. Around 2015 he tried to build a platform connecting brands and influencers. When that didn't raise money, he started a social media agency, built more than 150 Wix sites, and later moved into ecommerce performance marketing. He was 32 at the time of the interview.

Episode links

• Watch on YouTube
• AgenciFlow
• Pierre on YouTube