The Best of 2025

Learn from startups who successfully hit their first million.

Hey, it’s Elan. Welcome to my newsletter on what worked for SaaS startups that reached their first $1M in ARR. If this is your first time here, sign up and be the first to read future posts.

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As 2025 comes to a close, this edition is a roundup of the stories and ideas readers kept coming back to.

If you missed any of these earlier, this is a good time to catch up.

Happy binge-reading!

Growth Stories

• Lovable’s success story was 17 months in the maketing

• PostHog’s five failed ideas to $1M ARR with open source

• How Tally forms won with “boring” product in a crowded market

• Figma’s community-led growth story

• How Submagic Turned TikTok Into a Growth Engine

How Founders Think

• The 1-Year Rule

• The Power of Driving to “No”

• Hire for the Spark, Not the Resume

Which of these are you most excited to read? Hit reply because I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for being here, as always. Happy holidays, and I’ll see you in 2026.

Elan