A company’s journey from alpha to general availability often reveals more about product development strategy than any playbook. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Kula CEO Achu Ravi shared how his recruitment automation platform went from initial testing to full market release in just eight months, offering a masterclass in rapid product development for B2B founders.
The Foundation: Deep Industry Expertise
Most founders start with a vision, but Achuthanand started with a decade of experience. Before Kula, he wasn’t just another tech founder – he was “looking after all of the leadership recording teams, primarily hiring for sea level executives and board members for Stripe globally.” This hands-on experience proved invaluable in understanding the nuances of recruiter workflows.
Identifying the Gap
Through his experience, Achuthanand recognized a crucial gap in the market. While plenty of tools existed for organizational workflows, “none of the tools are really solving for recruiter workflow challenges.” This insight shaped Kula’s development focus: building a system specifically for recruiter workflows rather than trying to be another general-purpose HR tool.
The Alpha Launch Strategy
Kula launched its alpha product on February 14, 2022, with a clear focus. “We don’t touch anything related to your inbound, that is career sites, job boards,” Achuthanand explains. Instead, they focused on two specific channels: “One is referrals, another one is passive outbound recruiting.”
This targeted approach allowed them to solve specific problems rather than trying to boil the ocean. They built two distinct products: “One is called a school of circles. Another one is cooler outreach.” Each addressed different aspects of the recruitment workflow, with Kula Circles creating an entirely new category for referral management.
Testing with Real Customers
Unlike many startups that use free trials to gain traction, Kula took a bold approach. “We have 30 plus customers and yeah, that’s timely. It and all of them are paying customers. We don’t have any premium users or trial users,” Achuthanand shares. This strategy ensured they were getting feedback from committed users who had skin in the game.
The Go-to-Market Evolution
During the eight-month journey, Kula refined its target market. “We generally focus on organization less than 1500, that’s our sweet spot,” Achuthanand notes. They developed a dual sales strategy: selling to founders in companies with 1-60 employees, and targeting “the head of recruiting or their first recruiter or their sourcing organizations” in larger companies.
The General Availability Milestone
On October 12, 2022, Kula reached its GA milestone. But rather than seeing this as a destination, Achuthanand views it as just the beginning. “The next path forward for us is mostly around concentrating on the midfunnel,” he explains, highlighting plans to integrate communications and calling capabilities directly into the platform.
Key Lessons for B2B Founders
Kula’s rapid journey from alpha to GA offers several insights for B2B founders:
- Start with deep domain expertise and a clear understanding of user workflows
- Focus on solving specific problems rather than trying to be everything to everyone
- Get real, paying customers early rather than relying on free trials
- Build for a specific market segment and adapt your sales strategy accordingly
- Think beyond the initial release and have a clear vision for future development
As Achuthanand summarizes their mission: “Recruiting is a team sport, not an individual sport.” This philosophy guided not just their product development but their entire approach to building and launching Kula. For B2B founders, it’s a reminder that successful product development isn’t just about the technology – it’s about deeply understanding and serving your users’ needs.