Outbound Over Inbound: How Localyze Built a 500-Customer B2B Platform Without Traditional Marketing

Ten years ago, if you'd told Hanna Marie Asmussen she'd be running a company helping businesses move employees across borders, she might have laughed. "Ten year old Hannah thought that she'd probably be a veterinary or something like that because I grew up on a farm and I always loved animals," she shares in a recent episode of Category Visionaries.

Yet today, she's the CEO of Localyze, a platform that has grown to 500 customers by taking an unconventional approach to B2B SaaS growth: pure outbound sales with minimal marketing infrastructure.

The Accidental CEO

Unlike many founder stories that start with a clear vision of entrepreneurship, Hanna's path was different. "I would rather say by chance that my friends would probably say that I realized that I'm basically unemployable and I couldn't work under a bus, so I had to create my own job," she explains. The real driver wasn't ambition to be a CEO, but rather an obsession with solving cross-border mobility challenges she'd experienced firsthand.

Building in Reverse

While many startups follow the typical Silicon Valley playbook of building a minimal product and getting it to market quickly, Localyze initially took a different approach. "When we got into Y Combinator, people just started selling without having any kind of product, and we really tried to build something first to figure that out. And, yeah, that really cost us a lot of time," Hanna reflects.

This methodical approach, while time-consuming, laid the groundwork for what would become a robust platform serving companies like Infineon and Roland Berger. But the real acceleration came when they embraced aggressive outbound sales.

The Unconventional Growth Engine

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Localyze's growth story is their sales strategy. "95% of our revenue is a complete outbound," Hanna reveals. This approach stands in stark contrast to the typical B2B SaaS playbook of content marketing and inbound lead generation.

The challenge came when trying to scale this approach. "We had a lot of revenue and only basic like her and two AEs... when we started hiring SDRs, then we actually realized, like, hey, there's some SDRs that are accustomed to only doing inbound. They get leads and then they qualify them. But for us, it was different."

Surviving the Unexpected

When COVID-19 hit and borders closed worldwide, many expected Localyze to fold. Instead, they flourished. "We really believed in what we do and really knew that the market would come back, which it did, ultimately," Hanna explains. This resilience wasn't just about survival – it was about conviction in their mission.

Evolution of the Business Model

Rather than competing on price with traditional immigration law firms, Localyze focused on experience and efficiency. They're now evolving their approach, with Hanna sharing they're "doing a shift in terms of business model and pricing to get a higher share of upfront commitment and basically more recurring revenue by selling flat fees." This strategic shift has already resulted in "more than a quarter of our customers on a fully recurring model."

Starting with "99% tech workers," they've successfully expanded into consulting, financial services, and manufacturing. This wasn't part of a master plan but rather an adaptive response to market conditions. As Hanna notes, "Because tech is a bit more impacted, it has accelerated our transition into a more traditional customer segment."

The company maintains an impressive 98% retention rate, suggesting their unconventional approach is working. Looking ahead, Hanna's vision is bold: "We always talk about our Bhag, like our big Harry Audacious goal, and that is to bring 100 million people across borders by 2030."

For B2B founders, Localyze's journey offers a compelling alternative to the conventional growth playbook. Their story suggests that with strong mission alignment and adaptability, successful B2B companies can be built through pure outbound sales, even in complex regulatory markets. It's a reminder that while best practices exist for a reason, the path to success doesn't always follow the well-worn trail.