🦄 Unicorner Startup of the Week:

Layerpath

✍️ Notes from the Editors

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You asked, and we delivered. Layerpath is the second bootstrapped startup cover we’ve brought to Unicorner, and they’re launching their public beta today.

Stick around until the end of today’s email. We have an exclusive Q&A with Layerpath founders Vinay and Saravana.

Not just that: you have a way to show how much you like or don’t like Layerpath based on this cover. Layerpath is live today and today only on Product Hunt, where they’ll be vying for the coveted #1 product of the day position. Bullish about the product? Take a second and show your support. Have some ideas to improve the platform? Add a comment letting the team know.

- Arek and Ethan 🦄

Create interactive demos in minutes

Layerath is building AI-driven, no-code products that make every step of building interactive product demos simple. To get started, a user or team records an interaction on their screen. Layerpath then converts this recording into an interactive demo that helps users learn an interface with helpful tool tips. This recording can be used to build visual step-by-step help guides. Layerpath’s solution can also be used to record how-to videos that contain user and screen recordings. Each of these solutions is accompanied by editing tools and analytics.

🔗 Check it out: layerpath.com

💰 Business Model

The product is available with a freemium model. The free Creator plan supports up to three projects with access to most features, including full editing capabilities, basic analytics, and access to AI. The $30/month Professional plan adds unlimited projects, CTAs, custom branding, and more. The $50/user/month Growth plan is built for teams and includes comprehensive workspaces, video editing with support for pan and zoom, branching, and more. An enterprise plan is also available on demand.

📈 Traction and Fundraising

• Currently bootstrapped and looking to raise its pre-seed round

• Has seen over 500 signups, 50 active users, and 6 design partners in the past couple months while in closed beta

• Partnered with Rocketlane, Synup, Avoma, Zluri, Securra, and Locad as pilot customers

• Public beta launching today on Product Hunt

👫 Founders

• Vinay Chandrasekaran, CEO: Previously co-founded Crayon'd, a UX and digital marketing agency, and led product marketing teams at B2B SaaS companies including Zoho. Brings 15 years of B2B marketing experience.

• Saravana Kumar, CTO: Previously was the lead architect for Freshsales CRM at Freshworks. Before this, he was part of the founding team at Zarget, where he built the first browser plugin-based CRO tool. Has over 13 years of full-stack engineering experience building and scaling B2B SaaS products.

📖 Founder Story

By all accounts, the Layerpath team is doing everything right on its journey to Unicorn-hood. 

The concept behind Layerpath was born during Vinay’s time at Zoho, where he discovered the difficulty of building useful resources for users.

Before Vinay and Saravana founded Layerpath, both worked in B2B SaaS, each in their respective fields of marketing and engineering. Vinay experienced what it was like working at a fully private, bootstrapped company while Kumar experienced a venture-backed, high-scaling company. Together, they form a powerful team that combines essential startup-building skills while knowing to be conscious of its growth.

🔮 Our Analysis

User acquisition and retention is a long process. Companies have to catch a potential customer’s attention, convince them to sign up for their product, and see that the user remains on the product. If any part of this process isn’t up to par, the user will churn. According to Layerpath CEO Vinay Chandrasekaran, “Retention is becoming equally or more important than acquisition as acquiring a new user costs 3x to 5x than retaining an existing one.” To guide a user along this path without losing them, companies must create resources like how-to guides and demos. 

However, this presents multiple challenges. First, this is typically accomplished by using many different applications. This means creating these guides means wasting time jumping between work. Second, in an environment where new features are always imagined and existing features are reworked, a large amount of time must be committed to redoing resources. Together, this makes keeping resources up to date for users becomes less of an afterthought and more of a full-time job. 

This is where Layerpath comes in. Layerpath is enabling companies to support and educate their users by building software to create the most critical types of resources, all on one platform. This helps companies to not only onboard users faster, but to improve user retention by intuitively explaining how their product works.

On top of this, Layerpath’s product is a comprehensive solution. Each feature of the product caters to a different type of resource so employees spend less time jumping between software. With its analytics, Layerpath also gives companies the ability to measure vital customer engagement during every key part of the user acquisition process.

We’re bullish on Layerpath because it’s led by a bright team that’s very attentive to the market. Check out the team’s launch on Product Hunt today.

📚 Further Reading

• Layerpath’s launch [Product Hunt]

• Layerpath Chrome Extension [Chrome Web Store]

• Layerpath Launch Video [YouTube]

Written by the editors

🎙️ Founder Q&A 

Unicorner: How do you envision product demos and guides playing a part in software in 5 years, and what role will Layerpath play in that?

Vinay: We envision software becoming a more intuitive and personalized experience in five years. Product demos and guides will evolve from static presentations to dynamic interactions, fulfilling user intent. We’re not just simplifying navigation; we’re personalizing it, making the software adapt to individual users, learning from their actions, and proactively assisting them. 

Saravana: Exactly, and Layerpath will be integral in shaping a future where software intuitively aligns with each user's unique way of working.

U: How do you balance Layerpath’s long-term vision with short-term progress?

Vinay: At Layerpath, our mission is clear – we're here to revolutionize how organizations guide users toward effective software adoption. Our roots in Zoho and Freshworks have instilled a deep belief in centering solutions around the end-user. Every feature we craft at Layerpath is a step towards supporting the creators of tomorrow, helping them share their vision and enabling users to discover the full potential of their software. 

Saravana: Our immediate goal is staying lean and launching our interactive demo platform, prioritizing impactful features and business growth. Our approach is to make steady, sustainable progress, balancing quality and speed to align with our long-term vision of building an AI-powered software adoption.

U: What lesson would you give to someone interested in founding a software startup?

Vinay: Starting a startup is as much about the internal journey as the external one. Resilience is your best ally; the path will be longer and costlier than expected. Passion is your fuel; it will drive you on the days when everything else fails. Purpose is your compass; it should transcend personal gain and guide you through the darkest times.

Saravana: In software, excellence trumps speed. Users demand and deserve the best. We've learned to measure twice, cut once, and prioritize user feedback to ensure our product is reliable in a crowded market.

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