5 Key Learnings on How Classtime Scaled ARR by More Than 8x in the Challenging Public Sector

1️⃣ "First Gradually, Then Suddenly"

The journey from CHF 0 to 200K ARR took five years (2015-2020).
The scaling from CHF 200K to over 1.6M ARR happened in less than three years.
This was only possible by achieving Message-Market Fit.

2️⃣ Efficiently Building and Optimizing Outbound is Key

Outbound can be optimized endlessly—which requires significant effort.
The key is to adjust the right levers in a targeted way.
Classtime achieved 90% reply rates by working in cohorts of 10-30 contacts.

3️⃣ Sales Must Fully Believe in the Product

Rejection in cold calls is normal and never personal.
A live conversation provides instant feedback, insights, and learning opportunities.
Cold outreach is mentally much easier with a top-tier product.
Classtime’s Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is over 130%, which speaks for itself.

4️⃣ The Journey to 10-50x Larger Deals is Challenging—But Possible

Classtime’s ACV was initially in the four-figure range.
The breakthrough came with a six- and seven-figure public sector tender.
Going through this process alone from scratch is nearly impossible—both in terms of effort and mindset.

Beyond handling 30-50 page RFPs, these questions were critical:

• What is "good enough"? When is the effort not worth it?
• What are the decision criteria? Who makes the final call? When?
• How important is pricing really? Where do volume discounts make sense?

5️⃣ Winning Seven-Figure Tenders Through "Grassroots Work"

Classtime entered an RFP process as the preferred candidate.
This was only possible by building strong relationships with 3-7 key stakeholders in advance.
Despite this, Classtime still had to maximize the total score in the evaluation process to win.