1311: From Engineer to 1 Million Users: The B2C Playbook w/ Zakhar Azatian
In this episode, Brian sits down with Zakhar Azatian, the founder and CEO of BeHard, an app that has transformed the lives of over one million users. Zakhar shares his journey from software engineer to a two-time founder, detailing how he built B2C products that generate millions in revenue and create genuine impact. This episode is a masterclass for any wantrepreneur or entrepreneur looking to scale a product in a crowded market. You’ll learn the difference between simply “trying” marketing and building a systematic “factory of experiments,” how to leverage revenue as fuel for a growth flywheel, and why the most successful companies often start by serving a tiny, niche audience.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
- The Growth Flywheel: Understand how to reinvest early revenue back into your business to create a self-sustaining cycle of growth.
- Build an "Experiment Factory": Learn why one-off marketing efforts fail and how to create a structured system for continuous experimentation in your product and marketing.
- The B2C Marketing Playbook: Get a breakdown of the key marketing channels for consumer apps, including organic, SEO/ASO, influencer, and performance marketing.
- The Power of Starting Niche: Discover why trying to build a product for everyone is a recipe for failure and how focusing on a small, specific audience can be your biggest strategic advantage.
- From MVP to Polished Product: Hear how Be Hard started as a simple "black and white" app and evolved through hundreds of experiments into the polished product it is today.
- Find Your Motivation in Metrics: Learn how seeing the real-world impact of your work through user feedback and revenue can become an "addicting" source of motivation.
📝 About Zakhar Azatian
Zakhar Azatian is the founder and CEO of Be Hard, a San Francisco-based platform that helps people transform their lifestyles through challenges. As a two-time founder with a successful exit, Zakhar has over six years of experience building B2C products that empower users. With a background as a software engineer, he brings a unique and powerful combination of technical expertise and a product-driven mindset to his ventures, which have positively impacted over a million users.
🎯 Zakhar’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"It's really hard to build a product for someone when you build it for everybody... so the idea that I would say is to sometimes start with something niche."
📢 Memorable Quotes
- "When you see the value, it's actually addicting... you and your team did something to achieve these results. And that's actually how I got hooked."
- "You don't just try, you basically build the flow of experimentation."
- "Growth usually means more growth. And revenue means usually more growth. And the idea is that it's like a cycle."
🔗 Links & Resources
