50+ tools I use to run a $100M/year business

HAPPY THURSDAY! This year for Sumo Day, we’re giving away a [Cybertruck](!! (I wish I could win, but I’m not eligible 😢) [image] Enter here for a chance to win: [( Now onto this week’s email 🤝 == At [AppSumo](, we spend nearly $1m a year on software tools. Our team has tested tens of thousands of tools across dozens of categories. Today, I’m revealing the tool stack we use to run AppSumo. Some will surprise you, some will disappoint you, and some will be new that you can take to run your own million-dollar business. Business Intelligence Tools When you’re just starting, I recommend sticking with simple tools. You’d be surprised by how much of our business runs on Google Tools. But as you get to a larger size - and you’re tracking millions of data points, transactions, and pricing… it’s better to use tools like [Fivetran]( and [Tableau]( to analyze your data. We use [Snowflake]( to store large data sets in the cloud. It makes it easy to connect to tools like [Looker]( and [Metabase]( that turn our data into easy-to-digest charts and graphs so we can visualize our company performance. [image] Metabase data on TidyCal user signups Website Tools A bunch of people mentioned they liked the design of my website. With [Webflow](, I didn’t have to write a single line of code. I simply dragged in different elements, and it generated the code for me. We use [WordPress]( to host my personal website. The dashboard makes it easy for our team to create new posts and pages (without technical experience). [image] WordPress dashboard We also use [ClickFunnels]( to build high-converting websites and sales funnels. Our product team uses [Splunk]( to alert us if there are any issues on our site - so we can handle them quickly. Also, we use [Sentry]( for monitoring - fun fact the founder of Sentry helped build the first AppSumo website (Thanks David Cramer!) Content Tools Both my personal content team and AppSumo use [Frame.io]( to collaborate and edit our YouTube videos. You can leave feedback directly on the video with timestamps. [image] The team giving feedback with Frame.io Our YouTube team occasionally uses [Epidemic Sound]( for royalty-free music. We use [Canva]( to create the graphics you may have seen on social media. It’s easy to use (even if you’re a non-designer). For more detailed designs, we use [Figma](. [HemingwayApp]( corrects your sentence structure to help your writing read better. I used to think the goal was to impress readers - so I used big words and fancy jargon. But the real goal is clarity. Confused readers don’t buy. [SendFox]( helps you set up email automations, send drip campaigns, and create landing pages. We use SendFox for my weekly personal newsletter, the [Million Dollar Weekend]( autoresponders, and for lead magnets. And [Klaviyo]( for AppSumo to send our daily newsletter. The marketing team uses [Later]( to manage and schedule posts. We also use [Twemex]( for content inspiration. Twemex shows you the top tweets from someone. You can also use the search bar to hunt for specific keywords. (Pretty cool!) Meeting Tools Messaging back and forth trying to schedule a call sucks… especially when multiple calendars are involved. [TidyCal]( has been exploding in popularity recently - and for good reason. It’s the simplest way to book and schedule meetings. You can also charge for people to meet with you. [image] Set your price to meet with TidyCal For the actual meetings, we use Zoom. Nothing fancy here. Sometimes I forget what people say in meetings, so I use [Rewind.AI]( to take notes. The team also uses [Laxis]( and [Fathom](. They’re AI meeting assistants that transcribe your meetings and extract key insights. We also use [Figjam]( as an online whiteboard during our Zoom meetings. Sales Tools Our product team uses [Dovetail]( for our customer calls. It takes scattered customer feedback and distills it into simple insights you can implement. The sales team uses [MixMax]( to schedule meetings with potential customers and partners. They also use [Hubspot]( and [Clearbit]( - which is everything you need to generate, nurture, and close customers. [BreezeDoc]( is a pay-once, use-forever Docusign alternative. We use BreezeDoc to sign contracts and documents digitally. [image] BreezeDoc e-signatures Half of our revenue at AppSumo comes from sending emails (which is crazy!!). [Klayvio]( uses data to create personalized automations for your customers across many channels (email marketing, SMS, and mobile push). Since we send so many emails, we use [Mailtrap]( and [Litmus]( to inspect and debug them before sending them. The sales team also uses [BetterProposals]( so proposals don’t get lost in people’s email inboxes. [FindThatLead]( allows you to find and verify email addresses directly from websites - and scrape emails in bulk from LinkedIn search engines. I also like to use [Rocketreach]( for this. Finance Tools When I started AppSumo, I used my personal card to finance things (like office rent and team lunches). I’d have to expense every payment to the company to get reimbursed. It quickly became a mess trying to keep everything organized. Now, we use [Ramp]( as our company card. It helps us pay bills, stay on budget, and make payments to employees. It also has good cash-back rewards. If your team reaches 10 or more - I’d recommend checking them out. [image] AppSumo company card If you’re ever thinking about giving out equity, we use [Carta]( to track who has options and shares. Also [QuickBooks online]( for tracking everything, wish there was a better solution for tracking finances. Team Tools Whether you're a company of 10 or 100 people, setting clear objectives is key. A question I ask myself: “At the end of the quarter, is it very objective whether we had success or not?” At any time, there are dozens of initiatives in progress simultaneously. We use [Atlassian]( to organize all of our coding projects. It stores our tickets, documentation, and meeting agendas. We use [CleanShot]( to take screenshots and share in-depth screen-recorded feedback. [Bitwarden]( stores all our passwords in one place. It also has a browser extension that auto-fills the password for you. (Game-changer!) [image] Bitwarden Password Vault Most people know about [Slack](. But what’s interesting is we use a lot of Slack Bots. We have a pulse bot that gives daily updates on KPIs like (new buyers, gross sales, and average order value) that are color-coded red, yellow, or green so everyone can quickly know if we’re on track. We use [Insperity]( for our human resources. It’s kind of old-school 1995 internet tech. They offer payroll services, tax filing, and compliance support. If you’re getting started, I’d recommend checking out [Gusto](. [Greenhouse]( helps us source and onboard new hires. Our team also uses [Contra]( to find freelancers for our design team. Productivity Tools Since the team is remote, a new tool we’re trying is [FocusMate](. It pairs you with a partner to ensure you’re both working productively. My friend Ali Abdaal recommended [BearApp](. I do all my weekly journaling and create our marketing plans there. My favorite part is using the tags to keep my notes organized. [Zapier]( helps us automate repetitive tasks without coding. The marketing team has been testing [ReplyGuy]( - an AI tool that mentions your product on Reddit and Twitter naturally. We use [Circle]( to manage our [VIP Plus]( community for AppSumo. It’s an all-in-one platform that allows you to host a community and create courses. We’ve been using it for the past 2 years - and I loved it so much that I invested in it. [image] The AppSumo VIP Plus community Important note: While the team and I spend a lot of time testing new tools (it’s kind of our job haha)... If you’re just starting your business - it’s less about finding the perfect tool, and more about getting started. Remember: do what works for YOUR business. Rooting for you, Noah 🌮 Ps. If you’re looking for more awesome tools for your business, our team just launched [FiveTaco]( - a curated directory to find the best software for entrepreneurs. [Check it out](! 💚 Sumo Group Inc. 1305 East 6th Street Suite #3 Austin, TX 78702 USA [Unsubscribe]( [SendFox](