How a virtual event grew membership 6,800% with zero budget.
A case study on building a high-value, community-led lead generation funnel on a shoestring budget.
£0
Marketing budget used
5,500+
New paid members
6,800%
Subscription growth
The client
A mission-driven FinTech startup providing financial education for women, who had just received their first £500,000 in VC funding.
The challenge
Growing membership with no budget.
As the first employee joining the two founders, I was tasked with a huge goal: take the initial base of 79 founding members and grow it substantially. Despite the recent funding, there was no dedicated marketing budget. The challenge was therefore twofold: grow the membership exponentially and do it with virtually zero spend. The entire project had to be executed online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The solution
A value-first, interactive virtual event.
Instead of traditional, paid lead generation, I created a high-value experience: a virtual "Financial Wellness Festival" designed to build a community and deliver genuine education before ever asking for a sale.
Insight-led targeting: I focused on the UK market, specifically women around 40 who were at a pivotal point in their lives - thinking about pensions, career changes, and providing for their family.
High-value content: I leveraged the founders' networks to bring in celebrity speakers to discuss their personal money stories. We combined these inspirational talks with practical, expert-led workshops on investing, pensions, and generational wealth building. The entire event was designed to be interactive, not a lecture.
A strategic funnel: The event itself was the top of the funnel. Attendees were then introduced to the core products: a flexible "digital money school" subscription for bite-sized learning, and in-depth online courses for specific financial goals.
Partnerships over payments: With no budget, promotion was driven by social media and strategic bartering. I negotiated with women-focused learning networks, Mumsnet, and key online newsletters, offering our expertise, speakers, and network access in exchange for promotion to their aligned audiences.
The results
Explosive community growth & business expansion.
This value-first approach turned a single event concept into the primary growth engine for the entire company.
Massive event turnout: I sold over 1,200 tickets for the first event, with just under 1,000 people attending, a phenomenal result for a full-day, online event.
5,200% subscription growth: Following the event, I increased subscription memberships to the "digital money school" by 5,200%.
42% increase in course sales: I drove a 42% increase in sales for the high-value online courses.
Exponential membership growth: Over the course of a year, running this event twice, I took the company's total membership from 79 to over 5,500 people.
Building a business, not just a campaign: This success fueled wider growth. I built and managed a remote marketing and sales team of nine people across Europe, and the company expanded into Switzerland, and Germany.
My key takeaway
"This project's success wasn't built on a large budget, but on a deep, almost obsessive, understanding of the audience. It proved that when you focus on delivering exactly what your community needs, you can achieve explosive growth through strategic partnerships and bartering, rather than expensive ad campaigns. Maximising sales isn't the first step; it's the natural, inevitable result of first maximising value and trust with your audience."
Enough about other startups.
Let’s talk about yours.
My approach is collaborative, hands-on, and focused on results. If you're a purpose-driven founder obsessing over growth but not sure how to get it, I'd love to hear your story and help.