Sam's List is 1 years old!

A year ago, I wasn’t sure if this would be a quick story I’d laugh about one day, or something I’d still be building a year later.

Well, we made it to year one, helping people find and get in touch with accountants, fractional CFOs, and financial advisors. And we’re still building and having fun!

Year 1 by the numbers: 

• 250,000+ site views
• 85,000+ unique visitors
• $130k+ in revenue
• 2,500+ people used Sam’s List to find an accountant, bookkeeper, fractional CFO, and financial advisor
• 250+ professionals listed
• 46 paying customers
• 15% average conversion rate from lead to client
• 2 refunds (bad fit, nothing personal!)

Not bad for a year that started with me Googling “what is SEO” and ended with someone saying they wanted to pay us the same way they pay their lawyers. (… that would be a six figure deal)

Let’s walk through Sam's List  memory lane month by month, shall we?

April 2024

• Our launch got delayed by almost two months because of the little lightning bolt in the screenshot below. We were building a custom scheduling tool that, ironically, didn’t even last on the platform much longer than it took to build. It was buggy, confusing for users, and caused more issues than it solved.
• But even in those scrappy MVP days, both sides of the marketplace were showing up. People believed in what we were building, and we were making some money.
• Plus, honorable mention to our original Chat GPT logo

May 2024

• We hit $30k in revenue. I officially became a partner. And for the first time, I started thinking, ‘wait… i think this might actually work’.
• Memorable month because at the time I was calling every single user every single day for feedback and making sure they could get a hold of one of the accountants on our site. Typing notes like a mad woman on google docs

June 2024

• After months of slack calls and texts, I finally met  Sam and  Joe in person. These two are brilliant! Watching how their minds work in real time made me believe in this even more.
• We also decided to expand the list of accountants beyond tax preparers so now we have bookkeepers, fractional CFOs, and financial advisors.

July 2024

• I moved to San Diego for the summer to remove distractions and focus. I ended up meeting one of the firms on our platform IRL. We had a great time and there’s even a write up about them on our site. Full of personality as you can see.
• This is the month where I started prioritizing follow up campaigns with our leads--> people using our platform to find an accountant and fractional CFO.  It worked. Send the follow ups people!!

August 2024

• Sam used Sam’s List and it worked for him. Isn’t that pretty cool when you build a product that’s a solution for your own problem and it just so happens that a good majority of people share that same problem?
• This was also the month I finally started getting better at project management. Loom videos, better detailed notes, prototyping with AI, I finally found a system that helped me communicate what was in my head to the people building it.

September 2024

• Not a great month. Actually… not great at all.
• Traffic stalled. I was scrambling for answers. I spent hours studying competitors, and trying new strategies that just led to being a waste of time and money.  Click here to see one of the things i’m referring to haha.
• Well for those following along, this is when I went from contractor --> operator/owner so that was pretty cool. I was driving from Baton Rouge to Atlanta and pulled into a Raising Canes for an hour just staring into the distance with my chicken tendies & crinkle fries thinking 'wtf..?!'

October 2024

• My priorities shifted because of one person:  Colin.
• I stumbled across him online (maybe Twitter or LinkedIn?). All I know is, I was stalking someone’s follower list, noticed Colin, and I reached out. This guy spent nearly two hours sharing with me all things marketplaces & SEO. He’s basically a marketplace godfather and completely reshaped my thinking and prioritization of SEO for Sam’s List. I think I made him late to pick up his kids from school that day. But, thank you Colin!

November 2024

• Gosh, I was so burnt out this month. The way I was living was horrendous and it was showing up in my work so I used ChatGPT to get back on track. ha 
• Also, we finally raised our prices. I waited way too long, despite the value being obvious. That first Stripe notification post-increase was magical. whew!
• Oh! and we put out a waitlist for financial advisors and OVER 100 people joined in 24 hours!!
• This was literally an idea that came to me at midnight, drafted the post and published the next day. One of our best months too.

December 2024

• Ugh, Compliance came knocking.
• Someone reached out and told me it would ‘behoove’ me to look into the SEC’s marketing rule. Cue the spiral. I’ve never read legal documents more carefully in my life. I’m not a CFP, and I’m not trying to become one either, so this month was spent making sure everything about our directory list of accountants, fractional CFOs and financial advisors is compliant.
• Also visited Sam in Connecticut. I made a  recap video (because I’m a TikToker now, remember?). I wrote my first “real” SEO blog too about Bench Accounting and we hit Google’s front page for half the day. A small win for your girl.

January 2025

• Crossed $100k in revenue!
• We’re becoming the site people reference when they talk about reviews for accountants and advisors. 
• A founder I know through  Tribe (a founder community i’m in) was leading a call on accounting for business owners. Someone asked him where to find accountants best sutied for them and find reviews on them. He blanked, finished the call, and then immediately messaged me like, “How could I forget Sam’s List??” 
• We’re not just helping people find accountants, we’re helping people understand how to search, what to ask, and how to evaluate fit. And we’re helping accountants and advisors grow their businesses with the right clients.
• One day, you'll all know about Sam's List. But for now, the after thought messages are still grealy appreciated :)

February 2025

• Someone emailed me saying finding their accountant on Sam’s List got them excited for tax season. That wasn’t in our original mission statement, but I should add that in. Made my day!
• Rolled out a new monthly subscription offering for the vendors. They are crushing it, strong ROIs across the board. 
• Retired the old school 90s UI to plain jane and officially welcomed financial advisors onto the site.
• Scroll up to April for a reminder of where we started

March 2025

• Fun month.  Rho invited me to my first event as a founder. If you’re on Sam’s List, they have a special offer for you btw
• Also made a  TikTok recap. #tiktoker
• AND I did my first podcast interview. Stay tuned
• AND AND more monthly subscription customers!! (hey guys, i think this is the move)

April 2025

• After months of cold emails and follow ups, we finally landed our first media opportunity.
• It’s been hard getting journalists to care even 0.00001% about accountants, financial advisors, and the insights we’ve gathered. Insights about how people are searching, what questions they ask, what makes them hesitate, what to avoid on your search, and how professionals can actually stand out.
• And a journalist finally replied! This is probably my favorite small win over the last 12 months
• So now that I have your attention....if you're a journalist covering anything in the world of accounting, fractional CFOs, financial advisors or even just entrepreneurship in general, I’d happily take your call. I’ve got stories, insights, and probably way too many opinions. Just say the word and I'll stop what I'm doing.

And that's a wrap!

If I had to score Year 1, I’d give it a 6.2 out of 10.

It was a year of learning, fast. Like  Busta Rhymes rapping level fast. I was trying to absorb as much information as possible while steering a ship with a blindfold on. Entrepreneurship: It's So Beautiful.

But now I know a little bit more and I know what mistakes I can’t afford to make again. (sorta kinda)

To sum up Year 1, I’d like to borrow a few words shared with me from the Taco Bell drive-thru lady who saw me at 1am, fully in the middle of a spiral haha. I was frustrated and unsatisfied with myself and my progress building Sam’s List. My face must've looked cold and aggravated.

She handed me my 2 crunchy tacos, paused for a second, and said: “I don’t know what you’re going through, but keep pushing forward.” 

I still don't know what I'm doing, but the plan is to move forward!

Adios Year 1

⚡ BONUS: If you’ve made it this far...

I just got off a call with Sam and Joe, the other two thirds of Sam’s List, recapping our first year, and, as always, they gave it to me straight to take this thing to the next level:  

1. Be specific about what Sam’s List is
• The mission started as “transparency around accountants and financial pros,” and reviews were our way of delivering that. Somewhere along the way, I started bending the mission. Trying to be everything to everyone. 
• ***If you currently have a page on Sam's List and don't want Sam's List to terminate tomorrow, you should get some client reviews on your page***
2. Track conversions per traffic source
• I know. Rookie move. I haven’t been tracking which blog posts or channels actually drive results. If this is a lead gen business, then I have to know exactly what’s working and do more of that.
3. Send monthly updates to my cofounders (aka my unofficial board)
• Sam and Joe aren't in the day to day, they just know what I tell them over slack and on our impromptu calls. But to hold myself accountable and give them more insights, writing a monthly summary forces me to zoom out, reflect, and stay focused.
4. Focus. Focus. Focus
• Shiny object syndrome has been very real for me. I need to go back to our core goal, focus on reviews and provide a way for people to find and get in touch with accountants, fractional CFOs, and financial advisors.  

So, if you can help out with 1-4 or have any words of wisdom for ya girl, kimi@samslist.com

Here's to year 2