Eran Galperin

About Me

My story begins in the first year in college, when I learned programming while studying towards a degree in Physics (Fortran and C were on the syllabus). I used that as a base to venture out into freelance software development (mostly for the web), and during the 3rd year I started my first tech company with 2 close friends.

After a few false starts and a few years building products for other people, I started Binpress, a digital goods marketplace, which went through the 500startups accelerator and later raised over $1M in seed funding (along with my good friend and co-founder, Adam Benayoun).

Unfortunately, but perhaps predictably, we could not sustain the initial traction with Binpress, and the company shut down after 2 years and running out of money. It did teach me a valuable lesson about the vicious cycle of venture funding, and I set out to start my next company, Gymdesk, as a bootstrapped company.

Bootstrapping from 0 to profitability and an exit

I wanted to combine my hobby (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) with my professional background, and in 2016 I launched Gymdesk, online software for managing gyms and other fitness and wellness businesses.

After years of struggling to get customers and learning how to do product properly, we hit our stride in early 2020, just before COVID started. Despite COVID, we still ended 2020 on a solid growth trajectory.

We continued with a very strong 2021, 2022 and 2023, and in 2024, after hitting $3M in ARR, we partnered with Five Elms – a private equity firm from Kansas City – who acquired a majority stake in Gymdesk, providing with me with an 8 figure exit.

Investing in and mentoring bootstrapped B2B SaaS

The process of building a bootstrapped company from 0 and taking it all the way to a successful exit was a wild ride. There were many times that I doubted the company will go anywhere.

I learned so much through the process, from tactical and operational knowhow to the mental fortitude necessary to keep a company on an upwards trajectory as a solo, bootstrapped founder.

I now invest in and mentor other bootstrapped founders in the early stages of building their product. I provide a sounding board and tactical advice on all the elements of building a successful B2B SaaS company, based on my experience growing Gymdesk.

If you’re an early stage B2B SaaS founder, please reach out and let’s talk!

Podcasts

If you’d like to learn more about the journey, I’ve been on a couple of podcasts –