When we stepped back into the CEO seat at Proofread Anywhere, it wasn’t because the business was broken. But revenue was declining, and we felt we had to make a change. As I discussed in my previous post on strategic altitude, we let go of three of our portfolio CEOs in mid 2024.
Proofread Anywhere was being run by someone smart, capable, and hard-working. But it wasn’t growing. And as we started digging in, we began to see why. The business didn’t have a strategy problem. It had an altitude problem.
In this case study, we’ll walk through what we found, what we did, and how a few simple changes helped us course-correct and 2x the business to over $300,000 in monthly revenue.
The Setup: What We Inherited
Proofread Anywhere is a well-established online course business. It teaches people how to build freelance proofreading careers and has a strong brand, evergreen demand, and an email-driven sales model.
When we acquired the business, we hired an operator to run it. Revenue was healthy, and we felt confident handing over the reins.
But over time, we started to notice that things were flattening out. Growth had stalled, strategic projects weren’t gaining traction, and revenue was starting to decline. After about a year, we decided to step in directly and take over the day-to-day ourselves.
The Problem: A Lack of Altitude
The previous CEO was competent and motivated. But what she lacked, and what we didn’t fully realize until we got into the seat ourselves, was altitude. This isn’t in any way intended to be a reflection on her as a person or operator. It’s something a lot of people experience and we’ve only just fully uncovered ourselves.
She was busy and she was getting things done. But most of the work was reactive. She spent time managing the team and running day-to-day operations. She also accepted the idea that AI was making the course less relevant, which was why sales were slowing. Much of her focus went toward maintaining the status quo instead of growing the business.
When we stepped in, we could immediately see what was missing:
- There was no clear understanding of what drives growth
- There was a system in place to monitor key performance metrics like ROAS, but it was being interpreted wrong
- And there wasn’t enough consistent activity in the channels that actually drive sales
In short, there was no growth engine.
Our Process: How We Diagnosed the Business
We started with a simple question: Where does the money come from?
Once we organized the data, the answer was obvious.
- You spend money on ads.
- That grows your email list.
- You send emails.
- People buy.
Everything else was secondary. So we focused on that.
No complicated funnel work. No brand overhaul. Just a better understanding of what actually moves the numbers. We got clear on the inputs and outputs, and we built a basic system to track them, especially around paid ads and email performance.
What We Changed
One of the first things we found when we stepped back in was a shift in mindset, and not necessarily in a good way.
Before we resumed control, we had actually suggested bringing in some outside experts to audit the business and identify areas for improvement. The operator took that advice and followed through. The general feedback from the consultants was that our Meta ads weren’t profitable, and that ad spend should be reduced until new course modules could be created to improve conversion rates and return on ad spend (ROAS).
So the operator followed that recommendation. Ad spend was cut back. In the short term, profit increased. But it didn’t take long for revenue to start declining, and quickly.
When we got back in the seat, we saw what was really happening.
The issue wasn’t that the ads didn’t work. It was that there wasn’t enough email follow-up. There weren’t enough promotions. There wasn’t enough volume.
The business model is actually quite simple:
- Spend money on ads to grow the list
- Send more emails to that list
- Promote consistently
That’s the whole engine.
So we set clear benchmarks. On promotion days, we expect ROAS above two. On non-promo days, we want to see ROAS above one. As long as we’re hitting those numbers, we continue increasing spend. If performance dips, we test new creatives and adjust targeting.
At the same time, we massively increased email volume. Before we took over, the business sent one or two emails per week. Now we send multiple emails per day.
We also started cutting bloat. There were a few overpaid team members and unnecessary contractors. We made the tough calls and significantly reduced operating costs.
On the paid media side, our deeper analysis revealed that we were not profitable on Google Ads. So we replaced our existing contractor with a new one at half the cost, and now we’re consistently achieving over 2x ROAS on Google.
And importantly, we built out the infrastructure to scale. Scaling ad spend isn’t just about raising budgets. You also need to scale your creative pipeline.
We set up an internal “assembly line” for video production using a couple of subcontractors. We also sourced and repurposed a large set of video testimonials from past students to use in ads and across marketing campaigns. This helped increase performance while adding credibility to the offer.
The result: better margins, better ads, better tracking, and more consistent performance.
The Results
With these systems in place, revenue began to climb. In six months, monthly revenue went from around $150,000 to over $300,000. April is pushing close to $400,000.
This wasn’t the result of a single big bet. It was the compound effect of getting a few simple things right: track the numbers, understand what matters, and stay focused.
The Takeaway
Most businesses don’t need a revolutionary idea to grow. They need altitude. They need someone who can step back and ask the right questions.
They need someone who can identify the few high-leverage activities that make everything else easier.
In the case of Proofread Anywhere, those activities were email and ads. Everything else was a distraction, or at least secondary.
Once we had a clear model, growth felt less like a mystery and more like a matter of consistency.
What’s Next
We’re still just getting started. There are more opportunities to optimize the offer, test pricing, and expand the ad channels. But now we’re building from a solid foundation. One built on clear inputs, clean tracking, and focused execution.
Proofread Anywhere didn’t need a new vision. It just needed altitude.
Side Note: If you have an online course business you’d like to exit, we’re buying.