How Greyd Turned a Working Product into a Scalable Business
For many startups, the first stage of growth comes naturally: a product solves a real problem, customers love it, and early traction follows. But eventually, every company faces the same question - how do we take this further? That’s exactly where Greyd found themselves.
When Your Reality Changes
What began in a Munich digital agency in 2017 grew from a simple insight: website projects didn’t need to be this complicated. Founders Mark Weisbrod and Thomas Koschwitz saw firsthand how website projects often became complicated and inefficient - tangled in a mix of plugins, themes, and manual coding. The ecosystem had become a maze, so Greyd set out to rebuild the experience from the ground up.
Their platform resonated quickly in the DACH region. But Greyd always knew the product wasn’t built for one market alone. As they explain: “Since we’re selling WordPress software, our product is automatically and always has been made for an international audience.”
The timing for looking outward became clearer as the European market shifted. Smaller agencies - once a strong customer group - were closing due to economic pressure. Greyd needed to attract larger customers, enterprises, multi-location brands, and franchises. The U.S. became the natural next step to meet the opportunity where it already existed.
Still, reaching the new customers in a different market required a structured approach.
Building the Structure to Scale
As Mark puts it: “We had a strong product, but no systematic way to sell it.”
To scale internationally, Greyd needed structure: clearer messaging, more consistent positioning, and a go-to-market strategy that matched their ambition. That’s what led them to the German Accelerator U.S. Market Access Program. Their goal wasn’t to rebuild the product - it was to learn how to scale it in a sustainable, intentional way.
The program provided exactly the kind of push they needed. The workload was challenging, the feedback sometimes constructively uncomfortable, but it forced the team to go deeper. They realized how unclear their story could sound to someone unfamiliar with Greyd or the DACH market. Once they shifted from explaining what the product does to why it matters, conversations began to land differently.
They also learned that translating content wasn’t enough -they had to reframe their value for a different mindset. Instead of simply positioning themselves as a WordPress solution, they began communicating how they empower agencies to run smoother, more profitable web businesses.
It was a seemingly subtle shift, but a powerful one. It transformed a technical tool into a strategic platform, and opened new doors.
The Outcomes
The impact of this shift showed up fast. As Sandra Kurze, CMO & COO at Greyd, describes, they began applying the program’s insights directly into their sales conversations. This led to several high-value leads at a U.S. event shortly after. One U.S. franchise even subscribed to their largest plan after just a single conversation - a strong signal that their refined positioning resonated.
Internally, the shift was just as visible. Their sales mix began changing toward larger licenses, more enterprise-oriented customers, and a significantly higher customer lifetime value. These early results confirmed that focusing on bigger, internationally aligned clients was the right move - and that the shift was already driving measurable growth.
Lessons:
- Structure Turns Momentum into Growth By the end of Phase One, Greyd had more than insights - they had a structured go-to-market approach and their first U.S. projects underway. The biggest change wasn’t in their technology. It was in how they worked: clearer sales processes, sharper messaging, and a rhythm for testing and adapting continuously. “It’s not a badge, it’s not prestige. It’s work.” That structure is what turned their product success at home into a scalable business abroad.
- When the Reality Changes, Evolve With It You don’t always need a new product for the next phase of growth. Often, you need new processes, new messaging, and a new market fit that matches where your best customers actually are.
- Don’t Translate Your Story - Reframe It Make sure your value resonates with the mindset of the customers in the market. Greyd didn’t change what they built - they changed how they communicated it.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Apply Insights Immediately Growth came not from theory, but from action. Greyd implemented new learnings immediately and went with the momentum - and that speed produced early wins.
