The Receptionist
👤 Andy Alsop (A seasoned software exec, not a coder — his edge: spotting an underpriced product and running a service-first, low-churn playbook.)🌐 siteLinkedIn
He bought a neglected iPad app for $250K, grew it to $7M+ ARR bootstrapped on service, then sold to a PE roll-up.
Will it work? · our read
Bought, not built. A shelved $250K side project became a $7M+ ARR calm company — Alsop won on service and retention, not features, until a PE roll-up came knocking.
01How the money moves
Offices, schools and plants ditch the paper sign-in sheet for an iPad kiosk
→
They subscribe to a tiered monthly plan ($60-$360/mo)
→
High-retention renewals compound to $7M+ ARR
02The numbers
$7M+
ARR, founder-stated
founder
5,500
customers, 35 countries
Sign In PR
30
employees
founder
Bought for $250K in 2013; sold to Sign In Solutions Jan 2026.
$7M+ ARR · 30 staff · $0 VC
🔒
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Practical Founders — Alsop bought it for $250K in 2013, grew to $7M+ ARR / 30 staff, mostly bootstrappedSign In Solutions acquisition PR — 5,500 customers, 35 countries; deal announced Jan 12, 2026The Receptionist — Our Story — origin inside TextUs (Brad Feld's suggestion), spun out as its own company in 2015The Receptionist pricing — tiered plans $60-$360/mo
Revenue ($7M+ ARR), the $250K/2013 purchase price and the 30-employee count are founder-stated via the Practical Founders interview/article — first-party but not a filing, so STATED (not FILED). Customer/location counts (5,500 / 8,000 / 35 countries) are from Sign In Solutions' Jan 2026 acquisition PR. I could NOT confirm a specific Inc 5000 / Deloitte Fast 500 listing for The Receptionist, so I make no awards claim — the 'documented growth' rests on the founder interview plus the acquisition, not a ranking. Envoy's $100M+ raise is public. The CENTS grades and the 'dies' category read are our inference [our read], not founder statements. We never score you.