Jason Cohen - Founder of TWO unicorn companies (WPengine + Smart Bear)

Jason Cohen built not one, but two unicorn companies: WP Engine and SmartBear. And get this—both started with his blog.

Blogging as a Startup Engine

Jason used his blog to share deep, thoughtful posts about software, startups, and decision-making. That transparency built trust with other developers and founders long before WP Engine existed. When he finally launched, those readers became his first users, beta testers, and cheerleaders.

Why It Works

• Builds authority through real experience and insight
• Turns readers into an engaged, ready-to-buy audience
• Creates trust before the product even launches
• Attracts early adopters who spread the word

Examples

• Buffer grew to 100K users with blog-driven content about social media strategy
• Basecamp attracted customers with opinionated posts about productivity
• Ahrefs pulls millions of visits monthly from high-quality SEO how-tos