The maker dossier · @nathanbarry

Nathan Barry

A designer and self-published author who built ConvertKit, now Kit. The company passed $50m ARR, but its story also includes a reversed rebrand, a missed revenue target, and an unusually explicit way to share profits with employees.

Research checked 22 October 2026 · Historical figures keep their dates

Published photograph [1] ↗

$50m+Kit ARR disclosed · Dec 2025 [2] ↗

$9.8mTeam profit sharing over 10 years · Apr 2026 [3] ↗

$6.4m impliedSecondary share value: $200m × 3.2% [3] ↗

The numbers behind the story

Dated disclosures

A strong year that still missed the plan

2024 annual revenue: approximately $46m against a $53m goal. The ~$7m gap is a plan shortfall, not a loss. Editorial calculation: about 13.2% below target. [4] ↗

2024 revenue, approximate

$46,000,000

2024 goal

$53,000,000

View the data

Observation	Value
2024 revenue, approximate	$46,000,000
2024 goal	$53,000,000

Dated disclosures

Who receives Kit’s profits?

Allocation described in April 2026. These percentages concern company profits, not revenue or equity ownership. [3] ↗

Team

52%

Executive bonus pool

Owners

40%

View the data

Observation	Value
Team	52%
Executive bonus pool	8%
Owners	40%

Dated disclosures

ARR milestones recalled with his coach

Nathan’s December 2025 interview recalls $12m ARR when they met, $18m when formal coaching began, and more than $50m by the recording. Event-based observations; no invented monthly path. [2] ↗

First meeting

$12,000,000

Formal coaching starts

$18,000,000

Dec 2025: above this level

$50,000,000

View the data

Observation	Value
First meeting	$12,000,000
Formal coaching starts	$18,000,000
Dec 2025: above this level	$50,000,000

The unusual bet

The $100,000-a-year flying habit

Nathan’s published pilot photograph, from his 2024 review. [4] ↗

Nathan budgeted about $100k annually to own and operate his plane. The hangar also brought $15k+ in unexpected water and sewer hookup expenses. He had logged 235 flight hours by the review. [4] ↗

Annual ownership / operation budget

$100,000

Unexpected utility hookups, one-off minimum

$15,000

Different scopes: an annual budget versus a one-time surprise. Do not add them as a disclosed yearly total.

Evidence, in pictures

Kit’s own chart of average compensation over time, published April 2026. These are employee compensation figures, not revenue. [3] ↗

ConvertKit becomes Kit: artwork in Nathan’s 2024 review. [4] ↗

The bets, detours & strange details

$1k / month

Leaving books for a tiny SaaS

In October 2014 he walked away from books and training to focus on what was then ConvertKit. His own bio puts software revenue at just $1,000 per month at that decision. [1] ↗

$0.68

The stock-market success story started at 68 cents

An early startup job left him with a sixty-eight-cent equity payout. He uses that experience to explain why employees need salary and profit sharing as well as stock. [3] ↗

$6.4m implied

A secondary sale, not company revenue

A $200m valuation × 3.2% of shares changing hands implies $6.4m transaction value. This editorial calculation describes share liquidity, not Kit sales or Nathan’s personal proceeds. [3] ↗

Cerro Gordo

A ghost town in the portfolio

His public investment list includes Cerro Gordo alongside software investments. The abandoned mining-town project is a very different bet from an email platform. [1] ↗

ConvertKit → Kit

The third name stuck

The 2024 change came with an app-store strategy: independent developers could extend the platform instead of Kit building every feature itself. [5] ↗

2021

Spotify knocked. He declined.

Nathan says Spotify approached ConvertKit with an acquisition in the hundreds of millions. He declined, then pursued a secondary transaction to give employees liquidity without selling the company. [6] ↗

Failures, disputes & the other side

Seva · 2018

The rebrand that had to be undone

ConvertKit adopted Seva, then reversed course after learning why commercialising the term upset people for whom it carries religious significance. Nathan’s retrospective documents how his view changed and why the company returned the name. [7] ↗

2020 → 2024

“Never again” was not the last rebrand

The 2020 retrospective ended with a commitment to ConvertKit. Four years later, the company became Kit. The later launch was deliberately public and connected the change to a broader product strategy. [5] ↗

Months of delay

Consensus became a bottleneck

In the 2025 interview with coach Dan Putt, Nathan admits that repeatedly asking for agreement created uncertainty. Discussing a decision for months and then planning for months left his leadership team without direction. [2] ↗

Project index 7

Dated revenue, exits and abandoned experiments. Portfolio listings do not prove that every project still operates.

Find a project

Project	What it does	Revenue & numbers	Role / status
Kit / ConvertKit	Email and business tools for creators.	$50m+ ARR · Dec 2025; ~$46m 2024 revenue	Founder and CEO [2] ↗
Kit App Store	Third-party extensions for creator workflows.	App-store strategy announced with 2024 rebrand	Part of Kit, not a separate company [5] ↗
Kit Studios	Recording facilities for creators.	Boise launch described in 2024 review	Part of Kit [4] ↗
The App Design Handbook	Design education sold before full-time SaaS.	Revenue not broken out in cited bio	Author [1] ↗
Designing Web Applications / Authority	Books on interface design and publishing.	Stepped away from books business in Oct 2014	Author [1] ↗
Cerro Gordo	Historic mining-town restoration investment.	Individual investment amount not disclosed here	Investor, not sole owner [1] ↗
RightMessage / Manychat	Software investments listed publicly.	Stake sizes and returns not disclosed	Angel investor [1] ↗

Watch & listen

Conversations, product walkthroughs and the reasoning behind the numbers.

The Nathan Barry Show

How I Built a 50M/Year Company: Frameworks & Reflections

Nathan and his coach revisit the $50m ARR milestone and difficult leadership decisions.

Watch on YouTube ↗

The Nathan Barry Show

I Flew My 100+ Employees To Mexico (Here's Why)

Inside the team retreat, including employees discussing the impact of profit sharing.

Watch on YouTube ↗

Nathan Barry

Brunch on the fly

A personal flying vlog: a different side of the founder behind the operating metrics.

Watch on YouTube ↗

Outside views & responses

Name returned

Why the Seva objection mattered

Nathan’s account explains that the criticism was about using a spiritually significant term to sell a commercial product. The response ultimately changed the decision, not just its messaging. [7] ↗

Loans & a wedding

What profit sharing changes for employees

In testimonials selected by Kit, Helen describes paying off student loans and Rohan says his payment will help fund his wedding. They are first-person examples, not an independent employee survey. [3] ↗

Sources & research notes

Founder disclosures, contemporary reporting and original posts. Financial claims retain their original scope; they are not estimates of personal wealth. Figures in video titles belong to the recording, not today.

Open the source register

The numbers behind the story

A strong year that still missed the plan

Who receives Kit’s profits?

ARR milestones recalled with his coach

The $100,000-a-year flying habit

Evidence, in pictures

The bets, detours & strange details

Leaving books for a tiny SaaS

The stock-market success story started at 68 cents

A secondary sale, not company revenue

A ghost town in the portfolio

The third name stuck

Spotify knocked. He declined.

Failures, disputes & the other side

The rebrand that had to be undone

“Never again” was not the last rebrand

Consensus became a bottleneck

Project index 7

Watch & listen

How I Built a 50M/Year Company: Frameworks & Reflections

I Flew My 100+ Employees To Mexico (Here's Why)

Brunch on the fly

Popular X posts, ranked by likes

Outside views & responses

Why the Seva objection mattered

What profit sharing changes for employees

Sources & research notes