Vively
Vively sells Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for health optimisation, not diabetes. Red Valkyrie had to educate a market that did not know the product existed, grow demand, and stay profitable from the first purchase.
The situation
CGMs were known only for diabetes management, not health optimisation. Vively had to educate the market and grow demand while advertising profitably. Search volume was only a few thousand per month initially.
As a subscription e-commerce product, the economics are unforgiving. Most VC-funded companies in this space run at a loss for years. Vively needed positive gross margin from the first purchase.
What we did
Built paid search
Structured around intent and conversion quality from day one. Limited search volume meant every click had to count.
Scaled paid social
Demand generation for a product people did not know they needed. Paid social also helped grow non-branded search volumes as awareness increased.
Created ad creative
Mostly static creative designed to educate and convert health-conscious buyers.
Set up tracking and provided guidance
Measurement grounded in real conversion data. Ongoing feedback and strategic guidance on growth levers.
Improved landing pages
Messaging and flow changes where friction blocked conversion.
What changed
- ARR scaled from $0 to $1.5M inside 12 months
- Positive gross margin from the first purchase (rare for subscription products)
- Paid social drove awareness that lifted non-branded search volumes
- Acquisition stayed efficient while volume increased
- Vively attracted BUPA and high-profile health tech investors on the back of growth
Why it worked
"When the market does not know your product exists, paid social builds demand that shows up later in search. Staying profitable from day one meant the growth was fundable and sustainable."
When the market does not know your product exists, paid social builds demand that shows up later in search. The channels reinforced each other.
Staying profitable from the first purchase, rather than running at a loss, meant growth was fundable and sustainable. That discipline attracted investors and proved the model.
If your product needs market education, channel strategy matters more
Book a call. We will map a growth plan that fits constraints and still converts.