Celebrating 5,000 Members of The Sauce (an AppSumo Plus business community)

Three CEOs, three founders, an actuary and a lead minister…

These are just eight of over 5,000 AppSumo Plus members who have helped grow The Sauce (a private business community) into a thriving online space for tech-savvy entrepreneurs to uncover tool insights, seasoned advice and new ways to optimize their businesses.

To celebrate reaching 5,000 Sauce members, we’d like to highlight the businesses of the eight entrepreneurs who are most active in the community. We can’t thank you enough for your dedication and participation!*

Sign up for AppSumo Plus if you’re not already a member.

Michael Davis: Owner at Kodawari Hombu Dojo

Tell us about your business.

My business is, at the base level, about the martial or combative arts. It came about because I have close to 50 years of high-level training in a number of energetic and combative arts that span six countries.

It can be divided into three components working together synergistically.

1.  Long-form blog posts l designed to rank for SEO, and share hard learned lessons over an almost half century.
2. The second area is my Amazon Affiliate store. I sell custom craft herbal products that stem from my extensive training in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
3. Lastly, I currently have six video eLearning courses planned. I plan to onboardother authors and course creators, but I do need to get my platform up and running first to show a “proof of concept.”

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

2022 was a tough year for me due to COVID and personal health issues that I am facing. However, thanks to AppSumo, I was FINALLY able to find an eLearning platform that I feel I can use and will make me successful in the long run.

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

I actually have two goals. The first is to FINALLY launch my website. I am a one man show, so the process of building everything out has been a long, slow journey. My goal is to have the site fully launched before the end of Q1 2023. The second goal is to have all of my video work in production. This includes my YouTube channel, my paid video courses and my free video courses that will serve as lead magnets.

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

The Sauce itself and many of the members have helped me to grow the most. The breadth of knowledge that is represented there is absolutely amazing to me. What is more amazing is the willingness of members to help others.

I have found many amazing tools due to these folks. Literally not a day goes by that I don’t get one piece of software or a service that goes on my list to purchase or is an immediate purchase. And when I need help figuring out how to use some of the software/services, many folks are more than willing to help. One member even got on a video call with me for almost 2 hours to help me work through some issues.

And, I must call out a member named Haroon for special recognition. Not only is he the most prolific member on The Sauce, but the guy seemingly knows everything and has a skill set that is nothing short of amazing. If I could make him an AppSumo PlusPlus member, I would! (Read Haroon’s story next!)

Connect with Michael in The Sauce!

Haroon Mansoori: Founder and Managing Director at Beldene Solutions LLC

Tell us about your business.

Beldene helps businesses and professionals by offering a focused digital experience using the most advanced tools and AI technology in education, ads and media, security, marketing and social media management.

The whole strategic model comes from my three decades of industry experience in the corporate world catering to large clientele and serving some of the world’s largest managed services providers (MSPs).

My original vision was to foray in the education and cyber security world. However, after joining AppSumo as a Plus member and initially buying a few tools, my vision broadened to build additional bottom layer foundation divisions by adding the web, media, and SMM layers.

These additional divisions would not only help my company, but they also have huge business potential. So far, I have bought over 100+ tools (almost 200 codes) that significantly boost my mission and vision, and have helped establish a rock solid foundation.

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

Established a solid foundation for my startup venture (details above).

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

This January, we’re having our first business launch in the online education world. This division (under the brand ‘Accadet’) would offer short term professional-level and long-term academic-level courses on three core business domains–strategic leadership, strategic project management and strategic cybersecurity.

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

The Sauce has been a very valuable resource to contribute questions and ideas, and discuss challenges. It has been a great help in my decision-making process to buy new tools. I have been able to build great connections with many members…this is my only social community where I have been so highly active and engaged.

Thank you to all the Saucites for reading, liking, commenting, correcting, and seeking out my viewpoints on certain topics. Cheers to everyone!

Connect with Haroon on LinkedIn, via his blog and in The Sauce!

Erin Hurry (Lady): Director & Lead Minister at Lady and Lion Ministries

Tell us about your business.

We are a Christian Ministry. Our focus is on deliverance and we serve people with trauma, single parents, and prisoners. The ministry has been serving communities since 2001. We use technology and business strategies to provide the people we serve with the tools they need to get out of their difficult situations.

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

We have been so pleased to complete our pilot program “Art By Prisoners” and open it to the public. We use AGI technology to build a bridge to allow prisoners across the United States to create art, share with the public, and learn to contribute and have a positive impact on society.

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

We are launching a new workbook for prisoners in March. This will cut the barriers we currently face to reach prisoners and provide them with easier access to our program. This is truly exciting to be able to see the people who are usually unseen or unheard, have a voice and bloom.

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

Marcellus has been an amazing AppSumo member to everyone. He has taught me so much about many of the tools AppSumo has offered that are geared towards video production, marketing and YouTube.

Haroon has been a huge blessing. I can count on him to inform everyone in the AppSumo community about tech questions, limits with software and ideas that we may have never thought about. He also enjoys a lot of the AI tools such a Synthesys and WordHero and keeps us all updated on any LTD changes.

Heartbeat is one of my favorite tools I purchased on AppSumo and Misty has been an incredible teacher for that. I also purchased VBOUT recently on a recommendation and glad that I did.

In our Ministry, we all volunteer, no one gets a paycheck and we have a super tight budget. AppSumo has been an integral part in us moving ahead with our programs.

Connect with Erin on Twitter and in The Sauce!

Marcellus McMillian: CEO/Founder of Digital Learn Academy

Tell us about your business.

We are a digital content creation platform. We create courses and e-books to help digital content creators learn, grow and build their business.

Connect with Marcellus in The Sauce!

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

We were able to help three businesses reach their YouTube goals and grow their channels, plus establish our learning platform.

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

More courses and articles to help digital content creators build their course businesses.

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

Understanding the product creators and the SaaS community. I have been able to purchase several products that I use on a daily basis that have helped my business to grow.

Promod Sharma: Actuary at Taxevity Insurance

Tell us about your business.

Our business idea came from social media. I’m an actuary who developed insurance products for the HNW market and supported advisors in that niche. As social platforms emerged, I noticed that advisors were reluctant to embrace them. In 2007, I started blogging to help improve financial literacy. This led to podcasting and then creating videos. People kept asking for help they couldn’t find elsewhere.

To meet the emerging demand, I became independent and launched Taxevity Insurance in 2010. Our clients seek ways to protect their assets from the hefty taxes in Canada and to enhance the impact of their charitable gifts. My son joined several years later, which means we have succession planning and the advantages of different perspectives.

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

In 2022, we looked internally for ways to increase our capacity with better marketing. Fortunately, we discovered AppSumo lifetime deals. We can now do more while saving thousands of dollars a year. As examples:

• Write blog posts with Bramework (saving $83/mo) and optimize them for SEO with NeuronWriter (saving $97/mo) and monitor them with Squirrly SEO (saving $72/mo)
• Send 1:1 on-camera videos with Hippo Video (saving $79/mo) and send personalized text-to-video campaigns with ReachOut AI (saving $79/mo)
• Monitor competitors with MonSpark (saving $80/mo) and Pagescreen (saving $50/mo)

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

We just launched a new website with the help of 15 lifetime deals. Our goal is to get more business by regularly posting SEO-optimized educational content. Our first blog post optimized with NeuronWriter is already ranking in the top 5. That’s a promising sign!

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

Our niche requires enterprise-level tools, which are expensive and difficult to evaluate. Many reviews tend to be shallow or contain affiliate links. The Sauce has become the best place to get helpful advice because of the diversity among the members and their willingness to share their expertise. They answered my questions about where to host a website, which icon maker to get, and how to decide when a website is ready to launch.

Connect with Taxevity and Promod on LinkedIn or in The Sauce! 

MaryAnn Markowitz: CEO, Executive Recruiter & Career/Life Coach at MaryAnn Markowitz & Associates

Tell us about your business.

I founded Mary Ann Markowitz & Associates (MAM) in Dallas in 2003. After working for two of the largest accounting staffing firms in the world, it was time to strike out on my own. Clients ranged from Hotels.com during their heavy acquisition mode to defense contractors. Clients hiring from MAM recruiting have a high ROI because our placements stick. More than a few hired in our first two years of business, 2003, are still with the same companies.

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

Last year, I spent excessive time on Youtube videos to promote MAM’s coaching, making 94 videos for the year.

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

Getting on video is second nature, and this year I’m focused on rebuilding my websites and marketing MAM recruiting.

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

Our Sauce group is something I’ve asked for for years. I purchased Rize due to one of our discussions last year and continue to be impressed. Recently, I purchased Heartbeat due to some of our more seasoned professionals convincing me they have their act together.

Connect with MaryAnn on LinkedIn or in The Sauce!

Srikanth Nair: Principal Consultant & Owner at Mustard Seed IT

Tell us about your business.

Until 2015, I had worked for an MSP (Managed Services Provider) and I didn’t like the way they served the customers or what they were asking me to do. So after a brief stint with a start-up, I decided to step out on my own.

I help businesses with strategy, innovation, managed services, and developing their digital presence. Anyone can say they are good at customer service, but I go to great lengths to ensure that I treat my clients right, that my clients know how important they are to me.

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

Late 2022, I parted ways with a client who was not respectful or appreciative of the services I provided. While there were other achievements, this decision is worth highlighting because it was one where I prioritized my mental health and wellbeing over the bottom line.

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

One of my goals is to integrate my digital presence to help educate prospects and potentially generate quality leads.

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

During Black Friday 2022, I went all in with VBOUT because of the invaluable comments and thoughts shared by many valued community members. Beyond my own research, the community feedback was instrumental in helping me determine how I could integrate VBOUT into Mustard Seed IT, and the services I could in turn offer to my clients. Not to mention the incredible personal connections I have made and continue to make within the community!

Connect with Sri on LinkedIn or in The Sauce! 

Olderico Caviglia: CEO at strategycapp

Tell us about your business.

For over 20 years, thanks to digital technology and an extensive network of professionals in more than 145 countries around the world, we have been helping Italian and foreign Small and Medium Enterprises to export and develop their business.

We operate in the B2B (business-to-business) world and our customers are companies that have developed products and services in the Fashion, Food, Design, Mechanics and Electronics sectors.

What’s one 2022 business highlight that you’re proud of?

During 2022, I purchased a lot of tools (many from AppSumo) that helped me to automate business procedures. Automating business processes has helped me improve efficiency, reduce errors, and save time and money.

One 2023 business goal you’re excited to work on?

This year’s goal is to further improve automation and focus on business development in some Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The business plans also include the addition of other product categories to be offered to our current international partners.

What’s one way The Sauce community has helped you grow your business?

The community is a great resource in choosing tools to automate business processes. There are many posts where people have shared their experiences with different tools and offer advice on which ones work best for certain tasks.

Connect with Olderico on LinkedIn, visit strategycapp’s Twitter and connect with Olderico in The Sauce!