Nathan Barry

Nathan Barry is an American entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Kit, formerly ConvertKit, an email marketing platform designed for creators.^[1] Since founding the company in 2013, Barry has bootstrapped Kit to $43.8 million in annual recurring revenue and 58,000 paying customers, making it one of the largest creator-focused email marketing platforms.^[2][5]

Barry started his career as a freelance web designer after dropping out of Boise State University in 2007.^[8] He built a successful creator business earning over $150,000 annually before launching ConvertKit as a side project to solve his own email marketing frustrations.^[1] The company grew from $5,000 in monthly recurring revenue to over $600,000 per month within two years, despite an early period where revenue declined after initial traction.^[3]

Based in Boise, Idaho, Barry operates Kit from a farm where he lives with his family.^[8] The company serves over 500,000 free users and has become the email marketing platform of choice for notable creators including James Clear, Tim Ferriss, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.^[5]

Barry learned web design during junior high and high school, developing skills that would later form the foundation of his career.^[8] He worked as an intern for the Idaho State Legislature during high school before enrolling at Boise State University to study marketing with a focus on graphic design.^[8]

Barry dropped out of Boise State University in 2007 to pursue freelance web design full-time.^[8] He spent six years building a freelance design business and later transitioned into creating digital products and courses for other designers and entrepreneurs.^[1]

Freelance Design and Creator Business (2007–2013)

After leaving university, Barry established himself as a freelance web designer, working with clients across various industries.^[8] By 2012, he had transitioned from client work to building his own creator business, developing digital products and educational content for other designers and entrepreneurs.^[1]

Barry's creator business generated over $150,000 in annual revenue by 2013, giving him firsthand experience with the challenges of email marketing and audience building that would later inform ConvertKit's development.^[1] This experience managing his own email list and selling digital products revealed gaps in existing email marketing tools that were not designed for creators.^[7]

ConvertKit/Kit (2013–present)

Barry founded ConvertKit in January 2013 as a side project while continuing to run his creator business.^[7] The platform was designed specifically for creators and content marketers, focusing on features like visual automation workflows, subscriber tagging, and segmentation capabilities that existing email marketing tools lacked.^[1]

The company's early growth was volatile, reaching $2,000 in monthly recurring revenue before declining and requiring Barry to rebuild momentum through direct sales and customer development.^[3] By focusing exclusively on creators and bloggers, ConvertKit differentiated itself from general-purpose email marketing platforms like MailChimp and Constant Contact.^[4]

ConvertKit reached $5,000 in monthly recurring revenue in its first year and grew to $600,000 per month by 2016.^[3] The company raised $1.8 million from angel investors in 2016 to accelerate growth, though Barry maintained majority control and continued bootstrapping the business model.^[10]

In 2020, Barry rebranded ConvertKit to Kit to better reflect the platform's evolution beyond email marketing into a comprehensive creator commerce platform.^[9] The company has grown to serve over 58,000 paying customers and 500,000 free users, generating $43.8 million in annual recurring revenue as of 2024.^[2][5]

Barry lives on a farm in Boise, Idaho, with his wife and children.^[8] He maintains an active presence in the creator economy through his own content, including a YouTube channel and podcast called The Nathan Barry Show.^[8] Barry's interests include woodworking and soccer, and he continues to document his entrepreneurial journey through regular writing and speaking engagements.^[8]