Kleo Surpasses $1M ARR
Jake Ward announced that Kleo has surpassed $1M in annual recurring revenue. This milestone is part of his journey with four businesses aimed at helping people succeed online.
February 19, 2026$10K ARR Milestone
Original Announcement
I'm 28 with 4 businesses and (still) no home.
Here's how I got here:
Age 0-15:
Spent early life growing up in a hippie commune.
Raised by an incredible single mother who wore both hats. Gave everything to support me.
Overly shy and didn't speak much. Seen as a problem by a teacher who suggested there was something wrong with me.
Age 16:
First job stacking supermarket shelves.
Completed high school with bang-average grades.
Started sixth form college.
Age 17:
Quit sixth form college after 3 months due to illness. Doctor said I was 24 hours away from dying.
Spent my 17th birthday in hospital, tubes everywhere.
Became an apprentice at a print marketing agency.
Learnt my way around Adobe's design suite. Started doing bits of design work on the side.
Age 18-19:
Discovered search marketing to help get more clients for the print marketing agency.
Became obsessed with SEO. Spent my free time messing around with the websites I built.
Age 20:
Wanted to take marketing more seriously. Quit my job to start a marketing degree.
Quit after 2 weeks.
Started an apprenticeship at an SEO agency where I managed 25 clients and attended college part-time.
Quit after 9 months.
Realised traditional education sucks. I learnt 100x more (and quicker) through self-education.
Went all-in on learning and building whilst living at home with my mum and 2 young siblings.
Ā£0 income.
Age 21:
Got my first 2 freelancing clients on Upwork. They referred me to other clients.
Built a 6-figure business by the end of the year.
Age 22-23:
Started a podcast side project and quickly reached 300,000 listeners per month. Sold it for 5 figures.
Bought and sold 5 websites.
Maxed out my freelancing capacity.
Age 24:
Founded Content Growth and built a team to help companies turn their blog into a 7-figure sales channel.
Started posting on LinkedIn.
Grew revenue by over 200% in 6 months.
Age 25:
Co-founded Byword and launched a platform to help marketers generate articles at scale for SEO.
Sold my belongings, moved out of London and started travelling the world.
Built Kleo, a free Chrome extension for LinkedIn.
Merged Content Growth with Contact (and @RobHoffman_) to take the SEO agency to the next level.
Helped my mum quit her 15-year corporate job.
Age 26:
Lived out of a suitcase and travelled around 16 countries.
Grew the userbase of my SaaS tools to over 130,000.
Helped multiple unicorn companies scale their SEO with our 25-person team at Contact.
Age 27:
Travelled and lived in 9 more countries.
Relaunched Kleo with @Laraacostar and the new team.
Started an innovation team at Contact and launched Mentions for AI SEO, our TASM Audit, and more.
Age 28 (now):
Kleo just hit 7-figures ARR. Contact generates $20M/year for clients. Byword just got a revamp. Mentions 2.0 is coming soon.
4 businesses with one mission: help people win online.
The journey continues...
Here's how I got here:
Age 0-15:
Spent early life growing up in a hippie commune.
Raised by an incredible single mother who wore both hats. Gave everything to support me.
Overly shy and didn't speak much. Seen as a problem by a teacher who suggested there was something wrong with me.
Age 16:
First job stacking supermarket shelves.
Completed high school with bang-average grades.
Started sixth form college.
Age 17:
Quit sixth form college after 3 months due to illness. Doctor said I was 24 hours away from dying.
Spent my 17th birthday in hospital, tubes everywhere.
Became an apprentice at a print marketing agency.
Learnt my way around Adobe's design suite. Started doing bits of design work on the side.
Age 18-19:
Discovered search marketing to help get more clients for the print marketing agency.
Became obsessed with SEO. Spent my free time messing around with the websites I built.
Age 20:
Wanted to take marketing more seriously. Quit my job to start a marketing degree.
Quit after 2 weeks.
Started an apprenticeship at an SEO agency where I managed 25 clients and attended college part-time.
Quit after 9 months.
Realised traditional education sucks. I learnt 100x more (and quicker) through self-education.
Went all-in on learning and building whilst living at home with my mum and 2 young siblings.
Ā£0 income.
Age 21:
Got my first 2 freelancing clients on Upwork. They referred me to other clients.
Built a 6-figure business by the end of the year.
Age 22-23:
Started a podcast side project and quickly reached 300,000 listeners per month. Sold it for 5 figures.
Bought and sold 5 websites.
Maxed out my freelancing capacity.
Age 24:
Founded Content Growth and built a team to help companies turn their blog into a 7-figure sales channel.
Started posting on LinkedIn.
Grew revenue by over 200% in 6 months.
Age 25:
Co-founded Byword and launched a platform to help marketers generate articles at scale for SEO.
Sold my belongings, moved out of London and started travelling the world.
Built Kleo, a free Chrome extension for LinkedIn.
Merged Content Growth with Contact (and @RobHoffman_) to take the SEO agency to the next level.
Helped my mum quit her 15-year corporate job.
Age 26:
Lived out of a suitcase and travelled around 16 countries.
Grew the userbase of my SaaS tools to over 130,000.
Helped multiple unicorn companies scale their SEO with our 25-person team at Contact.
Age 27:
Travelled and lived in 9 more countries.
Relaunched Kleo with @Laraacostar and the new team.
Started an innovation team at Contact and launched Mentions for AI SEO, our TASM Audit, and more.
Age 28 (now):
Kleo just hit 7-figures ARR. Contact generates $20M/year for clients. Byword just got a revamp. Mentions 2.0 is coming soon.
4 businesses with one mission: help people win online.
The journey continues...
Founder
Jake Ward
@jakezward
Product
Kleo
View Product