44 Emails Sent. Zero Replies.
The news just came through that Sony and Honda are pulling out of their EV venture. Even massive corporations have their share of "we tried, but it didn't work out."
So isn't it perfectly natural for an indie developer to fail too?
—That's what I keep telling myself. I'm the guy who sent 44 sales emails and got zero replies.
What I Was Trying to Sell
Kagemusha System—a tool that automates attendance management for private tutors. $5/month.
- Automatically pulls lesson records from Google Calendar
- Auto-calculates tuition fees in a spreadsheet
- Auto-generates PDF invoices
- 5-minute setup
I thought it was a solid product. I built it to solve a problem I'd personally struggled with for six years of manual work.
The problem was figuring out "who" to tell and "how" to tell them.
The Breakdown of 44 Emails and a Complete Defeat
I sent them to tutoring agencies, platforms connecting independent tutors with students, and edtech startups.
For every single email, I visited the recipient's website and tailored the message to their specific business. No copy-pasted templates. Each one was individually crafted.
Still zero.
What Went Wrong
Looking back with a clear head, the reasons were obvious.
Tutoring agencies already have their own systems. "Want to try our tool?" was an unwelcome pitch.
2. Cold leads with zero interest
Sending sales emails through contact forms. On the receiving end, it's just "another sales pitch."
3. Never reached the people who actually needed it
The ones truly struggling with admin work are independent tutors themselves. Emailing companies was pointless.
Why I Still Went for 94 International Emails
After 44 domestic emails, I was on the verge of giving up. But then it hit me:
"If Japan won't bite, go global."
Private tutoring isn't exclusive to Japan. The English-speaking world, Europe, Southeast Asia—independent tutors exist everywhere.
I translated the landing page into English, prepared email templates in 9 languages, and researched education companies across 65+ countries.
Then fired off 94 emails.
Results and Lessons Learned
I'll be honest—the 94 international emails haven't produced dramatic results yet either.
But there's a clear difference from the 44.
Vague targeting. A desperate "anyone, please use this" vibe. Cold outreach through contact forms. Zero replies.
Refined targeting. Researched each prospect's business size, region, and pain points before reaching out. Redesigned pricing strategy at $9.99. Improved tracking to capture open rates and click-through data.
I changed the "quality," not just the "quantity."
Without the failure of 44, there would have been no improvement in the 94.
A Message to Independent Tutors
If you're reading this as an independent tutor, you know the pain of admin work all too well.
- Counting lesson sessions per student at the end of every month
- Calculating tuition fees with a calculator
- Creating invoices in Word
- Sending progress reports to parents via messaging apps
All of that can be automated.
Not a single person replied to my 44 sales emails. But the problem this tool solves undeniably exists—because I personally suffered through it for six years.
The 44 sales emails were a failure. But the product isn't.
I'm still out there looking for the people who need it.
Still managing tutor attendance manually?
Discover Kagemusha System