Stride vs Follow Up Boss: Built by Land Investors Who Used FUB

From Follow Up Boss User to Stride Co-Founder

Why Mike Balcom left FUB after paying $500+/month to build something better for land investors

The Real Story Behind Stride

Before co-founding Stride, Mike Balcom was a Follow Up Boss user. He liked the platform, but there was a problem...

Mike's Monthly Tech Stack with FUB:

Follow Up Boss: $500+/month (and rising with team growth)
External Calendar System: $48+/month
Document Sending Platform: $60+/month
Zapier for Integrations: $75+/month
Website Builder: $29/month
Text Automation Add-ons: $149/month

Total: $861+/month for a fragmented system

Follow Up Boss is a great CRM for real estate agents, but it wasn't designed for land investors. The costs kept climbing, and Mike still needed multiple external tools to run his land business effectively.

That's when Mike partnered with Seth to build Stride: A complete business platform designed specifically for land investors, with everything included for one flat rate of $197/month.

Stride vs Follow Up Boss

A detailed comparison from someone who used both

Feature	Stride	Follow Up Boss
Built for Land Investors	✓ Yes, specifically	✗ Built for realtors
Starting Price	✓ $197/month flat rate	✗ $499/month (10 users)
Unlimited Users	✓ Yes	✗ $49/user after 10
E-Signatures Built-in	✓ Yes	✗ Need DocuSign/PandaDoc
Website Builder	✓ Landing pages included	✗ Need external builder
Social Media Tools	✓ Included	✗ Need external tools
Calendar System	✓ Full scheduling included	~ Basic calendar only
Automation Workflows	✓ Advanced, no limits	✓ Action plans included
Text Messaging Automation	✓ Included	✗ Need external tools
Email Marketing	✓ Full platform included	✓ Included
Mobile Apps	✓ iOS & Android	✓ iOS & Android
Land-Specific Features	✓ Built for land deals	✗ Generic real estate

Real Cost Comparison

What you'll actually pay (based on Mike's experience)

Stride

$197/month

Everything included. No surprises.

✓ Unlimited users
✓ All features included
✓ E-signatures built-in
✓ Landing page builder
✓ Social media tools
✓ Advanced automation
✓ Unlimited texting
✓ Full calendar system
✓ Direct API access
✓ 14-day money-back guarantee

Get Started

Follow Up Boss

$499+/month

CRM only. Add-ons required.

✓ CRM features
✗ $49/user after 10 users
✗ No e-signatures
✗ No website builder
✗ No social tools
✓ Action plans
~ Texting costs extra
~ Basic calendar
✓ API access
✓ 14-day trial

Plus external tools needed

True Cost Calculator

Based on Mike's actual experience with both platforms

Monthly Cost Breakdown

Solo Investor

Stride: $197 (all-inclusive)

FUB + Tools: ~$240+

Team of 5

Stride: $197 (unchanged)

FUB + Tools: ~$689

Team of 15

Stride: $197 (still unchanged)

FUB + Tools: ~$808+

Hidden Costs with Follow Up Boss

Remember to add: Calendar system ($48+), E-signatures ($60+), Zapier ($75+), Website builder ($29+), Text automation ($149)

What Mike Was Missing with FUB

The features that made him switch to building Stride

Land-Specific Features

✓

Property-specific workflows for land deals

✓

All in onesystems

✓

Land investor terminology and stages

✓

Dashboards

All-in-One Platform Benefits

✓

One login for everything

✓

No integration headaches

✓

Consistent user experience

✓

Single support team

Cost Predictability

✓

Same price regardless of team size

✓

No per-user fees

✓

No surprise add-on costs

✓

Budget-friendly scaling

Common Questions

About switching from Follow Up Boss to Stride

Is Follow Up Boss bad?

No! FUB is a solid CRM for real estate agents. Mike liked it, but it wasn't built for land investors and required too many expensive add-ons. If you're a traditional realtor, FUB might work great for you.

Why did Mike switch from FUB?

The main reasons: (1) Cost was over $500/month and climbing, (2) Still needed external tools for documents, calendars, and websites, (3) Not designed for land investing workflows, (4) Per-user pricing made scaling expensive.

Can I migrate from Follow Up Boss to Stride?

Yes! We help with data migration. Many users find they can cancel 5-6 other tools when they switch to Stride, actually saving money while getting more features.

What's the biggest difference?

Follow Up Boss is a CRM that requires external tools. Stride is a complete business platform with everything built-in. Think of it as FUB + DocuSign + Calendly + ClickFunnels + Hootsuite + more, all for $197/month.

Is Stride only for land investors?

While Stride was built by land investors and has specific features for land deals, it works great for any business. The all-in-one platform approach benefits anyone tired of juggling multiple tools.