Earnifi

How Solo Founder Built A $1M/Year Airdrop Tool in Hours

December 28th, 2024

Founded By

Dawson Botsford

Monthly Revenue

$83.3K

Days To Build

Founders

Profitable

Yes

Days To Build

Year Started

2021

Customer

B2B

Founded By
Dawson Botsford: Monthly Revenue
$83.3K: Days To Build
5

Founders
1: Profitable
Yes: Days To Build
5

Year Started
2021: Customer
B2B

Who is Dawson Botsford?

Dawson Botsford, the founder of Earnifi, is a software engineer and self-described "hacker" whose journey into tech started in high school with creating programs for geometry class. He nurtured his passion for technology through college hackathons while studying computer science at the University of Colorado Boulder, and further honed his skills with experience at companies like Uber. Originally from Tennessee, Dawson built Earnifi as a solo developer and quickly scaled it to a million-dollar business, leading to its acquisition by Bankless.

Dawson Botsford

What problem does Earnifi solve?

Earnifi solves the problem of crypto users missing out on unclaimed airdrops by finding and notifying them about potential free money they didn't know they had. For users, it's like discovering a forgotten wallet filled with cash, making Earnifi a valuable tool they eagerly pay for.

Earnifi Homepage

How did Dawson come up with the idea for Earnifi?

Dawson Botsford's journey to creating Earnifi began with his deep interest in hackathons during his college years. Hackathons provided an exciting platform for building quick and impactful solutions, which resonated with his passion for creating software that could make a difference. This enthusiasm carried on through his tenure at companies like Uber, where he observed inefficiencies in large teams and longed for direct impact through his work. Ultimately, this desire led him to explore the burgeoning world of Ethereum and Web3.

At a month-long hackathon, Dawson identified a significant pain point within the Ethereum community: users missing out on unclaimed airdrops. Recognizing this as a problem ripe for solving, he waited until the final moments of the hackathon to channel his passion into building Earnifi. In just a few hours, he developed a solution that allowed Ethereum users to easily find these airdrops. The tool's simplicity and utility quickly captured the attention of the crypto community, leading to thousands of signups almost immediately.

The initial success of Earnifi posed the challenge of monetization. Dawson ingeniously devised an anti-email strategy, only sending notifications when users had substantial airdrops to claim. This tactic resulted in exceptionally high user engagement. Eventually, he introduced a paywall for detailed airdrop information, which successfully turned Earnifi into a profitable venture. His journey highlights the power of solving real-world problems with focused, impactful solutions, and adapting strategies based on user feedback.

How did Dawson Botsford build the initial version of Earnifi?

Dawson Botsford built Earnifi by initially capitalizing on his expertise as a developer through hackathons, which allowed him to quickly create impactful solutions. He conceptualized and built Earnifi during a month-long hackathon, waiting until the final day to start coding. Once initiated, he developed the first version in less than a day, focusing on simplicity and utility. Leveraging his knowledge of the Ethereum ecosystem, he built Efficient, a tool to identify unclaimed airdrops by indexing on-chain data. His tech stack included TypeScript for both front-end and back-end development with Next.js to ensure optimal speed and performance. Initial development challenges included ensuring the user interface was intuitive and reliable enough for users to understand and trust, which was pivotal for the product's success in a landscape rife with phishing risks.

What was the growth strategy for Earnifi and how did they scale?

Viral Marketing on Twitter

Dawson Botsford's strategy with Earnifi relied heavily on Twitter's platform. He crafted an engaging tweet that showcased how Earnifi's product worked, and it rapidly gained traction. The tweet included a demonstration video of the app, which got people interested in finding unclaimed crypto funds. This initial tweet led to 10,000 organic signups within 48 hours.

Why It Worked: The tweet had a charitable feel, encouraging people to help others find unclaimed money, making it shareable. The demonstration provided proof of concept and enticed people with the potential to find free money, leading to an overwhelming response.

To maintain and further boost growth, Dawson capitalized on community engagement and organic sharing. He regularly participated in hackathons and kept an active presence in relevant communities both online and offline. His personal engagement brought in word-of-mouth publicity, further increasing Earnifi's reach.

Why It Worked: Engaging directly with communities that share an interest in cryptocurrency helped build trust in the product. Personal interactions at conferences made people more inclined to try and recommend the tool.

Email Strategy

Earnifi introduced a unique anti-email strategy where users only received emails when they had substantial airdrops to claim, effectively ensuring higher engagement and open rates. Over time, they implemented a paywall for viewing unclaimed airdrop details, transitioning Earnifi into a profitable enterprise.

Why It Worked: By only sending high-value notifications, the emails became synonymous with profit, which trained users to check every notification diligently. This trust and expectation led to greater subscription and paywall conversion rates.

Networking and Collaboration

Networking at conferences and meetups also played a key role in Earnifi's growth, where Dawson showcased the product and its potential benefits. This direct method of promotion allowed him to connect with influential people in the sector who could further spread Earnifi's reach.

Why It Worked: In-person interactions foster a reliable network effect, which is particularly potent in tight-knit communities like the crypto world. By demonstrating the tool live, Dawson could create interest and trust that might not be achieved through online promotion alone.

What's the pricing strategy for Earnifi?

Earnifi uses a freemium model, offering free high-quality airdrop notifications to discover $750 on average, while charging users to reveal specific airdrop details, generating over $100,000 monthly revenue.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building Earnifi?

Understand Community Needs: Dawson recognized a gap where users were unaware of lucrative airdrops. By building Earnifi, he met a common need in the crypto community, ensuring his product had a built-in demand. For aspiring founders, this highlights the importance of being in tune with the community you're serving.
Simplify Monetization: Initially focusing purely on user acquisition, Dawson later introduced a smart paywall for access to specific airdrop details, maintaining user engagement through value-based monetization. This teaches that clear, direct value conversion can drive profitability in subscription models.
Virality Over Paid Ads: Earnifi's growth stemmed from a viral tweet highlighting its immediate value, allowing it to explode without paid marketing. Aspiring entrepreneurs should note the power of authentic social sharing and providing content that people feel compelled to share.
Be Resourceful with Limited Tools: As a solo developer, Dawson leveraged hackathons to quickly build and refine his product. For those with limited resources, this reinforces the idea that focused, time-boxed projects can yield innovative results without vast resources.
Adapt and Transition with Purpose: Post-acquisition, Dawson had to find new meaning beyond his startup. Transitioning roles or business life stages should be done with intention, integrating past passion with future goals for sustainable personal satisfaction.

Earnifi Acquisition: How much did Earnifi sell for and what was the acquisition price?

Earnifi was acquired by Bankless in December 2022. This move aimed to integrate Earnifi's crypto notification tools with Bankless, allowing founder Dawson Botsford to join as CTO of Bankless Labs.

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