12 Project Management Tool Success Stories [2024]
A project management tool business involves developing software that helps managers and teams organize, plan, and track projects.
Features may include task lists, Gantt charts, time tracking, resource planning, collaboration tools, reports, and more.
You can offer the software as a web or mobile application through a software-as-a-service subscription model.
Building an innovative and user-friendly project management tool has excellent business potential as organizations constantly seek solutions to improve workflow, accountability, and efficiency.
In this list, you'll find real-world project management tool success stories and very profitable examples of starting a project management tool that makes money.
1. Inflectra Corporation ($9.96M/year)
Adam Sandman, founder and CEO of Inflectra Corporation, came up with the idea for his business while working at Sapient. He and his colleague realized that there was a need for a more affordable and agile requirements and project management system in the software industry. This led Sandman to quit his job, code the first version of SpiraTest himself, and launch Inflectra.
How much money it makes: $9.96M/year
How much did it cost to start: $20K
How many people on the team: 50
Inflectra Corporation's Founder and CEO Adam Sandman shares how he went from being a stay-at-home dad to running a tech company with $10MM in ARR, offering insight on launching and marketing a tech product in the industry.
2. Promys ($4.5M/year)
In starting their business, the founder realized the need for a workflow system to offset the complexity of a growing company. Unable to find a suitable solution in the market, they had their development team build the first version and eventually spun it out as a focused business. Throughout the process, they emphasized the importance of getting an early version of the product to customers to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments.
How much money it makes: $4.5M/year
This case study follows a serial entrepreneur's journey in the Information Technology industry, where he founded successful companies such as UNIS LUMIN and Promys, and offers advice to aspiring founders, emphasizing the importance of adjusting to changing markets and learning from early customers' input.
3. GreenRope ($1.92M/year)
metrics for our business are our customer satisfaction and retention rates, which remain consistently high. We currently have over 1,000 customers in over 20 countries, ranging from startups to universities and municipalities. Moving forward, we plan to continue evolving and improving our platform to meet the changing needs of businesses and provide even greater value to our customers.
How much money it makes: $1.92M/year
How many people on the team: 15
GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.
4. Product Focus ($1.8M/year)
Ian Lunn and his co-founder Andrew Dickenson started Product Focus after seeing a need for high-quality product management training. With their background in product management and marketing, they launched their first public course in 2006 and have since grown to become the European leaders in product management training. They have adapted their business model during the pandemic and continue to provide world-class training online. [Word count: 36 words]
How much money it makes: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
How many people on the team: 5
Product Focus has become the European leaders in product management training, running multiple courses every week and receiving over 20,000 subscribers for their resources in 2018, now providing both face-to-face and online training options after COVID forced them to pivot their business model.
5. Minor Workshop ($1.44M/year)
Paul discovered his business idea while working at an e-commerce company in 2012, where he transformed team efficiency using Asana, leading to a validating bonus from his employer. This insight into productivity tools eventually grew into a consulting business that now generates $90,000 monthly.
How much money it makes: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 1
This case study article showcases the success story of Paul, who built a profitable consulting business focused on Asana and Pipedrive, generating around $90,000 in monthly sales from consulting and subscription fees, with a margin of 80% and a customer base ranging from solo operators to big enterprise clients.
6. COR ($1.24M/year)
Santi Bibiloni and his co-founders came up with the idea for COR when they realized that many professional service companies struggled with low profitability due to poor budgeting and project management. They wanted to create a solution that would help these companies increase their profits and provide better opportunities for their creative and professional teams. After launching in 2016, COR attracted top clients such as Ogilvy, Wunderman Thompson, and Leo Burnett, and recently closed a Series A round with $6 million in funding.
How much money it makes: $1.24M/year
How much did it cost to start: $7K
How many people on the team: 70
COR, an AI-powered solution for Advertising Agencies and Professional Services firms that offers project management, financial management, and resource management, has reached a current MRR of $103k and just closed their Series A round having raised $6M after almost 5 years in the market.
7. GitScrum ($600K/year)
Renato Marinho came up with the idea for GitScrum out of frustration with ineffective project management tools and inefficiencies he observed as an IT manager. He noticed how poor communication and inadequate time management were obstacles, preventing teams from reaching their full potential. Inspired to create a solution that would enhance productivity and make work more enjoyable, Renato sought to develop a user-friendly project management tool grounded in Agile and Scrum principles.
Initially, GitScrum began as an open-source side project on GitHub, where it quickly garnered global support from developers and IT enthusiasts. This broad interest affirmed the demand for such a tool, prompting Renato to refine his initial concept. Through active feedback collection from early users, Renato iterated on the software, adding features that aligned with his vision of promoting meritocracy and performance tracking within teams.
One of the key challenges Renato faced during the ideation phase was finding a way to make the tool accessible to both technical and non-technical users. By leveraging user insights and maintaining a focus on simplicity, GitScrum was able to strike a balance between robustness and ease of use, which has been a cornerstone of its success. This journey taught Renato the value of community engagement and the importance of continuously adapting to feedback to refine the product.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
8. Ora ($252K/year)
Nikolay Mihaylov, along with his co-founders Vasil Enchev and Nikolay Yanev, came up with the idea for Ora PM while working at Codemotion in 2015. As they were managing their work with existing project management systems like Trello and Slack, they realized the need for a more sophisticated system with time tracking. Unable to find a suitable solution in the market, they decided to create their own project management system, which eventually evolved into Ora.
How much money it makes: $252K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
How many people on the team: 5
Ora PM is a project management system that generates an average monthly revenue of $21k, and is designed for use by individuals as well as companies with big projects.
9. Client Portal ($132K/year)
The founder worked previously as a freelancer. She faced difficulties in finding a suitable platform to manage her clients' project assets. Despite trying different project management tools, the quality of these tools proved to be subpar, which led to her using email as the primary mode of communication.
Determined to find a better solution, she decided to create her own platform. She developed a page on her website that allowed clients to log in and access all the project assets that had been collected. She shared her experience with others about the portal and how it had helped her manage customer projects. After receiving a lot of encouragement from her peers, she eventually decided to sell it.
How much money it makes: $132K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 0
Laura Elizabeth built a $4-10k/month lightweight project management tool for WordPress called Client Portal, which provides clients with a branded, accessible space to access project deliverables and status updates, and has grown organically with the aid of podcasts, email courses, and Google searches.
10. Agiled ($120K/year)
Asad Ali, founder and CEO of Agiled, came up with the idea for his all-in-one business management software while running a web development agency. Frustrated with switching between multiple tools, he decided to create a centralized platform to help business owners efficiently manage their operations. Since launching in early 2020 and with the help of an Appsumo launch, Agiled has grown to serve over 5,000 companies and generate $10k/month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
How many people on the team: 15
Agiled is a bootstrapped business management software company founded by Asad Ali that has generated $10k/month serving over 5,000 companies, with a goal of reaching $100k MRR by the end of next year.
11. SmartTask ($48K/year)
Shyamal Parikh, founder of SmartTask, came up with the idea for his project management tool while working in his father's unorganized business. He saw the need for a tool that could help businesses manage tasks and sales in a more efficient and organized manner. After personally visiting hundreds of businesses and validating the idea, Shyamal decided to build SmartTask and has since attracted notable clients such as Amul, Adecco, and ABB.
How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 8
SmartTask is a project management tool that has received $300K in seed funding this year and it currently has 40,000+ active users, serving prominent brands such as Amul, Adecco, Ecolab, and ABB, among others, aiming to make people 3x more productive.
12. GanttProject ($36K/year)
Dmitry Barashev came across GanttProject while searching for open-source Gantt chart drawing software to use on Linux. He made a contribution by implementing a command-line export feature and eventually took over leadership and administration. With no paid advertising, GanttProject has grown steadily and generates $3000-5000 in monthly revenue, with loyal customers and a low churn rate. The team is now working on GanttProject Cloud, a low-cost commercial product offering collaboration features and online project storage.
How much money it makes: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 0
GanttProject, a popular free open-source project scheduling application, generated $3000-5000 monthly through the pay-what-you-want model, despite not spending a single dollar on paid traffic, and has now grown to over 2-3k monthly active users.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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