From 0 to $130K/month in 12 months

Updated: August 22nd, 2022

This is an archive of the Starter Story newsletter, which is read by 226K people every week.

In each issue, we share the biggest business ideas that are working today, along with case studies of founders who are making millions every month. Sign up today ➜


I Invented A $3.6M/Year Anti Blue Light Screen Protector

"Ocushield's flagship product is our blue light blocking screen protector and filters for smartphones, tablets, laptops, and monitors, selectively filtering harmful blue light while maintaining a crystal clear image, unlike software...ahem, night shift.

Serving over 150,000 + customers in 80 countries, Ocushield generates $300k per month - & this all started from a university research study I did 6 years ago. Our products are sold in Verizon, BestBuy, HSN & URBN Outfitters."


Reflecting On 20 Years Of Developing Video Streaming Solutions

"The surprising fact is that in our case, crowd marketing (for example, on Quora and Reddit) is very effective in promotion, increasing traffic to the website, and forming a brand image. We actively share expert opinions on topics related to our products on these platforms and recommend our solutions to users without spam."

article


I Built An $84K/Year App That Helps Pregnant Women Relax

"The app currently has around 5000 downloads a month, and average revenue of US$10K a month. When I decided to create this app I had no app-building or software background, no money to invest, and no potential investors. All I had was an idea and the belief that it was possible."


Our Online Meetings Platform Skyrocketed During The Pandemic And Now Makes $10.8M/Year

"A big temptation, especially in the early days, is to work with prominent and recognizable partners, for instance, in marketing or SEO. Most of our experiences regarding such collaborations were negative. We did not achieve what we were promised; responsiveness also left a lot to be desired. The lesson we've learned is that it's better to choose smaller agencies, for whom you'll be a big client, than large ones, who will treat you like one of many."


How We Tripled Revenue Last Year With Zero Paid Marketing

"Look how your competitors have gotten traction - and then copy them when appropriate. TikTok might not be the best place to learn when all of your competitors are using Google Ads and SEO. Instead, try to beat them at their own game - chances are, you'll learn more about what your customers want and what messaging works from doing so than you would by taking shots in the dark."


We Developed A $120K/Year Augmented Reality Solution For E-commerce

"Keep in mind the most important part of any business is sales. What we had to learn, we learned the hard way. With very little sales experience we grabbed the phones and started dialing.

We looked for niches in the niches and started to send emails, calls, texts, Instagram messages, Facebook messages, LinkedIn connections, we were all working on the sales part. It was tough and tiring. Once we got to the decision-maker, we tried to make a close even if it would mean we did it for free. What counted in the first stage was references."


This Admin Tool For Freelancers Now Generates $1.8M/Year [Denmark]

"Getting customers in the very early days was a question of chasing partnerships. We did a bunch of webinars with various partners on how to attract more customers as a freelancer and collected a lot of leads here. Simultaneously we got set up with paid search directed towards a few lead magnets that showed to work best.

Over the last twelve months, ***we've grown the business from 0 to around €130k* monthly revenue."


We Make $1.2M/Year Helping People Set Up Their Companies In UAE

"The best tool to attract and retain customers for us has always been Google. We used to do AdWords at the start but gradually moved to SEO optimization.

We managed to bring our main website to the top of Google search results by many keywords, for example, if you search for a UAE residence visa, you will find us first.

I would say that the production of unique content is the most efficient tool [to acquire customers]. It is also the most time-consuming, but trust me it pays off."

article


Looking for a job, or some work on the side?

Get your feet wet before you take the plunge into founder life.

Many of the companies we interview are hiring in operations, design, marketing, engineering, and more...

Check out our jobs portal for all new opportunities - new jobs are added every day!

--

Thanks for reading.

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.