Starter Story – Details, episodes & analysis

This is the story of how a $3M/year business got its first 100 paying customers. Every tactic, step by step, so you can do the same. *Get the free $1M Solopreneur MVP guide:* https://clickhubspot.com/vgk Follow Joseph: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhylee/ Check out Supademo: https://supademo.com/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: 0:00 - The $3M SaaS 1:29 - App overview and data 2:30 - Founder background 3:38 - Early app validation 4:30 - First 100 customers (part 1) 6:35 - Find your $1M MVP 7:32 - First 100 customers (part 2) 8:03 - Do things that don't scale 9:08 - Be everywhere your users are 10:00 - What early saas founders get wrong 10:52 - App demo 12:38 - Tech stack 13:23 - One piece of advice 14:09 - Pat's reflections

Tom was an IT admin doing the most tedious job imaginable. Nobody was solving it, so he built the solution himself. Now it makes $60K/month with 1,000+ customers. This is his exact playbook for finding and building in boring niches. Get compliant: https://www.vanta.com/lp/demo-1k?utm_campaign=1k_offer&utm_source=starter-story&utm_medium=paid-partner *Free database → 190+ micro-SaaS ideas making millions:* https://clickhubspot.com/kdm Follow Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mahony/ Check out Pckgr: https://intunepckgr.com/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: 0:00 - Riches in (boring) niches 1:32 - Business Overview 2:10 - Coming up with the idea 3:05 - Finding first customers 4:37 - Make sure your app is compliant 5:24 - How to find a niche saas idea 7:11 - Hundreds of micro-saas ideas 7:57 - Boring saas demo 9:08 - Doesn't have to be fancy! 9:30 - Tech stack 9:59 - Final piece of advice (Just Start) 10:59 - Pat and Gus reflections 11:39 - Start building your idea

Jacky was making $500K/month. Then AI and Google's algorithm updates wiped out nearly everything. This is how he rebuilt to $250K/month across 13 different businesses... and the one distribution strategy that made the comeback possible. *Get our free guide to find a $1M business idea:* https://clickhubspot.com/emx Follow Jacky: https://x.com/indexsy Check out his projects: https://jackychou.com/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: 0:00 - Don’t focus on just one thing 1:46 - Business breakdowns 2:31 - Jacky’s background 3:07 - AI almost killed his business 4:03 - Find your next idea 4:40 - The platform that saved his business 5:37 - YouTube strategy overview 6:12 - How to get started on YouTube 8:50 - Diversify your revenue 9:28 - Pat and Gus reflections

Ben makes $17K/month from a SaaS he grew without ads, going viral, or being creative. His strategy: make the same video over and over again. This is his full breakdown. *Free database → 190+ micro-SaaS ideas making millions:* https://clickhubspot.com/gdv Follow Ben: https://x.com/iambenleavitt Check out FollowBuddy: https://followbuddy.com/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: 0:00 - I dare you to try this strategy 0:44 - Business stats and data 1:55 - Founder background 2:36 - Finding the business idea 4:08 - How he gets customers 5:37 - Find YOUR micro-saas idea 6:30 - The YouTube Search playbook 12:22 - What if I don't have experience? 13:00 - How FollowBuddy works 13:51 - Tech stack 14:17 - Advice for non-technical founders 15:08 - Move fast on small ideas 16:02 - Pat and Gus reflections 17:29 - Build your idea!

While everyone else fights over iOS, 92% of Steve's mobile app revenue comes from Android. This is his exact playbook. *Get our free Mobile App Growth Cheat Sheet:* https://clickhubspot.com/dkn Follow Steve: https://x.com/stevehoyek Check out Journable: https://www.journable.com/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: 0:00 - Everyone is sleeping on Android 1:05 - Founder intro 1:25 - Business overview and metrics 2:40 - Finding the idea for Journable 3:54 - Android vs iOS 5:42 - Growth overview 6:56 - Google ads strategy 7:38 - Ad example 8:43 - Mobile app growth tactics 9:16 - The Android playbook 14:11 - Android app ideas 16:44 - How Journable works 18:05 - Tech stack 19:07 - Start documenting your journey 20:31 - Pat and Gus reflections: what we learned

Evan built a mobile app and scaled it to $14K/month in just 4 months. And he did it with just ONE strategy. This is his exact playbook for building a successful mobile app in 2026. *Get our free Organic Short Form Playbook:* https://clickhubspot.com/sml Follow Evan: https://x.com/EvanYadegari Check out Locked: https://trylocked.app/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. We received signed permission from Evan's parent/guardian for him to appear on this channel. Chapters: 0:00 - Meet the kid making $14K/month 1:29 - What’s your story? 1:45 - App overview and metrics 2:39 - Founder background 3:36 - Build timeline 4:05 - Growth strategy overview 4:43 - Influencer content example 5:30 - Data behind the content 6:27 - Organic Short Form Playbook 7:19 - The Influencer Playbook 9:17 - How the app works (Locked demo) 10:01 - App tech stack 10:32 - Advice to other founders 11:24 - Pat and Gus: what did you think?

Most app founders launch in silence. Umberto made $120K in 24 hours from an app that wasn't even finished. This is his exact launch playbook. *Free Course: Ship your first iOS app in 7 days* https://clickhubspot.com/gfd Follow Umberto: https://www.linkedin.com/in/umberto-mezzadra-a6a77113/ Check out Floga: https://floga.io/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: 0:00 - The fastest way to validate your idea 1:19 - What's your story? 1:44 - App breakdown and stats 2:35 - Coming up with the app idea 4:30 - Lifetime Deals Strategy 6:44 - Build your own iOS app 8:18 - The email launch sequence 11:37 - How to have a great launch (playbook) 15:22 - Are lifetime deals bad? 17:44 - Floga app demo 18:48 - Tech stack 19:14 - Stop waiting for perfection 20:08 - Pat and Gus reflections: our takeaways

Nevo built an open source SaaS called Postiz. Over the past few years he has gotten over 25K GitHub stars and grown the app to over $17K MRR. This video breaks down how to market open-source projects in 2026 and beyond. Book a demo with Delve → https://delve.co/book-demo?utm_source=starterstory&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=primary-jan-28-26 Grab the niche communities playbook → https://build.starterstory.com/build/playbook-communities?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=nevo Build your own app with AI → https://build.starterstory.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=nevo1 Follow Nevo: https://x.com/wickedguro Check out his app: https://postiz.com/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 0:58 - Niche Communities Playbook 1:40 - Who is Nevo? 2:14 - Business Analytics 4:06 - Founder Background 5:14 - Get Compliant with Delve 6:22 - Why Open Source is a Great Opportunity 10:31 - Open Source Playbook 16:07 - Niche Open Source Communities 17:15 - How the App Works 19:05 - Tech Stack 20:39 - Advice for Open Source 22:04 - Pat's Final Word

Romàn Czerny runs a SaaS that makes $34K per month. And much of his early growth is thanks to a genius Reddit strategy. This video is a focused, tactical Reddit playbook: the templates that work, how to avoid getting banned, and how to turn Reddit into a consistent revenue channel for your app. Subscribe to The Hustle → https://clickhubspot.com/8abd40 Grab the niche communities playbook → https://build.starterstory.com/build/playbook-communities?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=roman Build your own app with AI → https://build.starterstory.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=roman1 Follow Roman: https://x.com/romanbuildsaas Check out his app: https://gojiberry.ai/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary. Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:01 Grab the Reddit playbook (free) 00:01:33 Who is Roman 00:02:03 App dashboard and analytics 00:03:05 Founder background 00:03:52 How Reddit impacted the business 00:04:30 Example of Reddit post 00:05:39 Check out the Hustle (sponsor) 00:06:37 Why a Reddit post goes viral 00:07:48 The complete Reddit playbook 00:10:29 Handling haters on Reddit 00:11:49 How his app works 00:12:39 Marketing tech stack 00:13:41 Final advice 00:14:14 Pat and Gus reflections 00:16:09 CHeck out Starter Story Build

Ayush built Elphas, an AI app that’s making $150K/year. He grew the business in two phases: Phase 1 was Reddit and Phase 2 was SEO. This video breaks down his exact Reddit playbook and his SEO strategy, that helped him go from zero to $150K/year in just a few years.Grab the niche communities playbook → https://build.starterstory.com/build/playbook-communities?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=ayushBuild your own app with AI → https://build.starterstory.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=ayush1Follow Ayush: https://x.com/ayushtweetshereCheck out his app: https://elephas.app/🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobsThis video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.