Heather Caliendo, a journalist with a passion for reading, turned her love for books into a profitable business with Book Club Chat. Despite the saturation of the book blogging market, Heather stood out by creating a beautifully designed website and focusing on providing book club questions tailored to novels. With over 5,000 visitors a day and earning $4,000/month in ad revenue, Book Club Chat has become a go-to resource for book clubs around the world.

To build her business, she leveraged her husband's software engineering skills to design her website for free.

She invested $100 in a logo and incurred minimal annual and monthly costs for the website URL and hosting, respectively.

Initially, she bought a DSLR camera for professional book photos but later switched to using Canva for image creation to save time and bring variety to photo shoots.

Her main customer acquisition channel was SEO and organic search, focusing on keywords related to "book club questions" and "book club." She ranks high for the following keywords:

• Lessons in Chemistry book club questions
  
• Reviews: mad honey
  
• Yellowface book club questions

'Website showcasing mistakes in movies and TV shows.'

Jon Sandys came up with the idea for Movie Mistakes while watching Jurassic Park and noticing a mistake. He started the website as a side project to practice HTML, but as its popularity grew, he realized its potential for generating ad revenue and offering paid memberships. Now, the site receives around 450,000 monthly visitors and generates over $3,000 in ad revenue.

Sandys initially created a basic HTML website using a text editor, and later Microsoft Frontpage. He began working on it while studying at Southampton University in 1997 and did his best to keep it updated.

As the number of entries grew, he redesigned the website slightly, sorting it alphabetically. Although it started as a hobby, the website generated interest from others, which only fueled Sandys's enthusiasm to see how far it could go.

Organic SEO has always been the primary source of traffic for the website. Sandys believes in creating the best possible site with high-quality content, aligning with Google’s philosophy.

Movie Mistakes ranks for the following keywords:

• Movie mistake The Lion King.
  
• How did stan recognize Leon.
  
• Best quotes from the intern movie.

Sometimes, there is media coverage related to errors in major movie releases. In such cases, he sends press releases to movie blogs and newspapers to report significant information.

The site currently gets around 450,000 visitors a month, bringing in over $3,000 a month in ad revenue.

Devon Higgins joined PhotoUp in 2013 after meeting the founders at a Grand Rapids coworking space. Within a decade, Higgins helped scale the company from 10 to over 260 global employees and expects to close in on $3 million in revenue this year.

The founders combined their expertise in real estate and connections with talented developers and photo editors in the Philippines to build PhotoUp's initial product. Early on, they partnered with a developer group previously known by one of the founders to create a web platform allowing real estate agents and photographers to upload images, pay per photo, and receive edited images within 24 hours. The first prototype was an on-demand photo editing web service, focused on simple user flows for uploading and order tracking. Development leveraged remote collaboration, with most technical and editing work handled by the Philippine team. Building the first working version took several months and required iterations around user upload and delivery features. A major challenge was the unpredictability of on-demand revenue, which ultimately led them to rework the business model after about two years.

Organic Content/SEO From early on, PhotoUp invested in valuable, industry-specific content via their blog and service pages, targeting topics relevant to real estate photographers and agents. The content, managed by a dedicated team (including industry insiders as writers), established PhotoUp as a thought leader and drove the majority of inbound customer traffic for years. Why it worked: High-value, relevant content improved organic rankings and built trust with potential customers, consistently generating quality leads at low cost.

Industry Partnerships & Events They partnered with real estate industry blogs, appeared on podcasts, and attended real estate photography trade shows to grow awareness among target users. These activities helped them access highly relevant audiences directly and build credibility in a specialized market. Why it worked: Personal connections and visibility within the niche industry were critical in establishing trust and word-of-mouth referrals for a B2B creative service.

Social Media PhotoUp also maintained an active presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, sharing educational content, updates, and engaging with the real estate photography community. While not the largest lead source, this helped reinforce brand awareness and aided customer engagement. Why it worked: Social media presence amplified their thought leadership content and fostered a sense of community and accessibility.

Multiplayer card game platform with classic favorites.

Holger, a designer-turned-programmer from Copenhagen, acquired World of Card Games for its potential, increasing its revenue to $4,000/month within a year. Leveraging his experience with Online Solitaire, he seized the opportunity after ongoing discussions with the original owner.

World of Card Games was originally built over 10 years ago, so the current owner cannot provide the step-by-step process of the initial build. However, some technical details are known: the platform runs on Node.js, uses Redis for its database, and leverages SockJS for handling concurrent connections, which enables real-time multiplayer gameplay. Setting up the development environment locally took several days due to the age and complexity of the codebase, which presented challenges such as outdated libraries and a lack of clear documentation. The codebase has proven stable over time, but working in it requires patience and learning as the developer goes, especially when trying to understand or change legacy components. The main tools currently used include VSCode for editing and GPT-4/ChatGPT as a 'code buddy' to assist with tackling unfamiliar or obsolete technologies.

SEO
The owner performed a technical on-page SEO audit and implemented improvements to boost search rankings. After these updates, organic traffic increased steadily, as shown in their Ahrefs analytics.
Why it worked: Better SEO addressed both technical and content gaps, helping the site capture more high-intent users looking to play online card games.

Retention via Platform Stability
To retain existing users, the owner deliberately avoided major changes to site functionality, maintaining the familiar experience that loyal players expected.
Why it worked: Consistency reassured long-term users, minimizing churn that can result from disruptive updates or redesigns.

Subscriptions
A subscription model was introduced as an optional, ad-free experience, and early indications are that users have taken advantage of this new feature. However, the majority of revenue continues to come from advertising.
Why it worked: Providing a way to remove ads offered value to a segment of committed users, adding a predictable revenue stream alongside ads.

Cold email outreach tool for sales and marketing professionals.

In 2015, Dhruv and his co-founders, fueled by their experiences with email productivity in a shared office space, identified the need for a robust email tracking and automation tool, leading to the creation of Saleshandy, which now boasts a $1.5 million ARR.

The first version of Saleshandy was developed as a Chrome extension, relying on the founders’ personal savings due to their bootstrapped status. The small technical team used JavaScript, Node.js, and React.js as their primary tech stack to rapidly build the product in a utilitarian, "scrappy" fashion, emphasizing speed and willingness to experiment. Early development was highly iterative: the team engaged directly with users to gather feedback, quickly incorporating suggestions to refine the core functionality—primarily around email tracking—before expanding to more complex email outreach and automation features. Building fast rather than fixating on perfection let them reach a usable prototype and achieve initial traction efficiently. Challenges included major bugs (such as all emails in a mail merge being sent simultaneously, leading to blocked accounts), and technical hurdles with Outlook integration due to Microsoft's multiple software versions that necessitated separate extensions for each.

SEO They focused heavily on SEO by targeting long-tail, high-intent, and high-volume keywords, including how-to queries and competitor alternatives, and prioritized technical optimizations like site speed. This approach generated relevant organic traffic and improved visibility in search, leading to sustained acquisition of customers. Why it worked: Capturing searchers with strong intent delivered high-converting leads at a low cost.

Product-led word of mouth Satisfied users promoted Saleshandy organically by recommending it to peers, which steadily expanded the user base. Early adopters of their Chrome extension became their first customers and referred Saleshandy within their professional circles. Why it worked: A valuable, easy-to-use product encouraged organic referrals and reduced reliance on paid channels.

Affiliate marketing The company launched an affiliate program offering partners 25% recurring commissions for successful referrals, motivating bloggers and current users to promote the tool actively. This expanded Saleshandy's reach and brought in new customer segments. Why it worked: The performance-based incentive aligned with partners’ interests, leading to broadened distribution without up-front acquisition costs.

Online tool for displaying and managing website reviews.

Motuz came up with the idea when he was looking for a widget to embed Google reviews into his friend's website. He realized that many business owners would find such a widget useful, and so he decided to invest his resources into building a profitable solution.

To build the first version of ReviewsOnMyWebsite, Vitaly Motuz outsourced development to a developer on Upwork and chose PHP with the Laravel framework for the backend, which he was already familiar with. The product's purpose was straightforward: to aggregate Google and Facebook reviews, provide an embeddable widget for websites, and allow some customization of its appearance and layout. Motuz kept costs low by designing the logo himself using a free online logo editor and customizing a website template from ThemeForest instead of hiring a professional designer. The initial MVP took around five weeks to finish and cost about $2,500. One significant challenge was finding an available, fitting domain name without overspending; ultimately, "ReviewsOnMyWebsite" was chosen because it clearly described the core benefit. The MVP focused on core functionalities only, and key features included automatic review import and widget updates, saving users from needing to refresh their embedded reviews manually.

A "powered by" link on free plan review widgets has generated traffic and backlinks, creating a snowball effect. Organic search has also helped to attract customers.

AI-driven SEO and content marketing platform for SMBs.

Mayank Jain, along with his co-founders Gaurav Goyal and Saurabh Wadhawan, came up with the idea for Scalenut after spending a decade each in the digital startup industry. They noticed the challenges that brands face in scaling their content marketing efforts and saw an opportunity to create a platform that helps businesses drive organic traffic and scale their content production. With their MVP product launched in September 2021, Scalenut has experienced rapid growth, with over 100k users and $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue.

Scalenut's development journey began with the creation of their Talent Marketplace platform in December 2020, which connected brands with vetted content writers. This early version was designed to address core content creation challenges faced by SMBs. Over the first six months, they worked with over 100 SMBs, gaining insights that highlighted broader issues in scaling content operations. By September 2021, Scalenut had developed the MVP of their SaaS platform, which included functionalities for SEO research and content generation, tested over a 5-day intensive workathon with their team of 10-13 members. This involved caffeine-fueled sessions and countless iterations to ensure product robustness before launch. The process wasn't without its challenges, requiring immense energy and problem-solving to refine features that outperformed some established market competitors. Their tech stack includes Scala for the backend and various tools like AWS for cloud services, Figma for UI/UX design, and Loom for video production, demonstrating their use of a broad range of technologies to build a comprehensive content solution.

Organic Traffic and SEO

Scalenut has effectively leveraged organic traffic as a primary growth channel, with over 80% of its traffic coming through organic and direct channels. This approach focuses on increasing the digital footprint without relying heavily on paid media. By concentrating on creating valuable content assets and employing SEO strategies, they have managed to build a sustainable business model with a significant flow of users discovering their platform from search engines and direct visits. This strategy proves successful because it attracts potential customers actively looking for solutions, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.

Customer Success and Support

The emphasis on customer experience and support has been a crucial factor in Scalenut's growth. They prioritize their users by focusing on delivering exceptional service, which significantly boosts retention rates and customer satisfaction. Their dedication to customer service is evidenced by winning the G2 Summer Leader award in the content creation category. By investing in customer success early on, Scalenut has built a loyal customer base that continues to return and potentially advocate for the brand, contributing to organic growth through word-of-mouth.

Social Media and Community Engagement

Scalenut uses social media and community engagement as additional channels to connect with its audience. While they maintain a social presence across various platforms, the emphasis is not on aggressive marketing spend but on building relationships and engaging with users through community platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. This approach is beneficial as it nurtures a community of users who support each other and share insights, further extending Scalenut's reach and enhancing user retention by fostering a sense of belonging.

Referral and Long-term User Plans

The company also benefits from a referral system and offers incentives for users to sign up for longer-term plans. This approach not only aids in customer acquisition by leveraging existing users to bring in new ones but also strengthens customer loyalty and stickiness to the platform. Long-term plans encourage users to stay engaged with Scalenut for an extended period, allowing them to fully realize the product's benefits while providing consistent revenue for the business.

Ryan Kulp, a marketer and self-taught developer, acquired a social proof tool called Notify in 2016 and rebranded it as Fomo. Through strategic product-led growth, integrations, and a focus on social proof, Fomo scaled its business by 600% and achieved over $1 million in annual revenue.

Because Fomo began as an acquisition of the existing social proof app Notify, the initial product had a codebase in place, but major changes were needed. The founders quickly realized the legacy code was tightly coupled to Shopify and not extendable, so they started by making small modifications to support other platforms like BigCommerce and WooCommerce. To progress from a Shopify plugin to a universal platform, they invested all revenue into hiring a development agency that provided design, front-end, and back-end resources, while the founder learned coding basics and contributed bug fixes. The team experimented by monkey-patching the original codebase to identify the core backend logic to abstract for extensibility, helping them build integrations with many platforms. It took about a year of evenings and weekends, with the founder staying in a full-time job until mid-2017 to fund aggressive development, encountering challenges around scaling their own capacity and replatforming a legacy app while operating with tight financial constraints.

Product Integrations Fomo's most effective acquisition channel was expanding its integration ecosystem, going from just Shopify to 100+ platforms (e.g., BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Squarespace). They responded to direct customer requests, mined integration landing page search data for demand, and required upfront payments from customers for building new integrations when feasible. Why it worked: Each new integration unlocked a fresh segment of users searching for social proof solutions compatible with their platform, making Fomo discoverable where intent was highest.

Review Marketplaces & Case Studies Fomo put significant effort into gathering and publishing customer reviews on platforms like Shopify, Capterra, G2 Crowd, and maintained a public ledger and a library of over 100 detailed case studies. These reviews and case studies acted as testimonials and trust-builders across high-traffic decision points. Why it worked: Social proof from real users reduced buyer uncertainty, matched the core value prop of the product, and drove conversions on marketplaces where Fomo was being evaluated.

Acquisitions and Microsites They acquired small competitors (e.g. Conversion Booster, Refurther) and specialized microsites to broaden their user base and build authority. These acquisitions provided instant access to established customer lists and increased brand presence in relevant search queries. Why it worked: Acquiring assets with existing distribution gave Fomo quick exposure to targeted audiences and compounded organic visibility.

Charlie stumbled upon Product Hunt and attended indie hacker meetups. Eventually, he saw how encouraging meet ups are, leading him to start with the idea validation process.

Charlie Ward built Ramen Club by initially creating an in-person co-working and networking experience for indie hackers. The first product was a physical event held at co-working spaces that included structured sessions like standups, lunch breaks, and demo presentations. They used simple tools such as Mailchimp for email management, Carrd for the landing page, and flyers for offline promotion. The prototype was straightforward and required minimal financial investment, funded by freelance work, and was developed and launched over just a few days. Transitioning to an online community with the onset of COVID-19, they faced the challenge of maintaining engagement and iterated on their offerings based on member feedback, adding features like focused online sessions, expert Q&As, and workshops.

After getting the initial 20 members through his personal network, Charlie began more and more communities, implemented SEO and twitter activities, and word of mouth began to revolve.

SaaS gifting platform for sales and marketing teams.

Dmitriy Peregudov came up with the idea for his business, Giftsenda, after running his previous company, GiftBasketsOverseas.com. He noticed that many of his customers would benefit from a bulk gifting solution to automate their sending experience, which led him to create Giftsenda, a SaaS platform that offers personalized gift options with CRM integration and ROI measurement. Within 6 months of launching, Giftsenda has experienced solid growth.

Giftsenda's founders leveraged their parent company's 18 years of global gift delivery experience and existing technical infrastructure to accelerate the build of the SaaS platform. The initial product was developed by a dedicated team of four backend and frontend developers. They custom-built the software, focusing on essential features for corporate users such as CRM integrations and automated gifting workflows. The prototype was completed in approximately eight months, incorporating customer feedback and real-world use cases by inviting select clients to test the platform early. Key challenges included developing specialized integrations (e.g., with Salesforce and HubSpot), rapidly iterating on features based on customer requests, and balancing affordability with robust global delivery capabilities.

SEO & PPC Giftsenda invested early and heavily in search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising, targeting both B2B and B2C audiences searching for corporate gifting solutions. These channels became the primary sources of customer acquisition, with most users first discovering Giftsenda through Google search. Why it worked: High-intent keywords drove qualified leads directly to the platform, resulting in measurable ROI and scalable growth.

SaaS Directory Listings & Affiliate Marketing They gained additional exposure by listing Giftsenda in relevant SaaS directories and partnering with affiliates who promoted the platform to targeted business audiences. Why it worked: Directories and affiliates increased Giftsenda's visibility among decision-makers searching for gifting automation tools, resulting in consistent traffic and trust.

Retargeting & Social Media Marketing Retargeting campaigns and active LinkedIn/Facebook marketing helped re-engage site visitors and reach corporate buyers, particularly those interested in sales and marketing automation. Why it worked: Retargeting ensured that interested leads stayed engaged and moved further down the funnel, while social media outreach reached professionals where they network and make purchasing decisions.

and staying updated with the latest trends and strategies is crucial. Some of the most influential resources for me have been "SEO 2021: Learn search engine optimization with ... 150 problems with ... solutions" by William Ross, "Digital Marketing for Dummies" by Ryan Deiss and Russ Henneberry, and "The One Thing" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. These books have provided valuable insights and actionable strategies that have helped shape my approach to growing my business. Additionally, I regularly listen to podcasts such as "The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast" by Pat Flynn and "The GaryVee Audio Experience" by Gary Vaynerchuk. These podcasts provide valuable knowledge and inspiration from successful entrepreneurs in the industry.

The founder initially created the first product—a website for social media captions—by self-learning web design through a course at NIIT and following online tutorials, especially YouTube videos. The very first version was built using Blogger, a free blogging platform, but was later migrated to WordPress for greater flexibility and features. Content was written and optimized manually, with an emphasis on writing unique and original captions based on current trends and events. It took approximately 6 to 7 months of consistent content publishing, experimentation, and on-page SEO optimization before their first article ranked highly on Google. Early challenges included a lack of traffic, limited writing experience, and no external help in development or marketing, making perseverance and incremental learning essential to the build process.

SEO From the start, OurCaptions focused on optimizing articles for trending keywords with high search volume and low competition, ensuring all content was original and regularly updated. This consistency resulted in most articles ranking on Google's first page, ultimately driving about 90% of their 200,000+ monthly visitors from organic search. Why it worked: Targeting timely, relevant topics and strong on-page SEO consistently brought highly qualified, intent-driven users.

Pinterest The team leveraged Pinterest to share visual snippets from their articles, which helped them reach more than 1 million monthly views on the platform. Pinterest’s search-oriented audience was well-aligned with their caption content and linked directly to their site. Why it worked: Pinterest enabled broad reach for visual and text-based content, capturing users actively seeking inspiration, which matched their offering.

Email Marketing They built a subscriber list of over 10,000 using Mailchimp to send updates and new articles to their audience. This deepened engagement and encouraged repeat visits to the website. Why it worked: Building an email list allowed them to connect with loyal readers directly, driving consistent traffic without relying on search or social algorithms.

AI-powered Twitter growth tool for audience monetization.

These two founders worked on launching a product every month. And every time, the tech co-founder brought in a few early sales because he had a small but high-quality audience on Twitter. The marketing founder tried too, but failed.

At the time, they had built up a database containing thousands of tweets that they were using for another product. So he thought he could maybe use the best-performing content as inspiration for his own tweets.

The tech co-founder made a very quick prototype, and… it worked! Writing became better and quicker, and he achieved a higher engagement.

That was the first version of Tweet Hunter: a searchable library of high-performing tweets.

It took them one week to reach $150 of MRR. One month to hit $600. After 3 months, they were at $3,500.

The core idea was simple: users should be able to search for a topic, and in return get relevant tweets that overperformed. So they built a very basic search field and tweet tiles.

Overall, the building of the MVP took about a week and $50, including the domain name. It was a “viral tweet search engine”. No schedule, no automation.

They didn’t take any early validation steps. Didn’t ask people if “they were facing that problem” if “they would be interested in X” or “how much they would pay for Y”.

They felt very strongly that the only way to validate a product is through revenue. Their focus was on building a non-optimal MVP as quickly as possible and try to get sales. If they could do that, it’d be an indicator that they could do 10x better with a more advanced product.

They've launched a bunch of free side products that are related to Tweet Hunter in the problem they help solve, and for which Tweet Hunter makes a logical next step for serious users. Some examples include a tool that retweets everything you’ve ever retweeted; and a tool to find the best times of the day to tweet. They also have made a lot of free tweet collections on specific topics. Some of them were launched on Product Hunt, and a few keep bringing in traffic today.

Another key strategy was paying influential people who feel it's a good match for their brand. They’ve developed a network of people who love the product and support us. Similar to this, they managed to enlist 450+ affiliates who promote their product for a commission.

Dylan Ogline, the founder of Ogline Digital, had a history of failed business projects before he honed in on digital marketing management. With a simple landing page, lean operations, and focused targeting on Google Ads, he quickly found success, reaching six figures in a few months and seven figures within two years. Now, with a team of 12, Dylan's goal for the next five years is to grow to $5-10 million in annual revenue while prioritizing his team's growth and success.

Ogline Digital’s first product was a lean, direct-response digital marketing management service focused on running Google and Facebook ads for small-to-medium businesses. The founder started by repurposing his earlier freelance service offering—primarily setting up and managing ad campaigns using Google Ads and Facebook Ads platforms, with basic reporting and optimization. Tools used at the early stage included Google Ads Manager, Facebook Ads Manager, simple landing page builders like Unbounce, and fundamental communications tools such as email and Loom for client updates. There was no complex tech stack or software development: the 'prototype' was the actual ad management service delivered directly with minimal infrastructure. The first working version was operational within months, simply offering the service to existing web design clients, iterating based on their needs. Major challenges included resisting the urge to overcomplicate the offering and learning to deliver value quickly without “perfecting” every detail before signing the first clients.

Google Ads Google Ads has been Ogline Digital's primary customer acquisition channel since launch. They targeted businesses searching for help with lead generation and digital marketing, capturing intent-driven leads looking for paid customer acquisition support. Why it worked: Google Ads brought in high-quality prospects actively seeking marketing solutions, which reduced sales friction and improved conversion rates.

Upwork In the last year, Ogline Digital began using Upwork as an additional channel to land new clients and test strategies taught in their education program. This approach required fewer upfront costs compared to Google or Facebook ads. Why it worked: Upwork gave quick access to businesses already shopping for marketing agencies, providing a cost-effective acquisition pathway for service-based work.

Cold Outreach/Existing Client Network At launch, the founder directly reached out to prior clients and relevant contacts, securing the first few accounts through personal referrals and targeted outreach. Why it worked: Leveraging an existing network enabled rapid validation and initial cashflow without large marketing spends.

Facebook Retargeting Primarily used to stay top-of-mind with website visitors and warm leads captured through other channels. Why it worked: Retargeting increased touchpoints and conversions by reminding interested prospects about the service.

Lindsey Allard, the founder of PlaybookUX, came up with the idea for her business after realizing there weren't many cost-effective all-in-one research tools for startups, SMBs, and freelancers in 2018. She wanted to create a tool that would allow any freelancer with an idea to quickly get feedback from their target customers, and ended up attracting huge brand names like Google. PlaybookUX has achieved profitability within its first year and currently has 1,100 customers, with a revenue of $150k/month as of early 2022.

The founders started by manually conducting user interviews using LinkedIn to find UX researchers and designers, and Zoom for remote calls, offering gift cards as incentives. Initial prototypes were created as low-fidelity wireframes in Sketch, then iterated through multiple research and feedback cycles, leading to high-fidelity prototypes in InVision. The MVP involved developing several components: a web-based company platform, an admin platform, a tester platform, and desktop and mobile apps for testers, leveraging Apple and Android native recording tools. The first working version took five months to build, during which they prioritized security by hiring a DevOps manager and utilized free credits from Google, Amazon, and Stripe to manage costs. Early challenges included the technical complexity of building multiple platforms and dependency on native OS recording features, as well as managing rapid iterations based on user feedback.

SEO / Content Marketing They heavily invested in publishing content and comparison articles (such as usertesting-alternatives) on their blog prior to and after product launch, resulting in immediate organic sign-ups and consistent traffic growth. Why it worked: High-value, purchase-intent content attracted target users searching for better or more affordable UX research tools, enabling organic customer acquisition without paid ads.

Word of Mouth Their focus on delivering valuable features and implementing customer feedback fostered word-of-mouth referrals, which continue to be a primary source of new customers. Why it worked: Satisfied users shared their positive experiences, creating trust and credibility in a space where reputation and results matter.

Internationalization They translated their platform into 30 languages early on, making PlaybookUX accessible to non-English-speaking customers who felt underserved by competitors. Why it worked: This strategic localization opened up international markets, attracting customers seeking UX research solutions in their native languages.

AI-powered writing assistant for non-native English speakers.

Matej Guid, CEO and co-founder of InstaText, came up with the idea for his AI-based online writing assistant while working as a professor and struggling with editing academic papers. Leveraging advances in AI, Guid and his team created a tool that uses reinforcement learning to continuously improve text, resulting in over half a million active users and more than $50k in monthly revenue in just two years. InstaText was even named the Slovenian Startup of the Year in 2020.

The founders began building InstaText by experimenting with AI and natural language processing methods on the problem of rewriting academic English for non-native speakers. Initial development started with Matej Guid's own academic papers, leveraging emerging deep learning and reinforcement learning techniques to improve text readability. In 2018, after promising prototype results, they partnered with a language technology expert, then engaged front-end and back-end developers in early 2019. The first working product was tested by friends and professionals in May 2019; key tools likely included Python for AI development, web app frameworks for the frontend, and cloud-based infrastructure, though specific frameworks are not detailed. By September 2019, they had an MVP ready for broader feedback, having iterated rapidly to balance user experience and AI output. Major challenges included ensuring the AI produced output that felt genuinely native and readable, rather than just correcting grammar, and building a usable online interface without a large full-time team.

Academic Meetups and Live Presentations The team organized small, targeted in-person meetups for academics and researchers, which helped them build credibility and identify early evangelists. These sessions allowed direct product demonstrations and relationship-building, leading to over $30,000 in sales within two months in early 2020. Why it worked: Personal interaction and a deep understanding of academics’ pain points drove trust and rapid word-of-mouth in a tight-knit community.

B2B Sales with Focused Outreach A commission-based salesperson focused exclusively on academic institutions, giving presentations at faculties and research centers and answering questions directly. This led to strong B2B sales growth and near-100% retention with institutional customers. Why it worked: Focusing on a well-understood niche enabled tailored pitches and high retention, with each renewal providing cross-sell and upsell opportunities.

Online Sales Optimization through Payment Integration After initial friction with bank transfers and unclear pricing, InstaText fully integrated Paddle for global credit card/PayPal payments in late 2020 and refined their pricing model. This unlocked worldwide online sales, which quickly surpassed B2B revenues and contributed to quadrupling annual revenue from $130k in 2020 to nearly $600k in 2021. Why it worked: Streamlining global payment and purchase flows removed major barriers to entry for international users, allowing efficient online scaling.

Digital Advertising With a revised pricing model and product-market fit, they reinvested online earnings into digital advertising starting December 2020, leading to rapid online channel growth. Why it worked: Once payment friction was removed and user personas were clear, ads became an efficient way to reach new users globally.