In March 2023, Louis was experimenting with AI APIs and built four tiny products in a week. One of them, AudioPen, quickly resonated with users on Twitter, now generating $15,000 per month.

Louis, the founder of AudioPen, crafted the initial version of the product in a remarkably short span, leveraging the No Code tool Bubble.io, which costs around $30 per month. Starting with designs sketched out in Figma, he built the MVP of AudioPen in just about 12 hours during a Half Day Build event he organized, which pushed participants to go from idea to revenue rapidly. Despite not being a designer or developer by profession, Louis effectively utilized these tools to create a scrappy but functional initial version. The process involved trial and error, and while the MVP was swiftly constructed, he spent months refining the product thereafter. The journey presented its challenges, but the constraints of the event helped streamline the product’s features to what's essential, proving more demanding than initially anticipated due to the need for focus and iteration.

Word of Mouth

AudioPen's growth heavily relies on word of mouth. As a one-person team, the founder, Louis, focuses on keeping things straightforward and prioritizes product quality to naturally encourage customers to spread the word.

Why it worked: Word of mouth is powerful because potential customers trust recommendations from friends and family more than traditional advertising. As AudioPen provided a valuable and reliable service, satisfied users became advocates for the product, sharing their positive experiences with others. This organic growth channel is cost-effective and builds a community around the product.

Affiliate Program

To boost word-of-mouth growth, AudioPen introduced an affiliate program. This approach incentivizes existing users to refer the product to new users by offering them rewards or commissions.

Why it worked: An affiliate program combines the trust of word-of-mouth marketing with a tangible incentive, encouraging users to actively promote the product within their network. This strategy effectively boosts customer acquisition without significant upfront marketing expenses.

Email Updates

AudioPen uses regular email updates to maintain engagement with existing users. These updates are personalized and keep users informed about new features and product changes.

Why it worked: Email updates foster a sense of community and loyalty among users by making them feel like they are part of the product's journey. This communication channel educates users about new offerings and features, ensuring they remain engaged and satisfied with the product, which can lead to higher retention and potential referrals.

Daniel Nguyen, a seasoned product engineer, identified a recurring frustration with constantly switching between ChatGPT's web interface and native Mac applications like Xcode. This inconvenience highlighted a gap in workflow efficiency for Mac users who needed seamless AI integration within their existing tools. His personal annoyance sparked the idea for Bolt AI, an all-in-one client that embedded AI directly into macOS, enhancing productivity without the need for frequent application toggling.

To validate this idea, Daniel built a basic version of the product, which he shared with potential users on platforms like Twitter and Indie Hackers. The feedback from over 100 early beta testers helped him fine-tune the software, confirming that others shared his workflow pain point. By actively engaging with users and iterating based on their feedback, Daniel was able to solve a real problem, leading to a viable product.

Initially, Daniel faced the challenge of determining whether his idea had broader appeal beyond his own needs. His approach of building in public, sharing updates, and gaining insights from the indie hacking community helped overcome this hurdle, revealing that his personal need for improved workflow integration resonated with many others. From this journey, Daniel learned that real-world frustrations can often lead to innovative solutions, and listening closely to user feedback is vital in refining a product.

Daniel Nguyen built BoltAI by leveraging his background in product engineering and focusing on deep integration with macOS. The first version of BoltAI was developed using a tech stack that includes Swift for native app development, SwiftUI for user interfaces, and AppKit, SQLite, and Sparkle for additional functionality and database management. The initial prototype was completed during a weekend, though it was not aesthetically refined, which allowed for rapid feedback and iteration.

The project presented challenges in seamlessly integrating AI capabilities into native Mac applications, a task that was more complex than initially anticipated due to the need to balance performance and user experience. Daniel overcame these hurdles by continuously updating the product based on customer feedback, launching in May 2023, and serving over 7,000 customers through more than 100 iterative updates.

Going Viral on X (Twitter)

Daniel Nguyen leveraged his presence on X (formerly Twitter) to promote BoltAI by building in public and sharing regular updates on new features. This was instrumental in securing his initial customer base. A retweet from a well-known figure, Pieter Levels, helped BoltAI go viral, which substantially accelerated growth.

Why it worked: By engaging with a community of AI enthusiasts and consistently sharing updates, Daniel tapped into a network of potential customers interested in AI technology. The viral post not only expanded reach but also validated the product's appeal.

AI Directories and SEO

After initial success on social media, Daniel listed BoltAI on AI directories, which proved beneficial. Additionally, investing time in search engine optimization (SEO) for help articles started to show results, driving more organic traffic to the site.

Why it worked: AI directories are dedicated platforms that attract users interested in AI products, increasing visibility among the right audience. SEO efforts, particularly through informative content, ensured a steady influx of visitors actively seeking AI solutions.

Paid Ads

BoltAI also invested in paid ads to reach a broader audience. By placing ads in AI-specific directories and utilizing pay-per-click strategies, BoltAI continued to gain traction beyond the initial phases.

Why it worked: Paid advertising allowed Daniel to target specific demographics and reach beyond the organic growth limitations of social media and directories. This approach helped maintain steady growth by attracting users who may not have encountered BoltAI otherwise.

Setapp Platform

Leveraging the Setapp platform allowed BoltAI to tap into subscription-based customers. The Setapp team also promoted BoltAI, resulting in increased visibility and sales.

Why it worked: Partnering with a platform like Setapp provided access to a new customer base while benefiting from the platform’s promotion, which not only increased immediate sales but also attracted customers for long-term subscription revenue.

Phil McParlane came up with the idea for 4 Day Week from his personal desire for better work-life balance. After feeling the constraints of a traditional five-day workweek, Phil was curious about alternatives and found the idea of a four-day week intriguing. His research revealed increased productivity and other benefits from shorter workweeks, yet only a few companies offered such options, which were hard to find.

To validate his idea, Phil created a simple landing page and shared it on a tech-focused platform, receiving an unexpectedly high number of sign-ups within a short period. This initial interest confirmed his hypothesis about demand for shorter workweeks.

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Encouraged by this validation, he refined his approach, ensuring the platform effectively connected job seekers with employers offering four-day work schedules. His journey highlights the importance of aligning business ideas with personal values and validating the concept early on through real-world feedback.

Phil McParlane built 4 Day Week, a job board specializing in four-day workweek positions, by leveraging his background as a software developer and data scientist to create and iterate his product efficiently. Initially, he created a simple landing page using Webflow and shared it on Hacker News to gauge interest. After receiving 400 signups in the first two days, Phil quickly realized the potential demand and proceeded to develop a more robust version of the site using React for the frontend and Go for the backend, although he later transitioned to Node.js for better compatibility with server-side rendering. The development was swift, with a basic version of the site operational within a week. Phil focused on creating a lean and efficient codebase, often hacking together features from previous projects, and he prioritized building SEO and content marketing strategies through blog posts to drive organic traffic. Despite the excitement of developing a solution that resonated with many, challenges included transitioning to server-side rendering for SEO purposes, which required significant technical adjustments and learning.

LinkedIn

Phil McParlane, the founder of 4 Day Week, has leveraged LinkedIn effectively to grow his business. As Twitter became less effective for driving traffic, Phil shifted his focus to LinkedIn because its audience showed a keen interest in the concept of a four-day workweek. He regularly posts engaging content, which often goes viral, drawing significant traffic and attention to his job board.

Why it worked: LinkedIn's professional networking environment is ideal for promoting job-related services. By tapping into the platform's large business-oriented audience, Phil reached professionals interested in work-life balance. His content resonated well because it aligned with LinkedIn users' interests in modern work trends, thereby increasing engagement and leading to higher visibility for his business.

Blog and SEO

To increase organic traffic to 4 Day Week, Phil invested in SEO and content marketing. He consistently publishes blog articles about the benefits and logistics of a four-day workweek, increasing the site's search engine visibility. Despite initially handling blog writing internally, he later employed a professional agency to produce high-quality SEO content, ensuring reach and engagement remained high.

Why it worked: The strategy capitalizes on content that resonates with both job seekers and businesses looking to understand more about flexible working models. By providing valuable information, the blog attracts visitors who are interested in the concept, thereby increasing traffic. This increased visibility on search engines helps bring in consistent organic traffic, which is crucial for long-term growth.

Hacker News

At the start, 4 Day Week gained significant traction by posting on Hacker News, where Phil introduced the concept with a simple landing page. This approach quickly generated 400 sign-ups within just a few days, validating interest in the idea and setting a strong foundation for subsequent development.

Why it worked: Hacker News is a popular platform among tech-savvy professionals and entrepreneurs who appreciate innovative solutions to work challenges. By sharing his project in this community, Phil accurately targeted an audience receptive to new work models, leading to rapid initial interest and sign-ups.

These acquisition channels played crucial roles in enhancing the visibility and credibility of 4 Day Week, contributing to its growth and success in promoting flexible work arrangements.

Natalia's business idea for Sustainably Chic stemmed from her passion for sustainable fashion, which she developed after becoming fatigued with the industry’s wastefulness and unethical practices.

At the time, sustainable fashion was not a popular topic and she felt like no one talked about it.

Motivated by a desire to create an impactful platform and realizing the lack of resources in sustainable fashion, she started her online community to showcase ethical brands, which quickly gained a significant following.

Natalia purchased a domain name and selected Squarespace as her blogging platform, incurring a monthly cost of around $30.

She emphasized the importance of securing her brand by trademarking "Sustainably Chic" and acquiring a business license through legalzoom.com, which together cost about $1,200.

Recognizing the need for high-quality visuals, Natalia invested in a DSLR camera, several lenses, and a tripod, spending under $2,000 on photography equipment.

She leveraged her proficiency in Adobe for content creation. Her focus shifted to branding and achieving a consistent posting schedule, aiming to make sustainable fashion appealing and accessible.

The initial customer acquisition channel was Instagram. Natalia's posts on Instagram attracted tens of thousands of interactions in the first year.

In addition, she focused on organic reach by constantly posting listicle content on her website to improve ranking through SEO. As a result of this effort, Google drove hundreds of people to her lists daily.

Some top keywords her articles rank for include:

• Capsule wardrobe
  
• Worst fast fashion brands
• Production tights which materials

Brett had started with sharing his design works on social media (even the scrappiest ones). With time, he was able to refine his skills more and more, and fast forward to today he runs this agency with 50 clients as a solo designer and has 10x'd his prices from when he started.

Over a single weekend in 2017, Brett came up with the packages he wanted to offer, wrote some copy, and built his initial website.

Initially, he offered two plans: $449 a month for the most basic package and $849 a month for front-end design — app and website design.

His MVP allowed clients to request only one design task at a time and would turn that request around within two days. Design tasks could range from single email templates to entire landing pages with unlimited revisions.

He further broke down larger projects into chunks and delivered each new piece every two days.

Brett regularly shared his progress on indiehackers.com, a well-known community for indie makers (who happen to also be his target persona). He replied to questions, shared insights from his own journey, and created a narrative that people loved, as well as a service that people needed. He also remains active on Twitter, and has over 40,000 followers on the platform.

Platform for selling digital products directly to customers.

Sahil loves building stuff. He really enjoyed the process of taking a problem coming up with a solution, and then shipping a prototype of that solution to see how good his concept was. Before finishing college he had already shipped a dozen products. Most of the time, they weren't that great.

But sometimes something works out really well, and then he has to decide if he actually wants to work on the idea some more. Very rarely, the answer is yes. That was the case with Gumroad. The question at its core was really compelling to him: How easy could one make it to sell something?

The first version was built in just one weekend back in April 2011. Sahil had learned Python while working at Pinterest and was able to hack together a basic CRUD application. The whole of Gumroad was a single main.py—one Python file. It was deployed on Google App Engine so he didn't need to know how to do anything related to ops.

Their main strategy in the early days: sending out a lot of emails. That's really it. They scoured the web for people who could benefit from a product like Gumroad, and then told them about it. Literally thousands of times. "That's the only way, really, when you're young and no one cares or knows who you are, to get folks to use your product."

"Over time, they needed to do that less and less. But until you have a lot of customers or some other force that can supply some momentum, there's nothing better than knocking on doors. My sense is that people really just don't want to cold email people, and are looking for an out. If that's you: stop! It doesn't exist! Just hunker down and dedicate some time to finding people, reaching out to them personally via email, phone, whatever, and being okay with it sucking for a while."

AI tool summarizing YouTube videos for quick insights.

Alex Kataev got the idea for Eightify after experiencing frustration with lengthy videos. At the same time, he realized the potential of AI, particularly GPT-3, to streamline content consumption.

He identified the need for a tool that could summarize videos quickly and efficiently, leading to the development of Eightify.

• Davinchi-003 (GPT3.5)
• Chrome Extension (TypeScript)
• Frontend App (React)
• Backend (Python/Flask)
• AWS
• Docker
• Gitlab
• Metabase
• Postgres
• Stripe

At first, he created excitement and got first customers by posting on ProductHunt, HackerNews, and Reddit.

Today, he drives 6 million visitors to the site every month. He does this by converting the YouTube videos summaries to SEO-optimized written articles.

Danny Miró-Chinea noticed an untapped market for promoting Latino-owned businesses and combating their underrepresentation in the media. Fueled by data showing U.S. Latinos have a $3.2 trillion economic output, he launched Comprende, a media and consulting agency, growing it to $8.6K MRR and aiming for $10K by year's end.

Danny Miró-Chinea started Comprende by creating a simple Minimum Viable Product (MVP): a newsletter focused on the US Latino community. He used Carrd for the landing page (Pro Plan, $19/year), Photopea (a free Photoshop alternative) for designing the logo, Beehiiv’s free plan to run the newsletter, and Notion for organizing research and workflows. The initial prototype was built over a single weekend, leveraging prior experience with landing pages and email tools. The main challenge was developing the newsletter’s structure and research process, rather than any technical hurdle. Danny committed to producing 10 weekly newsletters to create a habit and gain initial user feedback.

Instagram and LinkedIn Danny prioritized repurposing newsletter content into short-form videos and posts for Instagram and LinkedIn, using AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to draft scripts and captions. These platforms became the most effective source of new subscribers and agency clients. Why it worked: Consistent, tailored social content showcased expertise and reached an audience already interested in Latino entrepreneurship, generating inbound leads and recognition.

Short-Form Video Content Starting in January 2024, he produced regular short-form videos highlighting Latino founders and businesses. A specific video led directly to the first paying client within a month, who found him via Instagram. Why it worked: Video content increased visibility and credibility, leading to inbound inquiries from potential clients looking for consulting and media support.

Newsletter Distribution The newsletter served as the foundation for all other content. Early focus was on content quality and consistency rather than aggressive promotion, but sharing through personal networks and social posts helped establish initial traction. Why it worked: The newsletter built domain authority and provided a base for later growth through broader channels.

Sean Audet pivoted from a decade in hospitality to launching his own commercial photography studio in 2018. Initially a small experiment, his studio now earns around $11,000 monthly, fueled by his passion for food styling and quick learning through YouTube tutorials.

The first product for Sean Audet Photography was developed with minimal resources. Sean began by borrowing a nearly decade-old camera from a friend, buying budget LED lights from Amazon, and sourcing affordable props from IKEA. The technical workflow relied heavily on the Adobe Creative Suite for post-production, while early learning and troubleshooting were done through YouTube tutorials. Initial shoots were created by experimenting at home and iterating based on client feedback through online freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. Building a strong portfolio with basic equipment, and leaning on his experience in food styling, helped overcome the lack of formal photography training and kept startup costs essentially zero. Pricing the services proved to be the biggest challenge, leading to several iterations before finding a sustainable rate.

Freelance Marketplaces The business initially grew almost entirely through online freelancing agencies like Shutterstock Custom, Upwork, and Fiverr, where Sean created service listings and bid on projects. Why it worked: These platforms provided immediate exposure to clients, allowing for rapid portfolio building and consistent early revenue without upfront marketing expenses.

Word of Mouth & Referrals As the portfolio grew, an increasing portion of business came through referrals and professional or local connections. Clients recommended Sean's work after positive experiences, especially in the local market. Why it worked: High-quality results and good client relationships fostered trust, making referrals a natural source of repeat and new business.

Social Media & Portfolio Website Over time, prospective clients also found Sean through his website (built on Squarespace) and social media, where he showcased his best work. Why it worked: Sharing visually compelling content attracted brands seeking similar results, effectively turning the online presence into an inbound discovery channel.

Medical malpractice attorneys fighting corporate negligence.

James Wood, a Double Board Certified Trial Lawyer, launched James Wood Law nearly 30 years ago after working in personal injury law and wanting to establish his own practice. Now a leading firm in New Mexico, they secured a $23.8 million verdict in a recent medical malpractice lawsuit.

Multiplatform reselling business blending fashion, furniture, and coaching.

Shelby realized her knack for reselling when she sold a bridesmaid dress on Poshmark and saw its potential. Now, with $4,000/month in revenue, she and her husband manage multi-platform sales and coach others, proving that persistence pays off.

The initial product for Rooted Drawers was selected, prepared, and listed by hand, beginning with items already available at home—such as a bridesmaid dress. Shelby inspected each product in person to ensure suitability for online resale, applying personal standards for quality. As experience grew, sourcing expanded to thrift stores and yard sales to supplement inventory, with some attempts at wholesale that were eventually deprioritized in favor of curated individual selection or bulk purchases through local cleanouts. Tools for the backend included basic digital organization via Google Workspace and Slack, with shipping handled through integrated platform features and tools like Pirate Ship for cost-effective shipment options. The first working version took shape almost immediately, as platforms like Poshmark allowed fast onboarding—listing the first item took only minutes, but growing inventory and refining packaging was a process of continuous iteration. Early challenges included learning the backend business organization, managing physical storage space, and keeping upfront expenses low by reusing packing materials.

Marketplace Cross-Listing
Rooted Drawers leveraged popular platforms like eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari as main sales channels, and regularly cross-listed items to Depop, Etsy, and Kidizen to maximize visibility and tap into different buyer audiences.
Why it worked: Using multiple established marketplaces allowed them to reach large, active pools of buyers without heavy upfront investment in their own website traffic.

Content Marketing (Blogging & SEO)
They created and maintained a blog that shares reselling tips, business advice, and authentic personal stories, helping to organically boost store and site visibility and attract interest from the reselling community.
Why it worked: Valuable, targeted content drew organic traffic from Google and built trust among potential customers seeking genuine guidance and stories.

Customer Experience & Retention
Shelby focused on delivering standout packaging—thank you cards, ribbons, and stickers—and highly responsive customer service to create a memorable buying experience. This effort is reflected in over 99% 5-star ratings and significant repeat business.
Why it worked: Personal touches and consistent communication fostered loyalty, making buyers more likely to return and recommend the store.

Social Media (TikTok & Pinterest)
After initially operating without social media to focus on internal growth, Rooted Drawers began posting regularly on TikTok and Pinterest, sharing behind-the-scenes insights, product features, and tips for fellow resellers.
Why it worked: These visual platforms grow awareness, drive qualified traffic, and allow connection with a broader, engaged audience.