11 Product Ratings & Reviews Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 9th, 2023
Start A Product Ratings & Reviews

A product ratings and reviews business involves providing a platform where customers can share their opinions and feedback about different products.

You can start a product ratings and reviews business by creating a website or app where people can browse and leave reviews for purchased or used items.

To make money, you can partner with e-commerce stores or manufacturers who may be interested in showcasing their products on your platform. You can also offer advertising space or promote affiliate products to generate revenue.

This low-cost business idea mainly requires setting up a website, marketing the platform, and managing user-generated content.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a product ratings & reviews:

1. Fin vs Fin ($480K/year)

Alex Goldberg, the founder of Fin vs Fin, started the business as a "dumb side project" with his ex-boss-turned-side-hustle-partner. They initially focused on comparing fintech startups, but pivoted to reviewing wellness products after noticing the influx of venture capital in the industry. With their first sale earning them a $10 commission, they realized they had a proof of concept and kept growing the business with high-quality content and partnerships. They went from making enough to cover their car payments to reaching $500k in revenue in just two years.

How much they make: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 10

article

How I Grew My 'Dumb Blog' To A Portfolio That Generates $70K Profit/Month

Learn how the founder of Fin vs Fin turned a "dumb side project" into a profitable media business generating $70k in profit per month, by committing to creating a "dumb blog" and consistently experimenting with strategies to attract and retain customers.

About
Alex started Fin vs Fin over 5 years ago
Revenue
Alex grew the business to $40K/month
Read by 6,854 founders

2. Fit Healthy Momma ($240K/year)

How much they make: $240K/year
Current team size: 2

article

How a New Blogger Went from Zero to $200/day in a Year

Fit Healthy Momma is a case study about a blogger who started in late 2019 and in less than a year, went from being a freelance writer to earning more than $200 per day from affiliate sales, creating a space for real, legitimate information on reviews of the best D2C fitness and health brands.

About
Tami started Fit Healthy Momma over 4 years ago
Revenue
Tami grew the business to $20K/month
Read by 691 founders

Learn more about starting a product ratings & reviews:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a product ratings & reviews?
-> Pros and cons of a product ratings & reviews

Need inspiration?

-> Examples of established product ratings & reviews
-> Marketing ideas for a product ratings & reviews

Other resources

3. The Dozy Owl ($30K/year)

How much they make: $30K/year
Current team size:

article

Making Money in Your Sleep - By Blogging About Sleep

Aspiring founders can learn how to turn a side hustle into a full-time income like Kieran MacRae did with his sleep-focused blog, which provides reviews and tips to promote better sleep, earning him a steady income.

About
Kieran started The Dozy Owl over 7 years ago
Revenue
Kieran grew the business to $2.5K/month
Read by 648 founders

4. FeedCheck ($300K/year)

How much they make: $300K/year
Current team size:

Making $15k/mo Helping Brands Understand Customer Reviews

How Adrian built a successful SaaS with Nestle as a customer, bringing in $15k in monthly revenue, by offering a valuable solution to analyze online customer reviews.

Revenue
They grew the business to $25K/month
Read by 474 founders

5. SexualAlpha ($120K/year)

Dainis Graveris, founder of SexualAlpha, started his journey in the sexual wellness industry after working in web design and pursuing his passion for dance. While seeking ways to improve his own sex life, he realized the potential in helping others by providing unbiased sex toy reviews and sex education. With a website that now receives 900K visits per month and generates $10K/month in affiliate commissions, Dainis aims to continue expanding his company's reach and breaking the stigma around sexuality.

How much they make: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 8

article

My Sex Toy Review Site Is Visited By Nearly 1 Million People Per Month

SexualAlpha is a sexual wellness blog that provides honest sex toy reviews, with 900K visits per month and making around 10K/month on affiliate commissions, created by founder Dainis Graveris through intensive research and a strong passion for teaching people about sexuality.

About
Dainis started SexualAlpha over 6 years ago
Revenue
Dainis grew the business to $10K/month
Costs
It cost Dainis $100 to start the business
Read by 4,231 founders

6. WireCutter ($42M/year)

How much they make: $42M/year
Current team size: 148

article

Wirecutter: Brian Lam

Founder of The Wirecutter, which generated $150 million in e-commerce transactions in 2015, shares how he built his product suggestion service from scratch to acquisition by The New York Times Company for $30 million.

About
Brian started WireCutter over 13 years ago
Revenue
Brian grew the business to $3.5M/month
Read by 738 founders

7. Zenmaster Wellness ($480K/year)

A pay cut at his job, and a friend's success in this niche inspired Matt to start during the pandemic.

How much they make: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 0

article

I Quit My 9 To 5 & Built An Affiliate Site Making $40K/Month

Matt Oney quit his full-time job to pursue his side hustle full-time: an affiliate marketing-based content site called ZenmasterWellness that generates around 80k monthly visits and average monthly revenue of about $40,000 by leveraging SEO and affiliate partnerships.

About
Matt started Zenmaster Wellness about 4 years ago
Revenue
Matt grew the business to $40K/month
Costs
It cost Matt $500 to start the business
Read by 8,189 founders

8. ReviewsOnMyWebsite ($492K/year)

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.

How much they make: $492K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2.5K
Current team size: 0

article

How This Self-Taught Developer Built A $492K/Year Reputation Management Platform

ReviewsOnMyWebsite is an online reputation management software helping small businesses collect, monitor, and display online reviews to establish trust and improve brand reputation, which has helped over 35,000 businesses convert more leads by simplifying the process of collecting feedback and displaying customer reviews.

About
Vitaly started ReviewsOnMyWebsite about 7 years ago
Revenue
Vitaly grew the business to $41K/month
Costs
It cost Vitaly $2500 to start the business
Read by 3,534 founders

9. Tooltester S.L. ($1.44M/year)

Robert Brandl, the founder of Tooltester.com, came up with the idea after struggling to find information about website builders online while starting his own travel blog. He quickly recognized the demand for reviews and tutorials of web tools and launched Tooltester.com to fill that gap. The business has since grown to generate around $120k per month in revenue and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing European companies.

How much they make: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
Current team size: 9

article

How We Built A $1.4M/Year Website With SEO

Tooltester.com is a website that provides reviews and tutorials for website builders, hosting companies, live chat tools, and email marketing software, with a current revenue of around $120k per month and has made it into the Financial Times ranking of the fastest-growing European companies (FT1000) two years in a row.

About
Robert started Tooltester S.L. over 14 years ago
Revenue
Robert grew the business to $120K/month
Costs
It cost Robert $200 to start the business
Read by 4,923 founders