8 Software Integration Plugin Success Stories [2024]
Here are some real life success stories of starting a software integration plugin:
1. Gorilla ROI ($500K/year)
Jae and his wife started an Amazon business, but they soon faced the challenge of losing money due to their reactive approach towards issues. They found themselves running out of stock because of poor inventory forecasting decisions, incorrect product mixes, and overpaying fees. Additionally, a lot of their data analytics was manual, resulting in a waste of 1-2 hours just to collect data.
To tackle this problem, they created Gorilla ROI, which automates data collection into Google Sheets. Their mission was to simplify the process of getting disorganized data into spreadsheets in a clean and organized way.
How much they make: $500K/year
Current team size: 2
Gorilla ROI is a Google Sheets add-on that connects Amazon Seller Central to Google Sheets, now bringing in $12,000/month through organic inbound marketing, and focusing on scalability before any heavy push towards outbound marketing.
2. Barn2 Plugins ($1.44M/year)
Katie and her husband Andy founded Barn2 Plugins in 2009 as a web design shop. They saw the opportunity to transition into a product business and identified gaps in the market by leveraging their insider knowledge of the industry and researching pain points online. They started with their first product, WooCommerce Password Protected Categories, and focused on low-cost, low-risk solutions that could be quickly developed and launched. Through content marketing and targeted advertising, they have been able to attract and retain customers, generating over $100,000 in monthly revenue with their 16 products.
How much they make: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 14
Barn2 Plugins, founded in 2009 by a husband-and-wife duo, sells innovative software products generating over $100,000 in monthly revenue aimed at website owners on the WordPress and WooCommerce platforms, with their first product, WooCommerce Password Protected Categories, launched to market after identifying a gap in the industry.
So... can you actually make money with a software integration plugin?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Data Fetcher ($276K/year)
In 2020, Andy learned about a Google Sheets add-on called API Connector, which imports your data into a simple Google sheet.
Around the same time, Andy noticed the rise in popularity of Airtable.
Since Google Sheets and Airtable were close in compatibility, Andy decided to build a similar type of data integration tool for Airtable.
Andy’s 3-step method for coming up with ideas is helpful context for understanding how he came up with the idea: - Find a platform that is already growing massively. - Look at already successful tools for more mature platforms. - Build an equivalent tool for the new platform.
How much they make: $276K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 0
Data Fetcher is a no-code tool that imports data into Airtable which has reached 190 paying customers in just over a year after launch and is making $6500 in MRR, with a goal of reaching $30k+ in MRR, for aspiring founders looking to bootstrap an app to life-changing revenue as a solo founder.
4. PriceWell ($60K/year)
Spiro (Ros) Kontoprias, co-founder of PriceWell, came up with the idea for the business after experiencing the tedious and time-consuming process of integrating a billing system for a project. He realized there was a need to simplify billing for subscription businesses, especially for non-technical individuals, and teamed up with co-founder Matthew Reid who had significant payment experience. After receiving validation from their first paying customer, they developed a working MVP and launched the business.
How much they make: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 1
PriceWell simplifies billing for subscription businesses with a personal billing team service, generating $5k in MRR with 120 active customers and almost 2,000 sign-ups, through social media, cold emails, paid start-up newsletters, and programmatic SEO.
So... can you actually make money with a software integration plugin?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Calendly ($25.7M/year)
How much they make: $25.7M/year
Current team size:
Tope Awotona cashed in his 401k and went into debt to build Calendly, now a scheduling service expected to make about $60 million this year, after struggling with failed e-commerce businesses.
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
