Lukas came up with the idea for Stagetimer during a casual visit to a recording studio where he noticed a problem: his friend was running back and forth to manually start and stop a timer for recordings. This inefficiency sparked Lukas's curiosity, and he began searching for a remote-controlled timer but found none that met this specific need. Seeing an opportunity, he decided to develop a basic version of such a timer over a weekend to test his skills and see if there was any interest.

To validate his idea, Lukas posted about his project on Reddit, seeking feedback from potential users. The response was encouraging, with users providing valuable suggestions that shaped the tool's development. This direct engagement highlighted the demand for a more convenient timing solution, and the enthusiastic feedback helped Lukas refine the Stagetimer based on real user needs.

Throughout the ideation phase, one of the main challenges was managing the development and feedback process while both Lukas and his wife, Liz, had full-time jobs. By leveraging a freemium model and continuously iterating the product in response to user feedback, they were able to prioritize features that customers genuinely found valuable. The key lesson here was that listening to paying customers' needs is crucial, and building a tool based on a clear market demand proved to be more successful than merely chasing interesting ideas.

The initial version of Stagetimer was developed quickly over a weekend by Lukas Hermann, with no landing page and a simple timer interface that could display messages and be shared via links. Built on the MEVN stack (MongoDB, Express, Vue.js, Node.js), it featured remote control capabilities, allowing it to be used conveniently in event settings. Feedback from a Reddit post helped identify core features, leading to iterative development over six months before a paid version was launched. The development process involved engaging with technically savvy early adopters for valuable insights, enabling the team to efficiently address user needs and prioritize feature requests, despite initial resource constraints.

SEO

Stagetimer.io's successful SEO strategy revolves around their practical approach to naming and content. By choosing a straightforward name like "Stagetimer," they secured a significant SEO advantage. When professionals search for a stage timer, their website naturally ranks high in search results. This strong naming strategy was bolstered by creating targeted content on the website to improve Google rankings further. Ads on Google supplement their SEO efforts for terms they don't rank for organically.

Why it worked: By selecting a name that exactly describes their service, they made it easy for potential customers to find them. The combination of SEO-focused content and strategic Google ads ensures visibility in search results, driving consistent traffic to their site.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth has been a significant growth driver for Stagetimer. Their focus on a niche market of event and video producers means that satisfied customers actively recommend the product to industry peers. This organic growth is enhanced by the high-quality endorsements they receive from professionals who use Stagetimer and appreciate its reliability.

Why it worked: The niche focus on event producers created a loyal customer base who valued and trusted the product. These customers naturally spread the word within their professional networks, leading to increased exposure and new customer acquisition without the need for incentivized referrals.

YouTube & Influencer Endorsements

Without a formal outreach strategy, Stagetimer received unsolicited endorsements from YouTube creators within the event and audiovisual industry. These professionals either mentioned Stagetimer in product reviews or dedicated entire videos to explaining how to use the tool. The high-quality, authoritative nature of these videos enhanced Stagetimer's credibility.

Why it worked: Endorsements from credible professionals in the field lent authority to Stagetimer, giving potential users confidence in its utility. The videos provided practical insights and tutorials, making it easier for new users to understand and adopt the tool.

Freemium Model

Stagetimer utilizes a freemium model, allowing users to access limited features indefinitely, building trust and goodwill. When users decide they need full access, the transition to a paying customer is straightforward due to the already established trust and proven value.

Why it worked: The freemium model reduces the barrier to entry, encouraging trial and usage. As users experience the benefits firsthand without initial commitment, they're more likely to convert to paid plans when their needs expand, ensuring a low-pressure, organic conversion process.

Cyril Nicodème, the founder of PDFShift.io, came up with the idea for his business while working on his other company Reflectiv.net. He wanted to start a simple service that leveraged his expertise in working with APIs and provide fast, efficient, and scalable HTML to PDF conversion. After launching PDFShift on ProductHunt and employing strategies such as Quora and AlternativeTo, the business now generates around $3.2k in monthly revenue.

The founder spent about two months working half-time to build the core service, using Python with the Pyppeteer library (a Python port of Puppeteer) to control Chrome for HTML-to-PDF conversion. The development process involved not just integrating Chrome but also creating custom features, such as an HTML parser to preload images (since Chrome didn't load header/footer images by default), and implementing options like watermarking and encryption not natively supported by Chrome. The foundational API was built using a modified version of Flask (flask-bootstrap), and notable technical challenges included ensuring image reliability and post-processing PDF features. Iterations focused on core reliability and keeping the product simple, with new feature requests addressed after user feedback. It took about two months to reach a stable, working version ready for broader use.

Product Hunt PDFShift was featured on Product Hunt, achieving first place on launch day and third for the entire week. This drove significant user and customer acquisition and remains a key channel for attracting new signups. Why it worked: Product Hunt’s audience actively seeks new SaaS tools, providing immediate exposure and credibility to early adopters.

Quora The founder actively answered Quora questions related to HTML-to-PDF conversion, providing advice and code snippets. These contributions built trust and directed targeted, organic traffic to PDFShift. Why it worked: Engaging in niche, question-driven communities fostered authority and drew qualified leads looking for solutions.

AlternativeTo PDFShift was listed and promoted on AlternativeTo, and users were incentivized with credits to leave reviews and ratings. This created positive word-of-mouth and strong social proof on an important software discovery platform. Why it worked: Reviews and star ratings boosted visibility among users already searching for PDF conversion alternatives, directly influencing their selection.

Focus-enhancement app blocking digital distractions.

Philip, a designer and developer based in Jakarta, came up with the idea for Session after experiencing frustration with slow handoffs between design and development at a startup he worked for. As a solution to his own problem of staying focused, he created an app that helps users block distracting websites and track their work time. Session has since gained popularity, making $5.8K per month in revenue as of May 2021.

Session’s founder, Philip, developed the initial product solo, dedicating about 20 hours per week over 9 months while learning several new technologies. The app was built using Swift for both macOS and iOS, with a backend hosted on DigitalOcean, PostgreSQL for production database, and Amazon SES for email and newsletter functionality. Early prototypes started as a simple timer and were continually refined based on feedback from Twitter followers and beta testers. A notable technical challenge was implementing real-time sync across devices while supporting offline functionality, making the codebase more complex and requiring Philip to learn mobile and backend development from scratch. Iterations followed a strict rule: features were only added if at least three users independently requested them and if they aligned with the vision of helping users focus and reflect.

App Store Promotion
In January 2021, Session was featured on the Mac App Store as an “app we love right now,” resulting in about 100 new net subscribers per month, a tenfold increase from the prior ~10 per month.
Why it worked: Apple’s editorial promotion drove a massive boost in impressions and conversions due to its immediate access to a large, relevant user base.

Setapp Partnership
Setapp invited Session to their platform, exposing it to tens of thousands of Mac users and adding about 2,000 monthly active users via Setapp.
Why it worked: Setapp provided a steady stream of qualified users searching for productivity apps, greatly expanding reach with little marketing effort.

App Store Optimization (ASO)
After noticing the impact of increased impressions, Philip focused on localization, keyword tweaks, and visual changes to Session’s App Store listing to maximize discoverability.
Why it worked: Iterative ASO adjustments helped surface the app in more searches and regions, gradually increasing organic installs.

In 2001, TextMagic started as a niche side project in the UK with limited offerings. When Priit Vaikmaa joined the company in 2007, he saw the huge potential in their SMS marketing platform and focused on expanding and improving its usability. Today, TextMagic has a diverse customer base and generated revenue just short of €11 million in 2021.

TextMagic’s initial product began as a simple Windows desktop application focused on sending SMS messages for UK-based businesses. The early development involved building out back-end infrastructure to reliably connect with cellular networks for SMS delivery—a significant technical challenge. When Priit Vaikmaa took over management, the company shifted its focus to building a customer-friendly web application and merging the backend infrastructure with a more scalable, accessible frontend.

A small in-house team handled the development, with an emphasis on usability and responsiveness to user feedback, rather than strict vision-driven UI planning. Iterations were largely driven by customer support requests and ongoing user feedback, leading to features such as SMS chat, automations, and mobile apps. Exact timing details are not provided, but significant improvements and transitions were made between 2001 (founding) and 2007 (management transition), with the most notable challenge being the integration of backend telecom operations with a seamless, easy-to-use user interface.

Tech stack details are not all specified, but later updates show usage of tools such as Atlassian and GitHub for development and project management.

SEO and Content Marketing TextMagic invested heavily in creating practical, value-driven educational content—such as guides, video tutorials, and industry-specific tools—to boost organic visibility and help users get more from their SMS marketing, supported by dedicated blog posts and YouTube tutorials. They leveraged SEO platforms like Semrush and Ahrefs for competitor and keyword research, aiming for traffic quality and uncovering 'content gaps' for targeted growth.
Why it worked: Producing focused, actionable content and advanced tools attracted qualified leads searching for solutions and established TextMagic as an expert resource, earning high search rankings and steady inbound demand.

Product-Led Growth via Customer Support Feedback Numerous key features (like SMS chat, scheduling, automations, and Zapier integrations) resulted from consistently tracking and prioritizing customer support tickets and feedback. Rapidly deploying and iterating on user-requested features increased retention and word-of-mouth referrals as the platform matched what businesses actively needed.
Why it worked: Building features in response to concrete user needs reduced churn and encouraged advocacy, creating natural, organic growth through satisfied customers.

Freemium Tools & Utility Offerings TextMagic developed over 40 free business tools to drive additional traffic and introduce business users to their ecosystem. These accessible utilities provided instant value and served as effective acquisition funnels to the core SMS platform.
Why it worked: Free tools attracted business audiences searching for practical solutions, widening the top of their funnel and increasing brand exposure at low acquisition cost.

Commission management software for pest control sales teams.

A friend of mine who worked in the industry called me asking me whether it was possible to build a tool that helped him calculate commissions for team. Their existing solution was built on spreadsheets and emails.

I quickly learned more about this real problem--pay anxiety. These salespeople knocked doors 10+ hours a day, being paid commission-only. Many were students, looking to save for a car, tuition or a wedding. Not knowing their pay in real-time was terrifying.

I built a simple demo with no-code tools. The aha moment came when my friend's bosses asked me "what is your company called, and how much does it cost?"

At the time, I was full-time at my second struggling AI startup. This was pre-chatGPT, but I was already burning out from the hype. It was refreshing to hear someone tell me that they'd pay for a "boring", simple software solution.

A few more meetings with people in the industry confirmed to me that this pain was universal and that the market was hungry for a solution.

Here's the exact timeline of that first year in business

2022 October -> Built the no-code prototype, was asked how much it would cost November -> Started writing a mobile app when I kept hearing that's what they wanted December -> Quit my job to go full-time (at zero revenue) January - March -> Fumbling around first attempts at sales and trying to close my first deal. Finished the app. April -> Signed my first contract May -> Signed second customer June - August -> Lot's of bug-fixing and customer support through the first sales season August -> Joined a startup accelerator program

I built the initial prototype on Retool. It cost me nothing, since I applied for startup credits and got them. I believe they even have a generous free tier now.

When I started to rewrite it into a native app, my only cost was the domain ($12), google workspace ($6 / month) and supabase ($25 / month). I have never exceeded the free tiers of Vercel or Expo Application Services.

I did and continue to design, code and sell every single inch of this business myself. It's not a flex, it's just what it took to make this company work. I don't think I would have succeeded if I took on any headcount burn. I didn't raise or borrow any money.

(Heading) The Revenue Model:

We've gone through lots of different models and are still iterating. But recent contracts have looked something like this:

A seat-based contract, with "standard" and "flex" licenses.

Standard license -> $10 ~ $30 / month, committed for at least 12 months Flex licenses -> 2x the price of Standard, month-to-month contract Flex licenses cannot make up more than 30% of the total seats

This pricing model has come out of a need to balance predictable revenue and the seasonality of users in the industry. Since salespeople are typically active for up to half of the year, it's hard for clients to justify paying for the full year.

Since I have a tiny, specific niche, the number of clients that fit my ICP is numbered in the hundreds. This too small an amount to run any effective performance marketing on or to just "dial" from a list on.

Instead every potential lead is treated more like a dedicated, long-term business development effort.

New customers are shiny and exciting. But for us, a surprising amount of revenue actually comes from upselling existing clients into larger contracts. Once trust is built, we've found that customers shift quickly away from getting the best price to begging us to solve as many problems as possible. Each of these conversations are an opportunity to increase the scope, and therefore the price of the contract.

The key to our success has been world-class account management and support. I drop everything to tend to a customer complaint, or request. I'm available at all hours of the day. My personal phone number is proudly plastered all over the app for direct help.

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

AI tool turning text instructions into Excel formulas.

David Bressler, the founder of Excelformulabot.com, came up with the idea while on paternity leave. After discovering the power of AI and its potential in Excel formulas, he realized there was a need for an AI-based Excel formula generator. With 1 billion Excel users worldwide, Bressler saw a big enough market and quickly built a barebone application that went viral and gained traction through Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. Since the launch in September 2022, the website has generated over $14K in monthly recurring revenue.

Excelformulabot was developed quickly to capitalize on the growing AI industry, with a minimalistic MVP built using the no-code platform Bubble.io. The initial version had basic functionality: an input field for user instructions, a button for generating formulas, an output field displaying the results, and a copy button. This barebone MVP took just a few weeks to build, reflecting David's urgency to harness the first mover's advantage in the AI space. He faced challenges related to unexpected high API costs due to viral exposure and immediately had to create a business model to manage costs efficiently. Feedback from the Excel subreddit was crucial for iterating on the initial version, which transitioned into a subscription-based platform with paywalls and logins over several months, demonstrating the effectiveness of user feedback in refining product offerings.

Viral Marketing on Social Media

Excelformulabot experienced significant growth through viral marketing, particularly on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit. The platform gained traction when users began sharing it as a "website that feels illegal to know." The ripple effect from influencers and micro-influencers posting about Excelformulabot amplified the brand's reach substantially. The virality continued across different social platforms, leading to widespread recognition and traffic.

Why it worked: Viral marketing tapped into the power of social proof. When influencers shared their experiences, their followers were intrigued and inclined to check out the service themselves. The portrayal of the site as a secretive hack added a compelling element that spurred curiosity and shareability.

Influencer Collaborations

Direct engagement with influencers has been a crucial part of Excelformulabot’s marketing strategy. David Bressler reached out to influencers whose audiences aligned with the product's use case in areas like finance, data, and accounting. Collaborations were either based on free promotions or paid partnerships, typically ranging from $200 to $3K per engagement.

Why it worked: Engaging influencers allowed Excelformulabot to tap into established communities that trusted their recommendations. This strategy effectively positioned the product in front of targeted users who found immediate value in the tool, especially amidst audiences who frequently use Excel.

Organic SEO and Branding

Excelformulabot benefitted from organic search traffic, largely driven by people searching for terms like "Excel formula bot." The brand's presence as both the category creator and the main solution provider resulted in high exposure on search engines. The site also garnered backlinks from reputable sites, enhancing its organic search appeal.

Why it worked: The brand's dominance in its niche and the creation of targeted content helped capture users actively searching for AI solutions for Excel. Having a name that directly matched user intent searches significantly enhanced discoverability and credibility.

Email Marketing and User Engagement

For customer retention and reengagement, Excelformulabot deployed email marketing strategies. Personalized messaging was developed based on user interactions, such as the type of formulas searched and user engagement levels. These tailored emails helped retain paying customers as well as encourage trial users to convert.

Why it worked: Personalized email campaigns aligned closely with user behavior, increasing the relevance and impact of each communication. This approach fostered a sense of connection and ensured users saw continued value in maintaining their subscriptions.

Dean conceptualized the Tithely App based on his deep understanding of the financial challenges churches face, particularly the limited opportunities for revenue generation during their once-a-week services.

Recognizing the need for a seamless and user-friendly online giving experience, he aimed to create a platform where donations could be made quickly and easily. Additionally, he sought to address issues related to missed giving opportunities due to weather events or holidays by enabling people to donate anytime, anywhere.

His insight into the importance of recurring donations for church budgets further shaped the app's development, solving key pain points he had experienced firsthand.

I had a bunch of problems that I knew could get solved with technology. That's what began the quest to provide technology to churches in and around the generosity area of giving and beyond. — Dean (Source)

Dean created the Tithely App by utilizing his family's skills and addressing a specific need. He enlisted his tech-savvy son, Barnabas, who had been successful in web development since his teenage years, to develop a mobile giving solution. Dean asked Barnabas to create an app that would enable church members to donate using their phones.

After 12 months of development, Barnabas successfully launched the app on the App Store. Dean then introduced the app to his congregation in 2013, which led to its adoption and resulted in thousands of dollars in donations being made through the app.

Dean's key ways of acquiring customers for Tithely include:

• Organic Search: Attracting customers through unpaid search results.
• Paid SEO: Investing in search engine optimization and paying for search keywords.
• Referrals: Gaining customers through word-of-mouth recommendations, often from conferences and peer interactions.
• Acquisitions: Expanding the customer base by acquiring other companies.
• Partnerships: Collaborating with major denominations and offering free access to new church planners for the initial period.

These methods have created a self-sustaining customer acquisition funnel, consistently bringing in hundreds of new churches monthly.

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.

Jon worked as a designer and programmer for over two decades. In his role as a designer, he focused on developing various products and banners for marketing teams. The idea for Bannerbear stemmed from his desire to streamline the time-consuming design process.

Jon, an experienced developer specializing in Ruby on Rails, started by creating Previewmojo, a basic tool for generating open graph images using a limited set of templates.

Although there was initial interest from Producthunt, there wasn't enough demand for open graph images, so the project had limited success.

Realizing the limitations and the narrow appeal of the product, Jon turned to the Shopify ecosystem and developed an app. However, it didn't meet expectations because it required users to add code to their sites.

In response to feedback and recognizing the broader potential of the technology, Jon pivoted the business towards a more flexible and scalable solution. In March 2020, he relaunched the product as Bannerbear, focusing on its API capabilities.

This pivot allowed the business to serve a wider range of needs and move higher up the value chain, resulting in more meaningful customer interactions and a clearer demonstration of value. This was made possible by a strong foundation in Ruby on Rails and a strategic shift towards API and integration services.

Jon dedicated 50% of his resources to marketing. Here is an overview of his marketing strategy that drove customers to his business, inspiring growth:

• Tweeting about the things that interested his target audience
• Joining and engaging communities where potential customers might participate
• Blogging
• Sending email newsletters often
• In addition, Jon focused on offering quality results so existing users can recommend his products.

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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.