How I Created A $80K/Month Football Squad-Building App That Hit 2M Users In A Week
Who are you and what business did you start?
Hey, I'm Deniz Sancar, a 24-year-old founder from the UK. I built 38-0-0, a football squad-building game on web, iOS and Android. The name is every fan's dream: a perfect season of 38 wins, no draws, no defeats. You draft a starting XI from real squads across history and see how it would do over a season, plus ranked head-to-head matches against players worldwide. It turns the classic "greatest XI" debate into something you can actually play and share. My customers are football fans. 38-0-0 reached 2 million users in the first week, ranked #1 free game in the app store (above fortnite) and brings in $1,000 to $3,000 a day in profit, entirely vibe coded during one all-nighter during the NBA finals
Admob earnings (exc of adsense & apple/ android earnings)
Daily web users stats
1 downloaded on the app store for free games
How do you come up with the idea for 38-0-0?
The idea came from watching another game go viral. There was a basketball game called 82-0, the perfect undefeated NBA season, and it was everywhere. NBA players were posting and tweeting about it. I thought the format was genius, and that there was no version for football, a far bigger global market. That was the aha moment: take a proven viral concept and build it for the Premier League, where 38-0-0 is every fan's fantasy. The virality of 82-0 was my validation, the demand was already proven. I'm a football fan and a builder, so I moved fast and shipped. I used Virlo, a business I'm a co-founder of, to market the app and in the first 24 hours it took off, I've had requests to white-label the game and been interviewed by media corporates.
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How did you launch 38-0-0 and get initial traction?
I leaned on two things. First, marketing: I used Virlo, a company I co-founded, to spot what was working and get 38-0-0 in front of the right football audiences early. Second, the product did the work. I built a share feature so players could post their drafted XI and projected season, and it spread person to person fast. People started calling it the football version of Wordle, that same one-tap "look what I got, can you beat it" loop. That sharing is what made it take off. The lesson: build the share moment into the product from day one.
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What was the growth strategy for 38-0-0 and how did you scale?
Growth has been mostly product-led, with social on top. The biggest lever by far is the share feature. When you finish a draft you get a clean, screenshot-ready result: your starting XI and the season it would produce, a 38-0-0 if you nailed it. Every player who shares one is effectively marketing the game to their group chat or timeline, which is exactly why people started calling it the football version of Wordle. That share loop is the engine. In fact I've had people DMing me saying their group chat is addicted!
For channels, short-form video has done the most. Using Virlo, the company I co-founded, I find the football angles and formats already resonating, then build content around them for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, one video got 100k views,
Things like drafting a legendary XI and revealing the projected record. Plus backstories documenting how I built the site. It's cheap, it compounds, and it feeds straight back into the share loop. My brother has been running the socials on the side whilst working his 9-5 giving me more time to focus on the product.
The other deliberate tactic is the funnel. The game is free and instant to play in a browser, no download and no signup, which keeps friction at zero and maximises sharing. From there, app-download prompts move the most engaged players onto the iOS and Android apps, where monetisation is stronger. Ads play when someone wants a free spin and in-between matches.
Recently I added PvP, this brings in a competitive element and adds longevity. Especially with the leaderboard.
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What were the biggest lessons learned from building 38-0-0?
Biggest lesson: you don't need an original idea, you need a proven one and the speed to execute. This is not my first venture. I co-founded Virlo and vibe-coded Mockingbirdhouse.com so I understood speed is key.
82-0 had shown the format worked. My edge was spotting it early and shipping a football version fast, before anyone else. Second, the product is the marketing. Building the share feature in from day one did more than any ad could. Third, stay lean. My costs are under $10 a month, so almost everything the game makes is profit. The mistake I see most is people polishing in private for months. Ship the smallest shareable version, let players tell you what works. I still listen and take on feedback to this day.
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38-0-0 Acquisition: How much did 38-0-0 sell for and what was the acquisition price?
Not acquired but within 48 hours of launching someone offered to buy the game for £10k-20k ($28,000). I said no as traffic was much higher than he anticipated!
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Discover Similar Business Ideas Like 38-0-0
More about 38-0-0:
Who is the owner of 38-0-0?
Deniz Sancar is the founder of 38-0-0.
When did Deniz Sancar start 38-0-0?
2026
How much money has Deniz Sancar made from 38-0-0?
Deniz Sancar started the business in 2026, and currently makes an average of $960K/year.
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