Esc
I Turned My Hobby Into $120K/Month Apps
Starter Story
Jun 8, 2026
Kyle Fowler is a regular guy who runs two mobile apps that together do over $120,00K per month. This is the story of how a self-taught developer turned a hobby into one successful app... and then did it again.
Steal 90+ Business Ideas: https://clickhubspot.com/3bnt
Follow Kyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylefowler2/
Check out Cardstock: https://www.openbraceapps.com/
Check out Scanémon: https://www.scanemon.com/
🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs
Chapters
Stack
Transcript
Chapters
Stack
Everyone
wants
to
find
the
perfect
app
idea
So
you
spend
hours
researching
and
scrolling
YouTube
for
inspiration
only
to
come
out
of
the
other
side
with
nothing
But
what
if
I
told
you
there
was
a
better
way
Meet
Kyle
He
finds
his
app
ideas
hiding
in
plain
sight
And
today
those
apps
make
over
120
000
a
month
He
doesn't
chase
trends
or
shiny
objects
He
just
looks
at
his
own
hobbies
his
own
personal
problems
and
builds
stuff
for
himself
I
think
this
method
is
so
cool
that
I
asked
Kyle
to
come
onto
the
channel
to
break
down
exactly
how
he
does
it
And
in
this
episode
we'll
dive
into
his
two
apps
that
make
over
1
million
a
year
why
your
next
app
idea
might
be
sitting
right
in
front
of
your
face
and
his
playbook
he
would
follow
if
he
had
to
do
it
all
over
again
in
2026
All
right
this
is
one
that
you
cannot
miss
I'm
Pat
Walls
and
this
is
Starter
Story
All
right
Kyle
welcome
to
the
channel
Tell
me
about
who
you
are
what
you
built
and
what's
your
story
Yeah
my
name
is
Kyle
Fowler
and
I
built
two
apps
that
make
120
000
a
month
I
launched
Cardstock
six
years
ago
and
we
went
from
three
guys
in
a
basement
making
a
few
hundred
bucks
a
month
month
to
five
guys
traveling
all
around
the
world
making
1
5
million
a
year
year
And
today
I'm
excited
to
share
more
about
how
I
turned
my
hobbies
and
passions
passions
into
a
career
and
how
anyone
could
do
the
same
thing
Okay
cool
Before
we
get
into
the
two
businesses
that
you
built
and
more
into
that
I
want
to
understand
a
little
bit
more
about
how
these
businesses
work
And
if
you
could
potentially
pull
up
some
of
your
revenue
dashboards
I
want
to
show
the
audience
watching
here
that
this
is
legit
Could
you
pull
up
what
you
built
Yeah
of
course
Cardstock
is
a
sports
card
value
scanner
So
if
you
have
no
idea
what
the
value
of
your
card
is
you
can
use
your
phone's
camera
to
identify
the
card
card
find
its
value
You
can
add
your
cards
to
your
collection
and
track
their
value
over
time
And
it
really
just
helps
collectors
be
able
to
find
valuable
cards
in
their
collection
and
get
what
they're
worth
from
them
Cardstock
is
sitting
at
about
15
000
active
subscriptions
and
up
to
like
75K
monthly
recurring
revenue
We
get
about
like
13
000
downloads
a
month
month
This
is
Scanemon
basically
the
same
app
but
for
Pokemon
cards
We
launched
it
only
a
year
ago
but
we've
been
doing
pretty
good
with
it
It's
been
slowly
climbing
We're
currently
sitting
at
about
like
3
400
active
subscriptions
17K
monthly
recurring
revenue
about
16
000
new
customers
a
month
which
is
actually
more
than
Cardstock
which
is
pretty
impressive
given
how
long
Cardstock's
been
around
for
I
think
that's
super
cool
Let's
talk
about
your
background
How
do
you
get
to
the
point
where
you
have
two
apps
making
over
a
million
dollars
a
year
Yeah
it's
been
a
long
process
I
definitely
really
always
loved
anything
coding
development
related
When
I
was
younger
my
parents
had
me
doing
like
coding
camps
type
of
things
found
my
way
into
an
iOS
development
course
decided
it
was
boring
boring
and
was
just
going
to
try
to
make
a
game
on
my
own
making
a
little
iOS
game
called
Snaken
that
was
really
fun
And
then
eventually
found
my
way
into
trying
to
make
Cardstock
trying
to
just
like
know
that
I
have
a
problem
and
looking
for
the
solution
until
I
found
it
And
then
it
grew
and
grew
from
there
When
I
started
Cardstock
it
was
just
me
and
I
saw
my
friends
were
going
to
have
to
work
stupid
jobs
at
like
Kohl's
and
a
restaurant
So
I
asked
them
if
they
wanted
to
come
help
and
split
the
rev
three
ways
even
though
there
was
basically
no
revenue
and
they
didn't
know
how
to
code
very
much
So
I
taught
them
how
to
do
that
We
spent
like
two
or
three
years
doing
that
together
where
I
was
you
know
taking
100
ownership
but
like
helping
them
Personally
I
love
Kyle's
approach
to
building
It's
proof
that
the
best
app
ideas
come
from
personal
problems
that
you
notice
in
your
own
life
But
most
people
just
scroll
past
these
potentially
great
ideas
every
single
day
without
realizing
it
Well
this
is
exactly
why
we
put
together
the
Million
Dollar
Problems
Database
Inside
this
database
you
will
find
90
plus
business
ideas
that
have
real
revenue
numbers
behind
each
one
The
goal
of
this
is
to
show
you
real
painful
problems
and
the
solutions
that
solve
them
that
are
making
over
a
million
dollars
a
year
Your
next
app
idea
might
be
hiding
right
here
in
this
database
or
it
may
give
you
some
ideas
on
what
painful
problems
are
worth
solving
in
your
life
Nothing
to
lose
by
downloading
that
link
right
now
and
getting
some
ideas
All
right
let's
go
back
to
the
episode
I
think
that's
super
cool
But
what
I
want
to
dive
into
a
little
bit
more
is
the
actual
build
of
these
apps
that
you
built
How
did
you
actually
go
about
building
this
How
did
you
turn
it
into
something
that
millions
of
people
have
used
So
Cardstock
is
built
using
Swift
and
SwiftUI
and
it
uses
Core
Data
for
the
storage
of
stuff
I
built
it
just
mostly
with
Stack
Overflow
Eventually
we
built
out
into
adding
like
third
party
SDKs
like
Revenue
Cap
for
subscriptions
When
I
did
got
there
I
needed
a
backend
server
for
the
card
database
So
I
did
that
on
AWS
EC2
server
Walk
me
through
like
the
actual
timeline
of
that
Like
how
long
did
it
take
to
get
to
the
place
where
someone
actually
paid
money
I
started
building
in
winter
of
2019
And
so
I
finished
it
and
gave
a
Reddit
update
post
about
having
completed
it
And
then
so
I
got
my
first
downloads
pretty
quick
immediately
I'd
say
all
in
all
probably
like
six
months
from
idea
to
completion
with
like
a
three
month
gap
in
the
middle
When
I
built
ScanAmon
it
was
really
different
from
Cardstock
because
I
built
ScanAmon
last
year
in
2025
I
tried
to
generate
it
basically
have
cursors
agent
generate
everything
And
it
did
insanely
well
The
MVP
for
ScanAmon
I
made
in
a
day
That
takes
me
to
my
next
topic
here
What's
like
the
full
tech
stack
of
your
two
apps
apps
The
main
things
we
use
are
Codex
So
like
via
ChatGPT
subscriptions
Notion
Cursor
Slack
Framer
for
our
website
Claude
mainly
for
co
work
for
me
Superbase
Railway
CodeRabbit
WhisperFlow
Granola
a
lot
of
things
Cool
All
right
well
thanks
for
sharing
your
tech
stack
One
reason
why
I
wanted
to
bring
you
on
the
channel
is
that
you
built
like
these
really
cool
businesses
from
your
hobbies
Can
you
tell
me
more
about
how
you
came
up
with
the
idea
validated
it
and
you
know
were
confident
enough
that
this
could
be
a
business
idea
that
could
make
a
lot
of
money
The
way
I
thought
about
it
originally
is
I've
been
collecting
cards
since
I
was
a
kid
I
was
just
like
I
want
to
catalog
my
cards
and
I
want
to
sort
them
And
I
realized
I
would
have
no
way
to
know
what
card
was
which
if
I
couldn't
physically
be
with
my
collection
no
matter
how
well
I
sorted
them
And
that
got
me
spinning
of
like
oh
okay
well
I'm
sure
I
could
digitize
this
and
put
it
on
my
phone
There's
got
to
be
an
app
for
that
And
so
I
went
on
the
app
store
and
there
was
no
app
for
it
So
I
was
like
well
I
want
to
build
one
I've
just
always
wanted
to
work
for
myself
doing
something
I
love
And
what
better
way
than
solving
your
own
problems
to
do
that
So
even
though
you
have
a
couple
really
successful
apps
under
your
belt
you
still
can't
guarantee
success
I
think
that's
a
good
lesson
for
anyone
watching
this
that
you
still
have
to
go
through
all
those
learnings
to
figure
out
if
this
thing
can
actually
work
Yeah
basically
regardless
of
whether
you
make
money
after
doing
all
these
steps
and
building
your
app
publishing
it
trying
to
market
it
if
you
can
solve
a
problem
for
yourself
the
odds
are
other
people
have
that
problem
Now
will
they
maybe
pay
for
it
Like
I
don't
know
either
way
if
you
build
an
app
for
something
you're
passionate
about
and
solves
your
problem
you've
won
no
matter
what
because
you've
solved
your
problem
Yeah
I
want
to
dive
a
little
bit
more
into
that
Give
me
the
step
by
step
breakdown
of
how
you
would
find
an
app
that
could
potentially
make
a
million
dollars
a
year
Step
one
is
to
find
a
problem
or
opportunity
create
some
sort
of
notes
document
or
anything
in
your
phone
where
you
can
write
down
ideas
If
you
don't
have
problems
in
your
life
that
you
realize
you're
doing
some
slow
arduous
task
that's
repetitive
you
are
not
paying
attention
Step
two
is
to
determine
a
solution
the
version
that
solves
the
problem
most
minimally
What's
the
quickest
solution
Step
three
build
it
Most
people
I
think
have
been
overestimating
how
hard
it
is
to
build
apps
and
AI
just
makes
them
realize
that
it's
actually
easy
Once
you
have
a
build
you
probably
want
to
monetize
it
And
the
best
way
to
do
that
is
with
something
like
Superwall
or
Revenue
Cat
I'm
almost
certain
that
the
AI
could
just
completely
implement
this
on
its
own
Nowadays
the
AIs
can
even
drive
your
browser
I've
been
doing
that
a
lot
lately
And
so
they
can
probably
walk
you
through
all
the
exact
steps
to
get
your
Superwall
paywall
set
up
And
if
not
there's
wonderful
people
you
can
reach
out
to
there
probably
happy
to
help
you
because
you
making
any
chance
of
money
helps
them
make
money
So
I'm
sure
their
support
lines
would
help
but
it's
really
not
that
hard
Okay
so
that's
all
on
the
build
stuff
which
I
think
is
awesome
How
would
you
think
about
marketing
an
app
in
2026
What
would
be
your
kind
of
step
by
step
there
to
figure
that
one
out
We've
had
so
much
success
with
TikTok
slideshows
They're
very
simple
They're
very
repeatable
You
come
up
with
a
format
you
find
out
what
converts
and
you
find
out
what
gives
views
and
you
find
the
balance
of
those
two
things
to
drive
downloads
And
it's
very
hard
to
attribute
but
if
it's
the
only
thing
you're
doing
it's
very
easy
to
attribute
UseNoise
it's
a
platform
that
allows
you
to
distribute
TikTok
slideshows
to
creators
They
receive
a
template
that
they
post
and
you
pay
per
the
amount
of
views
they
get
You
can
also
start
with
just
TikToks
on
your
own
account
or
making
a
few
accounts
and
seeing
if
they
get
enough
views
and
validate
it
that
way
And
especially
if
you
have
more
time
to
burn
that's
a
pretty
good
way
to
validate
it
Let's
switch
topics
a
little
bit
and
show
off
your
app
Show
me
how
it
works
I'd
love
to
just
see
what
you
built
You
could
do
a
quick
demo
for
us
Okay
so
you
can
see
when
you
load
the
app
you
get
a
vision
of
your
scan
the
card
it
matched
and
it'll
show
you
the
market
value
all
the
info
You
can
click
on
the
market
value
and
see
more
info
about
the
card
along
with
the
most
recent
sales
which
is
super
important
to
collectors
And
then
if
the
app
didn't
match
for
whatever
reason
you
can
go
edit
the
info
actually
and
try
to
identify
a
card
that
even
wasn't
found
at
all
And
then
from
there
you
can
add
it
to
your
collection
and
see
it
within
that
part
of
the
app
and
see
all
your
cards
together
in
the
lists
and
with
the
values
Okay
cool
I
mean
that
app
is
awesome
The
last
question
that
we
ask
all
founders
who
come
on
Starter
Story
what
would
be
your
advice
to
your
younger
self
before
you
started
building
or
for
anyone
watching
this
who
wants
to
build
stuff
make
money
and
build
cool
stuff
I
think
my
best
advice
to
myself
in
the
past
would
definitely
be
that
people
are
usually
happy
to
help
and
share
information
People
who
do
something
very
successfully
love
to
talk
about
how
they
were
successful
and
how
they
did
well
and
don't
worry
about
bothering
people
and
they'll
let
you
know
if
they're
bothered
Well
that's
great
advice
It's
the
exact
premise
behind
all
of
Starter
Story
People
like
you
don't
have
to
come
on
and
share
how
they
built
their
app
or
how
much
money
their
app
makes
but
they
do
Even
though
you
don't
stand
to
benefit
a
whole
lot
from
it
you
come
on
here
and
you
share
everything
that
worked
and
all
of
our
other
guests
do
the
same
Thank
you
for
coming
on
and
sharing
everything
Let
us
know
in
the
comments
if
you're
watching
this
if
you
made
it
to
this
point
and
what
you
think
about
these
apps
and
everything
that
Kyle
built
Thanks
for
coming
on
Kyle
and
Sharon
Thank
you
Gus
from
Starter
Story
what
did
you
think
of
Kyle
and
his
two
apps
that
are
making
over
a
million
dollars
a
year
Yeah
I
think
I
love
his
vibe
You
know
I
think
we
talked
to
a
lot
of
guys
obviously
and
some
of
them
are
like
really
analytical
or
really
like
I
don't
know
I
don't
want
to
say
anal
but
like
really
like
sort
of
anal
about
what
they're
building
or
how
they're
finding
their
ideas
And
Kyle
was
just
like
I
like
I
like
cards
And
I
mean
it
wasn't
so
simple
as
that
It
was
like
I
like
these
cards
This
is
fun
for
me
I'm
having
a
good
time
So
that's
what
I
want
to
do
And
I
just
loved
that
approach
It's
so
like
I
don't
know
it
feels
so
approachable
You
know
like
anyone
can
think
of
like
what
do
I
like
And
let
me
see
what
I
can
build
And
I
like
I
like
what
he
said
about
some
of
those
things
Yeah
that's
kind
of
my
first
impression
Yeah
no
it's
super
spot
on
A
lot
of
people
we
talked
to
what
I
noticed
and
just
in
founders
in
general
is
like
there's
a
lot
of
anxiety
and
stuff
like
that
And
I
think
that's
actually
like
a
superpower
for
a
lot
of
people
who
are
builders
But
this
Kyle
is
like
definitely
the
opposite
of
that
like
super
chill
Just
like
you
know
like
it's
not
that
complicated
I
just
build
this
and
I
market
it
And
that's
what
I
really
like
about
like
his
approach
is
that
like
he
doesn't
overthink
things
right
He
just
kind
of
says
all
right
this
is
what
I'm
doing
Yeah
I
think
that's
why
I
love
I
wanted
I
wanted
to
bring
him
on
is
because
it
feels
like
something
the
way
he
talked
about
building
and
stuff
just
feels
like
something
really
anyone
can
do
And
like
he
said
during
the
interview
you
know
he
was
just
like
yeah
if
you
want
to
go
learn
it
you
can
go
learn
it
Ask
AI
you
know
know
you
can
read
up
on
some
blogs
that
you
can
go
do
it
Yeah
I
mean
building
around
your
hobbies
hobbies
I
feel
like
right
now
it's
like
one
short
window
of
time
where
building
something
around
your
hobbies
hobbies
can
actually
turn
into
a
million
dollar
business
Like
it's
kind
of
hard
to
do
some
years
ago
and
then
in
the
future
when
everything's
automated
I
don't
know
if
it'll
be
possible
but
like
AI
has
enabled
you
to
see
a
problem
right
now
that
you're
experiencing
in
your
daily
life
and
ship
it
within
a
few
hours
and
then
test
it
in
the
market
And
I
think
that's
like
if
you're
watching
this
right
now
just
try
it
just
get
started
Go
through
your
day
write
down
a
few
problems
as
Kyle
said
See
if
you
can
turn
those
into
a
real
thing
If
you're
trying
to
do
the
same
check
out
the
description
right
now
We
have
our
database
of
one
million
dollar
problems
that
are
worth
solving
If
you
can't
think
of
any
problems
right
now
check
that
out
You'll
find
a
bunch
of
problems
problems
that
are
actually
worth
solving
I
would
definitely
recommend
going
down
there
and
checking
that
out
and
downloading
it
for
100
for
free
All
right
guys
Thank
you
guys
for
watching
Let
us
know
what
you
thought
about
this
episode
Otherwise
we'll
see
you
in
the
next
one
Peace
Get Access To All Startup Data Right Now (it's free)
Join our free newsletter to get unlimited access to all startup data. We just need your email:
S
Starter Story
Want to discover ideas that
actually
make money?
Get our 5-minute email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
It's free and read by 200,000+ founders
Please sign in.
Create A Password
Check your email for a link to sign in
Check your email
We've sent you an email with a link to sign in. Click the link in the email to access your account.
If there's a Starter Story account associated with that email you'll get an email with a link to automatically log in. The link will expire in 24 hours.
Your existing password still works, should you want to log in with it later.
S
Starter Story
Find the business ideas that
actually
make money.
Search 2,824+ real, revenue-generating projects — the tools they built on, how they grew, and the full breakdown behind each one.
S
Starter Story
starterstory.com/data
Live
| Idea | Revenue |
|---|---|
| $100K/mo | |
| $300K/mo | |
| $20K/mo | |
| $40K/mo |
S
Starter Story
Build a business that changes your life, in less than 5 weeks.
Discover a proven system to find, validate, and build your $1M business idea—alongside a community that won't let you fail.
Our next sprint starts soon...
S
tarter Story
Build
With AI, you can build
anything
Come up with an idea, build it, and ship an app that gets users and payments—in just a few days.
Join thousands of builders who are turning their ideas into real products.