Founder stories
Affiliate Business Stories
6 founders with affiliate businesses
Key Statistics
Stories
6
Avg Time
3 years
Fastest
14 days
Solo
50%
Top growth channel
SEO / Content (5)
GW
Gareth Williams, Barry Smith & Bonamy Grimes
Skyscanner: From Ski Trip Frustration to £1.4 Billion Exit
Three friends frustrated by expensive ski flights built Skyscanner on the side, bootstrapped it to £1,000/day, then sold for £1.4 billion.
$100K ARR in 5 years·Team
SaaSTravel🇬🇧 GB
MC
Michael Cameron & Bernie Tschirren
How Two Ex-Microsoft Engineers Built Rome2rio to a $40M Exit
Michael Cameron and Bernie Tschirren built Rome2rio from their parents' living room to 10M+ monthly visitors before selling to Omio.
$100K ARR in 8 years·Team
SaaSTravel🇦🇺 AU
AZ
Aktarer Zaman
How a 22-Year-Old Built Skiplagged and Beat United Airlines in Court
Aktarer Zaman built Skiplagged at 20, got sued by United Airlines and Orbitz, and won - now helping millions find cheaper flights.
$10K MRR in 2 years·Solo
SaaSTravel🇺🇸 US
TC
Tim Chen
How Tim Chen Turned $800 and a Credit Card Spreadsheet into a $500M+ Revenue Public Company
Tim Chen invested $800 to build NerdWallet, a credit card comparison site. Obsessive SEO grew it to 20M+ monthly visitors, $500M+ revenue, and an IPO in 2021.
$100K ARR in 3 years·Team
OtherFinance🇺🇸 US
BL
Brian Lam
How a Gizmodo Editor Built the Internet's Most Trusted Product Review Site — Then Sold It to the NYT for $30M
Brian Lam left Gizmodo, moved to a surf shack in Hawaii, and launched Wirecutter. The NYT bought it for ~$30M in 2016.
$100K ARR in 2 years·Solo
OtherContent Creation🇺🇸 US
MP
Madhu Pattarambil
how a chemical engineer built a free AI travel planner in 14 days
Madhu Pattarambil, a Sydney chemical engineer with no startup background, shipped a free AI travel app in 17 languages in two weeks, funded entirely by travel affiliate commissions.
First Customer in 14 days·Solo
OtherTravelSydney, Australia
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Quick Stats
Stories6
Avg Time3 years
Fastest14 days
Technical83%