Founder stories
$1K MRRin 6 months
How I built a $20K MRR micro-SaaS while traveling
Founder
Tyler Tringas
Solo Founder•Technical•USA
Commitment
Side ProjectExperience
First-timeProduct
Store locator app for Shopify and e-commerce stores.
Type
SaaSIndustry
E-commerceModel
SubscriptionMarketing Strategy
How Tyler acquired customers
Primary Channel
SEO / Content
Also Used
Communities
Tech Stack
Tools used to build Storemapper
Ruby on RailsHerokuStripe
The Full Story
I built Storemapper while traveling as a digital nomad. It started as a simple store locator widget and grew into a stable micro-SaaS business.
The Origin
In 2012, I was freelancing and traveling. I noticed many Shopify stores needed store locators, so I built a simple embeddable widget.
Growth Through SEO
I focused heavily on SEO - writing guides, targeting long-tail keywords about store locators. This brought in steady, qualified traffic.
Lifestyle Business
Storemapper grew to $20K MRR with minimal maintenance. I eventually sold it to focus on other projects (Earnest Capital).
- $1K MRR: ~6 months
- Peak: $20K+ MRR
- Sold after 5+ years of running it
Key Takeaways
1
Micro-SaaS can be a great lifestyle business
2
SEO compounds over time
3
You don't need a huge market to build a profitable business
4
Boring problems can be the best opportunities
Originally published ontylertringas.com
Inspired by Tyler's journey? Generate a business idea in the E-commerce space using AI and real founder data.
Tyler's Path to $1K MRRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
Unlock Tyler's Full Journey
See the complete breakdown: launch strategy, validation methods, startup costs, expert analysis, replication playbook, and more actionable insights.
Upgrade to PremiumInstant access to all founder journeys
Share this story:
More Stories You Might Like
Founders with similar journeys or strategies
Pieter Levels
How I turned a spreadsheet into a $2M+/year business as a solo founder
In 2013, I sold all my possessions, packed a backpack and a laptop, and flew to Thailand to begin my digital nomad life. I was once a lost musician ea...
$10K MRR in 1 year·Solo
SaaSTravel🌍 Remote
Tony Dinh
How I made $22K in 7 days with a ChatGPT UI tool
On March 1st 2023, OpenAI announced the ChatGPT API. Right on that day, I came up with the idea to create a new UI to solve my own pain points with th...
$10K MRR in 7 days·Solo
SaaSAI / ML🇻🇳 VN
Danny Postma
How I made $100K in 2 weeks with an AI headshot tool
After selling my previous AI company Headlime for seven figures, I took time off in 2021. I was growing increasingly bored when an idea struck me: why...
$100K ARR in 14 days·Solo
SaaSAI / ML🇳🇱 NL
Enjoyed this story?
Get more founder journeys like this delivered to your inbox every week.