Founder stories
Founder stories
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204 stories found
Rob Hope
How a South African designer built $100K/year from website curation
Started curating single-page websites in 2008. Cross-promotion between projects grew to $100K+/year.
$10K MRR in 9 years·Solo
OtherDesign🇿🇦 ZA
Jay Clouse
How a newsletter grew into a $500K/year creator business in 3 years
Started with a blog nobody read. Rebranded to Creator Science and built to $500K/year through newsletter, podcast, and community.
$100K ARR in 3 years·Solo
Info ProductEducation🇺🇸 US
Spencer Fry
How a bootstrapped portfolio platform grew to $55K MRR and a life-changing exit
Built the first online portfolio platform for designers in 2005. Bootstrapped to $55K MRR, then sold to private equity.
$100K ARR in 2 years·Team
SaaSDesign🇺🇸 US
Rosie Sherry
How a community expert built her second $10K/month business teaching what she knows
After building Ministry of Testing to $1.2M, Rosie started Rosieland to teach community building. Reached $10K/month in 2.5 years.
$10K MRR in 2 years·Solo
Info ProductEducation🇬🇧 GB
Marie Poulin
From YouTube Tips to $40K/Month Teaching Notion
Marie discovered Notion in 2018 and started sharing tips on YouTube. When her audience asked for a course, she launched Notion Mastery to $40K/month.
$10K MRR in 2 years·Solo
Info ProductEducation🇨🇦 CA
AB
Andy Beohar
Tech Employee Quits to Build $275K MRR Marketing Agency
Andy left his tech job in 2014 and bootstrapped SevenAtoms to $275K MRR with a 90% client retention rate.
$100K ARR in 5 years·Solo
Agency / ServiceMarketing🇺🇸 US
DS
Derryck Strachan
Copywriter Spots SEO Demand, Builds $30K/Month Content Agency
Derryck recognized the growing demand for SEO content and built Big Star Copywriting to $30K/month, surviving the 2008 crash.
$10K MRR in 3 years·Solo
Agency / ServiceMarketing🇬🇧 GB
Steph Smith
Trends Content Lead Launches Course, $40K in First Month
Steph leveraged her experience leading content at The Hustle to launch Doing Content Right, earning $40K in the first month.
$10K MRR in 1 month·Solo
Info ProductEducation🌍 Remote
Nathan Latka
Podcast Host Turns Interview Data into $150K MRR SaaS in 100 Days
Nathan turned his podcast interview data into Getlatka, reaching $20K/month in 100 days and $150K MRR within a year.
$100K ARR in 1 year·Solo
SaaSMarketing🇺🇸 US
Sumit Bansal
Tech Worker Sees Excel Skills Gap, Builds Blog to 1M+ Visitors and $10K/Month
Sumit saw colleagues struggling with Excel and built TrumpExcel to 1M+ monthly pageviews and $10K/month revenue.
$10K MRR in 3 years·Solo
Info ProductEducation🇮🇳 IN
MJ
Mayank Jain
Digital Startup Veterans Build AI Content Platform, $100K MRR in Year One
Mayank and co-founders leveraged 10+ years of digital marketing experience to build Scalenut to $100K MRR in one year.
$100K ARR in 1 year·Team
SaaSMarketing🇮🇳 IN
PG
Prompt Genie Founder
From Idea to First Customer in 4 Days, Five Figures in 30 Days Using No-Code + TikTok
A non-technical founder went from idea to first customer in 4 days and five figures in 30 days using no-code tools and TikTok.
$10K MRR in 1 month·Solo
Chrome ExtensionAI / MLUnknown
Pieter Levels
Pieter Levels Builds Photo AI to $150K/Month in Under 2 Years
After Nomad List, Pieter built Photo AI using PHP/jQuery to $150K/month - 87% profit margin, 100% bootstrapped.
$100K ARR in 1 year·Solo
SaaSAI / ML🌍 Remote
Alex Tew
From Million Dollar Homepage to $2B Meditation Empire
Alex Tew started meditating as a teenager, built the viral Million Dollar Homepage, then channeled that success into co-founding Calm.
$10K MRR in 1 year·Team
Mobile AppHealth & Wellness🇺🇸 US
Andy Puddicombe
Buddhist Monk Builds $250M+ Meditation App Empire
Andy Puddicombe spent 10 years as a Buddhist monk, then co-founded Headspace with Rich Pierson to bring meditation to millions.
$10K MRR in 2 years·Team
Mobile AppHealth & Wellness🇬🇧 GB
Martin Moravek
Software Engineer Builds $20K MRR App to Fight His Own Phone Addiction
After nearly a decade in automotive/aerospace, Martin Moravek built Minimalist Phone to solve his own screen addiction problem.
$10K MRR in 1 year·Solo
Mobile AppHealth & Wellness🇩🇪 DE
Jesse Mecham
Broke College Student Builds Spreadsheet Into Multi-Million Dollar Business
Jesse Mecham built a simple spreadsheet to manage money with his wife. That spreadsheet became YNAB, now used by millions worldwide.
$10K MRR in 5 years·Solo
SaaSFinance🇺🇸 US
Abraham Burak
Digital Nomad Builds $1B eSIM Marketplace to Solve Travel Connectivity
Abraham Burak experienced roaming bill shocks as a digital nomad, then built Airalo - now valued at $1B+ with 20M+ users.
$100K ARR in 2 years·Team
MarketplaceTravel🇺🇸 US
Andres Ugarte
Solo Founder Builds Apple Design Award Finalist Finance App
Andres Ugarte started building Copilot Money in 2018, creating a native iOS finance app that became an Apple Design Award finalist.
$10K MRR in 2 years·Solo
Mobile AppFinance🇺🇸 US
Jon Yongfook
Jon Yongfook Bootstrapped Bannerbear to $10K MRR After 12 Failed Startups
After 12 startups in 12 months challenge, Jon found his calling in automated image generation and bootstrapped Bannerbear to $50K+ MRR.
$10K MRR in 1 year·Solo
API / Developer ToolDesign🇯🇵 JP
Arvid Kahl
Arvid Kahl Built FeedbackPanda to $55K MRR in 2 Years, Then Sold It
Arvid and his partner Danielle built FeedbackPanda for online ESL teachers, reaching $55K MRR before selling for a life-changing amount.
$100K ARR in 2 years·Team
SaaSEducation🇩🇪 DE
Christopher Gimmer
Christopher Gimmer Built Snappa to $1.5M ARR with Content-First Strategy
Chris and Marc built an audience with a viral blog post on free stock photos, then leveraged it to launch Snappa and reach $10K MRR in 5 months.
$100K ARR in 3 years·Team
SaaSDesign🇨🇦 CA
Justin Jackson
Justin Jackson Built Transistor to $1M+ ARR by Building in Public
After years of solo projects, Justin teamed up with Jon Buda to build Transistor.fm, documenting the journey publicly on their "Build Your SaaS" podcast.
$100K ARR in 2 years·Team
SaaSContent Creation🇨🇦 CA
Francesco Di Lorenzo
Francesco Di Lorenzo Launched Typefully to 1000 Users in One Day
Francesco and co-founders launched Typefully on Product Hunt and Hacker News, getting 1,432 signups on day one. Now at $100K+ MRR.
$100K ARR in 4 years·Team
SaaSContent Creation🇵🇹 PT
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A note on these stories: The founders featured here represent those who publicly shared their success. Not every startup succeeds, and timelines vary widely. These stories are meant to inspire and educate, not to set expectations.
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