Founder stories
$10K MRRin 2 years
3 milestones
Built newsletter tool while at Stripe, grew to $392K/year solo
Founder
Justin Duke
Solo Founder•Technical•USA
Commitment
Side ProjectExperience
ExperiencedProduct
Simple, minimalist newsletter tool for writers.
Type
SaaSIndustry
MarketingModel
SubscriptionMarketing Strategy
How Justin acquired customers
Primary Channel
Word of Mouth
Also Used
Twitter / XSEO / Content
Tech Stack
Tools used to build Buttondown
PythonDjangoPostgreSQLStripe
The Full Story
I built Buttondown as a side project while working at Stripe. 5-10% month-over-month growth for years led to $392K/year.
Side Project First
I scratched my own itch. I wanted a better newsletter tool than Mailchimp for my personal newsletter.
Patience and Quality
No hockey-stick growth. Just consistent 5-10% MoM improvement. Patience pays off.
Word of Mouth
Writers told other writers. The minimalist design attracted people who wanted simplicity.
- Years to $15K MRR: ~4 years
- Current revenue: $392K/year
- MoM growth: 5-10% perpetually
Key Takeaways
1
Scratch your own itch
2
Patience and quality drive consistent growth
3
Word-of-mouth via product features scales
4
Side projects can become real businesses
Originally published onJustin Duke Blog
Inspired by Justin's journey? Generate a business idea in the Marketing space using AI and real founder data.
Milestone Journey
Justin achieved 3 milestones on the path to $10K MRR
First Customer
14 days
January 2016
85% faster
vs avg 3 months+6 months to next milestone
$1K MRR
$1,000
6 months
June 2016
46% faster
vs avg 11 months+1 year to next milestone
$10K MRR
$15,000
2 years
January 2018
Avg: 1 year
2 years
Total journey time
3
Milestones achieved
Justin's Path to $10K MRRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
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