In late 2013, Mike Carson wanted to register smile.io for a project, but it had already expired. He wrote a script to check every second if it became available and email him when it did.

The Missed Domain

One evening at dinner, Mike got the email notification. He rushed to register the domain - less than a minute had passed - but someone else had already taken it. That frustration sparked an obsession.

Six Months of Tinkering

Mike spent the next six months improving his domain-catching scripts. Eventually, his automated system could capture any .io domain he wanted. The scripts became so effective that he could get nearly any expiring domain.

In June 2014, he decided to turn it into a service. He spent "a week or two" building the UI, user signups, and payment processing - the "grunt work" that wasn't as fun as writing the domain-catching scripts.

Day One Revenue

Mike didn't do any initial marketing. He simply put parked landing pages on domains Park.io captured, directing visitors to the service.

"The first day I launched the service I got a few orders, and I have basically had orders every day since."

The Growth

• **December 2014** (6 months): ~$5,000/month
• **October 2014**: Sold smtp.io to SendGrid for $5,000, effectively doubling monthly revenue
• **June 2016**: Revenue exploded - "more than doubled the previous high, going into six figures"
• **September 2016**: $125,000/month

What Changed in 2016?

Three trends converged: 1. Viral games like slither.io made .io domains mainstream 2. Cryptocurrency projects started heavily using .io domains 3. Domain investors became increasingly interested in the extension

The Solo Advantage

When the .io registry itself launched a competing backordering service in December 2014, Mike's ability to adapt quickly as a solo founder gave him an edge over larger competitors.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change."

Automation as a Team

By 2016, Park.io broke $1 million in annual revenue with Mike as the only employee. His secret: extreme automation.

"I have so many automated processes running now that I feel like I have a team of 50 employees working around the clock, constantly and accurately, always in the background."

Any time he found himself doing something repetitive, he'd write code to automate it.

• Launch: June 2014
• Time to $1M+ ARR: ~2 years
• Employees: 0 (just Mike)
• Peak monthly revenue: $125,000+