Founder stories
$10K MRRin 2 months
3 milestones
From weekend project to $10M+ in creator payouts
Founder
Sahil Lavingia
Solo Founder•Technical•USA
Commitment
Full-timeExperience
First-timeProduct
An e-commerce platform for creators to sell digital products directly to their audience.
Type
MarketplaceIndustry
E-commerceModel
Marketplace FeesMarketing Strategy
How Sahil acquired customers
Primary Channel
Twitter / X
Also Used
CommunitiesWord of Mouth
Tech Stack
Tools used to build Gumroad
Ruby on RailsStripeAWS
The Full Story
I built the first version of Gumroad in a weekend while working at Pinterest. The idea was simple: let anyone sell anything with just a link.
The Weekend Build
In February 2011, I built Gumroad in a single weekend. The MVP was just a way to share a link and collect payments. I shared it on Twitter and Hacker News, and it immediately got traction.
Early Growth
Within 2 months, creators were making real money. The product-market fit was clear - creators wanted a simple way to sell without building a whole storefront.
The Journey
Gumroad has had its ups and downs. We raised $8M, grew to 23 employees, then had to downsize to just me. But the business kept growing. Today, Gumroad has paid out over $500M to creators.
- Weekend MVP to first revenue: 2 days
- $10K MRR: ~2 months
- Total creator payouts: $500M+
Key Takeaways
1
Ship fast - a weekend MVP can become a real business
2
Solve your own problem first
3
Growth isn't always linear - embrace the journey
4
A solo founder can run a $10M+ business
Originally published onsahillavingia.com
Inspired by Sahil's journey? Generate a business idea in the E-commerce space using AI and real founder data.
Milestone Journey
Sahil achieved 3 milestones on the path to $10K MRR
First Customer
1 days
February 2012
99% faster
vs avg 3 months+13 days to next milestone
$1K MRR
$1,000
14 days
February 2012
96% faster
vs avg 11 months+1 month to next milestone
$10K MRR
$10,000
2 months
April 2012
91% faster
vs avg 1 year2 months
Total journey time
3
Milestones achieved
Sahil's Path to $10K MRRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
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