Founder stories
Founder stories
Browse Stories
227 stories found
Alexander Isora
How I built a landing page builder to $10K MRR as a solo founder
I've created 20+ products over the years. Unicorn Platform was the one that really got off the ground. I don't have any KPI or growth goals. I'm not c...
$10K MRR in 3 years·Solo
SaaSDeveloper Tools🇺🇦 UA
AJ
$1K on launch day to $2M ARR with zero marketing spend
Carrd launched on Product Hunt and made $1K on day one. It grew to $2M ARR with absolutely zero marketing spend. The Launch Product Hunt launch...
$100K ARR in 3 years·Solo
SaaSProductivity🇺🇸 US
Justin Welsh
From SVP panic attack to $5M/year solo with 89% profit margin
I was SVP of Sales when I had a panic attack from burnout. I quit to build a solo business. Now I make $5M/year with 89% profit margin and zero ads....
$100K ARR in 4 years·Solo
Info ProductEducation🇺🇸 US
Oleg Shchegolev
Started 2008 with 2 tools, grew organically for decade without VC to NYSE
We started Semrush in 2008 with just 2 tools. Grew organically for a decade without VC money. Now public on NYSE with 7M+ users. Bootstrap to IPO...
$100K ARR in 15 years·Team
SaaSMarketing🇺🇸 US
Des Traynor
Wrote 93 of first 100 blog posts, content is majority of acquisition
I personally wrote 93 of Intercom's first 100 blog posts. Content became the majority of our customer acquisition. Now at $300M+ revenue. Founder-L...
$100K ARR in 7 years·Team
SaaSMarketing🇮🇪 IE
Pat Walls
From side project to $100K/month with founder interviews
I started Starter Story as a side project to interview founders about how they started their businesses. It grew into a full-time business doing $100K...
$10K MRR in 2 years·Solo
SaaSContent Creation🇺🇸 US
Thibault Louis-Lucas
Shipped 11 products in 4 months, then built $3.5M ARR tool
Before Taplio succeeded, I shipped 11 products in 4 months. The key was speed and willingness to move on from failures. The Shipping Mindset I r...
$100K ARR in 1 year·Team
SaaSMarketing🇺🇸 US
Joe Thomas
Near bankruptcy to 10M users after pivoting based on Product Hunt launch
We were near bankruptcy when we launched on Product Hunt. 3,000 signups in 24 hours saved the company. We pivoted from usability tests to video record...
$100K ARR in 4 years·Team
SaaSContent Creation🇺🇸 US
Mike Perham
How I built a $1M+ business selling open source software
Sidekiq started as an open source project in 2012. I was frustrated with existing Ruby background job solutions and built something better. The Ope...
$100K ARR in 4 years·Solo
SaaSDeveloper Tools🇺🇸 US
Rob Walling
Bootstrapped to acquisition: Drip sold to Leadpages
I bootstrapped Drip from zero to acquisition by Leadpages. The key was focusing on a specific niche and building in public. The Pivot Drip start...
$10K MRR in 1 year·Team
SaaSMarketing🇺🇸 US
Ricardo Ghekiere
Acquired at $1,500/mo, scaled to $274K/month with paid ads
We acquired Betterpic when it was doing $1,500/month. Through multi-channel paid advertising, we scaled it to $274K/month. The Acquisition Buyin...
$10K MRR in 7 months·Team
SaaSAI / ML🇺🇸 US
Jason Cohen
4th bootstrapped company to $1M+, "A Smart Bear" blog built massive authority
WP Engine is my 4th bootstrapped company to hit $1M+. My "A Smart Bear" blog built massive authority that attracted customers and investors. Serial...
$100K ARR in 8 years·Team
SaaSDeveloper Tools🇺🇸 US
Sahil Bloom
Private Equity Analyst Builds 800K Newsletter During COVID, $70K/Month
Sahil Bloom was working at a private equity firm when March 2020 hit. Instead of 70+ hour weeks, he was suddenly at home. COVID Opportunity He h...
$10K MRR in 2 years·Solo
Info ProductContent Creation🇺🇸 US
Marie Forleo
Business Coach Launches B-School, First Million-Dollar Launch in Year Two
Marie Forleo, along with Laura Roeder, created B-School. The first year enrolled a few hundred students. Fun Marketing The marketing broke all r...
$100K ARR in 1 year·Team
Info ProductEducation🇺🇸 US
Aurelian Amacker
$20M ARR Solo Founder Built All-in-One Marketing Platform
I built Systeme.io to $20M ARR as a solo founder. The platform helps entrepreneurs build sales funnels, email marketing campaigns, and sell digital pr...
$100K ARR in 2 years·Solo
SaaSMarketing🇺🇸 US
Dickie Bush
Writer Creates 30-Day Challenge, Grows to 4,000 Students and Millions in Revenue
In December 2020, Dickie Bush tweeted: 'is anyone interested in doing a daily writing challenge for 30 days?' Rapid Validation Around 20 people...
$100K ARR in 6 months·Team
Info ProductEducation🇺🇸 US
Marie Martens
Built a $3M ARR form builder with 400,000 users and a 5-person team
Tally grew to 400,000 users and $3M ARR with just a 5-person team. The secret? Product-led growth with viral loops. Viral Badges 30-40% of our g...
$100K ARR in 4 years·Team
SaaSMarketing🇺🇸 US
Brian Dean
Failed with first 5 businesses, created Skyscraper Technique, acquired by Semrush
I failed with my first 5 online businesses before Backlinko worked. Created the "Skyscraper Technique" which became an industry standard. Eventually a...
$100K ARR in 3 years·Solo
Info ProductEducation🇺🇸 US
Tyler Denk
Morning Brew Engineer Builds Newsletter Platform to $1M MRR
Tyler Denk joined Morning Brew in 2017 as the second employee, where he led product, growth, and engineering. The Opportunity After building the...
$100K ARR in 3 years·Team
SaaSMarketing🇺🇸 US
Pat Flynn
Fired Architect Creates LEED Exam eBook, Builds Multi-Million Dollar Brand
Pat Flynn was fired as an architect in 2008. He launched an ebook about the LEED exam based on his own study materials. The Pivot That first inf...
$10K MRR in 5 years·Solo
Info ProductContent Creation🇺🇸 US
Tiago Forte
Productivity Expert Launches Cohort Course, Builds $5M/Year Business
Tiago Forte 'rage quit' consulting with a month of savings. He created a course on SkillShare that became 2 on the platform. Cohort Model After...
$100K ARR in 1 year·Solo
Info ProductEducation🇺🇸 US
David Perell
Writer Launches Online Writing Course, $200K+ from First Two Cohorts
David Perell launched Write of Passage in April 2019 with ~150 students at $600. He ran it with Tiago Forte. Instant Success Even the first coho...
$100K ARR in 3 months·Team
Info ProductEducation🇺🇸 US
Bhanu Teja
24-Year-Old From India Reaches $10K MRR in 1 Month with AI Chatbot
I had around 10,000 Twitter followers and frequently mentioned I would be launching a new AI product soon. I didn't have high expectations. Multi-P...
$10K MRR in 1 month·Solo
SaaSAI / ML🇺🇸 US
Jordan O'Connor
Solo Dad Builds $42K/Month Chrome Extension with $1/Day Pricing
I'm the self-proclaimed 'winner of Indie Hackers' - if you filter for solo founders with verified Stripe revenue, I come up at the top. Simple Valu...
$100K ARR in 2 years·Solo
Chrome ExtensionE-commerce🇺🇸 US
Browse by Industry
Explore founder stories in your niche
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.
Never miss a new founder story
We add 5+ new stories every week. Get them delivered to your inbox along with insights on what's working for founders right now.