$6M/year selling caffeine gum, $4.8M/yr card game, & $156K/yr app for people that want kids NOW!

Hey starters - happy September!

This week, we're featuring 5 amazing stories.

Starter Quote of The Week:

❝ Nearly every day, I heard a little voice in my head telling me how crazy I was for pursuing this. But after I finally flipped my website live, that voice completely disappeared."

- Ronell Firouz, founder of Pilly Labs ($66K/year) tweet this!

#1: Ryan started a $6M/year caffeine gum product and landed a deal with CVS:

We just caught up with Ryan Chen with Neuro - a gum with caffeine in it.

Once they had a concept, they launched on Indiegogo and met their funding goal in 3 days.

Now they've sold over 12 million pieces and got into 6,500 retail locations.

Their secret? Viral media: They've been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30, appeared on Shark Tank and even got Joe Rogan as a fan. 

Read Ryan's full interview here!

Pat @ Starter Story: Want to learn how the most successful crowdfunding campaigns raise millions? We have the full scoop here.

#2: Bart makes $4.8M/year selling card games:

Bart started Vertellis - a card game that brings people closer together.

What started as a handwritten game with family during Christmas time evolved into a $4.8M/year brand active in over 8 countries.

Their secret? Facebook Ads - In 2019, they found ads that work by telling their story, then spent $2.5M on  these Facebook Ads which resulted in $4.8M in revenue!!

Check out Bart's full story here!

Pat @ Starter Story: Want to learn more about Facebook Ads? We put together a guide for you here.

#3 Ivan built a $156K/year dating app for people that want to have kids now:

Ivan started Modamily - an app that connects people who want to have kids, but not necessarily romance. 

After realizing the frustration his friends had towards mainstream dating apps, he built an online service that matches people who feel like "the clock is ticking."

He's now doing $156K/year, got featured in the Wall Street Journal and has doubled web traffic since the start of the pandemic.

Read Ivan's full story here!

Pat @ Starter Story: There are tons of businesses built around the love and marriage industry. Check out this guy who improves Tinder profiles for a living or this side hustle which gives advice on engagement rings.

#4: Three friends turned their college side hustle into a $72K/year SaaS:

We just interviewed Arthur with Parcel Tracker - an internal parcel tracking software.

They started the business with just $1,500 and are now doing $72K/year and growing 20% month over month. 

Their secret? Minimal spend with PPC Ads in the following channels:

Check out Arthurs full story here!

Pat @ Starter Story: Want to learn how to use Google Adwords + get a 17x return on ad spend? Jay Vasantharajah gives us all his secrets here.

#5: This couple makes $1.8M/year selling design apparel and accessories:

Matt and Meredith started Boredwalk - a lifestyle brand that sells graphic design and art on apparel.

Due to major issues with Amazon in 2016, they had no choice but to close their Amazon storefront - scrambling to replace 40% of their revenue. 

With their social strategy, educational email content, and loyal customer base, they've now grown their brand to $1.8M/year and averaged YoY growth of 50-100%. 

Check out their full story here - their rebound from Amazon is one you don't want to miss.

Pat @ Starter Story: Want to start an apparel brand? Check out these guys who make $2.4M/year selling graphic tees or these guys who make $3.6M/year selling streetwear in New Zealand.

#6: Are you ready to boost your revenue?

I want to give a shoutout to our long-time sponsor Klaviyo.

Using Klaviyo will open up a massive, untapped sales channel and bring you closer to your customers!

I'm a huge fan of the product (I use it for Starter Story and love the segmentation/drip features). I've also been able to collect so many emails using their website form integration - my list growing over 3k/month now 😲

Here are just some of the impressive businesses we've interviewed that use Klaviyo for email marketing and are raving about the product - all great interviews you should check out as well!

• Brumate ($1.1M/mo at 23 years old)
• Sheets & Giggles ($76k/mo in just 6 months)
• Beardbrand ($100k+/mo - 1.5M YouTube subscribers)
• Abs Protein Pancakes ($25k/mo passive income business)
• Xero Shoes ($460k/mo - featured on Shark Tank)
• The Longhairs ($30k/mo)
• Framed Tweets ($25k/mo)

Level up your email marketing with 👉 Klaviyo!

(And thank you for your support 🙏)

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Thanks for reading! See you next week.

- Pat Walls, Founder @ Starter Story

feedback? please hit reply on this email :)