Startups Crushing It! - 🔥 edition #027
Trevor here, and I’m back with a special members’-only story I made available for everyone to read! I love being the sole creator of Startups Crushing It! — I conduct the research, test the products, crunch the numbers, write, edit, and interview the founders. I’d like you to join the pro members reading list. To be part of the pro members reading list, I’ll be charging $25 a month, or $200 per year. If you’d like to continue receiving insights like these in the future, I kindly ask you to subscribe at startupscrushing.com/subscribe and become a pro member. With the housekeeping out of the way — here are 4 startups worth your time. 🇬🇧 Leave Me Alone: An automated and convenient way to mass-unsubscribe from unwanted emails. (Founded 2019, Total Funding Amount: bootstrapped) Users pay a one-time fee for the comfort and for the time saved. There’s a monthly subscription option for those whose inboxes are drowning in spam. Metrics:
The backstory: A couple of Nomad Makers: the story of how it all began. Why it’s worth checking out: (1) Gaining traction and popularity among the Indie Hackers community. (2) The team is working on a new awesome feature called “Inbox Shield” that protects your inbox from spam and marketers — which might be a hit. (3) Unique design and branding, check out their website to see what I mean. It’s not for everyone — but I like it, and it distinguishes them from the rest of the pack. Note: To save you some headache, here’s the catch — James mentioned they’re not currently interested in fundraising capital. Granted, it’s still a potentially great company to keep on your radar. I believe anything is up for negotiation. Basecamp, a “celebrity” startup, swore they would never take outside funding — only to be funded by Mr. Jeff Bezos. 🇺🇸 Bundle: Subscription integration app for Shopify merchants and stores. (Founded 2020, Total Funding Amount: angel/pre-seed stage, backed by YC) You might wonder, why on earth would an e-commerce store need a subscription? — Here’s why it’s a great idea — selling subscription-based consumables, like coffee, tea, shaving razors, is becoming a hot trend. For instance, shoppers pay a monthly (or annual) fee and receive a fresh batch of coffee or tea. — You’ll never run out of coffee or tea again. Brilliant! I’ll have the green tea subscription. The options are unlimited for subscription-based store owners. I don’t shop that much, but I’ve seen a subscription-based store that sends you a fresh mix of clothes every second month. The backstory: “We created Bundle to help brands reimagine how they build long-term engagement—through subscription and member services.” — Founder & CEO, Emily (Yang) Yuhas Why it’s worth checking out: (1) I’m bullish on $SHOP and its massive ecosystem of store-enhancing apps. I’m bullish on Shopify since there’s 50% growth each year, and some years even topping 100% growth. For comparison, >40% YoY growth for startups is excellent, but for such a behemoth public company, it’s astonishing. (2) Shopify features the best apps in their app store and Bundle was the #1 app the previous week. All that growth means the Shopify app store ecosystem is in prime time for innovation right now. Here’s the data to back my claims for Shopify gross profits growth, on an annual basis. I’m using 🇨🇦HyperCharts for the data, which was featured in edition 14. If you’re using Yahoo or Apple Charts, give HyperCharts a try. I think you’re gonna love it. 🇨🇦 Snack: A video-first dating app. When TikTok meets dating. (Founded 2020, Total Funding Amount: $3.5m pre-seed) Here’s how it works: Snack users record and upload a video and post it to a feed. Similar to how Instagram works. Once users have liked each others’ videos, they are allowed to connect through direct messages The backstory: Kim Kaplan, the CEO of Snack, went on my favorite startups/business shows — This Week in Startups. Check out the video and hear from Kim herself about the backstory. I went through it and can confirm, it’s a highly entertaining interview. — Recommend tuning in. Why it’s worth checking out: Instead of binary swiping yes or no on Tinder — younger people prefer to date via indirect methods, such as dancing on TikTok, sharing stories on Instagram, or chatting on Snapchat. Another reason why Snack has an advantage over older dating methods is that dating couples hate to say they met online. You know, the whole “if things get serious let’s tell our parents we met at the park” shebang. The Snack team has a solid understanding of their users’ demography. Perhaps they’re able to reduce the stigmatization of online dating and make it fun again? 🇺🇸🇿🇦 ContentBot: AI-powered content generator. Tweak it and generate unique and original articles. (Founded 2021, Total Funding Amount: bootstrapped) See it working live — short demo video below. Why it’s worth checking out: (1) Solid product, great design, innovative idea, passionate and hard-working team. (2) Just over 3 months old startup. Gaining traction, and has over 70 paying customers already. Strong market product-fit case. The backstory: “So far, we've helped 2310 content marketers and copywriters produce over 3.2 million words of copy. I want to be clear though - this tool is not meant to mass produce articles at scale. We are heavily against that. We at ContentBot are committed to the responsible use of AI with a cornerstone of ethical principles that put people first. However, if you're looking to get inspiration and fight back against the dreaded blank page - you can generate meaningful copy in seconds. Simply tweak it, edit it, add to it and you're good to go!” — Nick Duncan Interested in more? Join the Members Club!Each Tuesday and Friday, I send out a well-researched, short email packed with exciting early-stage startups. Save 100+ hours of market research and source attractive startups with 5-minute reports. To be part of the pro members reading list, I’ll be charging $25 a month, or $200 per year. That’s the equivalent of an annual sushi dinner in New York City. ✅ Access all reports by becoming a member. When you decide you’re ready to receive more stories — you can always subscribe at startupscrushing.com/subscribe. Leaning on a maybe? Try the 7-day free trial. The free trial will provide you with 7 days of the free subscription. Cancel any time. No commitment is required. No tricks or strings attached. My goal is to provide you with some of the best content available on the web. 🏁 What is Startups Crushing It?Startups Crushing It! is a newsletter about early-stage technology startups. I publish the insights each Tuesday and Friday. I devote a big chunk of time to researching and testing various products. I do this so I can bring you the most promising startups. I have no affiliation with any of the startups mentioned above. If you want more, you can dig through the archives for the previous digests. Support me by forwarding it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here. 🚀 Submit Your Startup HereI’m always open to working with all types of founders, no matter their ethnicity, gender, origin, or socio-economic background. Please fill in this form if you want me to review your startup and product. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well. As a rule of thumb, I look at startups who have at least built a minimal viable product. I look for strong positive signals using the FPTM model: Founders — Product — Traction — Mission. You’re on the free list for Startups Crushing It! For the full experience, become a paying subscriber. |
Older messages
🚀 edition #026
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Bite-sized startup insights trusted by the industry leaders
Startups Crushing It! Upcoming Updates
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Trevor here. I'm experimenting with a shorter format (<5 startups per post) and publishing every Tuesday and Friday for paid subscribers. I just published Edition #24 for paid readers. The idea
🚀 #023
Friday, April 9, 2021
Insights and reports trusted by the industry leaders
Startups Crushing It! — Edition #022
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Your weekly dose of awesome startups
🚀 Startups Crushing It! — Edition #020
Monday, March 29, 2021
Your weekly dose of winning startups
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