Starter Story - 100M views on TikTok (with $0 budget)

Dear starters,

Pat Walls here, creator of Starter Story. 

As you know, every Thursday I send you an email highlighting the best case studies that we've published on our platform. This is a bite-sized summary of the most interesting experiences that starters have shared with us.

I hope you enjoy it!

And remember that as a newsletter subscriber, you are eligible for a very special deal to enjoy unlimited access to our Ideas database. Join us now and get Starter Story Premium for $79/year, a 45% discount from our regular price. That’s just $1.71 per week, an absolute no brainer investment in your business.

100M views on TikTok (w/ $0 Budget)

We just caught up again with Reid who created the Scruffie, a unique leg shaving device that looks like this:

Reid has absolutely been murdering the TikTok game, garnering 7.1M likes, 169K followers, and over 100M views across his social channels combined.

What’s his secret? He listened to his audience. Originally, the Scruffie was intended to be a neck shaver. But once he started hearing that female customers were actually using the Scruffie to shave their legs, he pivoted. 

He posted a leg shaving demo of the Scruffie and it went absolutely viral, garnering 1.6M views…

Want to make TikTok work for your business?

Have you thought of trying out TikTok? I think it probably has the highest upside right now of any social media platform. Why?

• ​It’s low budget (all you need is your phone)
• It takes very little time to create good content
• Users with no following can go viral (within hours)

Here are some more founders that are making TikTok work:

1. Learn how Kayla ($1.2M/year skincare brand) grew TikTok to 160K followers
2. Kanga ($100k/month) gets millions of free views every month on TikTok
3. Niki says most people tell her they found her brand through TikTok

Already have some content that has worked well on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc? We also put together a guide of how to repurpose your existing content on TikTok.

Looking for an idea? Here are 47 business ideas that are trending on TikTok.

💰 Start a profitable business

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How do people get inspired and find great business opportunities? How do they get their 10 first clients? What challenges do they face at every stage and how to overcome them?

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$2.4M/year idea management SaaS

Idea Drop helps companies innovate with a software tool that catalogs and prioritizes company-wide ideas. 

I think this is a really cool business because enterprise companies are always struggling to innovate, so it's a no-brainer for them to pay for a tool like this.

They have some customers like MTV, and even have sold their product to a police force… Cool!

Read the full story.

The $6M/year trackable smart wallet

We just caught up again with Olivier from Ekster. They make wallets that have trackable cards inside them (no more losing your wallet).

In the last year, they quadrupled their revenue. How did they do it? Read the full story for more.

$15K candle and diffuser side hustle

Adam worked in the theatre industry, and once the pandemic hit, he had to find new work. That prompted him to start a side hustle selling candles.

He’s now on track to make a full-time income, read the full story.

100 One Person Business Ideas

Want to start a business but don’t have a co-founder? That’s where I was before I started Starter Story. Looking back, it was a great decision...

Here are 100 profitable businesses that are run by solo founders.

Who’s hiring

• Ekster is looking for Head Of Growth and Head Of Influencer Marketing.
• Hairstory ($30M/Year Hair Care Products) Head of Marketing and Product Manager.
• Ora ($21K/Month Project Management System) Junior Frontend Developer and Sales.
• Laxis (Next Generation AI meeting assistant) Engineer, Designer, Growth Marketer and Community Manager.
• Rejoin Media ($100K/Month Portfolio Of Web-Based Businesses) Experts in podcast growth and eCommerce.

Thanks for reading!

Pat

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I really appreciate you sharing and spreading the word. It really means a lot!

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