Job board makes $1M/year and spends $0 on ads

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 our limited time offer 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.

Why celebs are investing in laundry detergent brands?

David and Pete came up with a new kickass detergent formula that was so good that they were able to raise funding from one biotech VC and celebrities such as actor Henry Golding, footballer Chris Smalling, and supermodel Soo Joo Park.

The business is killing it and has been growing 30% month over month with website conversions in the range of 5-6%.

My take: There’s a huge social trend towards smarter, more eco-friendly, and safe products. Big brands are trying to move in that direction but after years of neglecting those aspects, conscious customers are more inclined to choose new brands. 

Read the full story.

More “social good” case studies: 

• The $110K/mo eco-friendly products ecommerce 
• $15K/mo sustainable goodie bags brand

$1.2M/year with a tech talent hiring site [$0 spent on ads]

These guys were building a startup and, while building, found an even bigger hairier problem to solve: hiring good tech talent. Immediately, they scrapped their startup and started working on a job board.

They nabbed the Product Hunt #1 spot and shared some great tips on what helped them.

In just one year they’ve been able to generate over $1M, without any spending on paid marketing.

My take: Companies are searching for talent worldwide. This can be tedious and expensive. Anyone able to ease this pain can make lots of money.

Read the full story.

​There’s a lot of money to be made in tech talent: 

• The $3M/year remote worker recruitment agency​
• $7K/mo connecting companies with no-code talent

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47 business ideas trending on TikTok

TikTok is HOT. If you want to keep up with the current trends you need to keep an eye on what’s happening there. And it’s no different with businesses. Whatever you’ll see on Twitter, some TikTok kids have been already making money for a while and showing it on TikTok.

We've put together 47 business ideas to make money off of TikTok that you can start in today. 

For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of other businesses to help you see what it really takes.

See the full list.

You won’t need to go to the hospital soon

Angelica developed a system that allows people to measure and track blood markers from home, receiving instant personal feedback. And to do so, they raised $21M.

I love this quote from her: “A mediocre team with a brilliant idea is less likely to succeed than a brilliant team with a mediocre idea.”

My take: COVID-19 was a big push for self-testing, but health is going fast down the digital path. There are crazy huge opportunities in the space (ePrescriptions, telemedicine, and much more).

Read the full story.

A product so good that people get tattoos of it

Dave is the creator of Dave’s Insanity Sauce and has gotten his product into 8,000 retail stores (even Whole Foods).

In his first year, he was banned by the National Fiery Food Show and became a media darling with the New York Times and many other media outlets eventually calling him “legendary” in the hot sauce world.

The secret of their success? Focusing on creating an excellent product and not settling for something with lower quality.

My take: Even though the hot sauce market may seem crowded, consumers of these are always looking to try new sauces and flavors. We have featured lots of people who are killing it in this space, don’t get discouraged if you’re thinking about entering this space.

Read the full story.

More profitable hot sauce case studies: 

• Two students made $100K bringing Korean hot sauce to America 
• The $85K/mo brand that sources peppers from over 200 community gardens

Most popular stories this week

Here are the top 10 trending stories this week…

1. The $300K/Year Vue.js Component Library
2. $100K In One Week With A Pimple Popping Toy
3. This 13 Year Old Made It On Shark Tank And Did $500K In Sales
4. 14 Profitable Business Ideas for Couples
5. I Built A $3.6M/Year Software Dev Agency [From Ukraine]
6. My Affiliate Marketing Business Earns $500K/Year Profit [No Employees]
7. Hiring One VA Inspired Me To Build A $6M/Year Business
8. Become A Professional Cuddler
9. 40+ Business Ideas For Teens & Young Entrepreneurs
10. Left Stanford, Bought A Small Website And Tripled Revenue In 6 Months

Looking for a job, or some work on the side?

Get your feet wet before you take the plunge into founder life.

Many of the companies we interview are hiring in operations, design, marketing, engineering, and more...

Check out our jobs portal for all new opportunities - new jobs are added every day!

Thanks for reading!

Pat

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