Starter Story

Pat Walls
  • 4.3 (6)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Semiweekly

Want to know how real people build real businesses? That's what we do at Starter Story. Every episode, we sit down with founders who've actually done it. They share the real numbers, the real mistakes, and the strategies that actually moved the needle. We've talked to thousands of entrepreneurs – app builders, bootstrapped SaaS founders, agency owners, and everything in between. If someone is building something interesting, we want to know how. New episodes weekly. Hit subscribe.

  1. Sep 27

    I built this website in 8 hours with Claude. Now it makes $40K/month

    Frank had never built software in his life. Until one weekend, he got a crazy idea and decided to just build it with Claude. Today, the app he built in just a few hours, makes over $40K per month. In this video, we break down the growth story and how anyone can build and launch their idea all thanks to coding with AI. *Find your business idea with our free database (over 3k+ ideas):* https://clickhubspot.com/von4 Say hi to Frank: https://x.com/frankmikesmith Check out GeoSports: https://geosports.app/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 Built in a few hours 00:00:46 What's your story? 00:01:24 Business breakdown 00:02:58 Build your own app! 00:04:06 Founder background 00:05:11 But you had an audience? 00:06:43 Finding the idea 00:07:27 Building the app 00:08:10 Tools and tech stack 00:08:43 Advice for building apps 00:10:35 Growth timeline 00:11:42 Zero to $40K/month 00:12:44 Final advice 00:13:58 Gus reflections This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

  2. Sep 20

    This Simple Widget Makes $50K/Month

    Tom built a tiny widget that solves one painful problem. He launched it about 1 year ago, and today it makes $55K per month – 100% bootstrapped. This video is the story of how spotting one real problem and building the simplest possible solution turned into a real business. *90+ Million-dollar problems (business ideas):* https://clickhubspot.com/tu8n Say hi to Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-holliday-505469161/ Check out Avenue: https://www.avenue2.au/ Follow Avenue on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avenue2.au 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 The simple app I found on X 00:01:03 What's your story? 00:01:28 What's the app? 00:01:59 Solving an age old problem 00:02:29 Revenue breakdown 00:02:50 Problems worth solving 00:03:29 Founder background 00:04:13 Finding the idea 00:04:51 Build timeline 00:05:45 Hiring without revenue? 00:06:18 Growth and marketing 00:07:29 Building for the trades 00:08:29 Tom's advice for building apps 00:09:10 Tools and tech stack 00:09:51 App demo 00:10:29 Final advice 00:11:19 Gus reflections This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

  3. Sep 16

    How I Work: $140K/Month App Developer

    Jay built nomadtable, a mobile app that makes $140K/month. Before that he was a software engineer, until one trip changed his life forever. This episode is a day in the life of a solo app builder in 2026. *iOS App ideas:* https://clickhubspot.com/qy55 Follow Jay: https://twitter.com/jayvraavi Check out NomadTable: https://nomadtable.app/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 Meet Jay 00:00:53 Morning routine 00:01:33 The story behind nomad table 00:02:43 iOS app ideas 00:03:14 Afternoon routine 00:04:17 Building apps in 2026 00:05:10 Building apps while traveling 00:05:46 Evening routine 00:06:38 Lessons from building 00:07:40 Advice for builders

  4. Sep 13

    This app replaced my 9-5 ($155K/year)

    Ken spent nearly his entire career in big tech before to build a mobile app. In his first year since he launched, he hit his $10K/month goal, and grew the game to $155K in revenue with zero paid marketing. This video is the story of why he left a comfortable job to build a game, and how he grew it on his own. *Free database: 100+ Solopreneurs making $1M/year* https://clickhubspot.com/1k92 Say hi to Ken: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethylaw/ Check out Harpagia: https://kayelleapps.com/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 the $10K game 00:00:54 Gus is hosting! 00:01:10 What’s your story? 00:01:48 Business breakdown 00:02:24 Revenue overview 00:03:39 Founder background 00:04:34 Successful solo devs 00:05:23 Quitting tech backstory 00:06:33 App timeline 00:07:38 Growth and marketing 00:09:27 The opportunity in games 00:10:45 App demo 00:11:41 Tech stack 00:12:28 Final advice 00:13:25 Gus reflections This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

  5. Sep 9

    How I Built This $160K/Month Gym App

    Mauro built a gym app that last month made $160,000. What sets him apart is not the product or marketing... but his app development approach. He treats the product like a science experiment: A/B testing, validating features, and only building stuff that moves the needled.This video breaks down how to think like a product management expert, stop guessing, and start building what actually moves the needle. *FREE iOS App Ideas:* https://clickhubspot.com/l6tq Say hi to Mauro: https://x.com/Mauro_Botanes Check out Symmetry: https://symmetry.club/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

  6. Sep 6

    I make $25K/month from one simple website

    Meet Roman. He built Career Hound, a simple job board website that makes around $25K/month. It's a saturated idea, but the reason he's successful is NOT about the product. It's all about the marketing. This video is the story of how a "boring" product wins entirely on distribution. *One-page websites making $10K/month:* https://clickhubspot.com/m8ed Say hi to Roman: https://x.com/rlakhnyuk Check out Career Hound: https://www.careerhound.io/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 Dead simple websites win 00:01:11 What’s your story? 00:01:37 What’s the website? 00:02:50 Founder background 00:03:30 Coming up with the idea 00:04:09 Simple, one-page websites 00:04:59 What makes your website different? 00:05:53 Marketing: timely vs timeless content 00:07:24 Marketing examples 00:08:58 Working with ‘older’ creators 00:10:23 The marketing system secret 00:10:47 Advice to builders 00:12:13 Tech stack 00:12:43 Final advice 00:13:35 Gus reflections: it’s all about the marketing This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

  7. Sep 2

    I was stuck at $100 for 2 years until I made one change. Now my app makes $10K/month

    Piotr built Visualizee, an AI rendering tool that lets architects and designers generate realistic home renders in seconds. This might sound like a success story... but Piotr was stuck at $150 per month for YEARS. Then, one single product pivot changed his entire business and grew it to $10K per month. *The AI Playbook: 50+ AI app ideas making millions:* https://clickhubspot.com/qs4m Say hi to Piotr: https://x.com/pobidowski Check out Visualizee: https://visualizee.ai/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 2 years to hit $10K 00:00:57 What’s your story? 00:01:33 Business breakdown 00:03:40 App idea 00:04:04 Build process and timeline 00:04:50 AI app ideas 00:05:51 The pivot 00:07:02 Takeaways and learnings from the pivot 00:07:26 Results and data 00:07:53 What would you do differently next time? 00:09:09 Tech stack and tools 00:09:51 Advice 00:10:31 Pat and Gus reflections: stay in the game! This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

  8. Aug 30

    The Insanely Obvious Secret Behind This $69K/Month SaaS

    Gaurav built Fastlane, a marketing SaaS for indie developers. He’s grown it to $1M ARR and thousands of users, but the real story is about what he did to build it. In a few months, he had thousands of customer calls where he learned what worked, what didn’t, and exactly how to build the product for his ideal customer. This video breaks down why talking to customers is the most important thing you can do if you want to build a successful SaaS. *90+ Business Ideas ($1M+ problems worth solving):* https://clickhubspot.com/mod5 Say hi to Gaurav: https://twitter.com/gauravsbuilding Check out Fastlane: https://www.usefastlane.ai/ 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 Don't skip this! 00:00:57 What's your story? 00:01:44 Business breakdown 00:02:29 Finding the idea 00:03:26 Background and build timeline 00:04:40 Tech stack and tools 00:05:14 Solve painful problems 00:06:09 The secret behind his success 00:07:45 The system that helped him win 00:09:32 Go talk to customers! 00:10:12 Customer calls breakdown 00:12:54 App demo 00:13:50 How customer calls influenced the product 00:14:07 Final advice 00:15:09 Pat and Gus reflections: face the fear of rejection This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

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4.3
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Want to know how real people build real businesses? That's what we do at Starter Story. Every episode, we sit down with founders who've actually done it. They share the real numbers, the real mistakes, and the strategies that actually moved the needle. We've talked to thousands of entrepreneurs – app builders, bootstrapped SaaS founders, agency owners, and everything in between. If someone is building something interesting, we want to know how. New episodes weekly. Hit subscribe.

Information

  • Creator
    Pat Walls
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    86
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Starter Story
  • Show Website
    Starter Story

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