I made an app in 24 hours and $20,378 the next day

Summary

In this video, the creator shares the journey of building a simple, trust-driven platform that verifies startup revenues, inspired by a tweet from Peter Levels. After launching in under 24 hours, the project quickly went viral, generating $20,000 in just a couple of days. By focusing on simplicity and listening to user feedback, the creator added features like a game to guess startup revenues and embedded badges for verified startups. The success highlights key lessons in entrepreneurship, like the importance of simplicity, storytelling, and just showing up to build and iterate.

Takeaways

• 😀 Simplicity is key: The app's success stemmed from its simple, one-feature design, ensuring users understood the value instantly.
• 😀 Quick execution can lead to success: The project was built and launched in less than 24 hours, which led to fast traction.
• 😀 Leveraging existing networks boosts visibility: The launch was propelled by a tweet from Peter Levels, which generated significant traffic.
• 😀 Transparency builds trust: Sharing real revenue numbers and verifying startups fostered trust in the community.
• 😀 Monetization strategy: The app initially had no monetization, but ad spots were added, which sold quickly and generated significant revenue.
• 😀 Pricing strategy: The price for ad spots was raised as demand increased, from $299 to $1,500 per month.
• 😀 User feedback drives development: The creator used suggestions from users to iteratively add features like categories and dark mode.
• 😀 Gamification can engage users: A game feature where users guessed which startup earned more created excitement and drove traffic.
• 😀 Product validation through high-profile users: Notable users like Sahil from Gumroad added credibility and helped the app grow.
• 😀 Marketing matters: Using engaging visuals (OG images) and storytelling increased clicks and engagement on social media.
• 😀 Entrepreneurship is about persistence: The creator emphasizes the importance of showing up, iterating, and keeping faith that one project will eventually succeed.

Q & A

What was the primary idea behind creating the TrustMr app?

The primary idea behind creating TrustMr was to address the issue of fake revenue screenshots in the tech startup space. The app allows startup founders to verify and display their revenue data publicly, thereby building trust within the community.

How long did it take to build the TrustMr app?

The TrustMr app was built in less than 24 hours. The founder quickly came up with the idea, implemented the features, and launched the product.

What features did the TrustMr website include on launch?

The TrustMr website included a simple verification system where startup founders could link their Stripe API to verify their revenue, a search feature to view other startups' revenue, and a simple layout with only the essential features.

How did the monetization strategy evolve for TrustMr?

Initially, TrustMr had no direct monetization. However, after seeing success, the founder added ad slots to the website. The price for ad spots started at $299 per month and increased to $1,500 per month as demand grew and the site gained more traffic.

What role did social media play in the success of TrustMr?

Social media, particularly Twitter, played a huge role in the success of TrustMr. A tweet from Peter Levels, a well-known indie maker, helped generate massive attention, with the tweet gaining close to 3 million views. This brought a lot of visitors to the site and helped build momentum.

How did the founder incorporate user feedback into the development of TrustMr?

The founder actively listened to user feedback and built additional features based on suggestions. For example, they added categories for different types of startups, a badge that users could embed on their websites to show they were verified, and a dark mode feature.

What were the most notable startups added to TrustMr?

One of the most notable startups added to TrustMr was Gumroad, a well-established company in the tech space founded by Sahil. Seeing high-profile companies like Gumroad sharing their revenue data added credibility to the platform.

What key lessons did the founder learn from building TrustMr?

The founder learned several key lessons: simplicity is crucial for user engagement, the importance of OG images for social sharing, the power of context in storytelling (especially in relation to the tweet from Peter Levels), and the value of showing up and building without knowing exactly how things will turn out.

Why did the founder focus on simplicity when designing the TrustMr website?

The founder believed that simplicity was essential for user engagement. A complex website might overwhelm visitors and lead to drop-offs, so they focused on a minimalist design with one key feature: allowing users to verify and share their startup revenue.

How did the game feature on TrustMr help engage users?

The game feature allowed users to bet on which verified startup made more money between two randomly selected options. This interactive element generated a lot of interest, with around 100,000 clicks on the game, and helped drive more traffic to the site.