I Built A $1M App In 5 Hours

Summary

Dawson, a solo software developer, built a million-dollar Ethereum airdrop app called nfy in just a few hours. After gaining 10,000 organic signups within 48 hours, he innovated a monetization strategy that earned him over $100,000 a month. Despite challenges with free users and corporate disillusionment, Dawson's focus on quality and strategic marketing led to success. Eventually, he sold nfy to Bankless and now lives a nomadic lifestyle, emphasizing community and open-source projects. His story highlights the potential of solo development and the importance of enjoying the entrepreneurial journey.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Dawson built a million-dollar crypto app in just 4 to 5 hours, showcasing the potential of rapid development for a significant impact.
• 🌐 The app, named nfy, helps Ethereum users find and claim unclaimed airdrops, highlighting the niche opportunity within the crypto space.
• 📈 Dawson leveraged a viral marketing strategy that resulted in 10,000 organic signups within 48 hours, demonstrating the power of social media in user acquisition.
• 💡 The initial challenge was monetization, as the influx of users did not initially translate to revenue, prompting Dawson to devise a monetization strategy.
• 💰 Dawson implemented an 'anti-email' strategy, only sending emails when users had real money to claim, which significantly increased open rates and engagement.
• 🔒 Trust was a key differentiator for nfy, as the app's focus on quality and accuracy in identifying unclaimed funds built a strong reputation in the crypto community.
• 🏆 Being an early entrant in the space and focusing on quality allowed nfy to establish a lead that competitors struggled to match.
• 🛠 Dawson's tech stack included TypeScript for full-stack development, using Node.js, React, and Next.js, emphasizing the importance of speed and efficiency in web development.
• 🏆 The app was eventually acquired by Bankless, a significant achievement that validated Dawson's work and provided a life-changing event.
• 🎉 Post-acquisition, Dawson experienced a mix of celebration and uncertainty, emphasizing the emotional journey that comes with such a significant transition.
• 🔄 Dawson's current focus includes consulting, open-source projects, and engaging with communities, showing his continued passion for technology and innovation.

Q & A

Who is Dawson and what did he create?

Dawson is a solo preneur software engineer who created a web 3 startup called nfy, which helps Ethereum users find and claim unclaimed airdrops.

How did Dawson manage to build the nfy app in such a short time?

Dawson built the nfy app in about 4 to 5 hours during a hackathon, leveraging his software engineering skills and a clear idea of the problem he wanted to solve.

What is an airdrop in the context of Ethereum?

In the context of Ethereum, an airdrop is a distribution of a cryptocurrency token or coin, usually for free, to numerous wallet addresses to promote a new coin or project.

How did Dawson's app nfy help its users?

Nfy provided a simple website where Ethereum users could input their Ethereum address and instantly receive results on their unclaimed airdrops, potentially worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

What was the monetization strategy that Dawson came up with for nfy?

Dawson implemented an anti-email strategy where he only sent emails to users when they had a significant amount of money to claim. He also introduced a paywall for airdrops, which contributed to the app's revenue.

How did Dawson's viral marketing strategy help in the initial growth of nfy?

Dawson crafted a tweet that went viral, which included a video demonstrating the app's functionality and teasing the potential airdrop amounts. This resulted in 10,000 organic signups within 48 hours.

What was Dawson's background before building nfy?

Dawson was a software engineer who worked at companies like Uber and had a background in math and science. He also had an interest in hackathons and had traveled the world as a digital nomad.

How did Dawson's experience at Uber influence his decision to build nfy?

Dawson felt disillusioned with the inefficiencies of large corporations and the traditional office space. His experience at Uber led him to seek a more direct impact and led to the creation of nfy.

What was the significance of the Twitter campaign '25 Days of Christmas' in nfy's growth?

The '25 Days of Christmas' campaign involved tagging people on Twitter and publicly announcing their unclaimed airdrop amounts, creating a sense of urgency and community pressure to claim the funds, which helped in driving more users to the app.

How did Dawson differentiate nfy from competitors in the crowded crypto space?

Dawson focused on quality, ensuring that notifications were only sent for high-dollar value claims, which built trust among users. Being early to the scene and maintaining a good reputation also helped nfy stand out.

What advice does Dawson have for his past self as a software engineer at Uber?

Dawson advises his past self to enjoy the process more and not to worry too much, as all experiences, even perceived missteps, are valuable lessons that contribute to personal growth and success.

What is Dawson's current lifestyle and how does he spend his time?

Dawson is living a van life, balancing time with friends, skiing, and working on his computer. He also spends time at co-working spaces and attending meetups to stay connected with communities and ideas.

Outlines

00:00

🛠️ Dawson's Million-Dollar Crypto App Journey

Dawson, a solo developer and software engineer, shares his experience of building a crypto app called nfy, which helps Ethereum users find and claim unclaimed airdrops. He built the app in just 4-5 hours and managed to get 10,000 organic signups within 48 hours using a viral marketing strategy. However, initially, these users did not generate any revenue. Dawson then devised a monetization strategy that scaled his app to over $100,000 a month. The video also introduces Pat Walls and the Starter Story platform, which offers a library of case studies and business idea breakdowns for aspiring entrepreneurs.

05:01

🚀 From Hackathon Success to Million-Dollar Annual Recurring Revenue

Dawson's nfy app took off after he published a tweet showcasing its functionality, which went viral. He optimized the app's landing page with clear call-to-actions and eye-catching design elements to encourage email sign-ups. This led to a significant user base growth. To monetize the app, Dawson implemented an 'anti-email strategy,' sending emails only when users had substantial amounts to claim, which resulted in high open rates. He also utilized social proof by tagging users on Twitter and attending conferences to build trust and reputation. Dawson's focus on quality and being an early entrant in the market helped nfy stand out from competitors.

10:01

🏔️ Life After Selling a Million-Dollar Business

After selling nfy, Dawson experienced a mix of celebration and uncertainty as he had to find new meaning and direction in life. He embarked on a van life, balancing time between socializing, skiing, and working on open-source projects and consulting. Dawson emphasizes the importance of community and shared experiences, which he found were essential for his sense of purpose. Despite the challenges of solitude, he continues to engage in activities that bring him joy and fulfillment, such as co-working and attending meetups, while also considering future entrepreneurial ventures.

Keywords

💡Crypto App

A 'crypto app' in this context refers to a software application that is designed to facilitate interactions with cryptocurrencies, such as finding, claiming, or managing digital assets. In the video, Dawson, the solo developer, created a crypto app called 'nfy' which helps Ethereum users discover and claim unclaimed airdrops, a significant theme in the video as it showcases the innovative use of technology in the cryptocurrency space.

💡Solo Developer

A 'solo developer' is an individual who works independently to create software applications without being part of a team or company. Dawson is described as a 'solo developer' in the video, emphasizing his ability to single-handedly develop the nfy app, which is a central element of the video's narrative about entrepreneurship and individual achievement in the tech industry.

💡Ethereum

Ethereum is an open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). In the video, Ethereum is the platform on which Dawson's app operates, allowing users to check for unclaimed airdrops, highlighting the significance of blockchain technology in enabling new types of applications and services.

💡Airdrops

In the context of cryptocurrencies, 'airdrops' refer to the distribution of digital tokens or coins, usually for free, by a cryptocurrency project to a group of wallet addresses, as a marketing strategy or to reward users. The video discusses how Dawson's app identifies unclaimed airdrops for Ethereum users, which is a key feature of the app and a significant aspect of the video's focus on leveraging crypto opportunities.

💡Monetization Strategy

A 'monetization strategy' is a plan for generating revenue from a product or service. Dawson came up with a 'genius monetization strategy' for his app, as mentioned in the video, which eventually scaled his earnings to over $100,000 a month. This concept is crucial as it demonstrates the transition from creating a popular app to building a successful business model around it.

💡Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is a strategy that uses social networks to increase the visibility of a product or idea, aiming for rapid growth in its audience. In the video, the 'viral marketing strategy' that Dawson employed helped him achieve 10,000 organic signups within 48 hours, illustrating the power of effective marketing in driving user acquisition and engagement.

💡Anti-Email Strategy

The 'anti-email strategy' mentioned in the video refers to a selective and deliberate approach to sending emails, avoiding spam and focusing on high-value communications. Dawson used this strategy to notify users only when there was a significant amount of money to claim, which significantly increased open rates and user engagement with the emails.

💡Liquidity Event

A 'liquidity event' is a one-time infusion of cash from a major, typically private financing event. In the video, Dawson experienced a liquidity event when he sold his company, which allowed him to exit and pursue other interests, such as living in a van and exploring different activities.

💡Hackathon

A 'hackathon' is an event, typically of short duration, where people, including programmers, collaborate intensively on projects. Hackathons played a pivotal role in Dawson's journey, as they reignited his passion for software development and led to the creation of his successful app, underscoring the importance of such events in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

💡Digital Nomad

A 'digital nomad' is a person who uses telecommunications technologies to earn a living and, more importantly, to work remotely. Dawson's decision to become a digital nomad allowed him to travel the world while maintaining his career in software development, showcasing an alternative lifestyle that combines work with exploration and personal growth.

💡Community

In the context of the video, 'community' refers to the social group or network that Dawson found essential for his personal fulfillment and business success. After selling his company, Dawson realized the importance of community and social interaction, which contrasts with the isolation that can come with the digital nomad lifestyle or working as a solo developer.

Highlights

Dawson, a solo developer, built a million-dollar crypto app in under a day.

The app attracted 10,000 organic signups within 48 hours using a viral marketing strategy.

Dawson utilized an 'anti-email' strategy for monetization, scaling to over $100,000 a month.

NFY helps Ethereum users find and claim unclaimed airdrops, growing to 250,000 free users and 5,000 paid users.

Dawson's early hackathon experiences sparked his interest in software development.

He lost interest in software during his degree but regained it through hackathons.

Dawson's experience at Uber made him disillusioned with large corporations and office spaces.

After leaving Uber, he became a digital nomad, traveling the world for a year.

Meeting people in Australia who used Ethereum for financial aid reignited his passion for technology.

Dawson's idea for NFY came from his participation in hackathons and understanding of user pain points.

He emphasized the importance of quality and reputation in differentiating NFY from competitors.

Being early to the market and maintaining trust were key factors in NFY's success.

Dawson's experience as a solo developer allowed him to make decisions quickly but also felt lonely.

He recommends enjoying the process and not worrying too much about making mistakes.

Dawson's favorite coding tools include TypeScript, Node.js, React, and Next.js.

After selling NFY, Dawson felt a sense of celebration followed by a need to find new meaning.

He now sees himself as a serial entrepreneur and has returned to building projects and consulting.

Dawson's advice for his past self is to enjoy the journey and not to worry about the outcome.

Transcripts

this is Dawson and he built a million

doll Pere crypto app all by himself and

the crazy part is he built it in less

than a day I basically went and start to

finish I think four or 5 hours total he

invited us into his van home in Colorado

to show us exactly how we built this

thing and the viral marketing strategy

that got him 10,000 organic signups in

just 48 Hours what I really leaned into

was but there was a problem all of those

users didn't pay him a single dollar

then Dawson came up with a genius

monetization strategy that scaled him to

over $100,000 a month yes so I came with

this idea of an anti- email strategy in

this video Dawson will share the exact

ideation marketing and monetization

blueprints he used to build a $1 million

app as a solo developer I'm Pat walls

and this is starter

story Dawson thanks for having me we're

in your Sprinter van right now in

Boulder Colorado tell me about who you

are and what you built yeah of course

thanks for having me uh my name is

Dawson I am a solo preneur software

engineer I made a company called nfy and

nnfi helps ethereum users find and claim

money they didn't know they had I grew

Eary to over 250,000 uh free users 5,000

paid users and that was over a million

dollars ARR and then had a liquidity

event took my exit and moved into this

van doing a little exploring doing a

little Consulting but mostly just skiing

nice tell me a little bit more about nfy

this web 3 startup that you built if

you're a user of ethereum you're going

all over the place investing in things

trading swapping voting in governance

but you don't know about these things

called aird drops now aird drops are

like coupons it's like uh hey come use

this thing we'll give you an airdrop

free money honestly so N5 is just a very

simple website if you put in your

ethereum address on the homepage you're

going to get instant results of what are

your unclaimed airdrops and it's very

common to get hundreds or thousands of

dollars in these if you're even

moderately active in ethereum the

average user over the course of the

entire website was getting

$750 by being a customer all right let's

talk about your backstory what were you

doing that led you to starting this

amazing business really when I was a kid

I was I was really into video games and

I was really into just being a dork

honestly with math and science and that

really paid out well in middle school I

had a friend who taught me how to start

programming I wrote these programs that

actually helped us cheat on our geometry

tests people started plugging and

sharing the program that was my first

taste of you know like product Market

fit and having people like the thing you

code or build but that path was not very

straightforward for me so when I was a

student I actually lost a lot of

interest in software the degree found a

way to kind of take the excitement away

for me after my first 2 years I I wanted

to drop out but instead of dropping out

I got a taste of hackathons hackathons I

think are so fun because it gives you

the opportunity not just to create

something fast but also you can build

products that real people use you can

build things that real people want if

you do it right you can put on a website

and have real users at the end of the

weekend yeah and I was addicted from

then on really on uh understanding that

software could go change the world yeah

so you were working as software engineer

at Uber and some other big Tech

Healthcare companies what was that

experience like yeah working at a

company like uber obviously the salary

is pretty lucrative from the outside

it's a booming successful startup I was

there in 2016 I was there preo that was

the hot place to be and yet while there

I I just saw the downsides of large

corporations just ineffective teams

honestly and that was a bit sad to be a

part of cuz I really want to make direct

change in this world and so in addition

to just being disillusioned with big

Tech then I was also disillusioned with

kind of the office space and just not

wanting to show up every day I needed to

get a break and get away so what I did

actually is I left and I just Nomad I

just traveled the world for a year and I

I almost just had to reach the point of

like I don't need software for now I'm

just going to be a nomad I'm just going

to travel and and do yoga and see the

world you know what was that experience

like of deciding to quit and and drop

everything and and go do this Nomad

thing how did you feel in that time yeah

so I felt really scared I felt really

worried to kind of step out of that

Comfort this was a pretty risky move to

leave not just a great startup but also

to leave San Francisco I felt like all

of software existed there but during

that year of travel I met some folks in

Australia who were Distributing

financial aid for nonprofits through

ethereum and it was just the the most

Niche Out of This World experience to

cross paths with those folks while being

outside of San Francisco and and outside

of the tech bubble they almost like

pulled me back in to realize technology

can be used for good technology be can

be impactful and that got me really

interested all over again in in software

in ethereum and making something in

crypto yeah what happens next how do you

come up with the idea for NY when I came

back to the US it took me over a year to

kind of reassimilate to being in the US

being American and knowing that I wanted

to base my life here as I did that I

just started competing in more and more

of these hackathons was a 1 month long

hackathon and crypto was popping off it

was getting very hot as a user in this

community I knew the pain points I

already knew which problem I wanted to

solve but I love waiting until the ideas

are really clear and so sometimes I'll

take the first two or 3 weeks of a

month-long hackathon just letting the

ideas bounce around in my brain so that

when I do hit the computer I have tons

of conviction once I have that

conviction the idea just flows a lot

more easily and that's what happened

here is that I waited till till almost

the last second from then it was just

building the solution I needed once I

hit the hit the code base and started

writing this I basically went start to

finish I think four or five hours total

wow Dawson is proof that just one person

can start a million-- dooll business in

just a few hours but that comes with

knowing the right information and

finding the right problem to solve now

imagine there was a place that gave you

all this the problems to solve the

blueprints to solve them and the

strategies that turn simple ideas into

million-dollar online businesses well at

starter story we have a library of over

4,000 case studies and business idea

breakdowns where you can access this all

backed by data from real entrepreneurs

so if you're serious about building a

profitable side project head to the

first link in the description and we're

going to give you 50 solo developer

ideas just like Dawson's so you can get

started on your journey now let's get

back to how Dawson actually launched

this business peace so you build this

thing in basically 5 hours in the

hackathon and it starts taking off can

you tell me more about that yeah I

shipped the website put it on a public

URL and Publishing this tweet that just

went super viral about the website

crafted this tweet just really

intentionally I I included a nice little

video of how the the searching worked

for an address that had a ton of

airdrops for it so of course it's kind

of teasing folks letting them know this

is what's possible out there and I think

there was almost a bit of a charitable

feeling where folks were like I want to

help other people find the money they

didn't know they had also hitting

retweet was such an easy thing to do I

had 10,000 organic signups at the end of

that 48 hours wow and how did you get

those signups yes I got those signups by

optimizing this page for the call to

actions to sign up for the email both in

the header and in just a massive button

above the fold using drop shadows and

borders properly to draw the user's eyes

towards these buttons it felt incredible

I almost was was losing faith before

that is you know I've always been

shipping stuff but never had that many

eyes on what I've what I've built I

thought you had to be already at the top

to get eyes on your your content but I

realized if you just add a lot of value

for people that you can rise to the top

that way as well yeah so you got this

app it's getting a bunch of free users

how does this turn into a thing that

makes a million dollars ARR I came up

with this idea of an anti- email

strategy and this is just rooting from

the fact that I hate getting spam emails

and so I just never sent an email unless

the email was you have matched this

amount of money you have this to go

claim the open rate was through the roof

just everyone wanted to always open

these emails if they got one and then

what I just did is I decided one day

every single airdrop from now on is

going to be pay walled so you'll see

okay you have

$793,000 so a lot of crypto people hang

out on Twitter and I used to do these

really kitchy fun campaigns where I did

one called 25 Days of Christmas every

single day for 25 days I would tag

someone publicly on Twitter and say the

amount of dollars they had unclaimed

with a screenshot it was basically

saying like you're an idiot if you don't

go claim this and they would be tagging

them and all that yeah even there' be

this community pressure that was

actually healthy of other people seeing

it being like why wish I had that to go

claim I also just became a fiend for

going to conferences showing up in

person and letting people know about

what I was building led to even more

signups as well cool but yeah crypto is

a crowded space anyone could build an

app like this technically how did you

differentiate nfy the thing that made NY

so different is just how obsessive I was

about quality and that led to this

really good reputation again where if

someone got a notification they knew it

was a high dollar value that they could

go claim right then and any competitors

who were trying they were including too

much that too much led to lower quality

and then people didn't trust and trust

is so big because of how much hacking

and fishing there is within crypto yeah

another part is just being early that's

not always advice you can replicate but

if you can that's obviously going to be

helpful you can be first to the scene

and then provide so much quality that no

one can even catch up yeah so you built

this as a solo developer as a solo

preneur tell me what that experience was

like yeah SOLO has a lot of pros and a

lot of cons one of the pros is you get

to take it where you want you don't have

to ask permission and you get to ship to

users directly any team is going to slow

you down a bit on that yeah but of

course the cons are it can be lonely you

can also think something's a great idea

when it's not and so you got to stay

around in communities if you can I did a

bit of co-working at the time and these

conferences I mentioned in order to

bounce off ideas from other people and

make sure I wasn't just in an echo

chamber in my head yeah you're a

software engineer what are your favorite

tools and coding languages what do you

build with yeah finally the best part so

what I love to code in is typescript I

use typescript full stack we've got no

js on the back end we've got react on

the front end and I pull this all

together with a framework called nextjs

so nextjs makes really fast websites

having speed and having all of this

website just load so fast for everyone

was also part of what helped me grow I'm

a Big Mac guy I have a maxed out MacBook

Pro I have a split keyboard just super

nerdy I can get good posture and just a

huge 32 31in monitor to make sure that

my eyes are resting all day as well for

code editor I use vs code anyone out

there who does typescript knows that's

probably going to be the best choice

anyways so you got this successful

profitable business and then something

crazy happens can you tell me about that

so I got a Twitter DM from from David

Hoffman he one of the podcasters and

this large podcast called bankless I had

been watching and listening to bankless

for years in fact bankless helped me get

into ethereum I had a bucket list item

that was to get my name mentioned on

Bank list not only did I get my name

mentioned but I ended up being the CTO

and so it just a dream come true but I

never considered the acquisition route

until they reached out and I realized

how realistic that was we talked for

several months about some of the

specifics and yeah after 2 years of

growing the company alone it was

acquired by bankless you sell your

company you have this life-changing

event tell me what that experience was

like yeah I felt like there was a huge

celebration but then right after that

kind of wears off the dopamine wears off

it's a bit of a freef fall feeling this

used to be your passion it used to be

how you spend every day and then after

that you've got to discover what your

new meaning is going to be I feel that a

bit with with travel with Fitness with

skiing with this van when you say that

it sounds like the dream oh of course I

want to ski seven days a week of course

I want to go wherever I want whenever I

want but actually that's not the dream

it only took me a couple weeks to really

feel how dark that could be cuz yeah you

can SK every day but what you're

spending 7 Days alone up in the

mountains you're not sharing experiences

with other people and it turns out a lot

of my meaning is through Community it's

through social stuff it's through

spending time with people and making

memories with people do you see yourself

starting another company or doing work

or are you working now I do yeah so I

see myself as a serial entrepreneur this

is just one of hopefully many and at the

moment I have started some Consulting

I'm really doing a lot of Open Source

projects as well back on Twitter again

I'm also on farcast

which is this website that is a

decentralized social media platform and

so just publishing and building in

public is is already what I've started

doing again all right well you're living

this van life right now tell me what a

day in the life like is for you living

out of this van working and skiing yeah

A Day in the Life is you know I manage

spending time with friends and I manage

spending time up in the mountains and I

man manage a little bit of time on the

computer so I kind of balance these

three things besides that I spend a lot

of time at either co-working spaces

putting myself around other people or

going to these meetups making sure I'm

still around these ideas a lot but

really doing it from a different place

mentally because I want to I'm doing it

for the fun of it I'm not doing it cuz I

have to find customers or I have to find

the next idea necessarily yeah that's

great okay one final question if you

could sit on Dawson's shoulder when you

were you know a software engineer at

Uber kind of really trying to figure out

what you wanted to do when you're a

digital Nomad uh what advice would you

have for him yeah if I were to talk to

my old self I think I would just say

Enjoy the process more I wouldn't want

to change what got me to today anything

that seems like a misstep was actually

something that taught me a lot but it's

just that during that process don't have

as much anxiety don't have as much worry

cuz it will all work out you know like

look at me now it pned out pretty well

all right man well thank you thank you

for having us follow this advice and

you'll build a million dooll ethereum

airdrop

app hey guys Pat here I really hope

Dawson's story inspires you and

motivates some of you to go ahead and

start your own thing if you're curious

about doing something similar but you're

still looking for an idea well I have

something for you right now you can

download our Deep dive solo developer

report for free it breaks down 50

different solo developer ideas including

their business models how much money

they make and tons of other stuff you'd

want to know just click the first link

in the description and if you're serious

about finally building your own idea

consider joining starter story and we'll

help you do that much love I'll see you

guys in the next one

[Music]

peace