My app makes $41K/month

The video features a conversation with a solo founder who built an app called Weightley, generating over $40,000 a month. The founder transitioned from a career in engineering after experiencing the frustration of being forced to download an app and sign up for an account just to view a restaurant's wait time. This led to the creation of Weightley, a platform designed to simplify waitlist and reservation management for businesses.

Weightley offers a competitive edge against larger companies like Yelp and OpenTable through its significantly lower pricing, with a flat fee of $100 per month compared to hundreds for competitors, and by avoiding reservation booking fees. Its simplicity allows it to serve various industries, including retail during capacity restrictions, which proved to be a major growth driver. The founder also emphasizes the importance of exceptional customer service as a key differentiator.

The approach to finding and building a successful business involves not necessarily inventing a new idea, but rather identifying existing problems that can be improved upon, potentially uncovering a niche market. The founder suggests leveraging AI for rapid MVP development, actively seeking customer feedback, and being prepared for unexpected challenges. The discussion also touches upon the tech stack used, monthly costs which include Firebase, text messages, and subscription services, and the significant revenue growth achieved over seven years, from $0 in year one to a projected half a million dollars in year seven.

• The app Weightley, built by a solo founder, generates over $40,000 per month.
• The idea for Weightley stemmed from a personal frustration with restaurant waitlist apps requiring account sign-ups just to see wait times.
• Weightley competes with larger platforms by offering a simpler, more affordable solution at $100/month, compared to hundreds for competitors, and by providing excellent customer service.
• Growth strategies include Apple Search Ads with a customer acquisition cost of $130 and a lifetime value of $750-$1,000, alongside customer nurturing through emails and onboarding.
• The founder's framework for identifying business ideas includes improving existing solutions, finding a niche, using AI for rapid MVP development, gathering customer feedback, and embracing adaptability.

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The Genesis of Weightley [01:52]

• The idea for Weightley arose in 2017 after an inconvenient experience at a restaurant where a text link for wait times required downloading an app and creating an account.
• The founder's wife suggested building a waitlist app to address this inconvenience.
• Development began as a side project, with a working prototype taking 6 months and a full app store launch taking about a year and a half.
• Initial traction was slow, with only 10 downloads in the first week.
• Significant business growth began after introducing in-app purchases two years post-launch.

"This link should just take me to a page where I could see my weight time. I shouldn't have to sign up for an account."

Weightley's Revenue Growth Trajectory [03:56]

• Year 1: $0 revenue (free version launched).
• Year 2: $14,500 revenue.
• Year 3: $116,000 revenue.
• Year 4: $186,000 revenue.
• Year 5: $307,000 revenue.
• Year 6: $354,000 revenue.
• Year 7: $445,000 revenue.
• Current year is on pace to exceed $500,000 in revenue.

Growth and Marketing Strategies [04:37]

• A primary driver is Apple Search Ads, which help acquire users by targeting relevant keywords.
• The cost to acquire a customer is approximately $130, with a customer lifetime value ranging from $750 to $1,000, indicating a strong return on ad spend.
• Customer nurturing involves emails with tips, quick start videos, and optional Zoom onboarding and staff training.
• Promotions are offered towards the end of trials to encourage first-time purchases.

Understanding Weightley [05:26]

• Weightley is a platform for businesses to manage waitlists and reservations for customers who are waiting.
• Customers provide their name, party size, estimated wait time, phone number, and seating preferences.
• Upon joining the waitlist, customers receive an immediate text with a link to view their estimated wait time without needing to download an app.
• When a table is ready, the business can notify the customer via a second text message.
• Served customers are then simply checked off the list.

Competing with Industry Giants [06:13]

• Weightley differentiates itself on price, offering a flat fee of $100 per month, significantly undercutting competitors like Yelp and Open Table, which charge hundreds of dollars and additional cover fees for reservations.
• Simplicity is another advantage, allowing the app to be adapted for various industries beyond restaurants, such as retail chains needing capacity management during COVID-19, leading to 10x growth in that year with deployment in over 700 locations.
• Exceptional customer service, with immediate phone support, is a key differentiator that surprises and delights users.

"We compete a couple different ways. One is on price. Whe has a flat fee of $100 a month to unlock all the features where Yelp and Open Table, their flat fees are hundreds of dollars a month."

Framework for Idea Generation [07:13]

• Focus on improving existing ideas and solutions rather than inventing entirely new ones.
• Identify a niche within an existing industry, similar to how Weightley serves small restaurants underserved by larger players.
• Utilize AI to rapidly build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) within a couple of weeks.
• Gather feedback from early customers to iterate and refine the product.
• Be prepared for unexpected challenges and maintain adaptability, as plans rarely unfold as anticipated.

Potential Business Ideas for the Future [08:02]

• A pickleball league management app, potentially with social features to help users find games.
• An AI-powered support chatbot that can be trained on specific products or websites.
• A new social media platform focused on genuine connections with friends and family, contrasting with the current corporate- and influencer-driven landscape.

Key Metrics and Numbers for Weightley [08:54]

• Over 15,000 businesses have tried Weightley.
• Currently has 700 paying customers across the US and Canada.
• Since launch, over 59 million parties have been placed on waitlists.

Weightley's Tech Stack [09:13]

• Built on Google Firebase for hosting, authentication, and database.
• Backend services use Node.js.
• The iOS app is developed in Swift.
• The web version is built with ReactJS.

Business Costs and Margins [09:32]

• Firebase: Approximately $700 per month.
• Business text messages: Around $2,500 per month.
• Revenue Cat (iOS subscriptions): 1% of revenue.
• Apple Search Ads: Currently $500 per month, fluctuates seasonally.
• Stripe (website payments): 3% of revenue.
• Survey Monkey (customer feedback): $35 per month.
• Hive (project management): $25 per month.
• Freshes (customer support): $40 per month.
• Claude Code: $200 per month.
• ChatGPT (email content): $20 per month.
• Calendly (demo booking): $12 per month.

Advice for Aspiring Founders [10:27]

• Persevere, especially when self-doubt arises from competing with larger entities.
• Acknowledge that doubts about success are often unfounded as the future is unpredictable.
• Launch the product and observe how it unfolds, rather than being paralyzed by uncertainty.

"Keep going. Definitely. When that self-doubt creeps in, when you're competing with giants, you're not sure if you can actually go forward, just keep going."