This Simple Widget Makes $50K/Month

Starter Story

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Video Summary

A startup co-founded by Tom and his brother is generating over $85,000 AUD per month with a simple website widget designed for trades and mechanics. The tool, Avenue, visually displays services on a client's website, guiding users toward inquiries or purchases, and also integrates with Google Business profiles.

Despite lacking prior technical experience, Tom and his team built the MVP with a friend, then hired a designer and developers, funding the initial stages with income from Tom's decade-old marketing agency. Their growth strategy involved direct, in-person sales, initially using iPhones and later iPads to demonstrate the widget's integration with clients' branding, a method that proved highly effective in securing early traction and larger clients.

Short Highlights

Avenue is a website widget for trades and mechanics.
It generates over $85,000 AUD monthly.
The widget visually displays services and guides inquiries or purchases.
It integrates with Google Business profiles.
Initial funding came from a co-founder's marketing agency.
Growth relied heavily on door-to-door sales demonstrations.
The business model focuses on solving tangible problems for tradespeople.

Key Details

The Unexpected $50K/Month Business [0:00]

A startup, launched a year ago, is making over $40,000 USD monthly.
The business offers a website widget specifically for trades and mechanics.
The co-founder, Tom, agreed to share his success story.

"An anonymous startup, making over $40,000 a month, launched just about a year ago."

Avenue: The Service Widget [1:14]

Avenue provides a website embed that visually showcases services.
It guides potential customers toward making a purchase or inquiry.
The widget also connects to Google Business profiles for reservations.

"Avenue is a website embed, so it goes directly onto the client's website."

Solving the Inquiry Problem [1:48]

The widget fundamentally differs from simple booking tools due to built-in automations.
It addresses the age-old problem of why customers must call or email service businesses.
Avenue allows customers to directly state their needs and initiate a purchase.

"I have money. I want to buy from a service business. Why do I have to call them?"

Revenue and Early Funding [2:17]

The business is currently generating $85,000 AUD per month in revenue.
Revenue has steadily grown from $597 AUD in August of the previous year to $63,000 AUD in the current August.
Tom previously ran a marketing agency for 10 years, which provided the initial funding.

"We do $85,000 a month in revenue now in Australian dollars."

Building Without Technical Experience [3:54]

Tom lacked coding or design experience but assembled a team.
A friend, who is a developer, helped create the initial MVP in February of the previous year.
Tom then hired a lead designer and a head developer, followed by a front-end developer, despite having zero revenue at the time.

"I didn't have any coding experience. I'd never kind of designed anything myself, but I knew what it would take to kind of put the team together."

Growth Through Direct Sales [5:30]

Initial traction was gained through door-to-door sales, demonstrating the product on iPhones and later iPads.
This in-person approach helped potential clients understand the widget's integration with their branding.
The direct sales method proved effective in securing early clients and building trust, leading to larger contracts.

"Initially we showed it on an iPhone and they'd go, Oh, what is it? It's like an app. I'm like, no, it goes on your website."