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

Starter Story

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Video Summary

A simple geography-based game, Geosports, built in a weekend, is now generating over $40,000 per month. The game, which hosts several niche versions like Geohistory and Geofootie, attracts around 700,000 monthly active users, with revenue primarily driven by programmatic ads and a smaller portion from pro subscriptions. Its success is largely attributed to its inherent shareability, with a 53% organic share rate, allowing it to go viral through word-of-mouth.

Frank Mikkel Smith, the creator, leveraged AI tools like Claude to build the game despite having no coding experience. He emphasizes the importance of building web-first, making products shareable, and not hesitating to start. His background as a sports content creator with a large social media following initially seemed like a key factor, but Smith clarifies that the game's viral growth was primarily organic, with only a small percentage of traffic coming from his own audience. The game's sticky nature and ease of play have made it a habit-forming experience for its users.

Short Highlights

Geosports Game: A geography-based game with several niche spinoffs (Geosports, Geohistory, Geofootie).
Monthly Revenue: Generates approximately $40,000 per month.
User Base: Boasts around 700,000 monthly active users.
Revenue Streams: Primarily from programmatic ads (around $30,000-$35,000/month) and pro subscriptions (around $1,800/month).
Key to Success: High shareability with a 53% organic share rate, driving viral word-of-mouth growth.
Development: Built in a single weekend using AI tools like Claude, despite the creator having no coding experience.
Creator Background: Frank Mikkel Smith, an independent sports content creator with a large social media following.

Key Details

The Unexpected Hit: Geosports [0:00]

Frank Mikkel Smith built a simple game called Geosports in just a weekend.
The game quickly gained traction, now earning approximately $40,000 per month.
Several spinoff games have been created, and the game has been featured on national TV twice.

"I built this game in just a weekend, and we make about $40,000 monthly."

Geosports Explained [1:17]

Geosports is the umbrella app for several niche games, including Geosports, Geohistory, and Geofootie.
The core gameplay involves a daily geography trivia with five questions.
The game has approximately 700,000 monthly active users.

"Geogames is the name of the app. It hosts all the spinoffs."

Revenue Breakdown [1:45]

Monthly revenue is around $40,000, with the majority coming from ads.
Programmatic ads contribute approximately $30,000 to $35,000 monthly.
Pro subscriptions account for a smaller portion, with about 1,800 subscribers.

"The much larger number comes in through the ads, which is closer to $30,000, $35,000 in programmatic right now."

The Power of Shareability [2:07]

A key factor in Geosports' success is its high shareability, with a 53% organic share rate.
This means that for every 100,000 players, over 50,000 share their scores.
The game's design encourages users to share their results, driving organic growth.

"This is my favorite stat. We have a 53% organic share rate."

Background and Inspiration [4:04]

Frank Mikkel Smith was an independent sports creator since 2020, with a large social media following.
He had a passion for games and had launched several niche games previously.
The idea for Geosports stemmed from a game called Map Tap, with Smith wanting to add a sports trivia twist.

"I have always had a passion for games. Very, very shortly after I became an independent sports creator, I launched my first game."

Building Without Code [6:30]

Smith, who is not technical, used AI tools like Claude to build the game.
He provided detailed prompts and specifications to the AI, iterating as needed.
The build process took about eight hours on the first day, with continued work the next.

"I went to regular cloud first and I gave it a bunch of detail. Here's all this information I have for a game, you know, do some research on Map Tap."

Tech Stack and Advice [7:18]

The tech stack includes Claude Maxx, Vercel Pro for hosting, Map Libre for the globe, Upstash Redis for leaderboards, Google Sheets for questions, and Stripe for subscriptions.
Smith advises building for web first due to low friction, making products shareable, and starting immediately.
He also stresses the importance of patience and persistence in building a successful project.

"Don't be afraid to build for web first. I've had success here."