Starter Story

Rasty built and launched his first iOS app in 3 weeks. And today, that simple idea makes $41,000 per month. The secret? Well, he didn't dance on TikTok or spam Instagram. No, his old school approach is much simpler than that. This episode is about how a founder built something absurdly simple, out-marketed much bigger players, and built a successful app.

*Free database: simple apps making millions:* https://clickhubspot.com/b4qr

Say hi to Rasty: https://x.com/synopsi
Check out Vaultaire: https://vaultaire.app/

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 $41K in a single month
• 00:01:08 What's your story?
• 00:01:44 What's the app?
• 00:02:51 More simple iOS app ideas
• 00:03:34 App statistics
• 00:04:45 Founder background
• 00:06:26 App growth strategy
• 00:07:44 AI agent marketing and content team
• 00:09:52 Tech stack
• 00:10:47 App demo
• 00:11:10 the FBI story!!
• 00:11:48 Final advice
• 00:12:47 Pat and Gus reflections: this dude is awesome!
• 00:14:36 Download simple iOS app ideas

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

Kourosh built an app in a very crowded market... and yet still managed to grow it to over $18K/month. His secret is insanely simple: everyone else is chasing tech-savvy power users, but Kourosh built this app for a type of custer everyone is ignoring (his dad). This video is the story of how to build a successful product in a "saturated" market.

*50+ AI app ideas making millions:* https://clickhubspot.com/q8ij

Say hi to Kourash: https://x.com/BuildingWaves
Check out Voicy: https://usevoicy.com/

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 He built this for his dad!
• 00:01:09 What's your story?
• 00:01:59 What's the app?
• 00:03:24 Founder background
• 00:04:14 More AI app ideas
• 00:04:56 Finding the idea for Voicy
• 00:05:50 Build process
• 00:07:28 Tech stack
• 00:08:21 Growth story
• 00:09:51 Unique customers
• 00:11:22 Building in a crowded market
• 00:13:06 Final advice
• 00:14:28 Reflections
• 00:15:17 FREE app ideas

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

Vadim is 19 years old and, before this year, had never shipped an app in his life. In March, he quit his marketing job to build apps… 5 months later, he hit $10K/month with over 20K users.

His process has been 100% building with AI and posting content on IG shamelessly. This video is proof that you do NOT need to be technical or have a clever growth hack to build an app business that makes real money.

*Get HubSpot's free CRM, the one that updates itself:* https://clickhubspot.com/qy9n

Say hi to Vadim: https://x.com/VadimStrizheus
Check out Vugola: https://www.vugolaai.com/

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 Zero to $10K in 5 months
• 00:00:56 What’s your story?
• 00:01:22 What’s the app?
• 00:02:10 Know your customers!
• 00:02:52 Founder background
• 00:03:27 Finding the app idea
• 00:04:13 How he built it
• 00:05:05 Building the MVP
• 00:05:23 Tech stack and tools
• 00:05:51 Zero to $1K MRR
• 00:06:45 Hitting $10K per month
• 00:09:02 Time vs money with content
• 00:09:55 App demo
• 00:10:46 Final advice
• 00:11:45 Reflections: anyone can be a builder!

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

Max built a simple iOS app to solve his own problem at the gym. But here’s the thing… before this app, he had never shipped a single line of code in his life. In fact, he was going down the traditional route: college, internships, everything. But he found apps and decided to go all-in. Today, his app makes $14K/month and is growing. This is his app story for anyone looking to get started with apps in 2026.

*Get HubSpot's free CRM, the one that updates itself:* https://clickhubspot.com/2b1y

Say hi to Max: https://x.com/MaxHirsch13
Check out Maxed AI: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/maxed-ai-smart-fitness-app/id6759180029

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 Zero to $14K in 6 months
• 00:00:49 What’s your story?
• 00:01:19 What’s the app?
• 00:02:29 What makes your app different?
• 00:03:03 How to keep track of your customers
• 00:03:45 Founder background
• 00:04:49 Finding the idea
• 00:05:32 Tech stack
• 00:06:04 Growth and marketing
• 00:07:38 What’s working for growing apps right now
• 00:08:23 Building a personal brand
• 00:09:15 App demo
• 00:10:14 Final advice
• 00:11:15 Pat and Gus reflections

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

6 months ago, Lino had never built an app in his life. Then he stumbled upon the app community on X, made some connections, and started building. Just 6 months later, he's grown his first app to over $50K per month and changed his life forever. In this video, he will break down his unbelievable app idea and how he grew it so fast.

*iOS App Ideas Database:* https://clickhubspot.com/a68v

Say hi to Lino: https://x.com/LinoLeighton
Check out AbMaxx: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/abmaxx-become-shredded/id6757769125

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 Can you change your life in 6 months?
• 00:01:08 What’s your story?
• 00:01:34 What’s the app?
• 00:02:15 Finding the idea
• 00:02:49 More iOS app ideas!
• 00:03:27 an old idea, remixed
• 00:04:03 Building process
• 00:05:22 Tech stack
• 00:06:01 Zero to $10K/month
• 00:07:24 $10K to $60K/month
• 00:08:34 Lino’s app playbook
• 00:12:05 App demo
• 00:13:20 Final advice
• 00:14:45 Pat and Gus reflections

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

Frank had never built software in his life. Until one weekend, he got a crazy idea and decided to just build it with Claude.

Today, the app he built in just a few hours, makes over $40K per month. In this video, we break down the growth story and how anyone can build and launch their idea all thanks to coding with AI.

*Find your business idea with our free database (over 3k+ ideas):* https://clickhubspot.com/von4

Say hi to Frank: https://x.com/frankmikesmith
Check out GeoSports: https://geosports.app/

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 Built in a few hours
• 00:00:46 What's your story?
• 00:01:24 Business breakdown
• 00:02:58 Build your own app!
• 00:04:06 Founder background
• 00:05:11 But you had an audience?
• 00:06:43 Finding the idea
• 00:07:27 Building the app
• 00:08:10 Tools and tech stack
• 00:08:43 Advice for building apps
• 00:10:35 Growth timeline
• 00:11:42 Zero to $40K/month
• 00:12:44 Final advice
• 00:13:58 Gus reflections

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

Tom built a tiny widget that solves one painful problem. He launched it about 1 year ago, and today it makes $55K per month – 100% bootstrapped. This video is the story of how spotting one real problem and building the simplest possible solution turned into a real business.

*90+ Million-dollar problems (business ideas):* https://clickhubspot.com/tu8n

Say hi to Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-holliday-505469161/
Check out Avenue: https://www.avenue2.au/
Follow Avenue on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avenue2.au

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 The simple app I found on X
• 00:01:03 What's your story?
• 00:01:28 What's the app?
• 00:01:59 Solving an age old problem
• 00:02:29 Revenue breakdown
• 00:02:50 Problems worth solving
• 00:03:29 Founder background
• 00:04:13 Finding the idea
• 00:04:51 Build timeline
• 00:05:45 Hiring without revenue?
• 00:06:18 Growth and marketing
• 00:07:29 Building for the trades
• 00:08:29 Tom's advice for building apps
• 00:09:10 Tools and tech stack
• 00:09:51 App demo
• 00:10:29 Final advice
• 00:11:19 Gus reflections

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

Jay built nomadtable, a mobile app that makes $140K/month. Before that he was a software engineer, until one trip changed his life forever. This episode is a day in the life of a solo app builder in 2026.
*iOS App ideas:* https://clickhubspot.com/qy55

Follow Jay: https://twitter.com/jayvraavi
Check out NomadTable: https://nomadtable.app/

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 Meet Jay
• 00:00:53 Morning routine
• 00:01:33 The story behind nomad table
• 00:02:43 iOS app ideas
• 00:03:14 Afternoon routine
• 00:04:17 Building apps in 2026
• 00:05:10 Building apps while traveling
• 00:05:46 Evening routine
• 00:06:38 Lessons from building
• 00:07:40 Advice for builders

Ken spent nearly his entire career in big tech before to build a mobile app. In his first year since he launched, he hit his $10K/month goal, and grew the game to $155K in revenue with zero paid marketing. This video is the story of why he left a comfortable job to build a game, and how he grew it on his own.

*Free database: 100+ Solopreneurs making $1M/year* https://clickhubspot.com/1k92

Say hi to Ken: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethylaw/
Check out Harpagia: https://kayelleapps.com/

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 the $10K game
• 00:00:54 Gus is hosting!
• 00:01:10 What’s your story?
• 00:01:48 Business breakdown
• 00:02:24 Revenue overview
• 00:03:39 Founder background
• 00:04:34 Successful solo devs
• 00:05:23 Quitting tech backstory
• 00:06:33 App timeline
• 00:07:38 Growth and marketing
• 00:09:27 The opportunity in games
• 00:10:45 App demo
• 00:11:41 Tech stack
• 00:12:28 Final advice
• 00:13:25 Gus reflections

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.

Mauro built a gym app that last month made $160,000. What sets him apart is not the product or marketing... but his app development approach. He treats the product like a science experiment: A/B testing, validating features, and only building stuff that moves the needled.This video breaks down how to think like a product management expert, stop guessing, and start building what actually moves the needle.
*FREE iOS App Ideas:* https://clickhubspot.com/l6tq

Say hi to Mauro: https://x.com/Mauro_Botanes
Check out Symmetry: https://symmetry.club/

🔔 Follow the Second Channel: @StarterStoryBuild
🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.