Starter Story

Pontus Abrahamsson had a crazy idea on his flight to France. And as soon as he landed he called his co-founder and said, "we need to build a directory." So they bought the domain, built the app in 3 hours, posted it, and it went super viral. This video breaks down why directories still work in 2025 and how to design beautiful websites with AI.

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Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:09 - Special Announcement

2:02: Pontus background

2:31 - What is a directory?

3:13 - How Pontus found the idea

3:50 - Building the MVP

4:41 - How he ships fast

5:27 - Pontus' launch strategy

6:33 - Designing with AI

8:03 - Check out Starter Story Build

9:04 - Are directories dead in 2025?

10:08 - Cursor Directory tool

11:48 - Lean tech stack

12:49 - "start something simple"

13:36 - Final Word

This video is an educational case study of one 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.

Julian Gargicevich discovered a fitness app that was crushing it, but when he tried it, he thought: " Maybe I can build something better." He built his MVP in 2 months, posted it on Reddit, and his app had almost immediate product-market fit. Now his team is at $400K/month with 70K+ subscribers.

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Follow Julian on X: https://x.com/julian_gargi

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Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:09 - Julian's background

2:51 - How he found the idea

4:01 - Building the MVP

4:48 - His first 1,000 customers

5:45 - Learn about AI from the experts

6:55 - Marketing strategy breakdown

7:46 - 5 tips for building mobile apps

9:31 - How the app works (full walkthrough)

12:11- Mobile app teck stack

12:37 - Costs & Margins

13:54 - "Be proud of what you build"

14:55 - Final word

This video is an educational case study of one 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.

Connor Burd is a 23-year-old founder who has built several apps that make $100K/month. He vibe-coded his latest project in just 14 days, and it’s already at $20K/month. This video breaks down his repeatable framework for revenue-first apps, why he only uses Facebook ads to grow, and the exact vibe coding process that lets him build in 2 weeks what used to take him 6-8 months.

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Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

0:54 - Who is Connor

1:12 - Numbers behind his apps

1:49 - Connor's background

2:46 - The $1M vibe coding process

7:02 - Connor's validation framework

8:12 - $20K/mo marketing playbook

9:57 - The $20K/mo app reveal

11:10 - What made Payout successful

11:46 - Tech stack

12:14 - The key to a successful app

12:49 - The final word

Ania Wysocka experienced a panic attack in university and decided to build a mental health app. Today, Rootd has been downloaded more than 4M times, and has made over $1M!

🛠️ Want to build your own app with AI? Check out Starter Story Build → https://build.starterstory.com/build/ai-build-accelerator?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=ania

Check out Rootd: https://www.rootd.io/

Follow Ania's journey: https://x.com/aniamargaret

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🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

0:55 - Who is Ania & what she built

1:11 - Idea for Rootd

1:51 - How Ania validated the idea

2:40 - Ania's validation framework

3:16 - Building as a non-technical person

4:11 - Building the full app

5:10 - Growth timeline of Rootd

5:38 - Building alongside a 9-5

6:29 - Build your own app

7:10 - Growth: from 0 to 4M downloads

8:42 - Growth hack: being helpful on social media

9:18 - Ania's successful app playbook

10:32 - The most important metric

11:28 - What is Rootd

13:03 - Listen to users

14:26 - The final word

This is how Samuel Rondot built 3 apps that are making a total $35K per month, by copying already successful projects.

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🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

0:00 - Intro

0:53 - Who is Samuel Rondot

1:11 - How Samuel taught himself coding

1:58 - Framework for learning coding

2:43 - Samuel's ideation strategy

3:45 - Validating an idea

5:11 - How Samuel copied his apps

6:26 - Discover real-world design inspiration

7:28 - Samuel's businesses breakdown

8:02 - Marketing strategy

9:49 - Tech stack

10:29 - Costs & margins

11:02 - You don't need to innovate

11:34 - How to start building apps

12:55 - Turn your idea into a real-world app

This is how Angus Cheng built a simple tool that makes $40K/month.

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🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

0:41 - Who is Angus

0:56 - Coming up with an idea

1:31 - Validating the idea

1:54 - Angus’ ideation framework

2:28 - Building an MVP

3:02 - Angus’ building method

3:34 - From $0 to $40K MRR

3:57 - Angus’ marketing strategy

5:09 - The best bank for startups

6:06 - Team behind the business

6:18 - 9-5 to solopreneur

6:44 - Solorpreneurship pros VS cons

7:51 - Angus’ background

8:20 - Tech stack

8:46 - The biggest lesson learned

9:17 - Successful SaaS blueprint

10:14 - The final word

This is how Lukas Hermann built a simple app to $25,000/month.

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Follow Lukas: https://x.com/_lhermann

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🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

0:45 - Who is Lukas?

1:19 - Validating idea on Reddit

2:12 - Building MVP

3:08 - Running the business with his wife

4:06 - Lukas’ background

5:15 - Build on a marketplace

6:40 - Growing the app

8:03 - Word of mouth growth

9:09 - Tech stack

9:51 - Costs to run the business

10:18 - How Stagetimer works

11:00 - Why would people pay for this?

11:35 - How he found this idea

12:19 - Lessons learned

12:55 - “Just get started”

13:43 - Final word

This is how Sebastian Röhl built a mobile app to $15K MRR

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Follow Sebastian: https://x.com/SebastianRoehl

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🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:05 - Who is Sebastian

1:49 - Numbers behind HabitKit

2:15 - Building HabitKit

3:30 - Sebastian’s background

5:26 - Launch your LLC the right way

6:36 - Growing HabitKit

7:39 - App Store Optimization

8:40 - How to find and validate ideas

9:22 - Tech stack

10:36 - Cost to run the business

11:15 - Biggest lessons

11:53 - Advice

12:58 - Final Word

This is how Steven Cravotta built a viral iPhone app to over $40,000/month.

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Follow Steven's Journey

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This is the breakdown of how Dawson Botsford went from working a corporate 9-5 to building a $1M app in just 5 hours, all as a solo developer.

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Follow Dawson

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