Starter Story

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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.