Building 3 Apps to $35K/Month by Finding Working Apps and Making Them Better
TL;DR: Samuel Rondot, a former optician with no coding background, taught himself to code and now runs three SaaS apps generating $35,000 per month. His strategy is counterintuitive: instead of innovating, he finds apps that are already working and makes them 1% better. He validates ideas by looking for traction signals on Twitter (MRR screenshots, Stripe screenshots) and analyzing traffic sources with Ahrefs to understand if growth is replicable. For StoryShort.ai ($20K/month), he saw a competitor's crazy numbers, confirmed their traffic was from Facebook ads, and replicated the product in a week because paid ads can be turned on instantly. His growth stack is systematic: (1) run ads immediately to validate, (2) build SEO once traction appears, (3) use faceless YouTube channels to drive attention, and (4) run affiliate programs to create virality. He emphasizes simplicity over innovation, believing simple boring tools make the most money.
Key Insights
- Finding working apps and making them 1% better dramatically reduces failure risk
- Traffic source analysis determines how quickly you can replicate competitor success
- 4-part growth stack: ads first, SEO for compounding, faceless content, affiliate programs
Actionable Takeaways
- Check if competitors get traffic from ads or SEO - ads mean faster replication
- Use Ahrefs to analyze competitor traffic sources
- Launch minimal MVP and run ads immediately, skip password reset pages
- Set up affiliate programs to create virality