In a crowded 'founder interview' market, Starter Story differentiated itself by making revenue sharing a requirement. This provided tangible proof of success, making its case studies more valuable and credible for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking proven business models.
Unlike design or sales, most companies lack a playbook for effective video content. This gap creates a huge opportunity for specialized agencies. One consultant charges up to $100k/month for YouTube strategy for large B2B clients, highlighting the immense demand.
Use a "treatment" document, borrowed from Hollywood scriptwriting, for every YouTube video. This pre-production sales page contains the title, thumbnail, and a pitch explaining *why* someone will want to watch, forcing strategic thinking before any filming begins.
Instead of offering broad video services, agencies can scale rapidly by specializing in a single, popular format. One founder built a reported $10M/year business exclusively producing 'man-on-the-street' interviews for clients, productizing a difficult-to-replicate format.
The Push-scroll app team first created a viral TikTok video pretending their app already existed. When the video confirmed massive demand, they built it. This "if they come, we will build it" approach inverts the traditional model and significantly de-risks development.
Simple, gimmicky apps in health and productivity are the new info products. AI coding makes them cheap to build, and TikTok makes them easy to market. They offer the "make money from anywhere" lifestyle that info products once promised, but with a tech product wrapper.
The indie mobile app opportunity is resurging due to a "Lollapalooza effect." AI coding tools have drastically reduced development costs for solo founders, while platforms like TikTok have created a powerful new channel for viral discovery and distribution.
Starter Story's founder used ChatGPT to determine his ideal acquisition price before HubSpot's offer. This helped him negotiate authentically to a number he had pre-committed to, free from the emotional pressures and influence of the deal itself.
Founders often mistake operational frameworks like EOS for growth drivers. These systems are designed to manage the complexity that comes *with* scale. If your business isn't growing, adding systems is a form of procrastination that slows down the real work of finding a growth channel.
A founder's revenue was flat until he abandoned the side project he thought was his future "big idea" (his ego business) and went all-in on the business that already had momentum. The company's revenue then tripled within six months of this decision.