From $2K to $150,000/Month in Revenue - Secret Revealed
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Welcome to another exciting edition of Moneymint! We're more than just a newsletter—we're a community of go-getters, dreamers, and doers.
How David broke through $2,000 MRR after 3 long years
This is the second edition, as promised, where we’ll discuss how David achieved a breakthrough and scaled Jenni AI’s revenue from $2,000 to $150,000 per month.
Here is the link to the first part of the story: Fighting Cancer to $30M+ AI Startup
David started Jenni AI (then called Altum) back in 2015 as an AI-powered content marketing agency.
By 2019, they had a team of 20 writers producing over 1M+ words/month.
Impressive, right?
Not quite. Revenue was stuck at $7,000 monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
David knew he needed to make a change.
Then he met Henry Mao, who shared his passion for AI and entrepreneurship.
Together, they pivoted Altum into Jenni AI, a SaaS platform for AI-assisted writing.
David worked hard, engaging with potential users on Indie Hackers daily.
But despite his efforts, Jenni AI remained stuck at $2,000 MRR for 3 long years.
Then, something clicked.
In just 18 months, Jenni AI revenue skyrocketed from $2,000 to $150,000+ MRR.
How did David break through the revenue ceiling? Here are his 4 key strategies:
Create a product people want to use
Shift your focus to a new market
Develop a strong advantage
Use micro-influencers to grow
Let's dive in.
1. Create a product people want to use
Want to know the secret to Jenni AI's breakout success?
It's not what you think.
In an interview with Brian Bourque from Unicorn Growth, David shared the turning point that finally made Jenni AI gain traction.
Surprise! It wasn't a flashy marketing campaign.
It was a better product.
After 3 years of struggling to grow their SAAS version, David and his team took a hard look at what their existing customers truly valued.
Their strategy? A ruthless process of cutting unnecessary features.
They removed functionality left and right, expecting user engagement to drop.
But something strange happened.
No matter how much features they cut down, Jenni AI's conversion rate remained same.
Surprisingly, users didn’t miss the features, finding each simpler version just as valuable.
David's team kept cutting until they were left with a single, Google auto-complete style function.
And that's when it clicked.
Users finally understood Jenni AI's core value and fell in love with the product.
Growth took off.
David's takeaway?
Before you pour gas on the marketing fire, make sure you've nailed your product.
There's no point in scaling a mediocre product.
Sometimes, finding your core value means simplifying your product.
It might feel painful, like you're moving backwards.
But as Jenni AI's success story shows, it's often the key to unlocking rapid growth.
So, before you go all-in on marketing, ask yourself:
Is my product truly irresistible to my target users?
If not, it's time to sharpen your ax.
Trim the fat, focus on your core value, and watch your growth curve steepen.
Your future self will thank you.
2. Shift your focus to a new market
When we hear the word "pivot," most of us think about tweaking our product to better fit our target customer.
David did that by simplifying Jenni AI's features.
But David didn't stop there.
He pivoted something else that's just as crucial: his target market.
Rewind to Jenni AI's early days as Altum, a B2B content marketing agency.
Their SAAS solution was aimed at helping businesses generate AI-powered SEO content, but it wasn’t working.
Makes sense, right?
Wrong.
David couldn't gain traction. Business owners weren't biting.
In hindsight, it was clear why.
Business owners didn't want to become better writers. They wanted a one-click solution for content generation.
David's response?
A series of bold experiments.
He switched from targeting businesses to students.
Then, he noticed something interesting.
Within the student segment, one sub-group converted like crazy.
PhD researchers.
Bingo.
This was the turning point for Jenni AI, which now focuses on helping researchers write better.
The lesson?
Sometimes, changing your audience can be just as powerful as improving your product.
If you're not seeing growth, take a closer look at your target market.
Are they really the best fit for what you're offering?
If not, find the group that benefits most from your product and focus on them.
It might feel scary to narrow your focus.
But as Jenni AI's success story proves, niching down can be the key to unlocking explosive growth.
If you're stuck, ask yourself: Am I targeting the right audience?
Is there a smaller group I’m overlooking that could drive growth?
Don't be afraid to pivot until you find your perfect fit.
3. Develop a strong advantage
If you're a founder building an AI startup, you've likely been asked, "Where's your moat?"
It's the investor's favorite way to poke holes in your business model.
And it's not just a recent phenomenon fueled by the generative AI hype.
Rewind to 2021, when David Park pitched Jenni AI at the Launch Accelerator demo day.
From the start, he had to defend Jenni AI against doubts about its lack of a moat as AI wrappers became more popular.
Sound familiar?
Many AI founders today face the same scrutiny from investors.
But here's the thing.
David not only secured funding from Launch Accelerator, but went on to raise two more rounds from Antler and Grant AI.
Jenni AI's total external funding? A cool $600k.
So, how did David convince investors that Jenni AI had a strong moat?
His response is one every AI founder should steal.
Focus on deeply solving a specific problem.
Here's the key.
Become the best solution for a specific user need.
Remember, OpenAI is a jack of all trades. It's a broad model with broad capabilities.
But Jenni AI? They built their moat by providing the best solution for a specific niche.
And the proof is in the pudding.
Even with the rise of OpenAI and new competitors, and the flood of competitors entering the market, Jenni AI's revenue kept growing.
In November 2023, shortly after the launch of the OpenAI GPT store, they hit a staggering $200,000 MRR.
So, if you're an AI founder facing the dreaded "moat" question, take a page from David's playbook.
Don't try to out-OpenAI OpenAI.
Instead, identify a specific user problem and become the undisputed best solution.
Niche down, double down, and watch your revenue soar.
Investors will take notice.
4. Use micro-influencers to grow
So, you've nailed your product and found your perfect audience.
What's next?
Marketing, of course.
In one revealing tweet, David shared how Jenni AI reached 1 million users in just 9 months.
The key?
Micro-influencers.
Here's why it works.
TikTok changed the game by popularizing a new algorithm across social platforms.
Instead of pushing popular posts to every user (like the old Instagram algorithm), any post can go viral, regardless of the creator's follower count.
That means instead of shelling out $2,500+ for a mega-influencer, you can pay $250 to an up-and-comer influencer who's getting love from the algorithm.
Genius, right?
Here's how David did it:
Identify micro-influencers in your niche
Recruit them to create content for your product
Post the content on YOUR product's channel, not the creator's
But wait, is Jenni AI still using this strategy after their explosive growth?
I looked into their Instagram and found their current creator's profile.
The verdict?
Yup, they're still all-in on micro-influencers.
The takeaway for you?
Choose creators based on their ability to create engaging content, not their follower count.
A quick note on influencers.
David also mentioned paying $4,000/month to MengMengDuck, a popular creator with 500k followers in the student niche, to kickstart Jenni AI's social growth.
The key?
Having the influencer post directly on Jenni's channels.
Influencers love this because they don't have to clutter their personal page with ads.
So, if you want to replicate Jenni AI's success, remember:
Micro-influencers are your secret weapon.
Find top talent in your niche, have them create amazing content, and share it on your channels.
And watch your user base explode.
What lesson from this story will you apply to your business or side hustle?
Source: Juicy Ideas
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