Summary of "I cloned 3 apps and now make $35K/month"
Summary of Business-Specific Content from “I cloned 3 apps and now make $35K/month”
Presenters
- Samuel Rondo — Entrepreneur, self-taught coder, app founder
- Pat Walls — Interviewer, Starter Story host
Company Strategy & Idea Validation Framework
Core Strategy: - Identify already successful apps/products with proven traction. - Build a 1% better version instead of inventing something entirely new. - Avoid creating products without existing market validation to reduce risk.
Four Key Filters for Idea Selection: 1. Personal use: Samuel must want to use the product himself. 2. Existing traction: Product shows signs of market demand (e.g., paying customers). 3. Marketing spend: Product is not heavily reliant on paid ads, indicating organic demand. 4. Simplicity: Product is technically simple enough to build and maintain solo.
Validation Process: - Look for founder-shared revenue (MRR) or Stripe screenshots on Twitter as proof of paying customers. - Use SEO tools (e.g., Ahrefs) to analyze traffic sources and growth channels (ads + SEO preferred). - Confirm technical feasibility and personal interest before building.
Product & Business Examples
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Us.com — LinkedIn scraping tool
- Revenue: ~$15,000/month
- Customers: ~10,000
- Monthly cost: ~$4,000
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Storyshow.ai — AI video generator for TikTok and YouTube
- Revenue: ~$20,000/month
- Customers: ~4,000
- Monthly cost: ~$5,000 (higher due to automation instances)
-
Capacity.so — AI coding tool (new)
- Revenue: ~$900/month
- Customers: ~50
- Expected higher costs due to deployment infrastructure
Growth & Marketing Playbook
Growth Funnel Steps: 1. Start with Paid Ads: Use Google Ads and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads for fast market validation and initial traction. 2. Build SEO: After ads validate demand, invest in SEO for compounding, low-cost organic traffic. 3. Faceless YouTube Channels: Automate content creation (UGC-style videos) on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram to drive awareness and engagement. - Storyshow.ai includes a feature to automate content publishing. 4. Affiliate Marketing: Launch affiliate programs to drive virality and acquire customers at fixed costs while incentivizing content creators.
Key Marketing Metrics: - Early traction from ads (immediate validation) - SEO rankings and organic traffic growth (long-term compounding) - Affiliate-driven conversions and virality
Tech Stack & Operations
Technology: - Frontend/backend: Next.js and Node.js - SEO analysis: Ahrefs, recently switched to outrank.so for automated article writing and posting - Deployment: Vercel - Payments: Stripe - AI tools: Extensively used for coding help (ChatGPT), content creation, and automation
Operational Costs: - Monthly costs range from $4,000 to $5,000 per app, mostly from hosting and automation instances. - Capacity.so expected to have higher costs due to website deployment automation.
Learning & Recommendations
Learning: - No need to innovate radically; cloning and improving existing products works well. - Build MVPs quickly (within 2 weeks) and launch ads immediately to test demand. - Avoid overbuilding features early; launch with minimal viable features to validate. - Automate as much as possible (content posting, SEO article generation, social media).
Advice for Aspiring Builders: - Use AI coding tools to accelerate development (ChatGPT, AI code generators). - Learn paid advertising (Google Ads, Meta Ads) for quick market testing. - Focus on SEO early for sustainable growth and asset building. - Automate repetitive tasks to save time and scale efficiently. - Build products you personally care about to maintain motivation.
Key Metrics & Targets
- Total combined revenue: ~$35,000/month across three apps
- Customer base: ~14,000+ users combined
- Cost structure: $4K–$5K monthly per app, aiming for profitability through scaling
- Validation timeline: MVPs built and launched within ~2 weeks
- Growth timeline: Immediate paid ads followed by SEO and content-driven growth
Frameworks & Playbooks Highlighted
Idea Validation Playbook: - Find existing successful product → Validate traction (MRR, Stripe screenshots) → Analyze traffic sources (ads + SEO) → Confirm technical feasibility → Build MVP → Launch ads → Scale SEO + content + affiliates
Growth Stack: 1. Paid Ads (Google, Meta) 2. SEO (organic traffic, content marketing) 3. Automated faceless YouTube/TikTok/Instagram channels 4. Affiliate marketing for virality and fixed CAC
Tech Stack & Automation: - Next.js + Node.js for development - Vercel for deployment - Stripe for payments - Ahrefs & outrank.so for SEO and automated content - AI tools (ChatGPT) for coding and content
Summary
Samuel Rondo’s approach demonstrates a lean, low-risk entrepreneurship model focused on cloning and improving proven app ideas. His disciplined filtering criteria, rapid MVP launch, and multi-channel growth strategy (ads → SEO → content → affiliates) underpin his $35K/month SaaS portfolio. Leveraging AI for coding and automation accelerates development and marketing efficiency. This methodical process and tech stack provide a replicable playbook for solopreneurs aiming to build profitable SaaS products without heavy upfront innovation.
Sources
- Samuel Rondo (Founder, 3 SaaS apps)
- Pat Walls (Interviewer, Starter Story)
Category
Business
