Summary of "Как создать популярный БОТ в ТГ и ЗАРАБОТАТЬ на НЁМ / Анна Веклич / Подкаст Ланцмана"
Summary: How to Create a Popular Telegram Bot and Monetize It
Anna Veklich on Lansman’s Podcast
Company Strategy & Business Model Evolution
Initial Approach
- Launched a Telegram bot integrating GPT chat in just 2 days.
- No initial monetization or advertising; product built for personal use and friends.
- Rapid organic growth:
- 100,000 users in 2 weeks
- 1 million users in 1.5 months
- Currently 6.5 million monthly active users (MAU)
- Total user base around 30 million over 2.2 years.
- Valued approximately at $100 million based on revenue multiples and market comparisons.
Business Model Shift
- Initially relied on subscription-based monetization inside the bot.
- Telegram mandated closure of all internal payment systems, replacing them with a proprietary “stars” currency, causing conversion rates to drop by ~50%.
- Pivoted to a freemium model supported by advertising, offering the best neural networks for free.
- This shift doubled monthly revenue within a month.
- Advertising model leveraged the large user base (30M+ users) to attract major advertisers willing to pay for Telegram traffic.
Growth & User Acquisition
- First 2 years: zero advertising spend; growth was entirely organic due to high interest in AI and correct product naming.
- Starting January 2025, began paid user acquisition efforts due to increased competition.
- Tested cross-promotion via other free Telegram bots and external platforms (TikTok, Telegram Ads, print media with QR codes).
- Experimented with an “aggregator store” selling tech equipment and subscriptions, bundled with promotions for the bot.
Product & Operations
Product Development
- Team of three founders covering key roles: product & SEO, technical infrastructure, and marketing.
- Rapid iteration and adding new features helped maintain user interest:
- Started with GPT-3 text chat.
- Quickly integrated GPT-3.5 update.
- Added image generation using DALL·E and Journey.
- Added video generation using Chinese neural networks.
- Integrated multi-modal input: text, voice, images.
- Developed the bot as an aggregator of multiple neural networks and AI tools, not just a single LLM.
Technical & Team Challenges
- Initially small team (3 people) led to exhaustion and slower response to competition.
- Only recently hired a technical lead to scale operations and speed up development.
- Recognized the importance of early team scaling for sustainable growth.
Marketing & Media Strategy
Telegram Channel Ecosystem
- Created Telegram media channels to monetize via advertising, leveraging the bot’s user base.
- Launched a Russian-language AI-focused channel reaching 1 million subscribers quickly.
- Expanded to English-language technology news channel with 1.5 million subscribers.
- Acquired premium Telegram channel names (e.g., “Perplexity”) to boost brand authority.
- Currently operate multiple channels with nearly 6 million combined subscribers.
- Media business on Telegram is highly profitable and can exceed the value of prime real estate (e.g., channels with 1M subscribers valued like a nice Moscow apartment).
Advertising & Monetization
- Sell advertising space on Telegram channels.
- Use channel traffic to funnel users into the bot.
- Advertising model complements subscription revenue inside the bot.
Learning & Adaptation
- Founder learned Telegram advertising and media monetization through self-education (YouTube, Telegram admins).
- Emphasized creating high-quality, expert content rather than quick, low-value posts.
Market Positioning & Competitive Landscape
- Competes directly with major AI companies on Telegram, including:
- Elon Musk’s XAI (Grok bot) with ~120,000 MAU vs. their 3M+ MAU.
- Microsoft’s Pilot bot.
- Perplexity AI, valued at $20B, also on Telegram.
- Telegram is becoming a platform for serious AI companies and startups.
- The bot’s large user base and integrated multi-AI approach provide a strong moat.
Company Valuation & Investment
- Valuation initially unclear; no early external funding.
- Investors approached after 6 months but were declined to maintain independence.
- Valuation benchmarked against Silicon Valley AI startups using revenue multiples rather than user count.
- Revenue and user engagement have grown exponentially.
- Several multi-million dollar acquisition offers were declined.
- Plans to expand presence in Silicon Valley to connect with AI ecosystem and investors.
Key Metrics & KPIs
- Users: 6.5 million MAU, 30 million total users over 2+ years.
- Engagement: 3-4 million queries per day at peak.
- Revenue: Doubled after switching to advertising model (exact figures undisclosed).
- Valuation: ~$100 million estimated based on revenue multiples and market comparables.
- Growth Target: Aim to reach 10 million MAU.
- Team: Recently expanded beyond founding trio to accelerate development.
Frameworks, Processes & Recommendations
Product-Market Fit
- Build product for personal use first; focus on quality and accessibility.
- Leverage existing platforms (Telegram) for rapid distribution.
Team Composition
- Ensure all critical roles covered early: product, tech, marketing.
- Scale team proactively to avoid burnout and maintain speed.
Monetization Strategy
- Be flexible and ready to pivot business models based on platform rules.
- Use a freemium + advertising hybrid model for scale.
Marketing Playbook
- Choose product/channel names carefully for organic traffic.
- Build and monetize media channels alongside product.
- Educate yourself on platform-specific advertising and monetization.
Growth Tactics
- Use cross-promotion within Telegram ecosystem.
- Experiment with diverse advertising channels, including offline media with QR codes.
- Offer free trials or free tiers to attract users before upselling.
Competitive Intelligence
- Monitor emerging competitors and platform changes.
- Position as aggregator to differentiate from single-AI solutions.
Future Plans
- Grow user base to 10 million MAU on Telegram.
- Expand media business and advertising revenue streams.
- Deepen integration with Silicon Valley AI ecosystem.
- Explore new products and educational initiatives leveraging the Telegram base.
- Continue innovation in AI aggregation and user experience.
Presenters & Sources
- Anna Veklich – Founder of the largest GPT-based Telegram bot.
- Pavel (Pasha) – Co-founder, technical and product lead.
- Lansman – Podcast host and interviewer.
- References to companies: Perplexity AI, Microsoft Pilot, Elon Musk’s XAI (Grok), DALL·E, Journey AI, Sn Machines, EDT, and others.
This summary captures the core business strategies, operational insights, marketing tactics, and growth metrics discussed by Anna Veklich on Lansman’s podcast about building and monetizing a leading AI chatbot on Telegram.
Category
Business
