Starter Story · 2026-01-14

I built a $14K/month SaaS using Discord

UK university student Sam Adeniyi, with no coding background, built Algrow (a tool to find and copy viral short-form video formats, $25-$80/month) with ChatGPT and Cursor, shipping a buggy MVP in a week. He found demand by searching Discord servers (via Disboard) for repeated questions, silently screen-shared the tool in voice chats until members asked about it, posted a waitlist, helped members instead of pitching, and gave early users free access so they demoed it to friends. About 6 months later: over 10,000 users, ~£10K ($13-14K) revenue in the last 4 weeks, 480 new customers that month.

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7 tactics

Algrow · B2C · viral video research tool

Search niche Discord servers for questions people keep asking

Found repeated 'how do I find a niche' questions; built the product around them

Used Disboard.org to find Discord servers for a niche keyword. In the Money Mind server, searched chat for the word 'niches' and saw people repeatedly asking 'how do I find a niche?' / 'how can I replicate this niche?', which he took as demand. Start-over version: join every relevant server found on Disboard (e.g. all Blender and Cinema 4D servers for a 3D-assets tool), copy days of chat history into ChatGPT and ask it to list recurring pain points; recurring ones signal demand.

Workedvalidationcommunity

Starter Story · 2026-01-14

Algrow · B2C · viral video research tool

Join Discord voice chats, mute, and just screen-share yourself using your tool

Members kept asking what it was; server owner made a free YouTube promo video

Joined voice chats in the target Discord server and shared his screen using the tool, without talking or pitching. Members tagged him asking 'what are you using?' and he replied that it was a tool he built. Did this for about a week straight, then kept sitting in the server screen-sharing for weeks.

Workedcommunityvalidation

Starter Story · 2026-01-14

Algrow · B2C · viral video research tool

Drop a waitlist link in the Discord chats where people asked about your tool

Founder says this is how the product started; no numbers

After weeks of screen-sharing in the server, posted a waitlist link in the Discord chat: 'If you want to try the tool, just sign up here and once it's released, you'll get an email.' Start-over version: once you have enough interested people, collect emails on a waitlist, or start your own Discord server for the future product to funnel ideal customers in without risking self-promo bans.

Workedpr-launchcommunity

Starter Story · 2026-01-14

Algrow · B2C · viral video research tool

When someone in the group asks for help, solve it with your tool instead of pitching

Word of mouth took off; new users said a friend told them

Discord servers ban self-promo, and 'I've got this tool, please use it' reads as spam. Instead built rapport: when a member described the kind of channel they wanted, he used his tool to find it for them, without directly selling. Those people told friends; when he asked new users where they came from, they said a friend told them.

Workedcommunityword-of-mouth

Starter Story · 2026-01-14

Algrow · B2C · viral video research tool

Give your earliest users free access so they show it to friends who pay

Founder credits it for the fast early growth; no numbers

Gave every early user who helped validate the idea free access. Their friends had to pay, and when a friend was skeptical, the free user could show them the tool. Combined with posting in the communities, early users told friends and it 'blew up'.

Workedword-of-mouthpricing

Starter Story · 2026-01-14

Algrow · B2C · viral video research tool

Ship a buggy first version in a week if the main feature works

First user hit an error but still used the core features

With no coding background, dictated the idea to ChatGPT voice mode, pasted the code into Notepad, then VS Code (later Cursor), and hosted on Heroku. Built in about a week. The first user got an application error but could still use the core features.

Workedvalidationfeature-development

Starter Story · 2026-01-14

Rizz App · B2C · AI dating texting app

Post faceless fake texting-story videos to promote an app as an affiliate

Over $10K earned for three friends, but it wasn't sustainable

Sam and two friends worked as affiliates for Rizz App, posting faceless texting-story videos built on made-up scenarios to promote the app.

Mixedaffiliateorganic-short-video

Starter Story · 2026-01-14

Numbers mentioned

Who	Metric	Value	Context	When
Algrow	revenue	GBP 10K/month approximate	Stripe revenue over the last 4 weeks; 'over £10,000'	2:37
Algrow	revenue	USD 13K–14K/month approximate	Guest's USD conversion of the £10K last-4-weeks figure; elsewhere 'over $14,000 in the last 30 days'	2:37
Algrow	users	10K users approximate	Users gained in ~6 months since launch ('over 10,000')	1:09
Algrow	new customers	480 customers/month	New paying customers this month	2:37
Algrow	price	USD 25–80/month	Three plans: $25, $45 and $80 per month	1:41
Algrow	time to milestone	1 weeks approximate	Time to code the first MVP with ChatGPT and Notepad, no coding background	4:52
personSam Adeniyi and two friends' affiliate marketing for Rizz App	revenue	USD 10K approximate	Affiliate earnings from faceless texting-story videos promoting Rizz App ('over $10,000')	3:15