Content Startups
6 case studies with real revenue and traction data from content startups.
Kristin Hanes started The Wayward Home in June 2017 as a blog and podcast dedicated to helping people achieve alternative living dreams like van life and RVing. The content business now generates $20K per month in revenue with startup costs of only $50, serving readers who want freedom from traditional 9-5 life or affordable ways to explore and live.
Justin Welsh built a $2M annual revenue solopreneur business creating knowledge products and digital courses that teach entrepreneurs how to leverage social media. His business is fueled by his massive social media following of 380K on LinkedIn and 330K on Twitter, plus an 80K subscriber newsletter called The Saturday Solopreneur.
ContentCreator.com is an online education platform teaching professional content creation skills, co-founded by Anthony Gallo and Paul Xavier in April 2020. Starting with just $60 in Facebook ads, they scaled their first course '14 Day Filmmaker' to over $35,000 in weekly sales within the first month. The company now generates $500K in monthly revenue serving the beginner market for cinematic video production training.
Man of Many is a men's lifestyle blog founded by Scott Purcell in 2012 that has grown from a part-time hobby to one of the world's largest men's lifestyle sites. The bootstrapped company now reaches over 2 million readers monthly and generates over $4M per year in revenue with a team of 13 employees.
Shelley Marmor started her first travel blog in April 2020 and grew to run four profitable travel blogs plus a blogging education business by 2023. After growing her income by 3,113% from 2021-2022, she launched Travel Blogging 101 in December 2022 to teach others her scaling methods through courses and 1:1 mentorship, averaging $55,688 per month from January to April 2023.
Tooltester is a website review and tutorial platform founded by Robert Brandl in 2009 that helps small businesses choose web tools. The company has grown to $110K monthly revenue through SEO-driven content and was recognized in the Financial Times FT1000 ranking for fastest-growing European companies.