Rank K.O.

Chris San Filippo, 26 years old, launched Rank K.O. with a co-founder as a reputation management and monitoring service. The business helps brands and individuals control their online presence across search results, business listings, and web content. Rather than building pure software, Chris and his partner created a hybrid model combining content creation, web development, and strategic monitoring—positioning themselves in the lucrative reputation management space.

Chris, the tech co-founder, works alongside a business-focused partner who handles finances and business development. The service offerings include content writing, microsites, website development, business listing management, and forensic-level reputation monitoring. The pricing model ranges from $1,000 to $5,000 per month depending on the scope and hours required, making it a professional services play with premium positioning from day one.

Chris's first customer came through a clever Facebook ads campaign. He crawled Google rankings to identify all real estate agents appearing on pages one through five in New York, extracted their emails from their websites, and uploaded these into a custom Facebook audience targeting them with a real estate marketing ad. One prospect commented "call me ASAP," and within three days, Chris had signed his first customer at $1,500/month—a client who stayed for about a year and became one of their best early clients. That customer received comprehensive reputation management including microsites, 15 pages of monthly content, map listings, and deep forensic analysis to identify who was creating negative online content.

Chris identified two successful channels: direct Facebook ads to high-value targets, and partnerships with PR firms and criminal defense attorneys who refer clients when they need reputation management services. The partnership funnel has become increasingly important because it connects them to larger organizations with bigger budgets. However, not all customers are recurring—some are one-time paid projects like audits or data pulls, which explains why Chris mentioned having "many more" total customers than the current 50 active accounts. This revealed churn, but Chris positioned it as a natural part of the business model since some engagements are intentionally project-based.

The business serves diverse verticals including real estate agents, PR firms, and criminal defense attorneys. One notable service includes helping victims of revenge porn by finding and documenting non-consensual intimate images online, collecting evidence, and submitting removal requests to Google with court orders—a complex but impactful service line.

After one year, Rank K.O. has 50 active customers generating approximately $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue (based on 50 customers × $2,000 average ARPU). Chris's goal for the year was to reach 200 recurring customers, which would translate to roughly $400,000 in monthly revenue, though he acknowledged they wouldn't hit that target by year-end. The company is self-funded from inception and is positioned to scale by doubling down on the PR and crisis management vertical, where larger budgets and more sophisticated clients exist.