Hotjar Startups

CROSSNET is a four-way volleyball net company founded by Chris Meade and two childhood friends that grew from a late-night brainstorming session to a $300k/month business in less than two years. The team built the product by prototyping with Walmart nets, iterating with manufacturers for a year, and strategically distributing units to influencers who created engaging content. Their growth came from repurposing influencer videos into Facebook and Instagram ads while continuously optimizing their Shopify store with conversion tools like Privy, Klaviyo, Hotjar, and Carthook.

Career Sidekick is a job search advice website founded by Biron Clark in 2013 that grew from a failed, unfocused blog into a multiple six-figure annual revenue business by niching down to focus exclusively on job search content and prioritizing organic search optimization. The business generates revenue through a mix of products (courses and e-books), affiliate marketing, and display advertising (via Mediavine), with 85%+ profit margins and over 1 million monthly visitors, 80% of which come from organic search. Biron bootstrapped the operation, remains the only full-time employee, and operates it as a fully remote, location-independent business while traveling.