📥 From Notes to Numbers: How This Singing Practice Tool Generates $7675/Month

Hi everyone 🤝 

This is Cameron from the Growtharchive 📥

Every week, I highlight up-and-coming projects and successful startups' early growth strategies that worked and the challenges they faced when making their first sales and beyond.

Projects We’ve Added To The Growth Archive📈

1. Singing Carrots:

Singing Carrots is the place to practice your singing. They give you tools to become a better singer. Put in 15 minutes a day and become one.

Project Launched: 2018
Founder: Sergey Kyune
MRR: $7675 MRR (Updated 12th Aug 2023)
First Profitable Customer: A bit over two years.

How did you come up with the idea of Singing Carrots?

“In the winter of 2018, while playing guitar and singing with friends in Amsterdam, I found myself struggling to transpose chords to suit my low voice. The process was frustrating and time-consuming. With an engineering background and over 10 years in the IT industry, I naturally thought of automating this task. I searched for a service that could help but found none, so I decided to create one.

I knew my vocal range and realized that if I could determine the range of a song, I could easily calculate the required transposition. I began collecting a database of vocal ranges for songs and consulted with musicians for additional features. The community's input led to the creation of Singing Carrots, a website that connects singers with songs based on their vocal range.

The site started with two main features, allowing users to explore songs by genre and difficulty or find optimal keys for particular songs. I continued to add features like links to YouTube videos, lyrics, music sheets, interactive vocal range tests, and artist ranges, constantly evolving the service based on user needs. “

How did Singing Carrots get its first profitable customers?

“As the audience of Singing Carrots grew, I began conducting customer research and user interviews. I identified that a large segment of the audience was interested in singing self-study. Inspired by this insight, I started iterating with prototypes, exploring different ways to engage users.

After a couple of attempts, one concept gained traction: a gamified version of "Guitar Hero," but tailored for singers. The user experience was inspired by Duolingo, making it intuitive and engaging. Once the beta testers provided positive reviews, I implemented a paywall.

On the very first day, I made a sale! It was an unforgettable moment, marking the transition from a free service to a profitable business. This success validated the approach and set the stage for further growth and innovation.”

What have you struggled with when building Singing Carrots so far and how has this shaped your business?

“One of the most significant challenges I faced when building Singing Carrots was the monetization strategy. Initially inspired by Duolingo, I decided to follow their freemium model. However, this approach led to almost a year of struggle, as I grappled with determining which part of the audience would pay and which features to lock behind a paywall.

My iterations were essentially wild guesses, and most of my development efforts resulted in failures. I was trying to solve a puzzle almost blind, without a clear understanding of my paying customer persona. The lack of budget further compounded the problem, making the freemium model unsustainable for my business at that stage.

Only after numerous failed attempts did I realize that I needed to implement a paid solution first. By focusing on understanding the needs and preferences of paying customers, I could then potentially transition into a freemium model. This shift in strategy finally moved the needle, leading to the first profitable sales and shaping the business's direction.

This experience taught me the importance of aligning the monetization strategy with the business's resources and understanding the customer base. It also underscored the value of flexibility and adaptability in the face of challenges, allowing me to pivot and find a path to success.“

What gives you and Singing Carrots that unfair advantage over new entrants into the market?

“When I first started Singing Carrots, I didn't consciously think about creating an unfair advantage. It was a combination of luck and hard work that allowed the business to grow. However, as the project evolved, I realized that there were key factors that set us apart from potential competitors.

Prominent SEO Position: Over time, Singing Carrots has achieved a very prominent SEO position that cannot be challenged quickly. The Lifetime Value (LTV) of customers is relatively small, meaning that any potential competitor would need to commit to significant losses if they decided to win traffic through ads overbidding. The market's niche nature raises the question: Is it big enough for a major player to pursue aggressively? I believe the answer is no, further solidifying our position.

Unique Data Insights: Another significant advantage I've been building over the years is our unique data collection. Singing Carrots is the only player in the market that can reliably claim how long it will take a student to practice to see particular results. This insight is unparalleled and something that even individual singing teachers cannot provide. Our data-driven approach offers a personalized and quantifiable path to improvement, setting us apart from any traditional or digital competitors.

These factors create a substantial moat around Singing Carrots, protecting us from new entrants and allowing us to continue to innovate and serve our users effectively. The combination of our SEO strength and unique data insights ensures that we offer something truly special in the market, positioning us for continued success.”

What is your main growth strategy for Singing Carrots going forward?

“Our main growth strategy for Singing Carrots is to double down on what's already working. We plan to incorporate AI into our SEO efforts to further strengthen our prominent position in search results. Additionally, we'll explore new growth channels by delving into affiliates and influencer marketing as a secondary priority. These focused strategies align with our current success and aim to expand our reach in the market. ”

👉Check Out Singing Carrots👈

2. GetMyMFA:

GetMyMFA is an appointment-scheduling software built for businesses. Don't waste time arranging meetings with clients. Streamline your company's workflow - automatically.

Project Launched: Oct 2021
Founder: Jonathan Bernales
MRR: $1250 MRR (Updated 31st Of July 2023)
First Profitable Customer: Around 10 days as described here

How did you come up with the idea of GetMyMFA?

“GetMyMFA came up as an idea after trying to submit an iOS and Android application with SMS-based 2FA enforced for all production accounts and having it rejected by the reviewer. GetMyMFA allows reviewers to receive SMS-based 2FA codes through a web interface.”

How did GetMyMFA get its first profitable customers?

“A comment was shared in the Apple forum of somebody who had the same need:”

What have you struggled with when building GetMyMFA so far and how has this shaped your business?

“As this need is a very niche market, the current struggle is getting sufficient growth to make this a highly profitable project.”

What gives you and GetMyMFA that unfair advantage over new entrants into the market?

“Straight to the point UX/UI - Uniquely branded as a specialised product for Application submission and end-to-end test automation”

What is your main growth strategy for GetMyMFA going forward?

“TBD, that is a current pain point we have”

👉Check Out GetMyMFA👈

MRR Chart Of The Week🚀

What The Growth Archive Is Eyeing 👀

-Projects at $0MRR-

Scalesleek:

All-in-one SEO tool that drives quality traffic that converts.

Project Launched: 27 Jul 2023
Founder: Adubs, Pablo

Growth Plans:

“We're doing a new audit each day on websites of people in our niche to eat our dog food, show the capabilities, discover how the tool is lacking, and show off its features

”We're also trying #buildinpublic.”

👉Follow Scalesleek’s Growth👈

Keymentions:

Track mentions and engage with your target audience effortlessly with Keymentions' AI-powered platform.

Waitlist Launched: 8 May 2023
Founder: Constantin

Growth Plans:

“Planning to get my first customers through cold outreach and posting on different social media.”

👉Follow Keymention’s Growth👈

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See you next week!

- Cameron Scully (@cameronscully_)