WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 The goal isn't just to build one successful app, 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:04.780 you know, one that captures some fleeting hype. 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:07.200 No, it's way bigger than that. It's about constructing 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:10.019 a whole portfolio. Yeah. Maybe three, maybe four 00:00:10.019 --> 00:00:13.019 apps. And all of them generating over $200 ,000 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:16.019 every single month, predictably. Welcome to this 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:18.859 deep dive. Today, we're unpacking the strategy 00:00:18.859 --> 00:00:22.440 of an Australian founder named Mike. He's built 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:25.899 this significant and really consistent wealth. 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:29.120 by focusing on the world of software as a service. 00:00:29.219 --> 00:00:32.380 Or SUS, which for our purposes just means software 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:34.679 you pay for monthly. It's a subscription. And 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:36.579 that subscription model is really the engine 00:00:36.579 --> 00:00:38.799 behind his success. Right. And we've basically 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.520 synthesized his entire playbook, the exact steps 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:43.619 he uses for every single launch. It's a very 00:00:43.619 --> 00:00:45.899 low risk, high stability approach. So we're going 00:00:45.899 --> 00:00:51.089 to explore his philosophy of boring, the surprisingly 00:00:51.089 --> 00:00:54.350 rigid four -person team structure, that critical 00:00:54.350 --> 00:00:57.369 $10 ,000 monthly revenue goal, and then the full 00:00:57.369 --> 00:01:00.109 10 -step launch playbook. Yeah, the mission here 00:01:00.109 --> 00:01:02.789 is to really extract the system. So you can see 00:01:02.789 --> 00:01:05.390 how it works and how it might apply to a niche 00:01:05.390 --> 00:01:08.170 that you're interested in. Okay, so let's start 00:01:08.170 --> 00:01:10.950 with the founder himself. Mike is interesting 00:01:10.950 --> 00:01:13.849 because he really tries to distance himself. 00:01:14.090 --> 00:01:17.549 from that Silicon Valley genius archetype. Oh, 00:01:17.549 --> 00:01:20.049 totally. He's very open about it. He says he 00:01:20.049 --> 00:01:22.709 started as, and this is a quote, one of the worst 00:01:22.709 --> 00:01:25.870 developers. Right. But he mastered one thing, 00:01:26.150 --> 00:01:29.409 which was focused non -glamorous problem solving. 00:01:29.489 --> 00:01:32.189 And that's the key. Right. He's not chasing what's 00:01:32.189 --> 00:01:34.700 sexy. No. He's chasing what's needed. His whole 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:36.939 strategy is a holding company that just owns 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:39.140 several small, profitable software businesses. 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:41.200 That's it. And if you look at the portfolio, 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:44.019 I mean, it is the definition of boringly reliable. 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:47.040 It really is. Take curator .io. All it does is 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:49.180 help websites display social media posts. Simple. 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:52.140 Then there's frill .co, which is a customer feedback 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:55.120 and roadmap tool. He has Juno for digital signage. 00:01:55.260 --> 00:01:57.980 Like in a gym or a cafe. Exactly. And Fluke, 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:00.180 which helps you build simple website how -to 00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:02.140 guides. None of these are going to be front page 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:06.590 news. But they all solve a real billable pain 00:02:06.590 --> 00:02:09.550 point for businesses who are already paying somebody 00:02:09.550 --> 00:02:12.449 else for a solution. And when you add all these 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:15.030 low drama tools up, that's where you get that 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:18.169 incredible number, over $200 ,000 a month. And 00:02:18.169 --> 00:02:21.750 he's so confident in it. He says, I expect every 00:02:21.750 --> 00:02:23.590 single one of our businesses to be successful. 00:02:24.009 --> 00:02:26.389 He sees it as a formula. It's a recipe. If you 00:02:26.389 --> 00:02:28.650 follow the recipe, you get the cake. You're not 00:02:28.650 --> 00:02:31.389 gambling. So if you approach business as a recipe, 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:35.000 How crucial is it to just actively resist that 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:37.620 pressure to invent the next big thing, the next 00:02:37.620 --> 00:02:40.000 Facebook? Oh, it's everything. Focusing on boring 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.580 markets just eliminates all the unknown variables. 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:45.360 You can focus purely on execution. That makes 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:47.620 perfect sense. OK, let's talk about the team, 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:49.680 because this is where most startups die, right? 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:52.180 Yeah, it's not the idea. It's founder fights, 00:02:52.699 --> 00:02:55.259 burnout, arguments over who gets what. And Mike's 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:57.680 solution for this is, well, it's non -negotiable. 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:00.199 He calls it the power of four. Every single venture 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:03.360 is launched with exactly four founders covering 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:05.879 four distinct roles. What are those four pillars? 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.139 So first you have your two technical pillars. 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:11.180 Founder 1 is the front -end developer. That's 00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:13.860 what the user sees, what they click on. Founder 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:16.680 2 is the back -end developer. They handle the 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.360 brains of the operation, the servers, the databases, 00:03:19.659 --> 00:03:22.500 the logic. Then Founder 3 is the designer. They're 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.159 making sure the whole thing looks good and is 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:27.580 simple to use, which is huge when you're competing 00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:30.460 in these so -called boring spaces. For sure. 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:33.319 And then Founder 4 is the generalist. That's 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.060 probably you, the listener, the person handling 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:38.860 marketing, sales, customer service. project management 00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:41.659 the glue. And here's the part that I think is 00:03:41.659 --> 00:03:45.979 the most controversial. The equity split is 25 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:48.719 percent for everyone period. And that's the genius 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:50.680 of it. That's what solves the conflict problem. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:52.939 You don't get to argue about who had the idea 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:55.240 or who thinks they worked harder last week. Everyone's 00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:56.800 an equal owner. Right. It feels like it just 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:59.379 removes that constant draining negotiation. It 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:02.219 does. And from a practical standpoint it ensures 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:04.520 survival. If one person needs to take a long 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:08.430 vacation or get sick. The business doesn't just 00:04:08.430 --> 00:04:10.629 fall apart the other three can keep it going. 00:04:10.770 --> 00:04:12.849 He also has a great hiring advice He says you 00:04:12.849 --> 00:04:15.229 should only work with people you genuinely like 00:04:15.229 --> 00:04:17.730 people you'd happily have a beer with yeah Because 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:20.449 if the team clicks the work is better and small 00:04:20.449 --> 00:04:23.769 problems don't blow up. So does that strict 25 00:04:23.769 --> 00:04:28.230 % split? Really remove the difficulty of you 00:04:28.230 --> 00:04:30.250 know, constantly judging each founders output. 00:04:30.550 --> 00:04:33.069 Absolutely Equal ownership just promotes a shared 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:34.910 responsibility for the health of the business 00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:38.879 All right, let's pivot to the money. The goal 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:41.980 for almost every venture -backed startup is growth 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:45.100 at all costs, right? Aiming for that huge sale. 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:47.800 Mike's goal is the complete opposite. He's building 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.600 businesses to keep, to generate income from day 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:52.720 one. And that brings us to the most important 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.740 financial target. Yeah. $10 ,000 in monthly recurring 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:59.310 revenue, MR. And why 10 ,000? Because with that 00:04:59.310 --> 00:05:01.990 super lean team of four, that amount pretty much 00:05:01.990 --> 00:05:04.810 covers all your basic costs. Your servers, your 00:05:04.810 --> 00:05:06.589 software subscriptions. So once you cross that 00:05:06.589 --> 00:05:10.009 $10 ,000 MRR line, you're profitable. That's 00:05:10.009 --> 00:05:13.069 the success moment. From that point on, the founders 00:05:13.069 --> 00:05:15.329 just split the profit equally. They don't do 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:18.029 mass hiring. They don't do huge ad spends. The 00:05:18.029 --> 00:05:20.550 goal is a high salary for themselves. It's all 00:05:20.550 --> 00:05:23.110 about personal wealth and freedom, not market 00:05:23.110 --> 00:05:26.310 hype. Whoa. And just think about scaling that. 00:05:26.529 --> 00:05:29.370 Imagine you have three of these businesses. Each 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:32.970 one is kicking off $10 ,000 in pure profit for 00:05:32.970 --> 00:05:35.430 you every single month. That compounding effect 00:05:35.430 --> 00:05:37.269 is incredible. It's financial independence built 00:05:37.269 --> 00:05:40.269 one solid piece at a time. So why is generating 00:05:40.269 --> 00:05:42.490 that predictable profit for founder salaries 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:45.649 superior to just aiming for a quick, risky sale? 00:05:45.910 --> 00:05:48.990 Because keeping costs low prioritizes your own 00:05:48.990 --> 00:05:51.649 financial stability over chasing a market valuation 00:05:51.649 --> 00:05:55.750 that might never happen. Sponsor. Okay, so we've 00:05:55.750 --> 00:05:57.569 laid the groundwork. We have the low risk philosophy, 00:05:57.829 --> 00:06:00.550 the solid team structure, and that clear financial 00:06:00.550 --> 00:06:02.769 goal. Now for the most important part, the actual 00:06:02.769 --> 00:06:05.540 core of the system. The 10 -step launch playbook 00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:07.600 he uses for every single business. Let's get 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.519 into it. Step one. Step one is pick an idea that 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:13.040 has been done before. You have to resist that 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:15.959 urge to be some wild innovator. Competition is 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:18.860 a good thing. It's confirmation. that people 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:21.079 are already paying to solve this problem. And 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:23.579 the method for finding the gap is so specific. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:27.220 You go to review sites, like Captera or G2, find 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:29.759 the big players in a boring niche. And then you 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:31.740 filter for the one -star and two -star reviews. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.420 Exactly. That's where the gold is. You read what 00:06:34.420 --> 00:06:37.399 makes users angry. This is too complicated. The 00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:40.500 design is ugly. Their support never gets back 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:43.319 to me. Your business just becomes the solution 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:45.600 to those specific complaints. OK, that leads 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.949 to step two, which is all about speed. build 00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:52.790 a good enough MVP. MVP, minimum viable product. 00:06:52.930 --> 00:06:54.550 Right. And this should take what, two or three 00:06:54.550 --> 00:06:57.269 months? Maximum? You have to be ruthless, build 00:06:57.269 --> 00:06:59.389 only the three core features everyone needs, 00:06:59.610 --> 00:07:01.769 and just ignore everything else. That speed then 00:07:01.769 --> 00:07:04.170 lets you get to early cash flow. Step three is 00:07:04.170 --> 00:07:07.230 to offer a lifetime deal, an LTD. There's a one 00:07:07.230 --> 00:07:10.009 -time fee, right? Maybe $99, and the user gets 00:07:10.009 --> 00:07:12.050 access forever. And that does two things for 00:07:12.050 --> 00:07:15.730 you immediately. First, cash. 100 of those sales, 00:07:15.910 --> 00:07:18.470 and you've got $10 ,000 in the bank. Second, 00:07:18.610 --> 00:07:21.370 it gets you your first serious committed users. 00:07:21.829 --> 00:07:24.870 Which you need for step four. Never give away 00:07:24.870 --> 00:07:29.230 free accounts. Free users just don't provide 00:07:29.230 --> 00:07:31.009 good feedback. They don't have any skin in the 00:07:31.009 --> 00:07:34.509 game. But paid users, even at a low price, are 00:07:34.509 --> 00:07:36.670 invested. They'll tell you what's wrong. I still 00:07:36.670 --> 00:07:39.069 wrestle with feature creep myself, wanting to 00:07:39.069 --> 00:07:41.170 add too many bills and whistles early on. Me 00:07:41.170 --> 00:07:43.649 too. That's why getting that paid feedback is 00:07:43.649 --> 00:07:46.269 so critical. It keeps you honest. Step five is 00:07:46.269 --> 00:07:49.870 the hustle part. Sell your private LTD. This 00:07:49.870 --> 00:07:52.290 means going into niche Facebook groups, Slack 00:07:52.290 --> 00:07:54.629 communities. And finding people on Twitter complaining 00:07:54.629 --> 00:07:57.069 about your competitors. You engage with them, 00:07:57.209 --> 00:07:59.329 you ask for advice, and then you gently sell 00:07:59.329 --> 00:08:01.850 them on your lifetime deal. Okay, now we shift 00:08:01.850 --> 00:08:05.470 to the long game. Step six. Start writing content. 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:08.560 immediately. Yes. Content marketing blog posts, 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:11.259 guides, comparison articles. It takes months 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:13.060 for Google to start trusting you. So you have 00:08:13.060 --> 00:08:15.220 to start on day one. Once the product is stable, 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:17.779 step seven is the big one. Launch on AppSumo. 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:20.420 AppSumo is a huge marketplace for these kinds 00:08:20.420 --> 00:08:22.279 of software deals. It gives you a massive boost 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:25.899 in exposure. And the goal here is... pretty ambitious, 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:29.379 raise $100 ,000. And that hundred grand, that 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:31.879 becomes the war chest. Right. That money is what 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:33.960 lets you survive for the next one to two years 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:36.480 while you transition from those one -time LTD 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:39.419 buyers to stable monthly subscribers. Okay, step 00:08:39.419 --> 00:08:42.639 eight is pure psychology. Do one final closing 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:45.940 soon campaign. It's classic FOMO, fear of missing 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:49.269 out. You send an urgent email. 48 hours left 00:08:49.269 --> 00:08:51.710 before the price switches to the higher monthly 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:53.610 subscription forever. And step nine is about 00:08:53.610 --> 00:08:56.730 building trust. Get honest reviews. Social proof 00:08:56.730 --> 00:08:59.250 is absolutely everything. You have to ask those 00:08:59.250 --> 00:09:02.509 loyal LTD buyers to go write reviews on G2, Captera, 00:09:02.649 --> 00:09:05.309 and Trustpilot. For sure. And finally, step 10, 00:09:05.789 --> 00:09:08.149 answer questions on Reddit. You monitor industry 00:09:08.149 --> 00:09:17.909 keywords. You provide... You have to be helpful, 00:09:18.070 --> 00:09:21.870 not salesy. So that $100 ,000 Apsuma war chest, 00:09:22.250 --> 00:09:24.830 is that the true pivot point from a side project 00:09:24.830 --> 00:09:27.850 to a sustainable business? It is. That lump sum 00:09:27.850 --> 00:09:30.269 provides the stability you need to survive that 00:09:30.269 --> 00:09:33.450 tough transition from one -time cash to predictable 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:36.799 monthly growth. Mike has a 100 % success rate, 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:39.159 which is just unheard of. And it's because he 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:42.840 deliberately avoids two huge catastrophic risks. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:45.519 The first one he calls platform risk. Right. 00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:48.240 You should never, ever build an app that relies 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.179 entirely on another company. If you build a tool 00:09:51.179 --> 00:09:54.220 just for, say, Twitter, and they change their 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:57.019 API rules... Your business dies overnight. Instantly. 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:59.779 And the modern version of that risk is avoid 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:02.799 AI wrappers. These are those simple tools built 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:05.860 as a thin layer over something like ChatGPT. 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:08.419 Mike avoids these completely, and the reason 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:12.000 is so clear. OpenAI could release an update tomorrow 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.480 that just includes your exact feature and your 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.059 app. becomes totally obsolete. It's too vulnerable. 00:10:17.500 --> 00:10:19.320 It just brings you back to the main conclusion. 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:22.580 Choose boring problems. Choose problems that 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:25.759 will never go away. Invoicing, scheduling, documentation. 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:28.399 Solve one of those just a little bit better and 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.779 you create lasting value. It's probably worth 00:10:30.779 --> 00:10:32.700 noting too that they keep the technology stack 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:35.679 really simple. Yeah, nothing fancy. Well established 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:38.460 tech like Vue or React on the front end, stable 00:10:38.460 --> 00:10:41.440 Laravel and PHP on the back end. Why do that? 00:10:41.779 --> 00:10:44.480 Because it's reliable. It's cheap. and it's easy 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:47.139 to hire developers for. And they use simple tools 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:50.080 like Framer for their websites, so the non -technical 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.559 founders can make changes without needing a developer 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:55.620 every time. It's all about reducing risk. Given 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:59.220 how fast AI is moving, how long can an AI wrapper 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:02.460 realistically survive before it just gets absorbed 00:11:02.460 --> 00:11:04.379 by the tech it's built on? I mean, that's the 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:06.940 thing. Dependence on external APIs creates this 00:11:06.940 --> 00:11:09.779 inherent instability. Your business has to own 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:12.850 its own core value. So to wrap this up, The core 00:11:12.850 --> 00:11:16.090 idea from Mike is that you don't need some lightning 00:11:16.090 --> 00:11:18.629 strike of genius. No, you need a system. You 00:11:18.629 --> 00:11:21.350 need low market risk, and you need a small trusted 00:11:21.350 --> 00:11:23.710 team operating on a clear recipe. We've pulled 00:11:23.710 --> 00:11:26.149 out the key numbers. The power of four founders, 00:11:26.730 --> 00:11:29.960 that non -negotiable 25 % split. and the $10 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:33.159 ,000 MRR goal that really defines freedom. It's 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:35.940 all built on stability and ownership, not on 00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:38.480 chaotic growth. So for your action plan, we'd 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:40.340 really recommend you start exactly where Mike 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:43.000 does. Go to Capterra or G2. Look at some of those 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:45.299 boring business software categories. Things like 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:48.360 digital signage or asset management or form builders. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:51.039 And just start reading the one -star and two 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:53.460 -star reviews. Because that deep understanding 00:11:53.460 --> 00:11:56.279 of what's already frustrating people in the market... 00:11:56.350 --> 00:11:59.350 That's the first real step. It's the first step 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:01.389 toward building something profitable that you 00:12:01.389 --> 00:12:04.029 can actually be proud to own. Thank you for joining 00:12:04.029 --> 00:12:06.629 us for this deep dive. We'll catch you next time. 00:12:06.889 --> 00:12:07.669 Outtiro music.