💪 Side project to $120K ARR

Hey - It's Farzan & Guy,

Every week Farzan and I collect videos, stories, and quotes that we'd love to read in a newsletter ourselves. Then I (Guy) put it all together on the weekend. As a pair, we're always working to make Founderoo better. We're learning as we go and finding our voice, so a big thanks for being here!

Let's get into it...

Estimated reading time: 7 mins

In the mail today. 3 stories, 1 growth idea, 1 bit of advice

 Founder story 

From side project to $120K ARR: See how Caspar hit 500K monthly website visitors with SEO alone.

See how Caspar:

• Built a $120K ARR SaaS business as a solo founder

• Grew to 500K monthly visitors through pure SEO focus

• Turned a simple scoreboard idea into his full-time business

How to grow through SEO (Caspar's playbook):

• Write one high-quality blog post every week - focus on answering specific search queries.

• Create detailed tutorials around your product - helps both SEO and product understanding.

• Focus entirely on organic growth - he avoided paid ads and social media completely

Must-read for founders who want to learn how building in public, focusing on a single growth channel, and maintaining a simple, no-login-required product can lead to sustainable growth. Perfect for technical founders looking to transition from side hustle to full-time entrepreneurship.

Founder story

How In-N-Out turned a $4 burger into $2 Billion a year.

In-N-Out Burger started in California in 1948, the same year as McDonald's. While McDonald's went global with 40,000+ locations, In-N-Out stayed small with about 400 stores but built a devoted following. They're known for fresh ingredients, good wages, and a simple menu that hasn't changed much in 75 years. The company makes around $2 billion a year and is still family-owned. Unlike other chains, they've refused to franchise or expand too quickly, and they're just now planning their first locations in Tennessee for 2026.

 Funny Founder idea 

This made us chuckle about a guy making $80K doing nothing…

Founder growth

Tim is a great Aussie writer and this is a great tweet about 15 systems that transformed his business.

 Founder tips

Timothy Armoo gives us some uncomfortable tips every first-time founder should read.

I started my first proper company at 17. Here are 7 uncomfortable truths I wish someone would’ve told me:

1. You’ll make bad hires. Get it over with. Learn from it. Move on.

2. Work-life balance is a myth.

3. Pivoting is part of the process. The idea you start with won’t be the one you finish with.

4. Most of the work will be boring. Don’t expect excitement every day. Success comes from consistency.

5. You’ll feel lonely 70% of the time. Surround yourself with people who lift you up.

6. It will take longer than you think. You’ll question if you’re on the right path. Keep going anyway.

7. You will have to be your own therapist.

8. You start by working harder, not smarter.

9. Your toughest battle will be your mindset. Master that, and you’ll win the game.

10. Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. You’ve got what it takes—keep going.
    
    Yes, it’s great to do it for the money.
    
    But entrepreneurship is the greatest self-development course, you could go on.
    
    Enjoy the ride!

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See you next week.

Guy + Farzan
Founderoo