Rane's $50K business

Hey, it’s Guy & Farzan.

Had my 50th birthday party at the weekend. One hundred and fifty friends, fifty candles, one leopard-print suit. 100% polyester. Stayed three feet from the cake candles. Safety first. Danced for days. Not pretty, but loved it. Police came by at 11pm to tell us to calm it down. Sign of a banger party. Let's dive into this week's founder stories.

Reading time: 9.5 mins

In the mail today. 3 founder stories, 1 bit if SaaS advice, 1 tweet

 Founder story 1 

From Cancer survivor to startup founder: How Rane turned a simple podcast idea into a AU$50k revenue business in just one year

"You can create engaging videos from your podcast in minutes with AI."

That's what Rane Bowen has built with SoundMadeSeen. But this success story is more remarkable considering his journey.

Here's the inspiring story:
→ Grew up in New Plymouth, New Zealand
→ Moved to Melbourne, Australia 16 years ago
→ Survived stomach cancer (doctors once told him it had spread to his lungs)
→ Built company to AU$50k revenue in just one year
→ Now helping content creators worldwide

The fascinating part is how his vision evolved from personal need to business:
2023: "I need better videos for my yoga podcast"
2024: "Let's help podcasters create better promotional content"
2025: "Anyone can be a content creator with the right AI tools"

The journey wasn't smooth:
- Diagnosed with stomach cancer, had his entire stomach removed
- Started as a simple tool for his own podcast (The Flow Artists Podcast)
- Built the initial version while recovering through yoga
- Expanded features as AI capabilities grew

Everything changed when he launched on AppSumo with lifetime deals, giving him the runway to keep building.

Today's results:
- AU$50,000 revenue in 2024
- 800 newsletter subscribers & lifetime deal holders
- 800 monthly website visitors
- 4.8/5 rating from customers
- Running as a profitable one-person business

The biggest opportunities now?
→ Simplifying the entire content creation workflow
→ Connecting audio content with video distribution
→ Using AI to enhance rather than replace creativity

Real example:
SoundMadeSeen can analyze podcast transcripts to identify the most shareable moments and generate ready-to-publish videos.

Why this matters:
The bottleneck in content creation is shifting from "Can you edit?" to "Can you identify what resonates with your audience?"

Distribution and audience understanding are becoming more valuable than technical skills.

This is why Rane believes we're moving toward a future where content creators can focus on their message while AI handles the technical aspects.

Founder story 2

How an engineer became New Zealand’s most loved burnt bsque cheesecake baker

"I gained 10kgs in a month after my bodybuilding show. I took it as a message from God to reevaluate my life."

This is the story of a young woman who left engineering to start Fankery, a specialty cheesecake business. Her journey reveals how childhood pressure evolved into finding true passion.

Here's her path:
→ Raised with intense competitive pressure (parents posted her 5th-place chess results by her bed for a year)
→ Started as an engineering consultant while competing in bodybuilding
→ Health issues caused weight gain and mental breakdown
→ Discovered baking during her recovery
→ Built Fankery despite parental concerns about leaving engineering

Her mindset transformation:

2021: "I work so hard, why is this happening to me?" Recovery: "You don't have to go so fast all the time" Realization: "I was always running two jobs while sitting at my desk" Today: "Did you try? If you did, good job"

The turning point came when:
- Health issues forced her to slow down
- Baking her first cake "shed light" on herself after months of darkness
- Parents eventually accepted she would leave engineering
- Food became her avenue for expression online

Today's results:
- Popular specialty cheesecakes with unique flavors
- Working alongside her mother in their kitchen
- Building meaningful connections with customers
- Bridging generational gaps through shared passion

Key insight about career paths:
Success isn't about following expectations. It's about finding what makes you feel alive. When you discover your true passion, work becomes an expression of love.

The best part?
"That love transcends" - through her baking and the new relationship she's building with her mother as business partners.

Founder story 3

How Zepto Built a $5B Business by '10 minutes Grocery Delivery' Model

"You can now get groceries delivered in under 10 minutes with AI-powered logistics."

That's what Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra have built with Zepto. But this success story is even more remarkable considering they were just teenagers when they started.

Here's the inspiring story:
→ Childhood friends from Mumbai, India
→ Got into Stanford University to study Computer Science
→ Dropped out at ages 18-19 during the pandemic
→ Built company to 25,000+ products and 650+ dark stores
→ Now valued at over $5B

The fascinating part is how their vision evolved:

2020: "Why can't we get groceries delivered faster during lockdown?" 2021: "Let's make 45-minute grocery delivery with KiranaKart" 2022: "Let's promise 10-minute delivery with Zepto" 2025: "Let's expand beyond groceries with Zepto Café"

The journey wasn't smooth:

• Left prestigious Stanford University during a pandemic

• Had to compete with giants like Amazon, Swiggy, and BigBasket

• Faced skepticism about the sustainability of the quick-commerce model

• Built an entirely new logistics infrastructure from scratch

Everything changed when they realized speed was the ultimate differentiator. The secret? Dark stores: small, high-speed warehouses strategically placed in key locations.

Today's results:
- 650+ dark stores
- A target of 1,200 stores by March
- $5.5 billion in projected gross sales
- 50-60% of stores turning profitable
- A booming new venture: Zepto Café

Key insight about the future of commerce:
We're moving from "weekly shopping trips" to "instant gratification" - similar to how Netflix changed how we consume entertainment.

The biggest opportunities now?
→ Dense urban populations
→ Rising digital adoption
→ Growing disposable incomes
→ Changing consumer expectations

Real example:
In metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai, 'Zepto' has become a verb for ordering something in less than 10 minutes.

Technology and logistics expertise are becoming more valuable than traditional retail skills.

This is why Zepto is planning an IPO for 2025, with thousands of employees behind them and expansion into new markets on the horizon.

The future isn't just about selling products, it's about delivering them faster than anyone thought possible.

 Saas advice from Gaboin Hammar (Founder of Swarm & StoryPrompt)

The most expensive words in SaaS: "Let's add one more feature."

I've watched startups burn through millions trying to out-feature competitors, only to end up with bloated products nobody wants to use.

Complexity isn't just a technical problem—it's an existential threat.

Here's what 16 years of bootstrapping has taught me:

1. The most elegant solutions are often the simplest ones.

2. When faced with a problem, my first question isn't "what should we build?" but "what‘s the simplest way to solve this problem?"

3. Our best product decisions came from ruthlessly eliminating features, not adding them.

Your competitors focus on adding more features, more integrations, more complexity.

But the real advantage comes from focused simplicity. They can copy your features, but they can't replicate your clarity of purpose.

Start by asking: "What's the simplest version of this that would solve the problem?"

My approach to keeping product requirements simple:

1. One-page PRDs → Force yourself to fit core requirements on a single page. If it doesn't fit, you're trying to solve too many problems.

2. Problem-first documentation → Start with the user problem, not the solution. A clearly defined problem naturally limits scope.

3. Outcome metrics → Define success with just three metrics. More than that dilutes focus and invites feature creep.

The hardest part isn't building something complex — it's having the courage to keep things simple.

 A tweet we loved

Hope you enjoyed our newsletter to start your week.

Quick reminder - If you like our newsletter, please do “add to address book” or reply. These are “positive signals” that help our newsletter land in your inbox. If you hate it, please unsubscribe (the unsubscribe link is in the footer).

See you in 7 days.

Guy + Farzan
Founderoo