Hello, Idris here!. This week I want to share a summarised version of my interview with Erikas Mališauskas, A UI/UX designer making 100k in revenue building shopify apps
You can find the full case study here
I'm Erikas Mališauskas, a serial entrepreneur and a professional UI/UX designer since 2011. I have co-founded 2 other startups and I have some background as an entrepreneur as well. I am currently building Shopify apps which already brought $100M+ for our merchants.
My background is in product design, having been doing that for more than 10 years. In my free time, I was always building something. I failed at least 5 different startups before I got into Shopify apps and made my first successful product. That's how I partnered with a developer and started Kaching Appz.
The thought of launching a Shopify app came much earlier than the actual idea of the app. I spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas, analysing competitive space, popular app store search queries, etc.
After days of thinking, checking hundreds of e-commerce stores, and talking with successful e-commerce entrepreneurs, I eventually got the idea to make an app to easily add icon blocks to the store.
Also, I realised that I need a development co-founder. I found one and we managed to finish and launch the app in 2 weeks.
I took a screenshot of the guarantees icon block and posted it to a popular Facebook group telling about our app idea and asking what keywords they would use to find an app to make such a block. After more than 50 comments, I coined out a name - Guarantees & Features Icons Highlight custom product icons in the description to build trust.
When we launched, I posted about our app in a few Facebook groups and told them that we were offering exclusive free membership to our app in exchange for feedback/reviews.
Almost 500 merchants installed our app in their shops in the first week after the launch. We made it to the #1 of the top trending apps in the whole Shopify app store which boosted the growth even more. We were improving the app daily which helped us to gather lots of positive reviews as people who asked for the specific feature were getting it in a couple of days. After a couple of weeks, we were the #1 app when searching for all these relative keywords.
Always talking to users, building based on their feedback, delivering fast, and doing great customer support. That helped us pave our way to the #1 app on some keywords and build organic growth. capturing positive reviews is key if you want to appear at the top of the list in search.
Its exactly 2 months after our monetisation started and we earned more than 2500$ with a current monthly recurring revenue of $1051 (+88% growth last month). There are more than 1800 merchants currently using our app. We continued to grow organically. Currently, we're making a 6-figure MRR having generated more than $100M in additional revenue for our users.
—- Simply do more than others.
—- Good pricing is very important
—- Shopify communities (Facebook groups, Reddit subreddits, Shopify community forums)
The in-depth version of the interview was shared here
I also try to feature indie tips and exciting product stuff here
Looking forward to hearing what you learnt from this
You can find the full case study here
Q: Hello! Who are you and what product are you working on currently?
I'm Erikas Mališauskas, a serial entrepreneur and a professional UI/UX designer since 2011. I have co-founded 2 other startups and I have some background as an entrepreneur as well. I am currently building Shopify apps which already brought $100M+ for our merchants.
Q: What is your backstory and how did you come up with your idea? Do you have any partners?
My background is in product design, having been doing that for more than 10 years. In my free time, I was always building something. I failed at least 5 different startups before I got into Shopify apps and made my first successful product. That's how I partnered with a developer and started Kaching Appz.
Q: Take us through the process of building the first version of your product MVP?
The thought of launching a Shopify app came much earlier than the actual idea of the app. I spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas, analysing competitive space, popular app store search queries, etc.
After days of thinking, checking hundreds of e-commerce stores, and talking with successful e-commerce entrepreneurs, I eventually got the idea to make an app to easily add icon blocks to the store.
Also, I realised that I need a development co-founder. I found one and we managed to finish and launch the app in 2 weeks.
Q: How did you get your first customers for your product (Free or paid users)
I took a screenshot of the guarantees icon block and posted it to a popular Facebook group telling about our app idea and asking what keywords they would use to find an app to make such a block. After more than 50 comments, I coined out a name - Guarantees & Features Icons Highlight custom product icons in the description to build trust.
When we launched, I posted about our app in a few Facebook groups and told them that we were offering exclusive free membership to our app in exchange for feedback/reviews.
Almost 500 merchants installed our app in their shops in the first week after the launch. We made it to the #1 of the top trending apps in the whole Shopify app store which boosted the growth even more. We were improving the app daily which helped us to gather lots of positive reviews as people who asked for the specific feature were getting it in a couple of days. After a couple of weeks, we were the #1 app when searching for all these relative keywords.
Q: Since you launched your product, What has worked to attract customers
Always talking to users, building based on their feedback, delivering fast, and doing great customer support. That helped us pave our way to the #1 app on some keywords and build organic growth. capturing positive reviews is key if you want to appear at the top of the list in search.
Q: How is your product performing currently, and what are your plans for the future? Can you share your current metrics and revenue figures?
Its exactly 2 months after our monetisation started and we earned more than 2500$ with a current monthly recurring revenue of $1051 (+88% growth last month). There are more than 1800 merchants currently using our app. We continued to grow organically. Currently, we're making a 6-figure MRR having generated more than $100M in additional revenue for our users.
Q: Since the inception of your business, have you gained any insights that have provided you with a competitive advantage and proven beneficial to your operations?
—- Simply do more than others.
—- Good pricing is very important
—- Shopify communities (Facebook groups, Reddit subreddits, Shopify community forums)
The in-depth version of the interview was shared here
I also try to feature indie tips and exciting product stuff here
Looking forward to hearing what you learnt from this