The Secret Formula Solo Founders Are Using to Quickly Grow to $10k/Month
Building a successful business as a solo founder can feel like a monumental challenge, but some entrepreneurs have managed to scale from 0 to 10k/month impressively fast. What’s their secret? Surprisingly, it’s not as complicated as you might think. A winning combination of a consumer-friendly product and short-form videos has fueled exponential growth for many.
Here’s a closer look at how this strategy works — and why it might not be as sustainable as it seems.
The Power of B2C Products and Short-Form Videos
If there’s one common thread among these solo founders, it’s this: they focus on selling a B2C product, something that’s simple, relatable, and easy for everyday people to understand and buy. Once they have their product, they rely heavily on short-form video content to promote it.
Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels make it easier than ever to reach a wide audience. These founders often experiment until they find a “content formula” that works — something that resonates with viewers and generates engagement. Once they nail down this winning format, they rinse and repeat, creating similar videos with slight variations to keep things fresh.
Why Short-Form Videos Work So Well
What makes these videos so effective is the way today’s algorithms operate. Platforms like TikTok constantly serve content to people who likely haven’t seen it before. Videos are fed to new audiences through the “For You” page or explore feeds, allowing creators to tap into an almost endless stream of viewers. Each video feels fresh to its audience because most people are seeing it for the first time.
This approach works beautifully for driving visibility. Founders don’t need to rely on existing followings or networks. Instead, the algorithm does the work, connecting their videos to new potential customers with every upload. It’s like having a constant sales pitch working on autopilot.
The Downsides: Retention Challenges
While the strategy has a lot of advantages, it’s not without problems. One major drawback is retention — keeping customers long-term. Many of these businesses don’t focus on building lasting relationships with their customers or adding value beyond the initial purchase. Because their success hinges so heavily on continually creating viral or semi-viral videos, they need to keep churning out content to keep the momentum going.
If the content creation stops or becomes less effective, growth can slow down — or even come to a halt. This makes it a high-maintenance, time-intensive strategy that might not be sustainable in the long term.
Takeaway
The combination of a relatable B2C product and short-form video content has proven to be a powerful strategy for solo founders looking to scale quickly. The key is finding a content style that resonates and doubling down on it, leveraging algorithms to reach new people every day.
But it’s important to remember that this approach isn’t without its challenges. The need for constant content production and the retention struggles it creates mean this isn’t necessarily a future-proof business model. However, for someone looking to achieve fast growth and reach that coveted $10k/month mark, this strategy can be an incredibly effective starting point.
