7 Reviews And Rating App Business Success Stories [2024]
Imagine a platform where users can discover the best products and services using authentic, crowd-sourced opinions. That's the essence of a reviews and rating app business.
This app serves as a reliable hub where consumers rate and review various items, giving potential buyers valuable insights before making decisions. It bridges the gap between users and quality products, enhancing shopping experiences through trustworthy feedback.
To get started, you’ll need to focus on developing a user-friendly interface, ensuring genuine reviews through verification processes, and driving user engagement. Building partnerships with businesses and maintaining a robust backend for data management are core tasks.
Creating such an app can carve out a niche in a market that thrives on social proof, making this a promising venture for those interested in tech and community-driven platforms.
In this list, you'll find real-world reviews and rating app business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a reviews and rating app business that makes money.
1. RatePunk ($600K/year)
Justinas Albertynas, one of the founders of RatePunk, came up with the idea for the travel-tech startup after realizing the frustration of comparing hotel prices on different booking websites. After experiencing the inconsistency in prices, Justinas saw an opportunity to create a browser extension that would compare prices in real-time, saving users time and money. The product has gained traction quickly, with over 3000 users in just a few weeks and reaching the top of the Apple Store charts in multiple countries.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 20
Travel-tech startup RatePunk created a browser extension that compares hotel prices across different booking websites for free and achieved over 3,000 installs within a few weeks of launch, while learning valuable marketing lessons from social media platforms, micro-influencers, and online communities.
2. ReviewsOnMyWebsite ($492K/year)
Motuz came up with the idea when he was looking for a widget to embed Google reviews into his friend's website. He realized that many business owners would find such a widget useful, and so he decided to invest his resources into building a profitable solution.
How much money it makes: $492K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2.5K
How many people on the team: 0
ReviewsOnMyWebsite is an online reputation management software helping small businesses collect, monitor, and display online reviews to establish trust and improve brand reputation, which has helped over 35,000 businesses convert more leads by simplifying the process of collecting feedback and displaying customer reviews.
3. Wealthtender ($360K/year)
Brian Thorp founded Wealthtender in 2019 to provide inclusive financial advice and resources for people of all income levels. With over 40,000 monthly visitors, Wealthtender generates $8,000 in revenue each month from financial professionals who subscribe to their digital marketing benefits. Thorp identified a gap in the market for a financial advisor review platform and capitalized on new SEC regulations to launch Wealthtender's SEC-compliant online review platform, further expanding their offerings and establishing their authority in the industry.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100K
How many people on the team: 1
Wealthtender's founder Brian Thorp created an SEC-compliant financial advisor review platform which generated $8,000 a month from 40,000 monthly visitors in 2019, and now earns over $40-$50 a month from 200 paying financial professional clients, receiving over 30,000 monthly visitors and being in the first page of Google for various search terms.
4. onlinecasinoguide.in ($120K/year)
Arjun Patel, a dedicated casino player and SEO manager, noticed a lack of online casino information for Indian players. Combining his expertise in SEO and his passion for casino games, he created onlinecasinoguide.in, an online casino affiliate that provides honest reviews, game guides, and bonus offers. With a monthly visitor count of 30K, the platform has become profitable and Patel plans to expand into other emerging casino markets in Asia and South America.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 0
Indian founder Arjun Patel created online platform onlinecasinoguide.in which provides honest reviews, guides and details about casino sites and promotions in India, gaining 30,000 monthly visitors through dedication and patience in building a solid SEO foundation.
5. Famewall ($12K/year)
Goutham Jay faced difficulties in gathering testimonials from engineering graduates while working on a consumer startup with co-founders.
Jay was unsatisfied with the limited customization options and complicated steps required by other testimonial tools, most of which were expensive and inflexible for entrepreneurs and creators.
He aimed to create a tool that would simplify collecting and showcasing social proof for companies and creators.
How much money it makes: $12K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Goutham Jay, CEO of Famewall, grew his business from $0 to $100 in monthly recurring revenue by leveraging Twitter, LinkedIn, and email marketing, showcasing the importance of patience and persistence in entrepreneurial success.
6. reviewflowz ($8.52K/year)
After working in the email marketing and marketing automation space, co-founder Axel realized the importance of review management for business growth. He pitched the idea of creating a platform that democratizes the review management playbook to his co-founder Gaurav, and reviewflowz was born. The team built and launched the Slack bot in just three weeks, and they are now working towards achieving product-market fit and becoming the go-to review management tool for SaaS businesses.
How much money it makes: $8.52K/year
How much did it cost to start: $97
How many people on the team: 1
Reviewflowz, a nascent SaaS review management tool, discusses their bootstrap MVP process and their struggles with finding product-market fit.
7. FeedLetter ($480/year)
Jens Boje, a software developer and mindfulness coach from Frankfurt, Germany, came up with the idea for FeedLetter, a feedback system for newsletters, after struggling to receive feedback from his readers. He combined a voting system with a follow-up question and built a version for his own newsletter before turning it into the first version of FeedLetter. Since its launch, Twitter and word of mouth have been the major acquisition channels for attracting and retaining customers.
How much money it makes: $480/year
How much did it cost to start: $20
How many people on the team: 0
FeedLetter.co, a simple feedback system for newsletters that started as a personal app, now has 14 customers and relies on Twitter and word-of-mouth for acquiring new users, with founder Jens Boje emphasizing the importance of focusing on publishing and growing your product instead of waiting to perfect it.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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