13 Startup Instructing Business Success Stories [2024]
The startup instructing business involves providing guidance and support to individuals or small businesses that are just starting out.
This can include advice on business planning, marketing strategies, and overall direction for success.
To start this business on a budget, first, identify your areas of expertise and consider the specific industry or niche you want to focus on.
Next, create a basic website or social media profiles to showcase your services and attract potential clients.
Finally, offer your services at an affordable rate and gradually build your reputation through satisfied customers and word-of-mouth referrals.
In this list, you'll find real-world startup instructing business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a startup instructing business that makes money.
1. Angela Cote Inc ($1.2M/year)
Angela Coté came up with the idea for her business, AC Inc., after spending over 25 years in the franchise industry and realizing there was a need for a fresh and progressive approach to coaching franchisors. She used her expertise and empathy from being on different sides of the franchise relationship to provide actionable advice, and through networking and offering valuable services like the AC Roundtables during the COVID-19 pandemic, she attracted and retained loyal clients.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
How many people on the team: 5
Angela Coté Inc, a franchise advising and improvement company, shares their success story of using their signature method, The AC Method, which has already helped over 5500 franchisors in just 3 years, through refining their offerings, building trust with their clients, and taking imperfect action.
2. Bcombinator ($1.2M/year)
Bcombinator was co-founded by an entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience and a successful track record of creating and scaling startups. The idea for Bcombinator came from the founder's experience teaching entrepreneurship and their desire to create a comprehensive startup incubation program that combines mentoring, networking, investment, and other support services. Since its launch in 2017, Bcombinator has worked with over 100 entrepreneurs and launched approximately 25 startups.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 10
Learn how Bcombinator, a startup incubator co-founded by a serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience, has launched around 25 startups and worked with over 100 entrepreneurs with their incubation, acceleration, mentoring, training, networking, and investment fund programs.
3. FounderBlocks ($720K/year)
Lasse, the founder of VIPERdev, came up with the idea after receiving feedback that his team was incredibly fast and innovative. They decided to focus on working with startups and helping them bring their products to market quickly, solving actual problems first before adding fancy features. Through their efficient approach, they have become a trusted accelerator program, releasing 2-5 products per month and ensuring each project is a success story.
How much money it makes: $720K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 12
VIPERdev is an accelerator program that helps founders turn their digital business ideas into products and bring them to market within 8-12 weeks, releasing an average of 2-5 products per month.
4. CrowdTamers ($540K/year)
Trevor Longino, the founder and CEO of CrowdTamers, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the demand for his marketing expertise as a freelancer. He saw an opportunity to help startups successfully launch and reach $1 million in annual revenue by providing a systematic approach to go-to-market strategies. Through answering founders' questions on Facebook Groups and creating thought leadership content, he was able to attract and retain customers, growing his agency from 2 employees to 5 employees and achieving nearly $600k in annual revenue.
How much money it makes: $540K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 4
This case study follows the founder and CEO of CrowdTamers, Trevor Longino, and how he grew his business from $0 to $600k in annual revenue in just 2 years by answering founders' questions on social media and creating a content engine, and how he plans to scale to $1.1 million in ARR through strategic partnerships and structured growth methods.
5. Zovo Team Ltd. ($240K/year)
Mahamud Hasan, the founder of Zovo Team Ltd, started his business as a freelance graphic designer in 2016. After realizing the lack of technical and business knowledge among entrepreneurs, he expanded his services and formed a team of experts to provide comprehensive solutions for startups. With an estimated revenue of 12.5k$/month and yearly 150k$+, Zovo Team Ltd has become a top branding agency in Bangladesh.
How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
How many people on the team: 40
Zovo Team Ltd, founded by Mahamud Hasan and his co-founders, is a full-stack digital marketing solutions company with an estimated revenue of $12.5k/month and yearly $150k+. They have six subsidiary brands that provide A to Z solutions for entrepreneurs, and their team is dedicated to the development of new entrepreneurs by offering effective solutions.
6. Argona Partners ($120K/year)
Jeremy Imlach, CoFounder and CEO of Argona Partners, came up with the idea for the business while working alongside his brilliant CoFounder, Amadin Agho, and Argona Founder, Richard Anderson III. They noticed a problem in the higher education system, where scientists and engineers struggled to scale their impactful technologies as businesses. They received positive feedback from the market and landed deals with entrepreneurs, leading them to create Argona Partners to help early-stage impact technology companies scale and make a difference.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
How many people on the team: 3
Argona Partners, a consulting and startup development firm focused on early-stage impact technology companies, has achieved over 100% YoY revenue growth since its inception in 2017, and has been recognized as a National and Global Top Startup Consulting Firm for its targeted approach to Growth Strategy and Fundraising Readiness in the clean tech industry.
7. GrowthMentor ($120K/year)
Fotis Panagiotakopoulos came up with the idea for GrowthMentor after realizing that hiring freelancers for mini-consultations on Skype calls was a more efficient and productive way to learn and get feedback. He saw the potential to create a platform where marketers and founders could easily book mentorship sessions with experienced growth practitioners, and thus, GrowthMentor was born.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How many people on the team: 1
GrowthMentor, a platform connecting vetted growth mentors for one-on-one calls, founded by Fotis Panagiotakopoulos, has had over 2,500 mentorship calls booked to date and has seen success in using word of mouth, content marketing, and leveraging other people's networks as the primary drivers of customer acquisition.
8. Napkin LLC ($96K/year)
The business started as Maura's graduation project, which was originally to make Napkin a hard cider company. Eventually, she met a woman with a farm-to-table restaurant business and helped her develop operational systems. She enjoyed this work and started acquiring more clients in the same niche.
How much money it makes: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0
Napkin LLC is a consulting firm aimed at helping mission-driven food and farm people thrive through solutions-oriented business planning, with services including Production Capacity, System Integration, Hospitality Management, and Demand Generation, charging $50-$150 per hour based on the client.
9. Startups of London ($72K/year)
Startups of London was founded by an entrepreneur who noticed a lack of rich media content about the startup scene in London. With a background in understanding human behavior and previous experience in startups, the founder launched the business in September 2019 as a documentary company profiling startups with video and rich content. The pandemic shifted their focus to SEO and discovering niche areas of need, resulting in impressive growth with over 100,000 people reached and becoming the number one organic result for key search terms in their audience.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How many people on the team: 4
Startups of London is a media company profiling startups in the UK with a focus on high-value content creation that has seen over 100,000 people reached and is the number one organic result for many key search terms, since their launch in September 2019.
10. Let's Reach Success ($60K/year)
Lidiya started her blog as a hobby in 2013, combining her passion for personal development and writing. Over the years, she gained traffic, learned about SEO and monetization, and turned her blog into a 5-figure online business. Inspired by other bloggers, she created her signature course, "Financial Freedom Through Blogging," to help others achieve the same success.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0
How a full-time blogger created a 5-figure online business from a hobby, and now helps people start a side hustle and earn passive income with a signature program that teaches how to start and grow a blog, reach 100K page views and $5,000/month, and live life on their own terms.
11. No BS Startup Guide ($27K/year)
Farzad Khosravi, a 3x founder and CEO, launched the No BS Startup Guide after experiencing the frustration of sifting through generic advice on the internet. By curating a comprehensive collection of resources and action items, Khosravi aimed to provide entrepreneurs with a step-by-step guide to building successful startups. Since its launch in February 2023, the No BS Startup Guide has averaged $2k/month in revenue and gained traction through platforms like Reddit.
How much money it makes: $27K/year
How much did it cost to start: $115
How many people on the team: 1
No BS Startup Guide founder's step-by-step guide with over 400+ cheat sheets, checklists, SOPs, advice, and courses for startup growth saw an average revenue of $2k per month since its launch in 2023, and "regularly" posts on social media while sending weekly newsletters to maintain sales.
12. Enter Network ($18K/year)
Jochem Gerritsen came up with the idea for Enter Network when he realized that he was having difficulty connecting with other entrepreneurs to learn from. He started hosting meetups in Utrecht and quickly saw demand for more in-depth discussions, leading him to create the peer support group and eventually launch Enter Network as an online community for early-stage entrepreneurs.
How much money it makes: $18K/year
How much did it cost to start: $4K
How many people on the team: 2
Enter Network founder Jochem Gerritsen built a community of 50+ starting entrepreneurs all over Europe, generating $1,500 MRR by running a platform that offers a Slack community, package deals for free services, access to over 20 startup mentors, weekly online meetups, mastermind groups, and more.
13. Entrepreneur Power Hour ($12K/year)
Bobby Housel, founder of Entrepreneur Power Hour, came up with the idea for his business during his sophomore year at the University of Michigan. After realizing that the world of college entrepreneurship was fragmented and lacking in community, he started hosting meetups for student entrepreneurs, which quickly grew to over 300 founders. Through word of mouth and a successful appearance on a popular entrepreneurship podcast, the business launched organically and has since been focused on building a strong community for college founders.
How much money it makes: $12K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 4
Learn about how Entrepreneur Power Hour grew to over 300 student founders across two college campus communities and their plan to expand nationwide and empower alumni to invest in the next generation of college founders through their syndicate fund, Founder's Cupid.
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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.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
