18 Tech Company Success Stories [2024]
Tech businesses are about the most exciting and potentially lucrative businesses you can start.
The global tech market size is expected to grow from $8,384B in 2021 to $9,326B in 2022.
But don't mistake the excitement for easy street: getting the tech startup off the ground requires a lot of work. There are many important factors, including how much capital you need, your business plan, and equipment needed to get started.
In this list, you'll find real-world tech company success stories and very profitable examples of starting a tech company that makes money.
1. Madwire ($102M/year)
JB Kellogg, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Madwire, came up with the idea for his business while interning at a travel magazine company. After realizing his talent for website design and seeing the potential for helping businesses grow through digital marketing, JB and his father decided to start Madwire and grew it into a company with over 500 employees and $100 million in annual revenue in less than 10 years. Their mission is to help small businesses grow and make a difference in their local communities.
How much money it makes: $102M/year
How many people on the team: 520
Co-founder of Madwire JB Kellogg grew his business from just the two of them in a tiny office to over 500 employees and $100 million in annual revenue in under 10 years, by focusing on exceptional customer service and a multi-channel inbound strategy.
2. Elaphe Propulsion Technologies Ltd. ($14.4M/year)
Gorazd Lampič, the founder of Elaphe, was initially pursuing a career in astrophysics when he came across an article about Andrej Detela's vision for in-wheel motors for electric vehicles (EVs). Intrigued by the potential impact of this technology, Lampič reached out to Detela and the two quickly began working together. Now, 20 years later, Elaphe has become a leading provider of in-wheel propulsion systems, working with major carmakers and achieving impressive financial success with a turnover of €15 million and €4 million in EBITDA in 2021.
How much money it makes: $14.4M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10M
How many people on the team: 150
Elaphe Propulsion Technologies has revolutionized the electric vehicle industry with their in-wheel electric motor technology that can accelerate a vehicle from 0 to 100km/h in just three seconds, enabling carmakers to design truly user and mission-focused cars and work with all of the key traditional and new carmakers.
3. Appetiser ($8.4M/year)
Jamie Shostak, the co-founder of Appetiser App Development, came up with the idea for the business when he met Michael MacRae, who had apps with millions of users but was looking for a new challenge. They both shared a passion for building and growing tech products, and saw a need for speed, data-driven insights, and top-level quality in the industry. After landing two great clients, they realized the importance of setting up predictable growth systems and started reaching out to prospective companies through outbound sales tactics. They are now on track to make over $8,000,000 annually with over 200 employees worldwide.
How much money it makes: $8.4M/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 175
Appetiser App Development grew from a startup with $0 to now making over $8,000,000 annually with over 200 employees across the globe, serving clients that have billions in valuations like Pointsbet and Good Empire, by helping startups succeed with their app development needs.
4. Assuras ($5.2M/year)
Tyler King, the serial entrepreneur and CEO of Assuras, came up with the idea for his consulting firm through his previous ventures in technology and executive coaching. He combined his learnings from engaging with leaders in his prior venture and his education from leading institutions to form Assuras, a global management consulting firm that takes on complex challenges and provides impactful solutions for its clients. With a focus on cross-functional teams and innovative approaches, Assuras has tripled its market share within its first two years.
How much money it makes: $5.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.2M
How many people on the team: 27
Assuras, a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving impactful challenges for growth-stage companies with 500-2000 employees, successfully tripled their market share in their initial two years from inception by building cross-functional, diverse teams that provide alternative ways of looking at problems and offering risk-free consulting and action plans with clients who commit to implementing their recommendations.
5. DeepBench Inc. ($1.2M/year)
The co-founders of DeepBench, Yishi, Derek, Devin, and Nikhil, met while studying at MIT and realized the need for a better, more efficient expert network. They saw that existing networks were slow, expensive, and disjointed, and believed that technology could solve these problems. By automating the expert-finding process and prioritizing user interface, security, and transparency, DeepBench has attracted over 450 clients and facilitated nearly 2,000 consultations.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 8
DeepBench, a company disrupting the expert network industry, offers a platform connecting clients with expert advisors for informed decision making, serving over 450 clients and 25,000 advisors and achieving their best quarter yet in Q1 2021.
6. Cobuild Lab ($1.08M/year)
Angel Lacret, the founder of Cobuild Lab, started the company 5 years ago after moving to Miami from Venezuela. As a software engineer with previous experience in creating products for startups and government organizations, Lacret saw the need to help entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with custom software solutions. Over the years, Cobuild Lab evolved its product development process, focusing on sustainable software development and establishing a strong customer service approach. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company adapted its strategy and saw significant growth, doubling its revenue and staff in 2021. Cobuild Lab's future goal is to continue expanding its sales and lead generation efforts, aiming for a 2x growth in 2022.
How much money it makes: $1.08M/year
How much did it cost to start: $20K
How many people on the team: 45
Cobuild Lab's CEO and Founder Angel Lacret shares his journey of starting a custom software solutions company, starting from $20k and growing to a team of over 50, and offers insights on attracting and retaining customers through a strong digital marketing campaign and building personal relationships, as well as emphasizing the importance of product market fit and sales.
7. Razrtech ($1M/year)
Anshul Gupta, the founder of Razrtech, identified the problem he wanted to solve while working on various managed services and digital products. Through his extensive experience in building consumer web and mobile applications, he observed gaps in how creators and communities could monetize their content and manage their platforms effectively.
Determined to fill this void, Anshul began experimenting with different monetization strategies for creators and learned valuable insights over the years. This hands-on research enabled him to develop Socially, a platform designed to offer comprehensive support for community-driven monetization, including payments, memberships, and more.
During the ideation process, he paid close attention to user feedback and market needs, iterating and refining the platform to ensure it met the requirements of various industries. Although faced with setbacks, including the global pandemic, Anshul's resilient mindset and willingness to adapt helped him overcome these challenges and continue innovating in the tech industry.
How much money it makes: $1M/year
How many people on the team: 81
8. Seedia ($600K/year)
Piotr Hołubowicz came up with the idea for SEEDiA when he was sitting on a park bench with friends and their phones died. He wanted to create a bench that could charge mobile devices using renewable energy, leading to the development of their solar and off-grid benches and other smart city solutions. With a record year in 2020 and plans for new products in 2021, SEEDiA is continuing to innovate and improve urban spaces.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 21
SEEDiA is a smart city technology company that develops solar-powered benches, trash cans, info kiosks, solar bus shelters, and smart hand sanitizers, and has sold 112% more products in 2020 than the previous year, while also introducing three new products in 2021.
9. Legit Check By Ch ($240K/year)
The founders of Legit Check By CH stumbled into their business unintentionally. What started as a side project to help people authenticate luxury items quickly gained traction and turned into a full-fledged business. With almost 10 million users and 25,000+ paying customers, they now offer authentication services and have even helped customers get back as much as $5,000 from scams.
How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
How many people on the team: 8
Legit Check By Ch is an authentication company for luxury items that has almost 10 million users and generates $200,000+ per year with 95%+ profit margins, helping customers get their money back from scams and proving a model for building distribution before building the product.
10. Artificial Workflow ($120K/year)
Andrew and his co-founder James started Artificial Workflow after noticing consultants, like James at EY, were drowning in manual data processing. Initially offering bespoke AI consulting, they pivoted to a SaaS model, now generating $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue, largely from $299/month enterprise clients.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
How many people on the team: 2
Case study of a co-founder who transitioned from bespoke AI consulting to a subscription-based platform, generating $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue with 80% from $299/month enterprise clients, through strategies like LinkedIn outreach, SEO, and email marketing, learning costly lessons about starting with quality development.
11. Apps:Lab ($72K/year)
a team member as a dedicated product manager to handle their project and ensure successful delivery. Our current revenue stands at $3,500 per month, with 85% generated from software development services and the remaining 15% from our flagship on-demand food delivery app, LetaFood. Despite the challenges in the current market, we are focused on expanding our in-house projects and product development to drive future growth and change the narrative of technology adoption in Kenya and Africa.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.2M
How many people on the team: 5
Apps: Lab KE is a software development company generating $3,500 per month, specializing in problem-solving using technology and data for businesses and communities.
12. Data Daddy Inc. ($60K/year)
While working in IT and getting deeply involved in crypto, Matthew D'Amour realized the massive gaps in data security and envisioned Data Daddy Inc. in 2015. His lightbulb moment: creating a platform for 4 billion mobile users to manage and monetize their personal data securely, generating $5K/month in early support.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $60K
How many people on the team: 3
Data Daddy Inc. is a mobile application that enables users to manage their personal data networks and automate manual data exchanges, such as exchanging information after a car accident, with the use of a scannable QR or URL. The company has generated $5K/month through an early supporter program and is targeting industries like eVisa, healthcare, and esports for automation.
13. Legislate ($60K/year)
Charles Brecque, the founder of Legislate, came up with the idea for his legal tech company after experiencing the slow and painful process of creating, negotiating, and tracking contracts in his previous startup role. He realized that making contracts machine-readable through knowledge graphs would be a more efficient solution and secured initial funding to start building the platform. Legislate has since gained over 120 paying clients and raised £1M in funding.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $150K
How many people on the team: 12
A legal tech company, Legislate, founded by Charles Brecque, makes it easy for non-lawyers to safely create lawyer-approved contracts and track the data they contain, with a team of 12 and over 120 paying clients split between property and employment.
14. YourAverageTechBro ($30K/year)
Dohyun Kim, the founder of YourAverageTechBro, stumbled upon creating social media content during the pandemic. After realizing the potential of short-form videos on TikTok, he leaned into his competitive advantage as a software engineer and began creating content that resonated with his audience. Currently earning an average of $3,000 per month, Dohyun plans to expand his revenue streams through original content and product sales in the future.
How much money it makes: $30K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 1
Dohyun Kim shares his journey starting as a software engineer on YouTube and pivoting into short-form content on TikTok and Instagram with 155,000 followers and 11,000 subscribers, currently averaging $3000/month across ad money, sponsored content, and course sales.
15. CompressX ($30K/year)
Hieu Dinh, leveraging his expertise as a lead iOS engineer, created CompressX to solve his team's cumbersome video compression workflow, ultimately helping over 2,770 customers reduce more than 7 terabytes of data and generating $5,000 in sales.
How much money it makes: $30K/year
How much did it cost to start: $134
How many people on the team: 0
Discover how CompressX, a video and image compression app, has helped over 2,770 customers reduce 7 terabytes of data, earn $5,000 in sales, and achieve $3,300 in revenue in the first month, all while growing to 2,600 visitors and 4,800 page views on its website.
16. FreeMcServer ($12K/year)
Back in 2018, Nuno had just finished school, and seeing the success of large minecraft servers online, whose founders are able to pay bills with it, he decided to build one platform himself. He was an avid minecraft player and needed a way to host the game 24/7 without the electricity bill going through the roof. That is when he started this personal project, both as a way to earn passive income, and to add to his CV.
How much money it makes: $12K/year
How many people on the team: 1
FreeMcServer.net, a free high-performance Minecraft server hosting service launched in 2018, has more than 970,000 registered users and generates monthly profits of around $1,000 USD, with over 95% of revenue coming from advertisements on the website and a primary user base from lower-income countries.
17. Mokool Apps ($1.8K/year)
Mukul Verma, the founder of Mokool Apps, came up with the idea for his Shopify app business after running a successful app development company. After realizing the potential in the Shopify App Store, Mukul saw an opportunity to help store owners create successful businesses by providing them with easy-to-use, problem-solving apps. Since launching his first app, Translate Pro, Mukul has focused on listening to customer feedback, making adjustments, and building a strong foundation for his business.
How much money it makes: $1.8K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 1
Mokool Apps founder Mukul Verma shares his journey of expanding into the Shopify App Store, including how customer support is critical, and the importance of planning for the unexpected when launching a business.
18. Hovercode ($1.32K/year)
While exploring side projects, Ramy discussed with a marketer friend the resurgence of QR codes due to the pandemic. Recognizing a gap for advanced, stylish QR codes, he launched Hovercode, now generating ~$150 MRR with a clear path to growth.
How much money it makes: $1.32K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0
Hovercode is a dynamic QR code generator for brands that focuses on round QR codes as its differentiator and is generating around $150 MRR with 5k unique visits per day.
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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.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
