The Startup Series
@thestartupseries.bsky.social
The Startup Series is a digital magazine spotlighting real stories from early-stage founders, creators, and innovators. From scrappy beginnings to scaling strategies, we break down how businesses actually get built.
📈 Facebook’s average CTR for lead-gen ads = 2.53%
📉 For traffic campaigns = 1.57%
Only a few industries (arts, real estate, restaurants, travel) break the 2% mark consistently, so if you’re below average, tweak your copy. If you’re above it, scale it.
📉 For traffic campaigns = 1.57%
Only a few industries (arts, real estate, restaurants, travel) break the 2% mark consistently, so if you’re below average, tweak your copy. If you’re above it, scale it.
November 3, 2025 at 1:15 PM
📈 Facebook’s average CTR for lead-gen ads = 2.53%
📉 For traffic campaigns = 1.57%
Only a few industries (arts, real estate, restaurants, travel) break the 2% mark consistently, so if you’re below average, tweak your copy. If you’re above it, scale it.
📉 For traffic campaigns = 1.57%
Only a few industries (arts, real estate, restaurants, travel) break the 2% mark consistently, so if you’re below average, tweak your copy. If you’re above it, scale it.
Another great graphic from Ale Estner - 10 actionable tips for founder-led sales success.
November 1, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Another great graphic from Ale Estner - 10 actionable tips for founder-led sales success.
Facebook remains the larges platform for advertising, but TikTok isn't far behind.
November 1, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Facebook remains the larges platform for advertising, but TikTok isn't far behind.
ChatGPT now refers more traffic than Reddit (via Ahrefs).
October 31, 2025 at 7:15 PM
ChatGPT now refers more traffic than Reddit (via Ahrefs).
Lemon8 hit 10 million downloads in months, before TikTok barely mentioned it, influencer word-of-mouth done right!
October 31, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Lemon8 hit 10 million downloads in months, before TikTok barely mentioned it, influencer word-of-mouth done right!
Alex Estner created this to help grow your business first to 10 customers, then to a 100.
What do you think? Anything you agree or disagree with?
What do you think? Anything you agree or disagree with?
October 30, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Alex Estner created this to help grow your business first to 10 customers, then to a 100.
What do you think? Anything you agree or disagree with?
What do you think? Anything you agree or disagree with?
I have yet to see a better (or at least more enjoyable) marketing cheat sheet than this.
October 29, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I have yet to see a better (or at least more enjoyable) marketing cheat sheet than this.
This is an incredible graph. If you're not in the top 10 search engine results, you have little to no chance of clicks from mobile searches.
October 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
This is an incredible graph. If you're not in the top 10 search engine results, you have little to no chance of clicks from mobile searches.
💡 One-man SEO agency
💰 $11,500/month
📈 90% profit margin
👤 No team
🎯 No ads
See how he did it → https://startupseries.io/one-man-seo-agency-11k-month/
💰 $11,500/month
📈 90% profit margin
👤 No team
🎯 No ads
See how he did it → https://startupseries.io/one-man-seo-agency-11k-month/
October 27, 2025 at 10:30 PM
💡 One-man SEO agency
💰 $11,500/month
📈 90% profit margin
👤 No team
🎯 No ads
See how he did it → https://startupseries.io/one-man-seo-agency-11k-month/
💰 $11,500/month
📈 90% profit margin
👤 No team
🎯 No ads
See how he did it → https://startupseries.io/one-man-seo-agency-11k-month/
Notion started as a simple notes app. Now it’s a workspace, a habit tracker, a business hub, whatever people make it.
October 27, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Notion started as a simple notes app. Now it’s a workspace, a habit tracker, a business hub, whatever people make it.
From student frustration to a £4m+ brand. Sid Sethi took a broken pair of glasses and built
Specscart into the UK’s fastest-growing eyewear company.
https://startupseries.io/how-sid-sethi-built-a-4m-a-year-eyewear-brand-in-the-uk/
Specscart into the UK’s fastest-growing eyewear company.
https://startupseries.io/how-sid-sethi-built-a-4m-a-year-eyewear-brand-in-the-uk/
October 27, 2025 at 5:48 PM
From student frustration to a £4m+ brand. Sid Sethi took a broken pair of glasses and built
Specscart into the UK’s fastest-growing eyewear company.
https://startupseries.io/how-sid-sethi-built-a-4m-a-year-eyewear-brand-in-the-uk/
Specscart into the UK’s fastest-growing eyewear company.
https://startupseries.io/how-sid-sethi-built-a-4m-a-year-eyewear-brand-in-the-uk/
The foolproof start up path!
October 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM
The foolproof start up path!
Live from the OpenAI server rooms as ChatGPT goes down..
October 23, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Live from the OpenAI server rooms as ChatGPT goes down..
ChatGPT is reportedly down for a lot of users..
October 23, 2025 at 3:42 PM
ChatGPT is reportedly down for a lot of users..
Silicon Valley’s entire business model in one tweet.
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Silicon Valley’s entire business model in one tweet.
Kristin Hanes sailed away from cubicle life and now makes $20,000 a month from a blog on a boat.
https://startupseries.io/how-kristin-hanes-built-a-20000-a-month-blog-while-sailing-the-world/
https://startupseries.io/how-kristin-hanes-built-a-20000-a-month-blog-while-sailing-the-world/
July 27, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Kristin Hanes sailed away from cubicle life and now makes $20,000 a month from a blog on a boat.
https://startupseries.io/how-kristin-hanes-built-a-20000-a-month-blog-while-sailing-the-world/
https://startupseries.io/how-kristin-hanes-built-a-20000-a-month-blog-while-sailing-the-world/
Shelley Marmor STARTED with a blog about solo travel in Mexico and built it up to 5 blogs, making $55K a month with SEO, systems, and a healthy fear of alarm clocks.
https://startupseries.io/shelley-marmor-blogs/
https://startupseries.io/shelley-marmor-blogs/
July 26, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Shelley Marmor STARTED with a blog about solo travel in Mexico and built it up to 5 blogs, making $55K a month with SEO, systems, and a healthy fear of alarm clocks.
https://startupseries.io/shelley-marmor-blogs/
https://startupseries.io/shelley-marmor-blogs/
Angel Olavarria made his own skincare brand because nothing on the shelf worked.
Bootstrapped it, formulated it himself, and scaled it to $115,000 a month with Amazon ads. Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/angel-olavarria-strive/
Bootstrapped it, formulated it himself, and scaled it to $115,000 a month with Amazon ads. Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/angel-olavarria-strive/
July 26, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Angel Olavarria made his own skincare brand because nothing on the shelf worked.
Bootstrapped it, formulated it himself, and scaled it to $115,000 a month with Amazon ads. Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/angel-olavarria-strive/
Bootstrapped it, formulated it himself, and scaled it to $115,000 a month with Amazon ads. Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/angel-olavarria-strive/
At 22, Dylan Jacob dropped out of college and built Brümate, now it’s one of the biggest DTC drinkware brands in the US.
Proof that warm beer really is a universal pain point. Read the full story:
https://startupseries.io/dylan-jacob-brumate/
Proof that warm beer really is a universal pain point. Read the full story:
https://startupseries.io/dylan-jacob-brumate/
July 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM
At 22, Dylan Jacob dropped out of college and built Brümate, now it’s one of the biggest DTC drinkware brands in the US.
Proof that warm beer really is a universal pain point. Read the full story:
https://startupseries.io/dylan-jacob-brumate/
Proof that warm beer really is a universal pain point. Read the full story:
https://startupseries.io/dylan-jacob-brumate/
Matt Moss built a private photo widget for his girlfriend and it turned into the most downloaded app in America.
Romance isn’t dead, it’s just VC-funded now.
https://startupseries.io/how-matt-moss-birthday-gift-became-an-app-with-50m-users/
Romance isn’t dead, it’s just VC-funded now.
https://startupseries.io/how-matt-moss-birthday-gift-became-an-app-with-50m-users/
July 26, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Matt Moss built a private photo widget for his girlfriend and it turned into the most downloaded app in America.
Romance isn’t dead, it’s just VC-funded now.
https://startupseries.io/how-matt-moss-birthday-gift-became-an-app-with-50m-users/
Romance isn’t dead, it’s just VC-funded now.
https://startupseries.io/how-matt-moss-birthday-gift-became-an-app-with-50m-users/
Nicki Minaj used it to sell sneakers, other brands use it to skip the tech headache.
UPPFIRST is now making $10K/month helping people sell without the chaos.
https://startupseries.io/how-arnaud-touret-built-a-10000-a-month-ecommerce-platform/
UPPFIRST is now making $10K/month helping people sell without the chaos.
https://startupseries.io/how-arnaud-touret-built-a-10000-a-month-ecommerce-platform/
July 25, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Nicki Minaj used it to sell sneakers, other brands use it to skip the tech headache.
UPPFIRST is now making $10K/month helping people sell without the chaos.
https://startupseries.io/how-arnaud-touret-built-a-10000-a-month-ecommerce-platform/
UPPFIRST is now making $10K/month helping people sell without the chaos.
https://startupseries.io/how-arnaud-touret-built-a-10000-a-month-ecommerce-platform/
Started with a cold email promising 100M views, now runs a 100-person team pumping out 26,000+ clips a month, with $5M+ ARR.
Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/how-logan-forsyth-grew-a-social-media-agency-to-5m-a-year/
Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/how-logan-forsyth-grew-a-social-media-agency-to-5m-a-year/
July 25, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Started with a cold email promising 100M views, now runs a 100-person team pumping out 26,000+ clips a month, with $5M+ ARR.
Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/how-logan-forsyth-grew-a-social-media-agency-to-5m-a-year/
Read how he did it:
https://startupseries.io/how-logan-forsyth-grew-a-social-media-agency-to-5m-a-year/
Calday is proof that you don’t need a big idea. You just need to solve a small problem that annoys everyone.
Like scheduling. $5K/month says it works.
https://startupseries.io/how-calday-bootstrapped-to-5k-a-month-with-a-simple-scheduling-tool/
Like scheduling. $5K/month says it works.
https://startupseries.io/how-calday-bootstrapped-to-5k-a-month-with-a-simple-scheduling-tool/
July 25, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Calday is proof that you don’t need a big idea. You just need to solve a small problem that annoys everyone.
Like scheduling. $5K/month says it works.
https://startupseries.io/how-calday-bootstrapped-to-5k-a-month-with-a-simple-scheduling-tool/
Like scheduling. $5K/month says it works.
https://startupseries.io/how-calday-bootstrapped-to-5k-a-month-with-a-simple-scheduling-tool/
Craig writes about baseball and makes $280K a year. Do what you love (but don't forget to monetise it).
https://startupseries.io/how-craig-calcaterra-built-a-280k-a-year-baseball-newsletter/
https://startupseries.io/how-craig-calcaterra-built-a-280k-a-year-baseball-newsletter/
July 25, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Craig writes about baseball and makes $280K a year. Do what you love (but don't forget to monetise it).
https://startupseries.io/how-craig-calcaterra-built-a-280k-a-year-baseball-newsletter/
https://startupseries.io/how-craig-calcaterra-built-a-280k-a-year-baseball-newsletter/
Most people complain about SEO. Vadim built a tool to do it for him, then started charging people for it.
Now it makes $8,000 a month. This is how he did it -
https://startupseries.io/seojuice-saas/
Now it makes $8,000 a month. This is how he did it -
https://startupseries.io/seojuice-saas/
July 24, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Most people complain about SEO. Vadim built a tool to do it for him, then started charging people for it.
Now it makes $8,000 a month. This is how he did it -
https://startupseries.io/seojuice-saas/
Now it makes $8,000 a month. This is how he did it -
https://startupseries.io/seojuice-saas/