Based on a tutorial by Pat Walls at Starter Story
Have you been struggling to find profitable online business opportunities that don't require massive marketing budgets? You're not alone. Many entrepreneurs burn through thousands of dollars on ads with little to show for it.
In this article, I'm summarizing an incredible interview with Ericas, a designer from Lithuania who built a $4.5 million Shopify app business with an astonishing 90% profit margin - all while spending almost nothing on marketing. His story proves that platform-based businesses can still be goldmines in 2025 if you approach them with the right strategy.
Quick Navigation
- Ericas's Journey from $2/Hour Designer to Shopify App Millionaire (00:00-03:30)
- Finding the Right Opportunity in the Shopify Ecosystem (03:31-07:45)
- Validating App Ideas Before Building (07:46-09:30)
- Building Great Products as a Designer (Not a Developer) (09:31-12:00)
- The Genius Marketing Strategy: Reviews & Support (12:01-15:15)
- Monetization, Tech Stack, and Business Operations (15:16-18:30)
- Lifestyle and Advice for Aspiring App Entrepreneurs (18:31-21:45)
Ericas's Journey from $2/Hour Designer to Shopify App Millionaire
Ericas started his career working at a local web design agency for just $2 per hour. From day one, he was focused on how to exponentially increase his earnings. This drive led him from freelancing to product building, ultimately creating Kaching Bundles, the first of several successful Shopify apps.
Today, his app business generates $4.5 million in annual recurring revenue with an incredible 90% profit margin, proving that marketplace-based businesses can still be extraordinarily profitable without traditional marketing expenses.
Key Points:
- Ericas is from Lithuania and currently lives in Paris
- Started as a designer making $2/hour before becoming an entrepreneur
- His Shopify apps business now makes $4.5M annually with 90% profit margins
- His first app, Kaching Bundles, currently generates around $400K in monthly recurring revenue
- His apps have generated over $400 million in additional revenue for merchants since launching in August 2022
My Take:
What's most impressive about Ericas's story is not just the numbers, but how he identified a specific gap in the market. He noticed that solo developers created technically sound but user-unfriendly apps, while VC-backed companies made beautiful apps but moved too slowly. By positioning himself in the middle, he found his competitive advantage.
Finding the Right Opportunity in the Shopify Ecosystem
Ericas's journey to building Shopify apps wasn't accidental. While freelancing, he stumbled upon a Shopify partners page that revealed top app developers were making nearly $300K annually. This discovery, combined with his experience working with Shopify clients, made him realize the potential opportunity.
Key Points:
- Discovered that top 25% of Shopify app developers make around $300K annually
- Developed three main criteria for his app idea:
- Must be relatively easy to build (within a couple of months)
- Must serve a broad market (useful for any Shopify store)
- Must have low competition
- All five of his apps focus on the discount category, helping merchants increase average order value
- Current app portfolio includes Kaching Bundles, Kaching Post Purchase Upsell, Kaching Pop-up Upsell, and Kaching Card Drawer Upsell
My Take:
Ericas's approach to idea validation is methodical and strategic. Instead of building something and hoping people will use it, he identified specific market gaps and unmet needs. His focus on creating apps that serve a broad market within the Shopify ecosystem also minimizes marketing challenges since the potential customer base is well-defined.
Validating App Ideas Before Building
Before writing a single line of code, Ericas validated his app ideas by directly engaging with potential users. He joined dropshipping Discord communities and e-commerce Facebook groups to get feedback and gauge interest.
Key Points:
- Posted design mockups in Facebook groups to test market interest
- One post with just a screenshot (not even a working app) generated over 100 likes and numerous comments from people wanting to download it immediately
- Recommends creating landing pages to collect emails as validation
- Suggests pre-orders as the ultimate validation (people willing to pay before the product exists)
My Take:
Ericas's validation approach is brilliant because it's low-cost and high-impact. Instead of spending months building something nobody wants, he confirmed demand with just a mockup. This strategy is accessible to anyone, regardless of technical ability or budget. The enthusiastic response to his design screenshot was the green light he needed to move forward with confidence.
Building Great Products as a Designer (Not a Developer)
As a designer without coding skills, Ericas needed to find a technical co-founder. His approach to this challenge reveals important lessons about partnership and product development.
Key Points:
- Studies competitors thoroughly to identify UX improvements before designing
- Takes detailed notes on what he likes and dislikes about competitor products
- Found his co-founder through a Facebook developer group post
- Positioned himself as valuable by highlighting:
- His Shopify experience
- His design expertise
- His existing network of Shopify clients (potential customers)
My Take:
I love how Ericas frames finding a co-founder as essentially a sales process. Instead of focusing on what he lacked (coding skills), he emphasized the unique value he brought to the table. This approach is especially valuable for non-technical founders who might feel disadvantaged in the tech startup world. Your network, domain expertise, and complementary skills can be powerful assets when presented correctly.
The Genius Marketing Strategy: Reviews & Support
Perhaps the most brilliant aspect of Ericas's business is his marketing approach. Unlike many SaaS companies that spend heavily on ads, his growth comes primarily through the Shopify app store's internal ecosystem, powered by reviews.
Key Points:
- Initially launched apps for free to maximize installations
- Leveraged his network of clients and friends to get initial users
- Built systems to optimize for 5-star reviews:
- In-app review requests
- Monthly emails showing revenue generated by the app (with review requests)
- Exceptional 24/7 technical customer support
- Created a gamified bonus system for support staff based on reviews generated
- Tracks conversion rates of review requests to identify top "persuaders"
My Take:
Ericas's review-focused strategy is a masterclass in marketplace optimization. By understanding that reviews directly impact app store rankings, and thus organic discovery, he's created a virtuous growth cycle. What's particularly smart is how he's aligned his team's incentives with this goal through the gamified bonus system. This approach could work for any platform-based business, from Amazon sellers to course creators on learning platforms.
Monetization, Tech Stack, and Business Operations
Ericas's approach to launching, monetizing, and scaling his apps follows a consistent pattern that minimizes risk while maximizing adoption and revenue.
Key Points:
- Always launches apps for free to reduce friction and accelerate adoption
- "Grandfathers" early users (they stay free) when monetization begins
- Uses a tiered subscription model based on usage levels
- Offers free trials and no-questions-asked refunds to prevent negative reviews
- Key tools in their tech stack:
- Slack for team communication
- Intercom for customer support
- Features.vote for gathering feature suggestions
- Linear for internal task management
- Mantle for Shopify-specific metrics and affiliate partnerships
- Maintains a lean operation with approximately 90% profit margins since day one
My Take:
What stands out about Ericas's monetization approach is how customer-centric it is. By grandfathering early users and offering generous refund policies, he creates goodwill that translates into positive word-of-mouth and reviews. His focus on maintaining high margins is also noteworthy - proving that software businesses can be highly profitable when you're disciplined about expenses and growth.
Lifestyle and Advice for Aspiring App Entrepreneurs
Running a multi-million dollar app business has allowed Ericas to create a lifestyle that many entrepreneurs dream of - flexible, passion-driven, and financially rewarding.
Key Points:
- Wakes up without alarms and sets his own schedule
- Focuses on "quick wins" (tasks under 30 minutes) early in the day
- Doesn't feel like he's "working" because he's passionate about what he does
- Advice for aspiring app entrepreneurs:
- Start with just two people: a designer and a developer
- Handle customer support yourself initially to understand user needs
- Only scale the team after proven growth
- Join communities of other builders to learn and find potential co-founders
My Take:
What resonates most about Ericas's lifestyle is how he's created a business that aligns with his preferred way of working. By building a product-based business with recurring revenue (rather than a service business), he's achieved both financial success and lifestyle freedom. His advice to handle customer support yourself early on is particularly valuable - direct customer interaction provides insights that are impossible to get any other way.
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