I Make $150K/Month From 20 Apps

Quick Overview

Katie Keith built a portfolio of 20+ software apps, primarily WordPress and WooCommerce plugins, over 10 years, achieving $1.8 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by focusing on creating simple, high-value tools and employing a cross-promotion strategy involving bundles, discounts, and targeted reminders.

Key Points: Katie Keith's software business achieved $1.8 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by developing and selling over 20 specialized WordPress and WooCommerce plugins. The initial success came from the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin, which filled a specific market gap that other plugins did not address. Key to growth is the 'Multiple Product Playbook,' focusing on cross-promotion: creating bundles, offering discounts, and sending targeted reminders to existing customers. The development process involves four key steps: choosing a familiar niche, researching multiple ideas (long list -> validate -> shortlist), building the best idea, and cross-promoting. The company currently supports over 90,000 websites with 17,000 active paid subscriptions, demonstrating successful product diversification. The tech stack relies on ClickUp for project management ($12/user), GitHub for source code (Free), Zapier for automation ($1000/year), and WordPress for hosting ($500/mo).

Context: This video features an interview between an unnamed host and Katie Keith, the founder of a successful software business specializing in WordPress and WooCommerce extensions, known as Barn2. Katie shares her journey from starting with a single plugin to building a diverse portfolio of over 20 applications that collectively generate significant recurring revenue, detailing the strategies she used for product development and growth.

Detailed Analysis

Katie Keith built her software company, Barn2, over 10 years, resulting in $1.8 million in ARR from a portfolio of 20+ WordPress and WooCommerce plugins. She emphasizes that her success stems from creating simple, highly useful plugins that solve specific problems, rather than trying to build monolithic applications. Her initial breakthrough product was WooCommerce Protected Categories, which she developed after identifying a gap in the market by researching forums. Keith recommends a strategic approach to building a multi-product business, outlined in the 'Multiple Product Playbook': 1. Choose a familiar niche (like WordPress/WooCommerce). 2. Research multiple ideas by creating a long list, validating them, creating a shortlist, and prioritizing overlapping markets. 3. Build the best idea first, focusing on the highest potential for market share. 4. Cross-promote aggressively between all products using bundles, discounts (like 15% off the next plugin), and targeted email reminders for complementary products. 5. Repeat the process, using feedback from early users to iterate and improve. The company's current metrics include over 90,000 websites using their plugins and 17,000 active paid subscriptions. Their tech stack involves ClickUp for project management ($12/user), free GitHub for code repository, Zapier for automation ($1000/year), and WordPress for websites ($500/month). Keith advises aspiring founders to 'just do it' and launch their first product quickly to start gathering crucial user feedback.