This solo founder just sold his company for $50M+.
The craziest part?
It was completely bootstrapped and in a totally unconventional niche.
Here's the breakdown:
Let me introduce you to Jean-Nicolas Mastin, the 1-man show behind Wargraphs.
• Started coding at age 11
• Built his first website around World of Warcraft in 2009
• Became obsessed with League of Legends and waited for their API to come out so he could build with it
• Started coding at age 11
• Built his first website around World of Warcraft in 2009
• Became obsessed with League of Legends and waited for their API to come out so he could build with it
Do you realize how MASSIVE League of Legends actually is? (I didn't...)
• ~180M players global, 28M in the US
• Generated $1.75B in rev for the developer
• They even produced a viral Netflix show last year, Arcane, which made Netflix ~$900M
• ~180M players global, 28M in the US
• Generated $1.75B in rev for the developer
• They even produced a viral Netflix show last year, Arcane, which made Netflix ~$900M
But Jean-Nicolas was building apps in 2013 before the game had hit the mainstream.
His first experiment: League of Graphs
• 16.9 million visits
• In-depth character stats
• Infographics on the game's monthly updates
His first experiment: League of Graphs
• 16.9 million visits
• In-depth character stats
• Infographics on the game's monthly updates
What did Jean-Nicolas's day look like?
"I wake up each morning and ask myself: What do my users want or need right now? As soon as I have an answer, I chase it down quickly."
This paid off in 2017, where he continued to build and obsess over his core audience.
"I wake up each morning and ask myself: What do my users want or need right now? As soon as I have an answer, I chase it down quickly."
This paid off in 2017, where he continued to build and obsess over his core audience.
What happened?
He launched Porofessor.
A free application that overlays with the game, enabling players to look at:
• Live in-depth scouting on their opponents
• Post-game analytics on their performance
• Guides on how to use certain characters
He launched Porofessor.
A free application that overlays with the game, enabling players to look at:
• Live in-depth scouting on their opponents
• Post-game analytics on their performance
• Guides on how to use certain characters
The app was an instant hit:
• 800k daily active users
• $13.46M revenue in 2022 (mainly via ads)
The company that acquired them, MOBA Network, is also a fascinating business...
• 800k daily active users
• $13.46M revenue in 2022 (mainly via ads)
The company that acquired them, MOBA Network, is also a fascinating business...
Their focus is on acquiring and growing the world's largest gaming communities:
• Valuation: $515M
• Distribution: 170M page views + 20B video views per year
• Assets: 1,000+ content creators and 23 online communities
A fascinating community-first model.
• Valuation: $515M
• Distribution: 170M page views + 20B video views per year
• Assets: 1,000+ content creators and 23 online communities
A fascinating community-first model.
Some lessons from this story:
• Build for avid fans
• Always obsess over your customers
• Build from a place of personal obsession (find what feels like play to you, but feels like work to others)
• Build for avid fans
• Always obsess over your customers
• Build from a place of personal obsession (find what feels like play to you, but feels like work to others)
I don't know the first thing about League of Legends...
But a story of a passionate builder?
Game recognizes game.
Follow @Codie_Sanchez for more, and you can RT here for easy sharing:
But a story of a passionate builder?
Game recognizes game.
Follow @Codie_Sanchez for more, and you can RT here for easy sharing:
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