As somebody who’s taking over pc science, I’ve at all times heard about extraordinary males in know-how. Invoice Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman. These are individuals who have carried out every little thing proper and grow to be profitable due to it.

However I’ve by no means been impressed by their tales. A minimum of, not absolutely. On the finish of the day, it’s survivorship bias. As an alternative, I need to hear in regards to the women and men who succeeded regardless of their failure. Those that didn’t let their errors form their trajectory.

Meet Alex West: The founding father of CyberLeads. Earlier than launching his lead technology service, he had 19 failed tasks. However he persevered, and now he’s reaping the rewards.

So, who precisely is West and the way did he handle to construct a number of startups whereas working full-time as a developer? Let’s discover out.

A Little Background on Alex West’s Previous

When Alex West began finding out pc science, he went by a part most builders I do know have skilled: being adrift.

In an interview with Prashant Choubey, a podcaster and founding father of Aigenc, West revealed that he usually referred to as his father in tears throughout his college years as a result of he didn’t love the grind that comes with software program growth. It was solely when he realized that he may really use this data to create functions that he turned obsessed — obsessive about creating the subsequent Fb, Twitter, Instagram. He wished to grow to be a tech big.

However that modified when he noticed a video from Pieter Ranges and David Heinemeier Hansson, and realized that you simply don’t really have to grow to be a billionaire. You’ll be able to construct smaller tasks and nonetheless be a millionaire whereas preserving your sanity and drive. And since then, that’s been his day-to-day life.

Once you go to his web site, West has this little characteristic referred to as “time journey,” the place he retains a visual archive of his journey up to now and the way a lot he was incomes. 

• In 2018, his MRR was $100.
• In 2019, it’s $200.
• In 2020, it rose to $3000 following his success with EpilepsyBlocker and consequently being employed by a medical know-how firm.
• In 2021, it climbed to $8000 after a profitable CyberLeads launch.
• In 2022, CyberLeads turned a serious participant in lead technology which gave him $30,000 per 30 days. 
• And in 2023, CyberLeads grew larger, now receiving upwards of $40,000 per 30 days.

CyberLeads: Constructing A Profitable Lead Technology Service

Round 2020, Alex West would begin specializing in two markets: cybersecurity and lead technology. His first try was Cyberflake, a collaboration device for penetration testers, however he ultimately scrapped the thought as soon as he realized that this market was way more technical than he’ll ever be.

After that, he began his try at making a lead technology service which aimed to attach startup founders to builders. That is…not CyberLeads.

That’s proper. West had not one, not two, however three lead technology companies earlier than he made CyberLeads. These had been the next:

• Scrapcat: An uptime monitor for net scrapers.
• Cyberhound: A service that generates leads for startups focusing on developer markets
• Birdleads: A service designed for lead technology that alerts you when people focus on a selected matter on Twitter.

Sadly, none of those panned out. Nevertheless, it did assist solidify in Alex a core understanding of the market. This data and wealth of expertise helped him lots when he created CyberLeads: a B2B lead technology platform that focuses on connecting digital businesses with startups. It’s at present producing half 1,000,000 {dollars} per 12 months.

What’s distinctive in regards to the CyberLeads roadmap is we may hint Alex’s journey in creating this service from ideation to launch. It is because he has an lively day by day (effectively, nearly day by day) weblog part in his web site the place he paperwork his life since January 2020. To save lots of you the difficulty of skimming by each submit, right here’s the gist of his milestones:

• January 27, 2020: He will get an concept for a B2B lead technology platform and instantly goes to work.
• February 14, 2020: He launches CyberLeads on Product Hunt.
• March 1, 2020: He sends the primary lead checklist to his 9 preliminary subscribers.
• March 27, 2020: He drops all his different side-projects and focuses solely on CyberLeads.
• April 22, 2020: He strikes gold with a viral tweet which prompted extra individuals to concentrate on CyberLeads. From there, he spent months optimizing his lists and interface, and guaranteeing buyer retention. 

In December 2020, he made this submit, basically outlining all of the the explanation why his sole focus shifting ahead is CyberLeads. There’s no going again after that. CyberLeads slowly however steadily gained new clients who valued human evaluation when it got here to guide technology.

By 2022, West was already making $1000 per day, which was twice what he earned as a full-time software program developer in Greece. However he’s not glad but. He needs extra.

His Facet Tasks

Like Pieter Ranges, West additionally has an extended checklist of aspect tasks which have both failed at launch or discontinued attributable to lack of curiosity. Listed below are a few of them:

• Telemonetize: A Telegram extension that lets you monetize your conversations.
• GitGardener: Automates GitHub commits to make your contribution bins inexperienced.
• EpilepsyBlocker: An internet browser extension that mechanically terminates any video or GIF that will induce seizures induced by photosensitive triggers.
• AngelStep: The same lead technology platform to CyberLeads that goals to attach startups with attainable buyers, and vice versa.

Alex West’s Objectives for 2024

Alex West’s targets for this 12 months are easy: keep the course and continue to grow. To be extra particular, listed below are his plans for 2024:

• Develop a enterprise to $1 million annual income whereas working solely two hours per day.
• Get 10,000 subscribers on each social media platform.
• Write about his journey.

That’s it. No huge guarantees or new merchandise. He simply needs to develop what he already has and guarantee it prospers on this aggressive panorama. 

Wrapping Up

Alex West’s story exhibits that perseverance and focus are key components for achievement. 

Slightly than chasing fast wins or viral fame, West is taking the affected person path of constructing one thing sustainable over time, even when it’s a little bit boring. Keep in mind: it doesn’t at all times must be flashy, it simply needs to be helpful.

The tech business glorifies in a single day success tales. However Alex West demonstrates that sluggish and regular progress is simply as rewarding. By sticking to his imaginative and prescient, he was in a position to flip his ardour right into a thriving enterprise. There are not any shortcuts, however with grit and dedication, it’s attainable to attain your targets one small step at a time.