Building 6 products in 6 months, and selling 5 of them — Muhammad Taimoor's 3-tier model11
I caught up with Muhammad Taimoor (@mtaimoorhas), who recently built 6 profitable products in 6 months, and sold 5 of them. Not a bad haul! And he has an interesting approach to building, which really got me thinking. Here's what he had to say.
Building and selling quickly
Muhammad: I created 6 side-projects in 6 months while going to university, and sold 5 of them. All the projects were making $50-$170 MRR before I sold them, and the sales brought in about $20,000.
People think that focusing on one idea for years and years is the right way to do it. Maybe it is. But micro-projects can work if you want them to.
Building and selling quickly is a big advantage. You can learn from the market and customers, get feedback, validate your idea, and make money quickly. You get less cash than if you would have kept building it, but it's still a good amount of fuel to keep your other products running.
Plus, building projects and trying different niches is fun. It helps me explore and learn how things work. I love it and I plan to keep running this model.
And that touches on the topic that I found so interesting — his model.
His model for building and selling
Muhammad: I have been building side-projects since I was 12. I sleep five hours max. I spend my days at university and then build things afterward. But the crux of how I do this is that I categorize my ideas and plans. It helps me prioritize and save time.
Here's how I categorize my ideas:
- Low-tier: Very niche problems, specific audience, and a market gap.
- Mid-tier: Pretty niche, but big problem that is easily profitable for the next 5 years.
- High-tier: Large market, huge problem, easily profitable for the next 5 years, and has at least 5-8 different use-cases for different audiences.
Once I have them categorized, I just prioritize them and execute.
And these "tiers" determine how he builds.
Muhammad: I believe in quick launches so that they can be validated quickly. If things go right, you start improving things. If not, try to move on. So I try to ideate, build, and launch products within 1 month, max:
- Low-tier: 1 day to 1 week
- Mid-tier: 1 week to 2 weeks
- High-tier: 1 month max
I build low-tier projects by myself from scratch. On mid-tier projects, I work side by side with freelance contractors. And for high-tier projects, I work with agencies. Once I start marketing a project, the team starts working on the next projects.
So he's big on outsourcing. And he doesn't move forward with any product that will take over a month to build — that's interesting.
Muhammad: It seems hectic, but if you have a plan and you've sorted out your workflow, it allows you to validate quickly.
The tiers affect whether or not he sells to products too.
Muhammad: I sold my businesses on Microacquire. I always do it according to my model:
- Low-tier: The sole purpose of these is to fuel my high-tier startups.
- Mid-tier: Some projects will be listed for selling right away, while some will be taken to specific MRR before selling.
- High-Tier: These are not for selling. I bootstrap them with the goal of growing the MRR.
My low- and mid-tier projects give me fuel to run, while I build gems that can be bootstrapped long-term.
Entering established markets
Beyond his categorization method, one of Muhammad's biggest talents seems to be researching ideas.
Muhammad: Get involved in communities. Find bad reviews of products on. Search startup directories to find out what's launching. Go to ad libraries and see what's selling.
And he's not afraid of exploring established markets. In fact, he looks at them as pre-validation.
Muhammad: Wrong to play in an established market? I think not. Just try to add value — don't copy.
Even if you think your product is unique, there will be some features that are already in the market. And that means those features are validated.
So look at your competition and note down a few big fish. Go through their features, user flow, etc., and see what value you can add.
A tiered approach to marketing
As you might have guessed, his marketing efforts depend on his tiers too.
Muhammad: My community is the first group of beta testers and paid users. They help me refine my product, fix the bugs, and validate it. This brings me to $50-$200 MRR. Then, I sell low-tier products.
For mid-tier and high-tier products, I keep going and launch to the world via Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, Hacker News, etc. This brings in organic users and usually gets me to $200-$2000 MRR.
Once there, I'm able to do proper marketing, including paid ads and cold emails. I only do this with high-tier products, and some mid-tier.
Parting advice
And according to Muhammad, here are three things that everyone needs to do:
Muhammad: These three things will give you that first push you need,
- Community building: Try to follow every single person from the newbie level to the guru level on whatever social network you prefer. This will help you get updates on the market 24/7. You'll know what's happening, how much people are earning, what the
new trends are, etc.- Narrow Research: Try to narrow down your research. Focus on one website or one keyword. That will help you find one great idea to move forward with.
- Launch ASAP: Launch as soon as possible so that you have a competitive edge and room to penetrate the market.
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Great post! I'm thinking about launching my own product soon and your thoughts about research will help alot
I use a similar approach for finding new ideas and niches.
Find a SAAS directory, choose a product you like, read their reviews online and see what people are complaining about.
Low-mid-high tiering looks so good idea. Putting effort following the tiering seems that will make me more efficient.
@mtaimoorhas What's your approach to building a community around your products, and how do you engage with them?
I believe you also have to have time to focus on a niche and a problem and not just build and release quickly
I'm curious how you're able to sell that volume of small startups on acquire.com. I just signed up as a buyer only to learn that you have to pay $390 to even talk to the sellers. It seems like that would severely limit the market for buyers of small operations.
There's also flippa, acquirebase, tinyacquisitions, and others. (I can't post links yet.)
Yes, but he said he was using acquire.com, and most of those others have a high entry barrier as well. I believe flippa is the only exception.
That's impressive. Much needed motivation and inspiration. Thank you!
Definitely worth learning from. You are doing awesome!
thanks James for introducing Muhammad taimoor,his way categorising projects, who will build, why he sell, what he focus for long time.
which platforms you have used to sell your projects
very inspire!!
I loved the actionable advice, Thanks!
Wow, selling 5 startups in 6 Months is just crazy. I had a look and I could not find any numbers for how much these were sold. Does someone have the numbers or at least an approximation?
Best Of Luck Mate <3
Love the approach. Very actionnable. Would love to learn more about your view regarding B2B sales. Is it necessary to launch with a sales-driven approach ?
Very interesting approach to making things happen.
Since the time period is few days to a month, to what degree were these products built?
Unless the products were MVP level, or very simple, then it's a short amount of time to launch a more complex product to the market.
Looking to hear more!
I loved the actionable advice, Thanks!
I loved the article, thanks for sharing!
Muhammad's advice on community building, narrow research, and launching ASAP is insightful and practical. Building a community allows you to stay connected with market trends and how people are earning in real-time. Narrowing down your research helps you to focus on one idea and avoid being overwhelmed with too much information. Launching your idea as soon as possible gives you an advantage to penetrate the market before competitors catch up. These steps can help you get that first push you need to succeed. Thanks, Muhammad!
what do you plan to do next, keep building a ton of products or focus on only one.
Very interesting perspective! Seems to be working for him, however I don't believe that lifestyle/playbook is suitable for everyone. I would be curious to know what his products/sales were. I'm curious about the focus on branding or whether narrowing down the niche works well enough.
amazing post, i just dont understand the categorizing approch as i have my own startups but i cant figure out if they are low\mid\high tier
Great post. Would have been even better if some examples of projects were included.
Thanks for sharing! This tier system is new to me and helps segment ideas better. I also think it's interesting how the low-tier projects act as fuel for the higher tier projects and how Muhammad doesn't work alone in mid & high tier products.
Great article! How do you ensure competitors from Established market doesn't copy your features?
@mtaimoorhas what is your typical next step after competitive research? I've done competitive research, marketing, and other creative works for startups before, even though I studied to be an engineer, but I feel nervous jumping into the engineering parts of my startup ideas. Is there a plan or methodology that you follow for a project's next steps?
Also, how would you suggest people to outsource if they don't have the money to pay other people? I've found people that I would like to work with but they always stop working on the project due to various reasons.
This is a really interesting and helpful blog post! Overall, this seems like a great approach to building and selling products efficiently and effectively. Thank you for sharing Muhammad's insights and experiences!
How are you spotting the problems that you're solving with the apps? Or are you spotting similar already validated apps and improving them?
I'm following the same approach. I've been building Stormkit.io for years and now it's in a stage where I can use it to launch projects quickly.
I have been working on feez.ws lately, and trying to validate the market by starting to market it before developing the tool. If I get 1000 subscribers in a month I'll develop the tool, otherwise move on to the next one :)
Super useful thread I love this model
This post was really useful!
I appreciate the transparency of this post. It opened my eyes on how to make more income in 2023.
I will definitely work parts of Muhammad's 3 tier model into my own strategy!
Thanks for sharing!
I appreciate the post and find Muhammad's 3-tier model to be a valuable approach for building products.
By prioritizing projects and focusing on quick launches and outsourcing, I can validate ideas quickly and focus on creating value for customers as I work on my own products.
Thank you for sharing this approach.
Working on a system where I can do the same
Love the article! A rec for anyone excited to hear more stories about building fast and selling fast --> bit.ly/3BVbdee
Very helpful points, thank you IndieJames!
Thanks for sharing. Great achievement.
Just wonder Who should we follow? Sometimes I can't find right people on my network
When you have finalised your niche, just go & follow everyone from newbie to guru level, it helps you get updated 24/7, motivated, connected with market, earnings, ideas, new projects. See it as collective resource
Funny, in theory you can make $100 MMR business and sell it for $5k, then do one of them a month and then you get $5k MMR, and sell that "system" as a business for $250k :-)
I loved the one thing most, validate as soon as possible. Because most of us afraid from this problem. So, it's basically the write way. And you said you have built on low -tier so, a solo developer can do the same in starting.
Thanks it was really helpful.
thanks for sharing
That was insightful. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing!
How do you market your high tier products? what platforms do you use and which of them brings in the best result?
testing & trying is the key. I use the same launching for every product as mentioned.
but obv for getting more traffic or sales i try diff marketing tactics, etc
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I completely agree that testing and experimentation are key to finding the right strategy for promoting a product.
it's also important to be adaptable and open to trying new things. As the market and consumer preferences evolve, it's important to be able to pivot and try new strategies to ensure that you are reaching the right people and getting the results you want.
Good Post
I've witnessed Taimoor's growth, and this is very inspiring!
thanks boss
Congratulations on this milestone. Great achievement.
Thanks for sharing. This is extremely helpful in shaping my line of thoughts.
Congrats Muhammed.
Which platforms did you use most to sell your projects?
How was your experience with each?
Completely agree on the fact that building quickly helps you understand the market faster but it can also lead to burnouts if you do not manage yourself well. All the same, excellent work!
Thanks boss
Selling 5/6 is crazy, congrats!
Agree on entering established markets. Re the big fish, instead of trying to add to their feature set, you can also just focus on one key feature and do it better than anyone. Sometimes customers don't want all that extra fluff and you can win them by getting hyper-focused.
Not just redoing, but adding more qualitative things features. "already validated"
Interesting to sell small products to fund big products. @mtaimoorhas how do you make sure they'll sell? Because if they don't sell, they'd just be a distraction from building the bigger products.
I find gaps/probs in markets or I cash hype (these both things sells), the buyer will get a ready-made product with a little marketing push & he/she will cut development costs, validation cost, and 3-5 months of building & evaluating.
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