Avenue's Widget Hits $85K/Month in Under a Year

Tom and his brother developed Avenue, a website widget specifically tailored for trades and services, including electricians and mechanics.

This software solution currently generates $85,000 AUD per month, demonstrating rapid growth since its inception.

Tom noted, "My name's Tom, and my brother and I built Avenue together, and we built a website widget for trades and mechanics."

The Avenue widget integrates directly into client websites to visually present their services and streamline the purchase or inquiry process for customers.

It also connects with Google My Business profiles to facilitate reservations, eliminating the traditional friction of requiring phone calls or emails for inquiries.

Tom explained the problem it solves, stating, "I have money, I want to buy from a service business. Why do I have to call them? Why do I have to kind of send them an email or I could just tell them what I want."

This substantial growth, validated through a Stripe dashboard demonstration, enables the team to continuously reinvest profits back into the business for further development and expansion.

Tom reflected on the journey, saying, "I feel like from August last year of 597 and then August now 63,000 Australian. It's been a wild ride."

He recognized the potential for income generation to be decoupled from immediate manual labor, allowing for continuous earnings even while not actively working.

This led to his focus on constant iteration to find a product that resonated with a market need.

Tom's first job paid him $4 an hour, a stark contrast to the significantly higher earnings he observed others achieving, sparking an intense interest in various business models.

This led him to obsess over the software as a business model, drawn to its ability to generate revenue passively, or "while you're sleeping," as he described it.

He noted, "I started to obsess about like business and what are different business models. So, I kind of just kept obsessing over like software as a business model and just seeing like you can still be making money while you're sleeping even though you've already done the work."

Tom identified a significant problem: the difficulty customers faced when trying to inquire with upstart businesses, despite those businesses often generating substantial revenue.

Despite his lack of coding and design expertise, he was confident in his ability to assemble a team, drawing on past successes to build the necessary solution.

He explained, "I think realizing that this was a problem I kind of obsessed over where I was like, 'Why is it so difficult to inquire with such upstart businesses yet they seem to make like heaps of money?'"

Tom took a high-risk approach by hiring a lead designer, a head developer, and a front-end developer for Avenue when the company had no revenue.

He financed this early stage of development using income from his decade-old marketing agency, which managed over 70 clients.

This substantial financial buffer allowed him to transition into Avenue full-time without needing external investment, despite acknowledging it was a risky move.

Tom advised against this approach, stating, "I hired like a lead designer that could actually make them look better. I hired like a head developer that could actually build out the back end and then we hired like a front end developer. Yet we had zero revenue. So, on paper, terrible idea. Don't recommend it at all."

Initial confusion among prospects about the product when demonstrated on an iPhone was resolved by switching to iPads and printed brochures for clearer presentations.

The sales pitch effectively highlighted a tangible problem for businesses: the inability to secure sales outside of operating hours, positioning Avenue as the solution.

This direct, problem-oriented approach led to small-scale successes, which subsequently attracted larger clients due to the perceived market trust.

Tom noted the effectiveness of this direct approach: "When you show someone the problem they have and you can explain it quite clearly, like, 'You can't get sales outside of hours. This fixes that.' They're very open to trying something new that they're being shown in person with a real person."

Tom and his team conducted extensive door-to-door sales, targeting various business types without prejudice, which ultimately revealed the trades industry as their ideal niche.

Tradespeople proved to be the most receptive audience due to their direct feedback and a clear preference for investments that yielded measurable results.

The product was subsequently refined to specifically cater to the operational demands and needs of trade businesses, enhancing its product-market fit.

Tom stated, "What we found from like taking action and doing that was the trade started to respond to us better and better. And it kind of revealed itself that they're no kind of people. They're very direct in their feedback. They don't like giving money away if something doesn't pay for itself."

Founders who seek direct, unfiltered responses from prospects gain a competitive edge, as even rejections provide insights into why a product may or may not fit a specific market.

He notes that prospects who are not a good fit for the product often provide valuable referrals to other businesses that might benefit more from the solution.

Tom emphasized, "If you really do love your product, that's the feedback you're actually looking for. And maybe it doesn't end up being a product for trades, and they'll tell you why directly to your face."

Other key tools include Slack ($120), Google Workspaces ($130), Zapier ($500) for AI voice credits, and Twilio ($4,000) for SMS costs.

He specifically mentioned Claude as a critical tool, asserting, "Everyone's using Claude, we're no different. We need it to survive at this point."

Avenue's booking widget integrates directly with Google, providing clients with a prominent 'book online' button that directs users to a branded form to explore services.

If customers exit the form, they are automatically redirected to the client's website, where the widget is also embedded for continuous accessibility.

This dual integration centralizes customer contacts from both Google and the company website, streamlining lead management.

Tom demonstrated the process: "So, this one of our clients, first thing they get is a book online button with Google. So, it's actually partnership with Google directly. They click on that, they come through to the client's branded form, where they can kind of tap through the product. If customers exit out of it, they're actually sent back to the customer's website, where we also have embedded the product directly on the website as well."

Securing a customer's commitment with cash remains the only viable indicator of success, a priority that outweighs the time and effort spent on initial product development.

He asserts that a customer's willingness to commit financially to a solution for a stated problem is the strongest indicator of a viable business idea.

Tom stated, "Definitely to sell before you build. I know it's said so many times, but customers don't care how much went into something sometimes. It's really sad. If you can get someone to commit before building the product, you've probably found something worth pursuing."

The host noted that while many founders rely on digital marketing, Tom's door-to-door sales approach garnered significant respect from local businesses, especially those less familiar with modern technology.

This method addresses immediate, often overlooked needs of local businesses that might not be reached through high-tech online campaigns.

The host emphasized that original ideas are not essential for profitability; instead, solving a genuine, painful problem for a specific niche is sufficient.

While many contemporary founders leverage digital platforms like TikTok and Twitter for customer acquisition, the host highlighted Tom's success with traditional door-to-door sales.

This direct, physical interaction fostered significant respect and trust among local customers, many of whom are unfamiliar with advanced AI tools.

The host suggested that walking down the street and engaging directly with businesses can uncover untapped customer bases that digital marketing might miss, providing a unique competitive edge.

The host explained, "I'm sure a lot of his customers really respected him for coming in, knocking on their door, and asking for kind of the sale or the service."

The Avenue widget, a simple button designed to help businesses increase earnings from clients, demonstrates that originality is not a prerequisite for profitability.

Its success in specific niches, such as mechanics and electricians, proves the scalability of this straightforward business model.

The host affirmed, "Even though it's something I've seen done 100 times, it's proof that you don't need like an original idea to go do it."

The fundamental value of Avenue lies in its ability to solve a tangible problem, streamlining transactions and helping businesses complete sales effectively.

Identifying and addressing a 'big problem' is presented as the primary driver behind business success, rather than novelty or complexity.

The host underscored this principle, stating, "I think that's probably the real secret sauce of this whole thing is that he solved a real problem."