AI Summary
5 min readAt 20 years old, Michael built an app called Go Tall that now makes about $100,000 a month. He first saw the concept while browsing Acquire.com, a marketplace for startups, where a similar app was listed for sale. He remembered searching for "height calculator" himself as a teenager, which told him the problem was real. After two days of launching his own version, he made his first sale. The idea felt absurd to people around him—but it worked.
How validation came from TikTok comments, not surveys
Michael did not run a landing page test or build a waitlist. Instead, he watched TikTok comments under videos about height. People routinely shared their age, their parents' height, and their own height, and asked strangers to predict how tall they would grow. That behavior told him there was raw demand. He started replying with predictions, which became his first viral format. Users then began DMing him directly, asking for their own predictions. At that point, he had evidence that people cared enough to take action, not just watch a video.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:10) **Introducing Michael and Go Tall** - 20-year-old college student built a height predictor app making ~$100K/month
- 2 (01:42) **The App's Core Premise** - Height prediction with habit optimization for teenagers
- 3 (02:50) **Origin Story: From Rejection to Building** - NYU finance student turned app founder
- 4 (04:50) **How He Found the Idea** - Validated through Acquire.com and personal experience
- 5 (05:52) **Validating Demand Through TikTok** - People DM'd him asking for height predictions
- 6 (07:30) **Framework for Idea Selection** - Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
- 7 (08:51) **Growth Strategy: Organic First, Then Ads** - Cracking UGC content
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Michael built one of the most unbelievable app ideas I've ever seen. And today he makes over $100K per month. But the real story is the IDEA. What's the secret? How does it make money?
So in this video, we break down how Michael found this unbelievable app idea and the framework any builder can use to find their own crazy app ideas too.
*Free: 100+ App Ideas in Health, Wealth & Self-Improvement:* https://clickhubspot.com/vq21
Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/michaelque22
Check out Go Tall: https://www.gotall.app/
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🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs
Chapters:
Chapters
- 00:00:00 I can't believe this exists...
- 00:00:58 What's your story?
- 00:01:31 App breakdown
- 00:02:41 Michael's background
- 00:03:32 Health and Self-Improvement Apps
- 00:04:36 Finding the unbelievable idea
- 00:06:27 Advice for finding ideas
- 00:08:40 Growth and marketing
- 00:10:20 Tech stack
- 00:10:52 Go Tall demo
- 00:12:59 Advice: let go of your ego
- 00:14:35 Pat and Gus reflections: what an unbelievable idea!
- 00:17:01 Build YOUR app idea
This video is an educational case study of this founder’s experience. It is not financial advice and does not guarantee any income or results. Every business is different and your results may vary.
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