Case Study: $300,000 in Revenue in 1.5 Years with an AI Chatbot Builder

Web developers often dream of side projects that generate money with minimal time investment. Not everyone manages to turn those plans into reality, but examples of such startups can be found across various niches. 

Today we're analyzing a case study on working with a chatbot-building service powered by neural networks. It shows that even with a small budget, you can create profitable products. 

The Startup's Growth Story

Indian developer Bhanu Teja Pachipulusu decided in early 2023 to build a chatbot constructor powered by ChatGPT. His concept: the AI trains on a website's content and delivers relevant responses. 

Customers are offered a free demo, a 7-day trial, personalized help with integrating the bot into business processes, support for 95 languages, and the ability to cancel their subscription at any time. Plans range from $49 to $399. The most expensive annual plan is priced at $3,990.

The service's owner planned to build it quickly, but as often happens, the work dragged on. On the very first day after launch, he made his first sale thanks to a large Twitter audience. 

Customer reviews and listings on startup directories, combined with SEO, gave the audience a boost — and with it, the financial metrics. In the first two days, the site received 6,000 visits. 

People were impressed that within minutes they could create their own chatbot capable of delivering relevant answers to customer queries around the clock — meaning they could cut costs on support agents. 

One of the main traffic sources in the early stages of the project was Hacker News, a news platform that frequently covers startups. On a good day, it could drive more than 5,000 users.

Notably, just a few days after launching the project's page on Product Hunt, SiteGPT.ai gained an additional 2,000 users, some of whom converted into recurring customers. 

Bhanu quickly launched an affiliate program with attractive terms. Within a week, 9 affiliates had joined; within a month, the number exceeded 50. The conditions are quite solid — 20% of payments from referred customers and a 30-day cookie window. 

Financial Metrics Dynamics

Over a year of active development, the side project evolved into one of the Indian developer's primary revenue sources. Thanks to rapid audience growth, financial metrics improved month over month. 

In August 2023, SiteGPT.ai was generating $1,000 per day at its peak. At the time, the owner expected to close the month with strong revenue, though he noted that the money came with a heavy workload. 

Bhanu was satisfied with his decision not to include a free plan in the pricing structure, despite many marketers pointing to it as a "mistake." It didn't, however, prevent steady growth in the number of paid customers. 

The screenshot below illustrates the reality of SaaS projects. The percentage of visitors who convert to paid plans is small. For example, out of 8,000 users, only 19 paid for a subscription. 

Throughout 2023, the project generated $122,000. The chart shows that on some days revenue exceeded $6,000. The year before, the developer had earned just $11,700 — but he didn't give up. 

In the first 7 months of 2024, SiteGPT.ai brought in another $178,000, or roughly $25,000 per month. The owner has set his next ambitious target — $1M ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue). It looks like he's on track to hit it. 

The average monthly margin is 70%. For example, in June 2024 the service brought in $15,800 against $4,700 in expenses. The owner plans to invest more in marketing going forward, so the margin may decrease. 

What makes this case particularly compelling is that the author had several other projects, yet it took years of persistent effort to achieve significant revenue growth. The situation in affiliate marketing is no different — the key is not to give up and to keep testing different funnels.