Welcome to Money Making Story

In today’s story, we’re diving into the incredible journey of Bonu, a self-taught builder from India who grew his AI startup, SiteGPT, to $13,000/month — all without ads, investors, or a marketing team.

In this story, you’ll discover:

• Top Advice

• The Early Days: Quitting the Job & Moving Home

• From Side Projects to SaaS Success

• The Birth of SiteGPT

• The Secret Weapon: Engineering as Marketing

• How He Got 1 Million Visitors for Free

• The Tech Stack That Runs It All

• Life as a Solopreneur

• Lessons for Indie Builders

Top Advice:

“Don’t waste months building features nobody uses. Launch fast, learn from real users, and let feedback guide your direction.”

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“I’m a builder. I’m not a marketer.”

That single line captures the mindset of Bonu, a software engineer from India who turned frustration into focus and focus into freedom.

After quitting his job at a large startup, Bonu moved back to his parents’ house with one goal: build something of his own.

He didn’t have a growth team. No startup pedigree. No ad budget.

Just a laptop, curiosity, and a stubborn belief that good products can market themselves if built the right way.

The Early Days: Quitting Comfort for Code

Bonu had a stable job, a good salary, and a promising career.
But after eight months, he felt trapped.

So he quit. He moved home to cut costs and began experimenting.
Dozens of tiny tools. A few SaaS products. Most of them failed.

Then, one small project called Feather reached $6K/month — his first real win.

But the next chapter would be even bigger.

The Birth of SiteGPT

In early 2023, Bonu noticed the explosion of AI tools online. Curious, he asked himself:
“What if websites could have their own AI chatbots trained on their content?”

He built a prototype over a weekend.

It worked.

In two weeks, he launched SiteGPT — a tool that lets any business train a chatbot on its website and embed it instantly.

Within the first month, SiteGPT hit $10,000 MRR.

That traction was enough for Bonu to sell Feather for $250,000 and go all-in on his new AI startup.

The Secret Weapon: Engineering as Marketing

Bonu’s biggest growth hack?
Free tools.

He built 50+ micro-tools, each solving a small but specific problem — like PDF-to-Markdown converters or chatbot name generators.

Each one linked back to SiteGPT.

These mini-apps ranked on Google for low-competition keywords, driving thousands of organic visitors every day.

Over time, these tools brought in nearly 1 million visitors and hundreds of new leads — all at zero cost

AI CHEAT SHEET

The Secret Weapon: Engineering as Marketing

Bonu’s biggest growth hack?
Free tools.

He built 50+ micro-tools, each solving a small but specific problem — like PDF-to-Markdown converters or chatbot name generators.

Each one linked back to SiteGPT.

These mini-apps ranked on Google for low-competition keywords, driving thousands of organic visitors every day.

Over time, these tools brought in nearly 1 million visitors and hundreds of new leads — all at zero cost

How He Got 1 Million Visitors for Free

Bonu’s seven-step process for Engineering as Marketing:

1. Keyword Hunt: Use Ahrefs to find low-difficulty, high-volume search terms like “AI reply generator.”

2. Validate Intent: Only target keywords relevant to his SaaS.

3. Plan the CTA: Each tool ends with a smart pitch, e.g.
   “Want to train a chatbot with your business content? Try SiteGPT.”

4. Automate Building: Use AI coding tools to clone his best mini-apps in minutes.

5. Deploy Fast: New tools go live in under five minutes.

6. Track Results: Monitor leads from each tool using analytics.

7. Iterate: Double down on what ranks — scrap what doesn’t.

Today, these tools drive 90% of SiteGPT’s website traffic — and more than half of its signups.

The Tech Stack That Runs It All

• SEO: Ahrefs

• App Hosting: AWS EC2 + Netlify

• Emails: Bento

• Docs & Content: Mintlify + Feather

• Analytics: PostHog + DataFirst

• AI Development: Cursor + Claude Code

• Payments: Stripe

💰 Monthly costs: around $1,500
📈 Profit margin: roughly 90%

🧍 Life as a Solopreneur

Despite the success, the journey wasn’t glamorous.

For two years, Bonu worked 12-hour days earning almost nothing.
He responded to every support ticket — even at 3 a.m.
He went months without weekends, learning SEO, design, and copywriting by himself.

But now, his work compounds.

He wakes up to new signups every morning — from tools he built months ago.

Lessons for Indie Builders

💡 1. Build what you enjoy.
If you hate marketing, make your marketing a product.

💡 2. Launch before you’re ready.
Users will tell you what to build next.

💡 3. Simplicity wins.
SiteGPT does one thing — and does it perfectly.

💡 4. Learn SEO by doing.
Free tools are the easiest way to rank.

💡 5. Feedback > Features.
Every user complaint is a roadmap.

Learn More About Bhanu Teja

Final Takeaway: Marketing Without Marketing

Bonu didn’t run ads.
He didn’t chase virality.
He just kept building.

By turning his love for coding into his marketing engine, he built a $13K/month SaaS that runs almost on autopilot — powered by the most underrated growth channel on the internet: free tools.

You don’t need investors, a growth team, or a marketing degree.
You just need curiosity, focus, and a system that compounds.

From a small room in India to 1 million visitors —
Bonu proved that you can outbuild your way to success.

You don’t need an MBA, a marketing team, or a pile of investor cash to build something that matters. What you do need is curiosity, persistence, and the courage to keep creating when no one’s watching.

Bonu’s story proves that even without ads, funding, or a fancy strategy, you can build something real by turning your strengths into leverage. With nothing but a laptop, a few ideas, and the love of building, he transformed free tools into a million visitors and a $13,000/month SaaS — no tricks, no shortcuts, just smart execution and relentless consistency.

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