Building $600K/Mo SaaS in One Year

A strong product or just leveraging a personal brand?

Hi! A few days ago, I came across the Crayo AI. At first glance, it's a standard AI content creation tool. But after studying it, I saw outstanding numbers ($600k/mo!) and many videos about a successful young founder (17 y.o!).

And at this point, I realized we had to discuss this story.

So, in this issue:

• An overview of Crayo AI & its features

• The journey of the founder & his team

• Strategies & insights that contributed to Crayo’s success

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What is Crayo AI?

This time, I propose to take an unusual path. We will start with a brief overview of the product, then rewind a bit and go through its creation.

Crayo AI provides tools for content creators who want to produce short-form videos faster. By automating tasks such as adding subtitles, animations, and music, it addresses a pain point for the core audience.

The platform calls itself an “all-in-one tool for creating AI voiceovers, engaging subtitles optimized gameplay, and more.”

The idea is that novice and experienced creators from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts can generate viral content using just one SaaS product. First and foremost are the faceless videos that garner millions of views. Crayo sells the idea that anyone can create and monetize such channels.

Here are its key features:

• Story Video Generator: Creates AI-generated story videos from custom scripts or Reddit URLs, with an integrated AI writer for script development.

• Split Screen Video Generator: Produces engaging split-style videos using YouTube or TikTok URLs, enhancing viewer interaction.

• Subtitles Automation: Crayo automatically generates accurate subtitles, helping creators reach wider audiences, including those who watch videos without sound.

• Animations & Music Integration: Users can enhance their videos with professional-quality animations and music, all with just a few clicks.

According to the founder, more than 2.5M videos have been created using Crayo AI since launching about a year ago, which continues to rack up views on social media.

If you linger on TikTok, Reels, or Shorts, you've probably seen clips like this.

Regarding revenue generation, the platform relies on a subscription model (there is no free version). Users pay monthly for access to the software and receive credits. Right now, Crayo AI has three plans: Hobby ($19/mo), Clipper ($39/mo), and Pro ($79/mo).

Sharing is caring! Refer someone who started a learning Journey in AI!

The interesting aspect of Crayo is that the small platform is still prominent with an abundance of strong competitors. If you visit different AI tool sites, you will see that many picks compare new tools to this particular product. Coupled with its impressive growth rate, it makes me wonder how Crayo managed to do it.

Here are some good alternatives so you don't feel like we're trying to elevate this AI tool over others:

• Smart Media Cutter: This tool offers video and audio cutting without quality loss. Features include automatic transcripts, speech detection, and support for various media formats, all while ensuring data privacy with offline AI.

• DreamCut: This AI video editor offers lifelike voiceovers, dynamic backgrounds, real-time editing effects, and customizable 4K export, supporting tutorials and gameplay recording.

• FastCut: This tool turns your video into reels using AI, featuring transitions, effects, support for 4K, custom overlays, and an ad-free experience.

If you want to get stronger into video content creation, try starting by using these AI tools:

Quick Video Creation with AI

How to Create Cinema-Grade Videos Using AI

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How They Built a $600K/Month AI App

So, meet Daniel Bitton. A founder and creator from Cyprus. Many podcasters and bloggers in the “successful success” genre often extol him, but we won't do that.

More to the point, Crayo's development strategy can't be called completely honest.

At 15, he found success with Snapchat shows, earning six figures monthly. Daniel created news-based content on media discussions, which earned him 10M followers.

However, when the algorithm changed, his income suffered, prompting him to abandon Snapchat in favor of YouTube (100k subscribers). Daniel’s shift to Shorts highlighted the effort required for video editing, and (according to interviews) he decided to address this issue with an AI solution.

The story then splits into two sequels: one in which Daniel is pretty much a solopreneur, developing the product with minimal help from others (the popular version), and one in which Crayo is supported by a full-fledged team.

To back up the second option, just go to X and look at what people associated with Crayo are saying about the project:

So, how many founders does Crayo have?

And that's Crayo's main trick. The company is selling not an AI tool but an easy way to make money online. And this strategy is not very popular among competitors (although it works great).

Now, let's talk about how this strategy is implemented.