How Ramsey Shaffer Built Uptrends.ai To $2.5K/month
How Ramsey Shaffer Built Uptrends.ai To $2.5K/month
Dec 6, 2024
Ramsey Shaffer
Ramsey Shaffer
⏳ 6.8 min
⏳ 6.8 min
Revenue/month
Revenue/month
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
No. of founders
No. of founders
2
2
2
Startup costs
Startup costs
$5K
$5K
$5K
Company type
Company type
Company type
SaaS
SaaS
SaaS
Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Ramsey Shaffer is the founder of Uptrends.ai, an AI-powered news monitoring and event detection platform designed for finance professionals. But this wasn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup story. Ramsey didn’t have a huge VC-backed launch, or even a clear path from day one. Instead, he built Uptrends as a side hustle, starting from an idea that came out of his college days and a love for quantitative trading.
Uptrends.ai helps stock market investors and financial professionals stay on top of the most important news and trends by delivering personalized reports generated by AI. This means investors can get one neatly packaged email summarizing exactly what they need to know, without having to sift through endless streams of irrelevant data.
Today, Uptrends.ai pulls in around $1,500 a month—modest, but it’s just the beginning. Here’s how Ramsey went from a college project to a growing AI startup.👇🏼
Ramsey Shaffer is the founder of Uptrends.ai, an AI-powered news monitoring and event detection platform designed for finance professionals. But this wasn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup story. Ramsey didn’t have a huge VC-backed launch, or even a clear path from day one. Instead, he built Uptrends as a side hustle, starting from an idea that came out of his college days and a love for quantitative trading.
Uptrends.ai helps stock market investors and financial professionals stay on top of the most important news and trends by delivering personalized reports generated by AI. This means investors can get one neatly packaged email summarizing exactly what they need to know, without having to sift through endless streams of irrelevant data.
Today, Uptrends.ai pulls in around $1,500 a month—modest, but it’s just the beginning. Here’s how Ramsey went from a college project to a growing AI startup.👇🏼
From College Project to Side Hustle
From College Project to Side Hustle
Like many great startups, Uptrends started as a small, almost accidental project. While Ramsey was in college, he and his co-founder Sam were part of a quantitative trading club. They developed models to trade Bitcoin based on sentiment from platforms like Twitter and Reddit.
Ramsey recalls a pivotal moment: in 2019, he used one of their models to sell his Bitcoin for a 200% profit when the price was around $10,000 per coin. In that moment, he thought he was a genius. But looking back, he realized it was more about luck and timing than true brilliance.
That moment, however, planted a seed. As they continued working together, they realized that online chatter—specifically sentiment—could have a huge impact on stock prices. This insight laid the foundation for Uptrends.
The problem was clear: investors were bombarded with millions of news stories, reports, and social media posts every day. How could anyone possibly keep track of it all? The answer was simple: if they could create a tool to help investors filter and digest the most important, market-moving information, they might have something powerful.
Like many great startups, Uptrends started as a small, almost accidental project. While Ramsey was in college, he and his co-founder Sam were part of a quantitative trading club. They developed models to trade Bitcoin based on sentiment from platforms like Twitter and Reddit.
Ramsey recalls a pivotal moment: in 2019, he used one of their models to sell his Bitcoin for a 200% profit when the price was around $10,000 per coin. In that moment, he thought he was a genius. But looking back, he realized it was more about luck and timing than true brilliance.
That moment, however, planted a seed. As they continued working together, they realized that online chatter—specifically sentiment—could have a huge impact on stock prices. This insight laid the foundation for Uptrends.
The problem was clear: investors were bombarded with millions of news stories, reports, and social media posts every day. How could anyone possibly keep track of it all? The answer was simple: if they could create a tool to help investors filter and digest the most important, market-moving information, they might have something powerful.
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➤ Every week, we dig up stories of how regular people started and grew their businesses—
➤ Plus the marketing hacks that won them customers.
➤ Then, we share those insights with you.
➤ Every week, we dig up stories of how regular people started and grew their businesses—
➤ Plus the marketing hacks that won them customers.
➤ Then, we share those insights with you.
Building the First Version
Building the First Version
Ramsey and Sam decided to take their college project to the next level after graduation. But as they transitioned from a school project to a real business, things didn’t exactly go according to plan.
With just $10,000 of their own savings, they bootstrapped the project. Neither of them had a clue about building a business—let alone designing a product, marketing it, or understanding customer needs. They started with a basic MVP (minimum viable product), which was, in hindsight, extremely simple: a live table displaying trending stocks based on online news sentiment. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was a start.
“We had no idea what we were doing in terms of development, marketing, design, etc.,” Ramsey says. They hired a junior developer from AngelList to help them build the interface, but even with this help, the first version took them six months to complete.
Looking back, Ramsey acknowledges that they “probably made every single Cardinal Sin of starting a business.” They overbuilt, ignored customer feedback, didn’t build distribution, took too long to pivot, and didn’t charge enough money. Classic first-time founder mistakes.
Ramsey and Sam decided to take their college project to the next level after graduation. But as they transitioned from a school project to a real business, things didn’t exactly go according to plan.
With just $10,000 of their own savings, they bootstrapped the project. Neither of them had a clue about building a business—let alone designing a product, marketing it, or understanding customer needs. They started with a basic MVP (minimum viable product), which was, in hindsight, extremely simple: a live table displaying trending stocks based on online news sentiment. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was a start.
“We had no idea what we were doing in terms of development, marketing, design, etc.,” Ramsey says. They hired a junior developer from AngelList to help them build the interface, but even with this help, the first version took them six months to complete.
Looking back, Ramsey acknowledges that they “probably made every single Cardinal Sin of starting a business.” They overbuilt, ignored customer feedback, didn’t build distribution, took too long to pivot, and didn’t charge enough money. Classic first-time founder mistakes.
The Long Road to Launch
The Long Road to Launch
After months of hard work, they finally launched their MVP. To build initial traction, Ramsey and Sam turned to organic channels. They posted on Twitter, participated in local startup events, and used word-of-mouth to build a waitlist of a few hundred people. When the MVP went live, they gained thousands of users in a matter of months—an exciting but humbling experience.
“We had gone from no-clue to a real-world business,” Ramsey recalls. Despite early excitement, the MVP wasn’t perfect. They were still learning, still iterating. And while they had some success growing their user base, getting users to pay for the product proved difficult.
The B2C model just wasn’t resonating. It was “a vitamin, not a painkiller.” Investors wanted a product that solved a real pain. After some soul-searching, they realized that the few users who were paying for the product were mostly finance professionals—advisors, analysts, and portfolio managers. That realization set the stage for a crucial pivot.
After months of hard work, they finally launched their MVP. To build initial traction, Ramsey and Sam turned to organic channels. They posted on Twitter, participated in local startup events, and used word-of-mouth to build a waitlist of a few hundred people. When the MVP went live, they gained thousands of users in a matter of months—an exciting but humbling experience.
“We had gone from no-clue to a real-world business,” Ramsey recalls. Despite early excitement, the MVP wasn’t perfect. They were still learning, still iterating. And while they had some success growing their user base, getting users to pay for the product proved difficult.
The B2C model just wasn’t resonating. It was “a vitamin, not a painkiller.” Investors wanted a product that solved a real pain. After some soul-searching, they realized that the few users who were paying for the product were mostly finance professionals—advisors, analysts, and portfolio managers. That realization set the stage for a crucial pivot.
Pivoting to B2B: The Big Change
Pivoting to B2B: The Big Change
About some weeks ago, Uptrends.ai made the leap from B2C (business-to-consumer) to B2B (business-to-business), and it was a game changer. They interviewed a dozen finance professionals to understand their pain points. In other words, they didn’t want to scroll through endless articles or deal with the noise—they wanted a simple, efficient summary of exactly what mattered to them.
This feedback led to a major shift in the product. Ramsey and Sam designed mockups of the new report, demoed it to potential customers, and even secured upfront payments before building the feature. This was a huge lesson: if you build something your customers actually want and need, they’ll pay you upfront, even before the product is finished. It was validation that they were on the right track.
About some weeks ago, Uptrends.ai made the leap from B2C (business-to-consumer) to B2B (business-to-business), and it was a game changer. They interviewed a dozen finance professionals to understand their pain points. In other words, they didn’t want to scroll through endless articles or deal with the noise—they wanted a simple, efficient summary of exactly what mattered to them.
This feedback led to a major shift in the product. Ramsey and Sam designed mockups of the new report, demoed it to potential customers, and even secured upfront payments before building the feature. This was a huge lesson: if you build something your customers actually want and need, they’ll pay you upfront, even before the product is finished. It was validation that they were on the right track.
Growing the Business: What Worked and What Didn’t
Growing the Business: What Worked and What Didn’t
Building the product was just the beginning. To scale, Ramsey and Sam tried a wide range of growth tactics: content marketing, SEO, cold emailing, events, paid ads, influencer partnerships—you name it. They quickly learned that not all marketing tactics are created equal.
The most effective strategies for Uptrends? A combination of organic search, Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads, and email marketing.
Organic Search: After investing in SEO (with the help of resources like Pat’s Lean SEO Course from StarterStory), they saw huge improvements in website traffic. They realized that SEO wasn’t dead after all—it was one of their best growth channels.
Meta Ads: While it took time to perfect, Meta ads became their most cost-effective marketing tool. They focused on retargeting campaigns for lookalike audiences and used simple video ads to explain how Uptrends worked.
Email Marketing: Instead of sending ads directly to their web app, Ramsey and Sam ran ads for their newsletter, which summarized top trending stocks from Uptrends. This was a more frictionless way for users to engage with the product. Once they were in the newsletter, the team could nurture the relationship and eventually convert them into paying customers.
Building the product was just the beginning. To scale, Ramsey and Sam tried a wide range of growth tactics: content marketing, SEO, cold emailing, events, paid ads, influencer partnerships—you name it. They quickly learned that not all marketing tactics are created equal.
The most effective strategies for Uptrends? A combination of organic search, Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads, and email marketing.
Organic Search: After investing in SEO (with the help of resources like Pat’s Lean SEO Course from StarterStory), they saw huge improvements in website traffic. They realized that SEO wasn’t dead after all—it was one of their best growth channels.
Meta Ads: While it took time to perfect, Meta ads became their most cost-effective marketing tool. They focused on retargeting campaigns for lookalike audiences and used simple video ads to explain how Uptrends worked.
Email Marketing: Instead of sending ads directly to their web app, Ramsey and Sam ran ads for their newsletter, which summarized top trending stocks from Uptrends. This was a more frictionless way for users to engage with the product. Once they were in the newsletter, the team could nurture the relationship and eventually convert them into paying customers.
Financials: From Struggling to Sustainable
Financials: From Struggling to Sustainable
In the beginning, the B2C model wasn’t sustainable. Ramsey and Sam were spending like crazy—payroll, ads, cloud services, you name it. They were burning through cash fast and had to make adjustments. Eventually, they switched to a B2B model, and the difference was staggering.
Before the pivot, Uptrends had been bringing in an average of $1,000 per month. Post-pivot, they quickly increased their revenue to $2,500 per month in just the first month—by signing only a handful of clients. More importantly, they drastically reduced their burn rate from $30,000 a month to just $6,000, mainly by cutting back on cloud computing and contractor expenses.
In the beginning, the B2C model wasn’t sustainable. Ramsey and Sam were spending like crazy—payroll, ads, cloud services, you name it. They were burning through cash fast and had to make adjustments. Eventually, they switched to a B2B model, and the difference was staggering.
Before the pivot, Uptrends had been bringing in an average of $1,000 per month. Post-pivot, they quickly increased their revenue to $2,500 per month in just the first month—by signing only a handful of clients. More importantly, they drastically reduced their burn rate from $30,000 a month to just $6,000, mainly by cutting back on cloud computing and contractor expenses.
Lessons Learned and What’s Next
Lessons Learned and What’s Next
Despite all the struggles, Ramsey is incredibly optimistic about the future. He’s learned that building a sustainable business isn’t about quick growth or massive VC investments—it’s about validating your product, finding your market fit, and being scrappy. “Our business is much more like an IndieHacker mindset now,” Ramsey says. They focus on minimizing expenses, validating every step with customers, and getting paid upfront before building new features.
Uptrends is on track to reach profitability this year, and Ramsey’s number one goal is to achieve “ramen profitability”—having just enough revenue to cover all monthly expenses. From there, the objective is to replicate their success with new clients using the same combination of SEO, paid ads, and email marketing.
Ramsey has also come to terms with failure. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: “Competitive advantage is simply stringing together enough failures to build a moat that’s too big for anyone else to cross.” Failure is inevitable, but it’s not something to fear—it’s something to learn from. And with every failure, you get closer to success.
Despite all the struggles, Ramsey is incredibly optimistic about the future. He’s learned that building a sustainable business isn’t about quick growth or massive VC investments—it’s about validating your product, finding your market fit, and being scrappy. “Our business is much more like an IndieHacker mindset now,” Ramsey says. They focus on minimizing expenses, validating every step with customers, and getting paid upfront before building new features.
Uptrends is on track to reach profitability this year, and Ramsey’s number one goal is to achieve “ramen profitability”—having just enough revenue to cover all monthly expenses. From there, the objective is to replicate their success with new clients using the same combination of SEO, paid ads, and email marketing.
Ramsey has also come to terms with failure. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: “Competitive advantage is simply stringing together enough failures to build a moat that’s too big for anyone else to cross.” Failure is inevitable, but it’s not something to fear—it’s something to learn from. And with every failure, you get closer to success.
Final Thoughts: Building for Sustainable PMF
Final Thoughts: Building for Sustainable PMF
When Ramsey looks back on the past three years, he realizes that the journey has been more about learning and evolving than anything else. The road to building a sustainable business wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. He’s learned how to find product-market fit (PMF), how to be frugal, and how to build a business that can weather the storms of startup life.
His advice to anyone starting a business? Keep going. Learn from your mistakes. And when the time comes, pivot and adapt. Because the key to success in business isn’t avoiding failure—it’s learning how to fail forward.
P.S. I’ve got a weekly newsletter where I dig up stories of how regular people started and grew their businesses— Plus the marketing hacks that won them customers. Then, I share those insights with you. I would love for you to join us here
Shoot me a DM if you want to share your story or visit this page to submit your information 💌
- h/t Clicks.so, Starter Story ⇢ Great resources
When Ramsey looks back on the past three years, he realizes that the journey has been more about learning and evolving than anything else. The road to building a sustainable business wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. He’s learned how to find product-market fit (PMF), how to be frugal, and how to build a business that can weather the storms of startup life.
His advice to anyone starting a business? Keep going. Learn from your mistakes. And when the time comes, pivot and adapt. Because the key to success in business isn’t avoiding failure—it’s learning how to fail forward.
P.S. I’ve got a weekly newsletter where I dig up stories of how regular people started and grew their businesses— Plus the marketing hacks that won them customers. Then, I share those insights with you. I would love for you to join us here
Shoot me a DM if you want to share your story or visit this page to submit your information 💌
- h/t Clicks.so, Starter Story ⇢ Great resources
