Starter Story I cloned 2 apps and made $30M | Starter Story
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Oct 31, 2025 Will Cannon, co-founder of Uplead and Signaturely, shares his journey of cloning successful software models to achieve $30M in revenue. He discusses his 'aha moment' while shifting from the mortgage business to providing verified B2B data. Will reveals his four-step framework for entering proven markets, including tips for creating simpler e-signature tools. He also outlines high-potential ideas for 2025 and the cold email strategy that skyrocketed Uplead's growth. Persistence and big goals are key to navigating failures on the path to success.
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From Mortgage Boom To Data Business
- Will started a mortgage company at 19, rode the 2005–2007 boom, then lost everything in the crash.
- He pivoted into selling lists and building an agency, which seeded his later SaaS ideas.
Build From Daily Operational Pain
- Will discovered product ideas from daily operational pain: poor data quality for outreach lists.
- He realized building a tool to verify and export real-time contacts would remove repeated manual work.
Seeing Simplicity As A Market Gap
- In 2020 Will noticed document signing moved online and DocuSign felt too complex.
- He built Signaturely as a simple, grandmother-friendly e-signature alternative and found proven market demand.