Turning a $5K Side Project into a $350K+ Per Year Business
About
ImprovMX is a service that enables individuals and businesses to set up email forwarding for their custom domain names.
The Team
In 2017, Antoine Minoux and Cyril Nicodeme purchased ImprovMX, a side project, for $5,000.
Recognizing its potential, they redesigned the product from scratch, introducing features like a management dashboard, multiple domain management, custom email aliases, and SMTP sending capabilities.
Business Model & Revenue
ImprovMX operates on a freemium model, offering a basic version with core features for free and a premium tier with advanced functionalities. The premium subscription, priced at $9 per month, provides benefits such as priority email delivery and an uptime guarantee.
As of 2025, ImprovMX reached $350K+ in ARR with 3,000+ paying customers and was acquired by another entrepreneur.
Distribution
ImprovMX's growth has been predominantly organic, driven by a combination of user referrals and search engine optimization (SEO):
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User Referrals: The free plan cultivated a community of ambassadors who actively promoted the service. Their genuine recommendations across various platforms significantly boosted ImprovMX's visibility.
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Organic SEO: By focusing on creating relevant content, such as setup guides for different providers, ImprovMX naturally attracted search engine traffic. This approach, devoid of aggressive SEO tactics, resonated well with search algorithms, enhancing their online presence.
Tech Stack
- Backend: Likely Python or Node.js
- Frontend: Vue.js
