Thread by @agazdecki

How did this college dropout turn $150 into a $2.5 million media business in just 3 years?

Here’s the story:

When you hear the word “cryptocurrency”, what springs to mind? Bitcoin? Volatility? Fad?

Whatever your preconceptions, you can’t deny its impact on the world economy.

From helping Venezuelans escape hyperinflation to making overnight millionaires, cryptocurrency has created wealth and opportunity – with a generous dash of controversy – for millions around the globe.

Himanshu Kumar (@himanshu1332), a college drop-out from the Indian city of Bengaluru (Bangalore), was one of those quick to spot an opportunity.

Crypto was on everyone’s lips but few understood it. Could he help educate people in this much-maligned and misunderstood industry?

With just $150 in his bank account and a healthy dose of introspection, Himanshu stepped into the breach.

Today, Himanshu runs AMB Crypto (@CryptoAmb), a global media company that serves digestible, unbiased cryptocurrency news to traders, enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs.

He employs 15 graduate journalists, has a newsletter with thousands of subscribers, and over 3 million visitors to the website every month.

Best of all, that $150 is now an annual income of over $2.5 million.

While these numbers make great soundbites, they do little to reflect the profound obstacles that stood in Himanshu’s way.

Not only was he tasked with demystifying a complex, fast-evolving technology but he would also battle Google algorithms, legal challenges, and a volatile market in which people’s attention waxed and waned faster than the tides.

How did he make it?

Himanshu was a student of enormous potential. He applied to and passed the prestigious and notoriously difficult India Institute of Technology entrance exam, which 1.5 million people take every year and only about 1% pass.

But after a year of study, he became disillusioned, finding the syllabus uninspiring and too stuck in the past, and quit to reflect on his next move.

After a month of meditation, Himanshu’s thoughts coalesced around the world of cryptocurrency.

“I remember searching Google for what was trending at that time,” Himanshu said. “I read about space, mars, cryptocurrencies, and lots of other ideas.”

“I started freelancing, helping companies with SEO,” Himanshu said. “From this, I got my first job in 2017 as head of SEO for an education startup.

There, I met my co-founder Jeevan Thomas (@thejeevanator), who’d spent around eight years in media and journalism. He had worked for Times of India which is one of the biggest publications here.”

Himanshu and Jeevan founded AMB Crypto in 2018.

The year before, bitcoin, one of the first cryptocurrencies to capture the public’s attention, hit an all-time high of around $20,000 (it’s since tripled that record, but that’s another story!).

Just days into 2018, however, as crypto mania swept the globe, the market crashed. Prices plunged by up to 65 percent.

“In 2017, when bitcoin reached $17,000, we thought this was going to be big,” Himanshu said.

“We launched our site and both Jeevan and I handed in our notice at our jobs. I had just $150 in my bank account and spent $50 on the domain.”

Then, India threatened to ban cryptocurrencies.

“We didn’t know if it was possible to report about cryptocurrencies if India banned them. But when we did the research, we realized India hadn’t banned cryptos just said they weren’t legal tender.”

With room to report, all that remained was monetization.

The clock was ticking on that meager seed of $150. They had about a month’s runway to prove a viable business model.

They’d been mulling advertising and sponsored posts when a thought occurred to Himanshu.

Why not share the stories they were writing with the crypto projects to see if they’d pay for them?

“We’d written this piece about a crypto project and thought ‘Why don’t we just ask the project if they’d pay us for coverage?’

So we did. We sent an email to the project founder asking for a paid sponsorship deal. To our surprise, they said yes.”

That $5,000 deal was the start of an outreach campaign that enjoyed a 30-40 percent success rate.

They became a trusted voice in the market, ending 2018 with a fat $250,000 in revenue.

Want to read the rest of the story on how AMB Crypto (@CryptoAmb) scaled to $2.5 million? Read the full story on @Bootstraprs. bootstrappers.com/how-this-colle…