Heroku Startups

Store Mapper was a bootstrapped micro-SaaS that provided store locator functionality for e-commerce merchants, built by Tyler Trinkus over five years (2011-2016). Starting with an MVP coded on a 30-hour flight, the product grew from 5 paying customers in the first 24 hours to $40K MRR through platform parasitism (Shopify App Store), organic search, and a viral referral loop. Tyler maintained <1% monthly churn by obsessively optimizing onboarding, providing exceptional customer service, and adding features only when necessary—eventually selling the profitable, sustainable business after five years.

Nathan Contney is an experienced serial entrepreneur who has founded or co-founded multiple startups including Inkling (a prediction market platform acquired and still operating), CityPosh (a gamified advertising platform that failed), and Draft (a writing application built as a solo founder). He now serves as CEO of HiRISE, a CRM application originally developed by Basecamp (formerly 37 Signals). Contney emphasizes the importance of the 'done is better than perfect' philosophy and building products to solve personal pain points, using cycles and momentum to maintain productivity.