The 6th of July 2019. We hit $1,000,000 in revenue.
You may think that since so many companies have done it before us, it’s an easy task. It’s not. Not even remotely. But after six startups over eight years, I’d learned a thing or two about being resourceful with very little capital.
This is the story of how AvalonKing — an automotive care brand — got there.
The beginning
It’s February 2018. I just landed in Alicante to meet my business partner David. But first, how we met.
Short version: we found each other in a Facebook Mastermind Group for entrepreneurs. After talking through ideas for a few weeks, we got the idea for AvalonKing. I flew to Düsseldorf with my laptop, a rough business plan, and a few hours before my return flight. A few days later we formed an LLC and got started.
We’d spotted something interesting in automotive care data from a previous business: ceramic coating was having a moment. Professionally applied ceramic coatings cost $750 on the cheap end and $2,000+ on the expensive end. Most people couldn’t justify that. We believed we could simplify it — make it DIY-friendly, cost-effective, and actually enjoyable to use.
After months of working with scientists, labs, and manufacturers, we had a product. We were so eager to get it out that a lot of our market analysis was subpar. We assumed people would see what we saw. They didn’t. That turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened to us.
Understanding the audience
When selling something, you have to understand who your customer is, why they need what you have, and most importantly — how it’ll make them feel.
You don’t sell the sausage. You sell the sizzle.
We had been selling the sausage.
A feature describes what a product does. A benefit describes how it makes someone feel. Think about the last time you bought a smartphone. You didn’t buy it because of the processor. You bought it because of how it made you feel. Part of something.
We went back through data, third-party analysis, and customer surveys. We built audience personas. We changed how we talked about the product entirely — from technical specs to empowerment. You can get professional results at home. That was the story.
The pivot that changed everything
When we officially launched in April 2018, we were experimenting everywhere — Facebook Ads, Google, Instagram, YouTube, Quora.
Then one day a YouTuber reviewed our product without us asking. Traffic went from a steady 100-150 visitors a day to 100 people on the site simultaneously. Sales of $1,704 in a single day. Our best day ever to that point.
The day after was even better. $3,074.
We knew this was our way in. We went all-in on YouTube influencer relationships. It was slow at first — unknown brand, skeptical creators, hard to get anyone to take a chance. But as more people reviewed the product, credibility compounded. One good review made the next one easier to get.
From September to October our revenue jumped from $20,733 to $78,325. A 277% month-over-month increase. That momentum felt like nothing I’d experienced before.
Scaling it properly
Once we had the model working, we expanded it. We reached out to review sites and comparison articles, offering a commission-based ambassador program. We focused on content creators who were genuinely passionate rather than just transactional.
In March we hit $121,388. April, $172,584. And a few months after that — $1,000,000.
We didn’t celebrate much. Our eyes were already on the next goal.
What I learned
Think about how you communicate. Concise, clear communication isn’t just a nice-to-have — it compounds across a team. If I can get a message across in 5 minutes instead of 10 to a team of 10 people, that’s 50 minutes saved. Every day.
Plans are educated guesses. I’ve seen overly detailed business plans kill companies. Make a plan, but hold it loosely. The ability to adapt is one of the few real advantages a small company has over a big one. Don’t let an outdated plan be the thing that sinks you.
Be unique, wholeheartedly. You can’t successfully cater to everyone. We chose to cater specifically to everyday DIYers who care about their car but can’t afford professional detailing. We challenged the status quo for them. That specificity is why our customers review us close to a perfect score.
If it can’t be tracked, it can’t be scaled. Data is always available if you know where to look. The companies that figure this out early consistently outperform the ones that don’t. Not because they’re smarter — because they’re making decisions with better information.
Building a business is not easy. Nine out of ten fail. But don’t let that stop you from starting.
I had to go through six startups before one worked. I felt like a loser more than once. The failures were the education.
I’m just a regular guy from Denmark with no formal education and no special talent. I just want this really f***ing bad. If I can do it, you can too.