Niche Pursuits Podcast: Find Your Next "Niche" Business Idea!

At just 21, Maddox Schmidlkofer has already grown a gaming website to $1,000 a day and sold it for $120,000, after several earlier projects failed to take off. Now he's building Tallow, a consumer app generating less than $2,000 per month as he works toward a $4,000 monthly revenue goal.
 
Maddox shares why he now spends roughly 80% of his time on marketing, how short-form content fueled his previous success, and what makes growing an app so different. He also explains why he has set an October 31 deadline to decide how much longer to pursue Tallow.
 
 
Sponsor: Quiet Light Get a free, confidential valuation at https://quietlight.com/!
 
 
Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter
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Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper
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Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative
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Links & Resources
Learn more about Maddox's projects: https://maddoxschmidlkofer.com/
Check out Tallow: https://tallow.app/
 
 
- You can learn more about me and get additional website tips at: https://www.nichepursuits.com
- You can learn about optimizing your site with internal links using a WordPress Plugin I created right here: https://www.linkwhisper.com
 
Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing to the main Niche Pursuits YouTube channel by clicking here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/youtube

Jason Zigelbaum has grown Zigpoll into a one-person SaaS generating about $142,000 in MRR, or roughly $1.7 million in annualized revenue. In this episode, he shares how 90% of the business comes through the Shopify App Store and why reviews, churn reduction, onboarding, and customer feedback have driven much of its growth.
 
Jason also explains how he uses AI across product development, marketing, design, and data analysis while still handling customer support himself. We also discuss pricing, annual plans, moving upmarket, and his plans to take Zigpoll from $2 million toward $4 million in annual revenue.
 
 
Sponsor: Quiet Light
Get a free, confidential valuation at https://quietlight.com/!
 
 
Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Links & Resources
Learn more about Zigpoll: https://www.zigpoll.com/
Install Zigpoll: https://apps.shopify.com/zigpoll
Connect With Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-zigelbaum 
 
 
- You can learn more about me and get additional website tips at: https://www.nichepursuits.com
- You can learn about optimizing your site with internal links using a WordPress Plugin I created right here: https://www.linkwhisper.com
 
Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing to the main Niche Pursuits YouTube channel by clicking here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/youtube

In this episode, Jared Bauman talks with Besmir Bregasi, founder of ZeroRank, about what is driving LLM citations in 2026 and why Reddit, X, YouTube, and fresh off-site mentions matter so much. Besmir shares ZeroRank data on user-generated content, local AI visibility, and the on-site factors that still support citation potential.
He also explains how ZeroRank's first version was built in three months, grew past 1,000 customers through AppSumo, and reached mid-six figures in ARR. They also discuss AppSumo economics, recurring revenue, referrals, affiliates, and ZeroRank's next growth phase.
 
 
Sponsor: Quiet Light Get a free, confidential valuation at https://quietlight.com/!
 
 
Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Links & Resources
Check out ZeroRank: https://zerorank.ai/
Learn more about LanderLab: https://landerlab.io/
 
 
- You can learn more about me and get additional website tips at: https://www.nichepursuits.com
- You can learn about optimizing your site with internal links using a WordPress Plugin I created right here: https://www.linkwhisper.com
 
Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing to the main Niche Pursuits YouTube channel by clicking here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/youtube

Ben Borton, co-founder and CRO of PodPlay, shares how the company grew from operating sports venues into a platform used across 290 locations with more than 1.8 million end customers. He explains how founder-led sales, word of mouth, and organic content helped PodPlay compete with companies that had years of market experience.
Ben also breaks down how more than two million captured replays turned into 24 million social media views through partnerships and user-generated content. Plus, he shares why PodPlay still invests heavily in search-focused content and how that strategy contributes to a roughly 40% demo-to-customer conversion rate.
 
 
Disclaimer: We're aware of the audio issues on this one. We did everything we could to clean it up, and ultimately felt the conversation was too valuable not to share.
 
 
Sponsor: Quiet Light
Get a free, confidential valuation at https://quietlight.com/!
 
 
Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Links & Resources
Learn more about PodPlay: https://podplay.app/
 
 
- You can learn more about me and get additional website tips at: https://www.nichepursuits.com
- You can learn about optimizing your site with internal links using a WordPress Plugin I created right here: https://www.linkwhisper.com
 
Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing to the main Niche Pursuits YouTube channel by clicking here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/youtube

Natasha Tynes draws on 25 years of journalism experience to build a media business that generates leads through multiple online channels. In this episode, she breaks down how she uses Substack, LinkedIn, YouTube, and free versus paid content to attract potential clients and move them through her funnel.

She also shares how a new paid community fits into her strategy and why different platforms serve different purposes in her business. The conversation offers a closer look at how Natasha connects content, audience building, and multiple marketing channels to create leads and grow her service-based business.


Sponsor: Quiet Light Get a free, confidential valuation at https://quietlight.com/!


Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Links & Resources
Learn more about Natasha's writing work: https://natashatynes.substack.com/


- You can learn more about me and get additional website tips at: https://www.nichepursuits.com
- You can learn about optimizing your site with internal links using a WordPress Plugin I created right here: https://www.linkwhisper.com

Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing to the main Niche Pursuits YouTube channel by clicking here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/youtube