-
Valentin Hinov
- Founder of Thankbox
- $30,000 monthly revenue
- Published July 1, 2024 by Fardeen Khan
- Reviewed and edited by Niall Doherty
Valentin Hinov is the founder of Thankbox which he describes as…
An online appreciation platform… It’s used mostly within businesses as a way to appreciate staff occasions – events like birthdays, farewells and retirements.
It makes it super easy to set up a card for someone and let the whole team add messages and contribute funds for a gift – people can add GIFs, videos & photos.
See a sample here 
In a recent interview, Valentin reveals…
It’s currently making about $30-35k a month – there’s a lot of seasonality when it comes to card sending so some months are stronger than others… The business model is still very much B2C (business to consumer) with individual sales.
The cost for the consumer is $5.99 per card, or they can get discounts for buying bulk 
The origin story…
Before working on Thankbox I spent 2 years building a social media app with no clear goal or direction – it never made any money or attracted investment…
Once that folded I told myself that whatever I end up doing next should only take a couple months to put together and it will be a paid product from the start.
Valentin adds…
I live in Britain where everyone in the office gives cards to each other for things like birthdays, someone working 10 years at the company or someone moving job.
Everyone passes around the card and signs it but it was always a bit awkward, especially in small offices where it’s hard to keep it a surprise! Also, teammates working remotely can’t take part.
In late 2019 I decided there must be an easier way. I had a look and there were no solutions covering both cash collection for gifts as well as the message to the recipient. That’s when I realised, this is something I can make!
Initial traction…
I started tweeting about Thankbox and my partner and I started posting on LinkedIn as soon as the development kicked off in March 2020. We didn’t have huge followings but some people noticed it and became interested…
We actually had our very first sale just an hour after launching! It’s a moment I’ll never forget – making my first £4.99 online!
For the first 6 months I knew where every single Thankbox customer came from because they were either people me or my partner knew or people that our contacts had recommended us to. It wasn’t making much money but the initial feedback was invaluable to help build out the core features the product needed.
Then…
In late 2020 after giving our landing page a much-needed makeover we started running search ads and immediately saw an uptick. We went from selling 100 cards a month to 500 the next, to 1500 the one after that.
It has since grown into a $30k/month business 
I love that Valentin saw an opportunity to create an e-card tool after witnessing the British culture of awkwardly passing cards around the office.
What other awkward moments do you experience at work or elsewhere? 
Could you come up with a product or service to make them easier?
The goal of our Online Money Maker profiles is to show you all the different ways people make money online. We strive to ensure that each profile is realistic – no hype, no scams – so you can see what it really takes to build each type of business.
If you'd like to hear when we publish new profiles, subscribe to our free newsletter below. Each edition is packed with tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. We send it out every Tuesday and Friday to 23,116 legendary subscribers.
Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.
With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.
Here’s how:
- We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.
- We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.
- We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.
- If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.
If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.
Is this kind of business right for you?
Check out our framework to see the 19 types and 6 levels of online business, and discover which is best for you.
Other ways to make money online
There are many other ways to make money online, to work from home or anywhere in the world.