Built a Skype alternative in a weekend to $14K MRR

2025-11-01
4 min read
https://www.yadaphone.com/

Summary

After Microsoft announced Skype's shutdown, Denis Yurchak launched Yaphone—a browser-based, pay-as-you-go international calling tool—within days, growing to 10,000 users, 4,500 paying customers, 20 enterprise clients, and ~$14K MRR in seven months through timely Reddit launches, SEO outreach to 'Skype alternative' articles, and a quick B2B offering.

Tech Stack & Tools

Next.js (full-stack app)
Cursor (coding + copy, internal tooling)
Vercel (hosting)
Stripe (payments)
Twilio (telephony; ~35% revenue cost)
Ahrefs (keyword research)

The Business

Yaphone is a browser-based VOIP dialer enabling cheap international calls to mobile and landline numbers using a prepaid credit model, targeting travelers, expats, and call-heavy businesses seeking a lightweight Skype replacement.

How It Makes Money

Revenue comes from prepaid credits for outbound and inbound calling, plus enterprise plans that allow organizations to share a central balance across users.

Consumer prepaid credits (pay-as-you-go) with top-ups as needed.
Enterprise accounts with shared balances and recurring usage (one cited client pays about $1,000/month).

Why It Works

Timing: Launch aligned with Skype's shutdown, driving immediate demand for alternatives and viral attention.
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go credits beat typical $30+/seat subscriptions for light or variable usage.
Distribution: Reddit-first launch strategy and targeted entrepreneur subreddits yielded instant sales and early traction.
SEO arbitrage: Outreach to high-authority articles ranking for 'Skype alternative' to get listed or replace Skype mentions.
Focused MVP: Ship fast with a clean web dialer and robust outbound calling as the core, iterating from real user feedback.

Key Lessons

Build in proven markets with slow, legacy competitors; win on speed, UX, and narrative.
Leverage news shocks to capture search, social, and referral momentum quickly.
Start SEO on day one; small technical issues like sitemap or www can stall rankings for months.
Talk to every early payer to segment users, catch issues, and preempt negative reviews.
Offer B2B early; enterprise checks are larger and churn is lower, stabilizing MRR.

Costs Breakdown

Twilio telephony: about 35% of monthly earnings.
Vercel: hosting, $20 monthly.
Stripe: payment processing, standard fees, 3% of credit purchases
Ahrefs: keyword research subscription.

Source

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