Privacy Search Profits
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DuckDuckGo built a profitable search engine focused on privacy by showing ads based on search terms rather than personal data. Started in 2008, it has grown to become the 7th most visited website in the US while maintaining user privacy.
Key Points:
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Core Value Proposition:
- Search without personal data tracking
- Ads targeted only to search terms, not user profiles
- Alternative to Google's data collection model
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Growth & Scale:
- Reached 100 billion searches in Q3 2022
- Currently has 0.63% market share
- Ranks as 7th most visited website in US
- More popular than Yahoo, Wikipedia, and Twitter
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Business Model:
- Shows ads based only on current search terms
- No personal data collection or tracking
- Highly profitable operation
- Recent $100M+ funding round was secondary (employee stock sales)
- Company doesn't need additional capital
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Operational Efficiency:
- Runs with relatively small team compared to Google
- Leverages efficient search business model
- Maintains profitability without extensive personal data collection
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.