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Directory-building software that replaces brittle data imports and helps operators turn niche listings into a recurring asset.
For directory software, the product and the proof can be the same thing: build one useful niche directory to show what the tool makes possible.
Fewer bars = easier, cheaper, or faster for an AI-assisted solo builder. Editorial judgments based on the case details.
Directory.ly is a directory-building tool Tim Stoddart created with his friend Chase. Tim said the product was doing about $2,000 per month at the time of the interview. He also uses it to build directories in healthcare, drawing on his local-search work with high-ticket healthcare clients. The product replaces a workflow that involved Python scripts, assembling large databases, and troubleshooting CSV imports into MySQL. Tim frames directory building as both software and a market-entry strategy: a useful directory can attract searchers, sell listings, and create qualified conversations for a service business. His broader model combines service, directory, and media so that leads and content can move between them. The revenue figure is founder-reported and describes the tool itself; it should not be confused with the revenue of Tim’s agency or his directory properties. The opportunity is strongest for an operator who understands a narrow local market and can supply useful, accurate listings.
For a directory-building tool, begin with people who already feel the cost of assembling and maintaining local listings: SEO consultants, niche publishers, and agencies serving fragmented industries.
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Data credibility: The roughly $2,000 per month figure is Tim Stoddart’s founder report about Directory.ly. The interview provides no account counts, plan mix, audited receipts, costs, or profit; do not combine the figure with his agency or directory properties.
Directory.ly is already a paid product at roughly $2,000 per month, according to its founder. For a vertical SaaS tool like this, the first dollar usually arrives when an operator has a directory project underway and can see that the software removes a painful manual task.
A directory tool can create a product loop when every customer project produces a better workflow, richer examples, and more visible directories that attract the next operator.
A small SaaS product can spend months between useful customer conversations, especially when the founder is also operating service work and building directories.
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