yihui-dev/how-profitable-startups-grow

What it is

This repository is a browsable directory of 742 startups, each with a monthly recurring revenue (MRR) band, a 30-day growth marker, category, builder account and a short growth question. Tables are split into the top 100 by revenue, fastest growing, recently added and category views, so you can scan comparable companies without opening each one. It suits founders, indie hackers and analysts studying how small software businesses reach and grow revenue.

Revenue is deliberately bucketed rather than exact: under $10K, $10K–30K, $30K–50K, $50K–100K and ≥$100K. Growth is shown as ▲▲ for +20% or more, ▲ for +5% to +20%, → for −5% to +5%, ▼ for a drop over 5%, and — for unknown or stale data. Builders are listed by X account, with follower counts rounded.

Quick start

1. Open the repository README and pick a section from Contents: Top 100 by revenue, Fastest growing, Recently added or By category.
2. Pick a startup row and read its MRR band, growth marker, category and builder. A question such as “How does a free open-source product turn users into subscribers?” hints at the subject of its full report.
3. For the documented methodology behind bands and arrows, see How to read the tables; for sourcing and update cadence, see the FAQ.
4. To filter and sort the whole dataset, use the BizPeel library links for MRR, growth or categories such as developer tools and APIs.
5. For a specific company, follow its report link from the table, for example the Postiz report.

What the tables do and do not contain

The README calls the tables “a map of where to look”: exact MRR, growth and traffic figures, plus their evidence, sit in each startup’s report on BizPeel. The repository itself gives bands and directional growth, not the underlying numbers or a downloadable dataset. It is a reading and filtering aid, not an analytics tool.

Constraints

Revenue is compiled from publicly shared information and shown only as a band, so it cannot be used as an audited financial figure. Growth markers describe MRR change over the last 30 days, not user or traffic growth. Rows marked — mean unknown or stale data rather than zero. Tables update weekly, and the badge date reflects the newest revenue data; the excerpt shows data as of 2026-11-05. Listing is tied to a published BizPeel report, and new suggestions go through BizPeel contact. Code is MIT-licensed, while table content is © BizPeel and may be linked or quoted with attribution.

HotRepo's take

On the HotRepo new-project board for JavaScript on 2026-11-05, the repository was recorded with 121 stars, 7 forks and an 18-star gain over the measured window. The star curve for that day rose from 103 to 121 across three hourly samples. That is a short observation window and only supports the fact of early attention, not a trend. The substantive tension is structural: the repository promises a startup growth dataset, but the useful evidence lives on BizPeel, so its value as a GitHub project depends on whether the published directory alone is enough for you.