Johnson Products founded 1954
Johnson Products, makers of Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, was founded in 1954 and became one of Soul Train's earliest and longest-running sponsors.
Where this was said
Going National: Chicago to LA and the Dual-Show Era
At 23:10 · chapter starts 23:02
The Chicago success was undeniable, but Don Cornelius had bigger ambitions. In 1971, he relocated to Los Angeles to produce Soul Train as a nationally syndicated, full-color show — one that would reach every city in America that chose to air it. But here's what's remarkable: he didn't shut down the original Chicago version. For approximately five years, both ran simultaneously — the local black-and-white weekday version and the national color weekend show. Cornelius's routine was extraordinary: fly to LA on Fridays, shoot two episodes Saturday and two on Sunday, fly back to Chicago for the Monday afternoon broadcast. Josh notes that TV syndication itself was a revolutionary model — selling directly to local stations rather than through a major network — and that Soul Train's embrace of it gave Cornelius total creative control in addition to total ownership.
Similar snapshots
$13K MRR with $0 marketing spend
Bhanu grew SiteGPT to $13,000 monthly recurring revenue entirely through organic channels, spending nothing on paid marketing.
1 million website visitors total
More than 1 million people have visited SiteGPT's website since launch in March 2023, all through organic channels.
90% of Google traffic from free tools
Approximately 90% of SiteGPT's Google search traffic comes from the free tools Bhanu built, not the main product pages.
Sold first SaaS for $250,000
Bhanu sold his first SaaS product, Feather, for $250,000 so he could focus fully on the faster-growing SiteGPT.
$500K total revenue since launch
SiteGPT has generated approximately $500,000 in total revenue since its launch in March 2023.
SiteGPT LTV ~$1,700–$1,800
The average customer lifetime value for SiteGPT is approximately $1,700 to $1,800, which Bhanu considers unusually high.
50,000 monthly visitors
SiteGPT receives around 50,000 visitors per month, of which about 200 convert to leads and 60 start free trials.
SiteGPT reached $10K MRR in month 1
SiteGPT hit $10,000 MRR within its very first month of launch, driven largely by early traction in the AI chatbot space.
US sports betting revenue: $17B in 2025
Sports betting raked in nearly $17 billion in gross gaming revenue in the US in 2025, up 23% from 2024, more than double the $8 billion recorded in 2022.
