TRMNL
usetrmnl.com
E-ink desk display that shows calendars, metrics and dashboards via an open plugin ecosystem.
Ryan Kulp
Bootstrapper who grew and sold Fomo, now building the TRMNL e-ink dashboard
About Ryan Kulp
Ryan Kulp is a developer and bootstrapped founder best known for buying and growing Fomo, a social proof notification tool for e-commerce and SaaS websites. In 2016 he and partner Justin Mares acquired a small Shopify app called Notify with seller financing while it made about $15K a month, rebranded it as Fomo after buying the premium Fomo.com domain, and roughly doubled revenue within months.
Fomo grew to around $1M ARR without outside funding. Ryan stepped back as CEO in 2020 and in 2022 sold the business to Relay Commerce. He has also co-founded Fera, a reviews and social proof platform for online stores, and has spoken openly about the limits and freedoms of bootstrapping.
His newest company is TRMNL, an e-ink display that shows calendars, metrics and other dashboards on your desk with a plugin ecosystem built by developers. It was his first hardware product and brought in about $200K within its first five months after launching in June.
Products by Ryan Kulp
Exit story
Ryan Kulp felt it was time to hand the business to new owners with more resources and skills, having concluded that his team's strength was growing a product from hundreds to a few thousand customers.
by Ryan Kulp
- First product
- Exit
- Launch / milestone
- Started 2016
- 2016First product: Launched Fomo
- 2016Milestone: Bought Notify (~$15K/mo), rebranded as Fomo
- 2020Milestone: Stepped down as Fomo CEO at ~$1M ARR
- 2022Exit: Sold Fomo to Relay Commerce
- 2024Launch: Launched TRMNL, his first hardware product
Timeline
- 2016 — Bought Notify (about $15K/mo) with Justin Mares and rebranded it as Fomo.
- 2020 — Stepped down as Fomo CEO with the business around $1M ARR.
- 2022 — Sold Fomo to Relay Commerce.
- 2024 — Launched TRMNL, his first hardware product.
How Ryan builds
- Buying a small existing product can be faster than starting from zero.
- Bootstrap and keep control, but know when a partner can take it further.
- Build calm, quietly profitable businesses.
Ryan Kulp FAQ
What is Ryan Kulp known for?
He co-acquired and grew Fomo, a social proof notification tool, to about $1M ARR before selling it to Relay Commerce in 2022, and now builds TRMNL.
What is TRMNL?
TRMNL is an e-ink desk display from Ryan Kulp's team that shows calendars, stats and other dashboards through plugins.
Was Fomo bootstrapped?
Yes. Fomo was bought with seller financing and grown without venture capital.
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