YOU’RE OVERPAYING FOR YOUR PHONE BILL—HE BUILT A $1 BILLION BUSINESS MAKING IT FREE 👀
Are you getting ripped off on your cell phone bill? On this episode of Earn Your Leisure, we sit down with TextNow founder Derek Ting to break down how he built a free mobile phone service that has generated $1 billion in lifetime revenue. From a backdoor hack to its first million users through word of mouth, Derek shares the story behind TextNow and what it takes to serve 10 million active users while challenging the telecom industry. We explore his entrepreneurial journey, from building a BitTorrent tracker at 15 to turning $8,000 into $80,000 through stock investing. Derek explains why building products matters more than chasing investors—and the mindset behind driving a $350,000 car while refusing to pay for parking. We also dive into how AI is changing the way people learn programming and build businesses. Derek shares his perspective on vibe coding, why AI creates a competitive advantage for tech companies, and whether it represents a bigger threat or opportunity. Plus, we discuss what the next 10 years could look like as AI reshapes how we work and live. Chapters: Chapters 00:00 Opening highlights 01:36 Introducing Derek Ting and TextNow 02:44 How TextNow service works 04:58 Starting TextNow in college 07:29 Early texting technology and iPod users 09:34 Reducing phone bills and switching carriers 13:32 Funding free service with ads 14:26 First business and BitTorrent 18:00 Apple Card paid partnership 19:27 Learning to code and choosing entrepreneurship 22:29 Learning business operations 23:10 Fundraising, bootstrapping and profitability 27:00 AI tools and product development 29:34 AI safeguards and the future of work 32:35 Advertising revenue and pricing evolution 36:27 Customer acquisition and platform fees 38:00 Carrier competition and the AT&T partnership 39:07 Scaling infrastructure for millions of users 41:55 Apple stock and investing lessons 44:50 Frugality, spending and finding value 50:48 Revisiting email-to-text technology 52:12 Using TextNow internationally 52:52 Marketing campaign and personal interests 54:41 Future tools for small businesses 57:42 Phone prices, consolidation and network upgrades 1:02:07 Phone health concerns and screen time 1:03:26 Growth goals and lower-cost data 1:04:14 Second lines and replacing existing service 1:07:00 Saving on family phone plans 1:08:02 Closing and where to find TextNow#EarnYourLeisure #TextNow #DerekTing #Entrepreneurship #Business #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Tech #Investing #VibeCoding #Telecom Subscribe to EYL - https://bit.ly/4jnU7Mr Subscribe to EYLClips - https://bit.ly/4yqBw6r Watch more from the EYL Network: Earn Your Leisure - https://bit.ly/4e6VJ9S Market Mondays - https://bit.ly/4zzN7kt Black Out - https://bit.ly/3VPSai2 EYL Highlights - https://bit.ly/4yqCvn9 EYL Clips - https://bit.ly/3Wqpz32 Market Monday Clips - https://bit.ly/4zBtFnx Black Out Clips - https://bit.ly/4zxnr7Z Join the EYL community for deeper training and a more detailed approach: https://www.eyluniversity.com Join the number one stock club in the world: https://www.ianinvest.com #earnyourleisure See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.