Card-Ripping Apps Make $25M a Month With Instant Buybacks
How card-ripping apps make $25M a month by buying back unwanted digital cards before shipping them.
AI proof businesses worth building in 2027
With Sam Parr, Shaan Puri · Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss business models and revenue engines that remain resilient against AI automation, emphasizing high-trust communities, peer advisory groups, and enthusiast marketplaces. They analyze the monetization power of 'whales' across mobile gaming, digital collectibles, and mystery-box mechanics like pack ripping. Finally, they examine ultra-profitable utility apps like Private Photo Vault and break down how hackers leveraged DeFi protocols in a massive cryptocurrency exchange exploit.
Key takeaways
- Collector Crypt grew its revenue from $50,000 a month to $25 million a month by digitizing physical trading card packs and adding an instant buyback mechanism. Read more →
- Moda Communities runs 23 Facebook groups dedicated to buying and selling luxury watches, collector cars, gold, and jewelry, with 600,000 members across the network. Read more →
- Candy Crush records roughly 82 million monthly active players, but just 4% of those users generate the entire revenue of the game. Read more →
3 articles from this episode
Moda Communities Makes Millions from High-Trust Groups
How Moda Communities turned 23 Facebook groups into a $5M business by charging dealers up to $10,000 to reach vetted luxury buyers.
Why 4% of Candy Crush Players Pay for Everyone Else
Shaan Puri explains why mobile games and marketplaces rely on whales, and why uncapped spending drives digital economies.
More My First Million episodes
- $100M hedge fund manager: Do not make the mistake of dying richNov 8 · 4 articles
- Ex-Amazon VP tells us what it’s really like working with Jeff BezosNov 1 · 6 articles
- How to find your arbitrage (from the guy who’s done it 3x)Nov 1 · 5 articles
- 2 business ideas, moats and the best stuff we found on XOct 25 · 6 articles