The Story
Pat flew to Austin, TX to spend 24 hours with three Roblox millionaires - Cole, Ian, and Jake - who all live in the same apartment building and make millions from Roblox games and services.
Cole started playing Roblox at age 8-9 in 2013 and skipped college to go full-time at 18. He's now one of the top 50 biggest Roblox developers in the world with 1 million daily active users across his games. His main game "Hide or Die" makes $45K/month, and with consulting work for other developers, he's on track for $70K/month.
Ian is Cole's twin brother who made a game called "Bake the Baby" (later renamed "Bathe the Baby") during winter break in college. It went viral - IShowSpeed played it, generating around 100 million views. He dropped out of college after the game blew up. It now has 150K daily active users and makes $25K/month.
Jake runs Vector 3, a marketing agency for brands coming to Roblox. They've worked with Nicki Minaj and Spongebob, creating trailers and social media campaigns. They've made 450+ videos with over 100 million views. The agency does $36K/month with $10-15K in costs.
The Roblox Opportunity
Platform Stats
- •400 million monthly active users
- •1 in 2 kids under 16 in the US play Roblox every day
- •Kids spend 2x more time on Roblox than TikTok
- •Half the time kids are on TikTok, they're finding their next Roblox game
- •Mr. Beast is now making games on Roblox - a sign of where things are going
Why It's Growing
- •New demographics being unlocked (e.g., "Dress to Impress" brought in older girls - over 1 million concurrent players, 1 billion+ plays)
- •Kids growing up on Roblox continue playing as they age
- •Platform keeps expanding to cover all demographics
Cole's Game: Hide or Die
Business Model
- •Top 100 game on Roblox
- •~1 million daily active users
- •$45K/month from in-game purchases
- •50/50 split with programmer/business partner
- •~$5K/month on contractors (modelers, graphics)
The Failure Before Success
- •Spent $300K and 3 years on a game that failed
- •Tried to remake all the best games into one "grand thing"
- •Watched his brother Ian make Bake the Baby in a winter break and succeed
- •Lesson learned: "Test first, then build. Don't build then test."
- •Made Hide or Die in 2 weeks with lower expectations - it took off
The Formula for Roblox Success
Three Pillars
- •Clickable - Is the game title/concept dramatic or unique enough to click?
- •"Bake the Baby" was crazy enough to go viral
- •"Hide or Die" is dramatic and attention-grabbing
- •Social - Can you play with friends?
- •Roblox is all about playing with friends
- •Games playable with or against friends perform better
- •Replayable - Is there curiosity to come back?
- •Build progression systems (level 10 → level 100 to unlock content)
- •Create curiosity about what's behind the next door
- •Same psychology as YouTube videos
Ian's Game: Bathe the Baby
Business Model
- •150K daily active users (top 200 game)
- •$25K/month revenue
- •Average revenue per paying user: ~$1.50 (very high)
- •Revenue from daily shops (skins like pigeon, cow) and coins for abilities
- •50/50 split with business partner
- •~$5K/month in brand deals
Jake's Agency: Vector 3
Business Model
- •Marketing agency for brands entering Roblox
- •Creates trailers, social media campaigns, video content
- •$36K/month revenue
- •$10-15K/month in costs (2 full-time employees + contractors)
- •95% of clients come from LinkedIn
How He Built It
- •Started playing Roblox in 2011 (14 years ago)
- •Bounced between interests: graphic design, working in Roblox cafes, programming
- •Made montage edits in middle school - discovered love for video production
- •The editors from those middle school days now work at his company
Client Acquisition Strategy
- •Built LinkedIn presence with educational content and portfolio
- •No cold outreach or cold calls
- •Uses paid consulting calls as lead generation
- •"I'm getting paid for the lead" - consulting converts to execution contracts
Operations
- •Runs remotely via Discord
- •45-step templated project plan for each trailer
- •Every step has an SOP with recorded video instructions
Day in the Life
Work Philosophy
- •"You're either working or you're resting - there's no in between"
- •Work 4-5 hours of focused deep work
- •No phones during work time
- •Sit outside at sunset with no phones, just hanging out
- •Creating space for thoughts makes you a 10x better entrepreneur
Finding Your People
- •Cole and Jake met online, scheduled weekly Google Calendar calls just to talk
- •"It takes awkwardness" - embrace scheduling conversations
- •Set clear boundaries: friends vs. business relationships
- •"These are my people that I would do anything for and vice versa"
Key Advice
For Aspiring Roblox Developers
- •Expect it to take a few attempts to hit a game
- •Test ideas quickly before investing heavily
- •Focus on clickability, social features, and replayability
For Building Any Business
- •Take everything that interests you and put your head down
- •Get a little better than average, see if you enjoy it
- •Work as a freelancer, build expertise
- •Don't think about building a business - just do the thing
- •"I bounced around between a hundred different skills. The difference was that because I did them all, I know what I like and how to be good at it."
Resources
- •Follow Cole: https://x.com/1Coal
- •Follow Ian: https://x.com/Vamonoz4
- •Follow Jake: https://x.com/cheekyvisuals