Jon Yongfook

Singapore-based founder of Bannerbear, a bootstrapped image and video generation API^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}

BootstrappingSaaSDesign automationBuild in publicProduct design

Unclaimed profileLast verified Oct 2, 2026

About

Jon Yongfook is a designer and programmer based in Singapore and the founder of Bannerbear, an API that generates images, videos and PDFs from branded templates. He has worked as a designer and programmer for about 20 years.^{Source [3]}^{Source [1]}

By his own account he lived in Japan from 2001 to 2011 and in Singapore from 2011. In 2013 he started Beatrix, a self-funded social media SaaS, and ran it while living as a digital nomad across Southeast Asia. In 2014 he crowdfunded a book, the Growth Hacking Handbook, and mentored startups at Singapore Management University.^{Source [4]}^{Source [5]}^{Source [6]}

From early 2016 to mid 2018 he was Head of Digital Product & Design in Aviva's Digital Garage in Singapore. After leaving, he set out to launch 12 startups in 12 months; he shipped seven, sold two of them (Promomatic and Montage) to Respawn Ventures, and shut the others down.^{Source [7]}^{Source [8]}^{Source [9]}^{Source [10]}^{Source [11]}

He launched Bannerbear in January 2020 and grew it without funding, publishing open-startup metrics along the way. He reported $50K MRR in July 2023, and his X bio lists $81K MRR in October 2026; both are self-reported. He also runs redacted.to, a set of free in-browser redaction tools linked from his X profile.^{Source [12]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [1]}^{Source [13]}

Career

2013

2018

2018 to 2019

2018 to 2019

2018

2019

2019

2019

2020 to now

Company	Years	Role	Status
Bannerbear Founded Bannerbear in January 2020 and has run it as a bootstrapped, remote company headquartered in Singapore.^{Source [12]}^{Source [2]} Refocused the product from a banner generator to an image-generation API in March 2020.^{Source [12]}^{Source [11]} Ran it as an open startup, publishing milestone write-ups at $10K, $20K and $50K MRR (self-reported).^{Source [14]}^{Source [3]} Rebuilt the product as V5 with AI coding agents and added an MCP server for AI agents (2026).^{Source [15]} His X bio lists Bannerbear at $81K MRR in October 2026 (self-reported).^{Source [1]} Suggest a correction to Bannerbear	2020 to now	Founder^{Source [2]}^{Source [12]}	Active
Talkshow Built Talkshow, an async video tool for remote teams, ended his 12 startups challenge to focus on it, and shut it down in September 2019 after usage declined.^{Source [16]}^{Source [17]} Suggest a correction to Talkshow	2019	Founder^{Source [16]}^{Source [17]}	Shut down
Tropic Launched Tropic, a remote-team collaboration app, as startup #6 of his challenge; it was later shut down.^{Source [18]} Suggest a correction to Tropic	2019	Founder^{Source [18]}	Shut down
Hyperjump Launched Hyperjump, a form-digitization SaaS for banks and insurers, as startup #5; it was later shut down.^{Source [19]} Suggest a correction to Hyperjump	2019	Founder^{Source [19]}	Shut down
Tech Jobs Asia Launched Tech Jobs Asia, a curated tech job board, as startup #4; it was later shut down.^{Source [20]} Suggest a correction to Tech Jobs Asia	2018	Founder^{Source [20]}	Shut down
Montage Built Montage, a no-code wireframing tool, as startup #3 and sold it to Respawn Ventures in June 2019.^{Source [21]}^{Source [10]} Suggest a correction to Montage	2018 to 2019	Founder^{Source [21]}^{Source [10]}	Acquired
Promomatic Built Promomatic, an app store artwork tool that earned revenue from launch, as startup #2 and sold it to Respawn Ventures in June 2019.^{Source [22]}^{Source [10]} Suggest a correction to Promomatic	2018 to 2019	Founder^{Source [22]}^{Source [10]}	Acquired
Zipsell Released Zipsell, an open-source platform for selling digital downloads, as startup #1 of his 12 startups in 12 months challenge.^{Source [23]} Suggest a correction to Zipsell	2018	Founder^{Source [23]}	Shut down
Beatrix Founded Beatrix, a self-funded social media planning SaaS, in 2013 and ran it while traveling as a digital nomad.^{Source [5]}^{Source [4]} Launched it in August 2013 with plans from $29 a month.^{Source [24]} Reported it profitable with no outside funding by 2014.^{Source [25]} Suggest a correction to Beatrix	2013	Founder^{Source [5]}^{Source [24]}	Status unknown

Milestones

2026-09Wrote that Bannerbear V5 was rebuilt with AI coding agents and repositioned for AI agents.^{Source [15]}
2023-07Reported Bannerbear at $50K MRR (self-reported).^{Source [3]}
2021-05Featured on the Indie Hackers podcast, episode 208, after passing $10K MRR.^{Source [26]}
2020-03Relaunched Bannerbear as an image-generation API.^{Source [12]}
2020-01Launched Bannerbear.^{Source [12]}
2019-09Shut down Talkshow.^{Source [17]}
2019-06Sold Promomatic and Montage to Respawn Ventures.^{Source [10]}
2019-01Raised the bar on his challenge after three #1 Product of the Day launches on Product Hunt.^{Source [27]}
2018-09Began the 12 startups in 12 months challenge.^{Source [9]}
2018-07Left Aviva after two and a half years.^{Source [8]}
2016-02Joined Aviva as Head of Digital Product & Design.^{Source [7]}
2014-02Raised $12,775 in preorders for the Growth Hacking Handbook.^{Source [6]}
2013-08Launched Beatrix and began working as a digital nomad.^{Source [24]}^{Source [4]}

Boards, investments and other roles

Organization	Role	Years
Aviva (Digital Garage, Singapore)Other	Head of Digital Product & Design^{Source [7]}^{Source [8]}	2016 to 2018
Singapore Management UniversityAdvisor	Startup mentor^{Source [28]}^{Source [6]}	2014
True Incube ThailandAdvisor	Startup mentor^{Source [28]}	2014
redacted.toOther	Creator^{Source [1]}^{Source [13]}

Books

Growth Hacking Handbook 2014^{Source [28]}^{Source [6]}

Links

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Sources

Jon Yongfook (@yongfook) profile, read via api.fxtwitter.com, X. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
About Us, Bannerbear. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
7 Lessons Growing a Bootstrapped SaaS to $50K MRR, Bannerbear Blog, 2023-07. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
How to Build a Business by the Beach, blog.yongfook.com, 2014-09-04. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
10 Reasons Why I Self-Funded My Startup and So Should You, blog.yongfook.com, 2014-03-17. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
How I got $12k in preorders in 1 month, blog.yongfook.com, 2014-02-17. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
We Are Hiring, blog.yongfook.com, 2016-02-11. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Goodbye Team Aviva, blog.yongfook.com, 2018-07-25. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
12 Startups in 12 Months, blog.yongfook.com, 2018-09-03. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Promomatic and Montage have been acquired, blog.yongfook.com, 2019-12-28. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
A Bootstrapped SaaS Journey to $10K MRR, Bannerbear. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Bannerbear API, blog.yongfook.com, 2020-04-25. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
[REDACTED]: free in-browser redaction tools, redacted.to. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Open Startup, Bannerbear. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
How to Pivot Your SaaS Company in the Age of AI, Bannerbear Blog, 2026-09. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Talkshow, blog.yongfook.com, 2019-05-02. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Talkshow Metrics and Pivot, blog.yongfook.com, 2019-08-27. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Startup #6 - Tropic, blog.yongfook.com, 2019-03-05. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Startup #5 - Hyperjump, blog.yongfook.com, 2019-02-11. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Startup #4 - Tech Jobs Asia, blog.yongfook.com, 2018-12-28. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Startup #3 - Montage, blog.yongfook.com, 2018-11-30. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Startup #2 - Promomatic, blog.yongfook.com, 2018-10-31. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Startup #1 - Zipsell, blog.yongfook.com, 2018-09-29. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Beatrix is a virtual assistant who picks out and publishes your social media content, The Next Web, 2013-08-21. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Subscription Billing in Singapore, blog.yongfook.com, 2014-07-29. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
#208: How this Indie Hacker Blew Past $10K MRR with Jon Yongfook of Bannerbear, Indie Hackers podcast (Apple Podcasts), 2021-05-25. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Realigning my 12 Startups Challenge, blog.yongfook.com, 2019-01-07. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Growth Hacking Handbook, blog.yongfook.com, 2014-01-16. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

History

Oct 2, 2026: Profile created from public sources (Founded editors)

Compiled by Founded editors from the cited public sources. Editorial policy / Request removal