Can You Build a $1 Billion+ Startup with 0 Employees?
Discover how solo founders have achieved millions in revenue. Learn about the 11 most unique solo founders, such as Star Dew Valley, a mobile game that monetizes via a one-time download fee, and a daily newsletter summarizing tech news.
Michael Houck 💡
Follow me to learn how to build, grow, and raise capital for your startup. Building a community and writing @houckdotnews for 40,000+ founders each week.
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Can you build a $1 billion+ startup with 0 employees?
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
I spent hours researching the most successful one-person businesses
Here are the 11 most unique solo founders doing millions in revenue: -
Star Dew Valley:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
A mobile game that monetizes via a one-time download fee (that's it!).
Founder - Eric Barone
Annual Revenue - $300 million+
Employees - 0 full time
It blew up so much he got a profile in GQ: https://t.co/ZaY5xQ4gay -
TLDR:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
A daily newsletter summarizing tech news. Has expanded into a whole suite of newsletters for different industries.
It monetizes through ads.
Founder - Dan Ni
Annual Revenue - $5 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Here's a thorough breakdown: https://t.co/SGJnbflDsp -
Tabs Chocolate:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
Aphrodisiac chocolate you can buy by the box.
Founder - Oliver Brocato
Annual Revenue - $11 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Here's how he used TikTok to grow the brand at hyper-speed: https://t.co/4xM89rms15 -
Justin Welsh:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
Justin has a weekly newsletter he monetizes with ads, a digital product, and does advising work for startups.
Founder - Justin Welsh
Annual Revenue - $2 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Justin broke it down last year: https://t.co/PNtA1lwfCq -
BuiltWith:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
A website that shows what tools other sites are built with. Often used for competitor intelligence.
Monetized via 3 subscription tiers.
Founder - Gary Brewer
Annual Revenue - $14 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Here's how it started: https://t.co/JlgKW4KgoM -
ViralNova:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
A website that curates viral content. Monetizes primarily via ads.
Founder - Scott Delong
Annual Revenue - $10 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Here's the story in Scott's own words: https://t.co/xC720itxl9 -
Ugmonk:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
An e-commerce site that sells physical products designed to help you enjoy work more.
Founder - Jeff Sheldon
Annual Revenue - $5 million+
Employees - 1 full time (Jeff's wife)
Here's Jeff's story: https://t.co/tcSK4BSWfD -
Pieter Levels:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
Pieter has created a suite of websites that, when combined, generate millions per year.
Founder - Pieter Levels
Annual Revenue - $2 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Here's his interview on MFM: https://t.co/cFxSfyatJp -
Visualize Value:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
Interesting company that has offered design services, consulting, courses, crypto products, and more.
Founder - Jack Butcher
Annual Revenue - $1 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Jack breaks down his business here: https://t.co/2RcTJ0nRpw -
Carrd:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
Flexible and easy to use website and landing page builder.
Monetizes through 3 subscription tiers.
Founder - AJ
Annual Revenue - $1 million+
Employees - 0 full time
AJ doesn't do many interviews, but here's one with Indie Hackers: https://t.co/aWzAwEQTW2 -
Designjoy:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
A subscription-based design agency. Also sells courses based on the subscription-agency model.
Founder - Brett Williams
Annual Revenue - $2 million+
Employees - 0 full time
Here's how he runs the business:https://t.co/4zk1vzI8A0 -
Enjoyed this thread?
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
1. Follow me for 2-3 threads about startups each week
2. Try my free newsletter alongside 40,000+ founders and builders: https://t.co/N8Bn84CNOY -
And retweet the first tweet to share these inspiring storieshttps://t.co/Nvp1Gjk5Hh
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023 -
Million-dollar one-person businesses:
— Michael Houck 💡 (@callmehouck) June 21, 2023
1. Star Dew Valley ($300M+)
2. TLDR ($5M+)
3. Tabs Chocolate ($11M+)
4. Justin Welsh ($2M+)
5. BuiltWith ($14M+)
6. ViralNova ($10M+)
7. Ugmonk ($5M+)
8. Pieter Levels ($2M+)
9. Visualize Value ($1M+)
10. Carrd ($1M+)
11. Designjoy ($2M+)