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Innovative oneperson companies

7 min read

From: myfirstmillionpod

Steph Smith, an expert in trends and content creation, discusses a list of successful “companies of one” – businesses primarily run by a single individual that generate significant revenue. These examples highlight how individuals can build substantial enterprises without large teams or external funding, often by focusing on niche problems and creative solutions [02:07:00].

Characteristics of Companies of One

These businesses often demonstrate:

  • Solo or Minimal Team: Many are run entirely by one person, possibly with contractors, rather than a large staff [03:30:00].
  • High Revenue Potential: Despite their small size, they can achieve millions in annual revenue [03:55:00].
  • Focus on Niche Problems: They identify and solve specific, often overlooked, problems that still have a large user base [01:32:00], [02:53:00], [03:53:00].
  • Technical Proficiency & Creativity: Founders often handle the entire stack (marketing, design, development), leading to innovative and unconstrained approaches [02:00:00], [02:03:00].
  • Bootstrapped Growth: Many start without venture capital, often growing through strong user engagement or unique marketing [02:26:00], [02:44:00].

Notable Examples of One-Man Companies

  • BuiltWith

    • Function: A website that identifies what technologies and plugins other websites are built with [04:08:00].
    • Revenue: Was estimated to be doing around $14 million annually when first discovered [04:20:00].
    • Monetization: Sells subscriptions for data access and targeting capabilities, with plans ranging from 10,000 per year [05:01:00].
    • Founder: Run by one individual in Australia [06:05:00].

  • Nomad List & Remote OK (Peter Levels)

  • Ugmonk

    • Function: An e-commerce store that started with high-quality t-shirts and expanded into productivity tools like pen holders and to-do lists with a mid-century modern aesthetic [06:13:00].
    • Revenue: Estimated to do several million dollars a year, with over 200,000 page views per month [07:27:00].
    • Founder: Jeff Sheldon, who maintains a strong online presence and showcases his products through his personal desk setup [06:27:00]. He left his full-time job years ago due to its success [07:38:00].

  • Carrd

    • Function: A free platform for building simple, responsive one-page websites [07:56:00].
    • Revenue: Doing $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), likely more now [08:08:00].
    • Founder: Built by AJ, who might use contractors but is the sole founder [08:06:00]. Over 2.5 million sites have been built on Carrd [08:28:00].

  • NextEpisode.net

    • Function: An older website (around for 15 years) that helps users track their TV shows and offers a community forum [01:18:00].
    • Traffic: Gets 3.6 million unique monthly visitors, with 80% direct traffic, indicating strong user loyalty [01:11:00].
    • Revenue: Estimated at around $1 million per year, mostly profit due to low overhead [01:19:00].
    • Founder: Runs by Nico, who has intentionally avoided hiring to maintain a solo operation [01:31:00].

  • Hostify

    • Function: Not detailed, but described as a business scaled to $1 million a month in revenue within a couple of years [01:46:00].
    • Founder: Riley [01:48:00].

  • Plenty of Fish

  • Bannerbear

    • Function: An API for automatically generating images based on templates, useful for social media, blog posts, or events [01:19:00].
    • Revenue: Around $300,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR), with strong growth since its launch in late 2019 [01:28:00], [01:34:00].
    • Founder: Run by one person, possibly with a part-time customer service assistant [01:18:00]. The founder uses a “Moto Meter” on their open page to track revenue goals against desired motorcycles [01:40:00].

  • Headline

    • Function: An AI-powered app that generates landing page headlines and copy [02:40:00].
    • Success: Built in a few months and sold for seven figures within a year [02:43:00].
    • Development: The founder, Danny, built it in the open on Twitter, shared updates, and launched it on Product Hunt [02:26:00]. It’s built on GPT-3 technology [02:39:00].

Other Examples of Lean and Innovative Businesses

  • SurveyMonkey: In 2009, SurveyMonkey reportedly generated $19 million in revenue with only 12 employees, demonstrating efficiency even if not a one-person company [01:57:00].

  • Craigslist: Around 2016, Craigslist was making approximately $300 million in revenue with only about 14 employees working out of a small apartment office, highlighting extreme frugality and efficiency [01:45:00].

  • Glitchin Deals: Websites and Facebook groups dedicated to finding and sharing e-commerce pricing errors or “glitches” [02:11:00]. The Glitchin Deals site gets 4 million page views a month, and an associated Facebook group has over 342,000 members with more than 250 posts daily [02:54:00]. This highlights a strong community around finding deals [02:27:00].

  • Nugget Comfort:

    • Function: A company that sells modular “pillow couches” for children, which can be rearranged into different shapes and forts [02:04:00].
    • Growth: Started relatively recently (around a year old) and made over $4 million in sales in one month with zero ad spend [02:22:00].
    • Team Size: While not a one-person company, its rapid growth suggests a lean approach, evidenced by active hiring for various operational roles [02:45:00]. The product’s success tapped into the “endless budget” parents often have for children’s items [03:01:00].

  • Public Domain Review:

    • Function: A site that tracks intellectual property moving into the public domain, such as books and art [03:26:00].
    • Monetization: Sells prints of public domain art [03:47:00].
    • Opportunity: The entry of popular IPs like Winnie the Pooh into the public domain could create opportunities for new businesses in merchandising or adapted works [03:13:00].

  • Foodtimeline.org:

    • Function: A website that compiles the historical origins and first citations of various foods [03:44:00].
    • Traffic: Receives over 150,000 page views per month [03:20:00].
    • Creator: Lynn Oliver, a librarian and food historian, was the sole author, showcasing how individuals can dedicate themselves to niche, passion-driven projects [03:05:00]. The domain is set to expire in April 2022 due to her passing, presenting a potential opportunity [03:56:00].

Startup Ideas and Opportunities

  • “Healthiest X” Websites: There’s significant search volume for queries like “healthiest cereal” (50,000 searches/month), “healthiest bread” (30,000 searches/month), and “healthiest cheese” (20,000 searches/month) [03:42:00].
    • Opportunity: Create a Wirecutter-style website or a TikTok presence that answers these queries, offering recommendations and analysis. This could generate revenue through affiliate links and brand advertising [04:18:00].
    • Key Advantage: Low keyword difficulty for many of these terms, indicating an untapped market where existing results are often broad listicles [04:05:00]. This concept leverages the idea that “your listicle is my opportunity,” by compiling and refining dispersed information into an easily digestible format [03:50:00].

Entrepreneurial Success Stories: Magnus Carlsen & Play Magnus

  • Magnus Carlsen: The world’s number one chess player [04:36:00]. Unlike many athletes, he has strategically built a business empire, focusing on equity [04:42:00].

  • Play Magnus: His company, which includes a chess learning platform (playmagnus.com), offers a plus membership for $14 a month [04:58:00].

  • Scale: It is a publicly traded company with 250 employees, 4 million registered users, and a market cap of 5 million in revenue last quarter (trending towards $20 million annually) [04:16:00].

  • Ownership: Magnus Carlsen owns a substantial stake (reportedly 9% of Play Magnus, and a significant portion of a related streaming platform called Magnus Chess) [04:51:00].

  • Chess.com: A related success story, Chess.com is largely bootstrapped and gets 150 million monthly unique users. It is rumored to be a multi-billion dollar company [04:11:00]. Its success comes from integrating features that analyze player moves and mistakes, replicating services previously offered by human coaches [04:47:00].

These examples collectively demonstrate the vast potential for successful single or two-person business examples through utilizing unique niches for small businesses, creative execution, and a focus on solving existing problems [01:32:00], [01:53:00].

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