We analyzed 143 videos from Starter Story, My First Million, and Greg Isenberg to extract what actually works: business models, revenue milestones, and the strategies founders use to build $100K+ side businesses.
The side hustle economy is no longer a trend - it's a fundamental shift in how people work. 27% of Americans now have side hustles, and the gig economy is valued at $582 billion in 2025. But here's what the data doesn't tell you: most side hustlers earn around $885/month.
The founders we analyzed broke through that ceiling. We studied 143 videos across three channels - Starter Story (founder interviews with revenue numbers), My First Million (business ideas and trends), and Greg Isenberg (startup ideas and validation) - to find the patterns that separate $10K businesses from $100K+ businesses.
The AI acceleration factor
AI-powered building was mentioned in 74 of 143 videos - more than any other strategy. Founders are using Cursor, Claude, and ChatGPT to build products in days that would have taken months. One founder built a $15K/month AI app "in a day."
The opportunity is real, but the path matters. Let's look at what actually works.
Based on 143 founder interviews, these are the business models that solo founders are using to reach $100K+ in annual revenue.
The most-discussed business model. Founders are building AI wrappers, automation tools, and AI-powered SaaS products. The barrier to entry has dropped dramatically with tools like Cursor and Claude.
Example: One founder built two AI apps generating $15K/month while working only 4 hours per day.
Small, focused software products solving specific problems. The key pattern: clone and improve existing successful products rather than inventing something new.
Example: "I cloned 3 apps and now make $35K/month" - Samuel taught himself to code and built on proven ideas.
YouTube channels, newsletters, and content-driven businesses. The niche matters more than the size. One founder makes $125K/year as a "niche YouTuber."
Key insight: One piece of content can drive an entire business. One founder built a $30K/month app from a single viral piece of content.
Job boards, directories, and listing sites. These can be built quickly and monetize through listings, ads, or premium features.
Example: A job board built in a weekend now makes $1M/year. The founder is a solopreneur who built it in 30 hours.
Taking a service and packaging it as a fixed-price product. This model allows for predictable revenue while maintaining margins.
Example: Scott built a $600K one-person business doing video editing for B2B SaaS companies - a productized service with fixed pricing.
iOS and Android apps, particularly in health, productivity, and utility categories. The app stores provide built-in distribution.
Example: A habit tracking app generates $15K/month. A mental health app achieved $1M+ in revenue and 4 million downloads.
The first dollar is the hardest. Here's how the founders in our dataset got their first customers and validated their ideas.
The most successful founders validated demand before writing code. Justin Mares (Kettle and Fire) used landing pages and early ad spend to test demand before building - the same method that built a $100M brand.
Excel Formula Bot went viral after being posted on Reddit, leading to "the first sale within minutes of launch." Reddit, Hacker News, and Product Hunt were the top launch channels mentioned.
Leandro, who built a $9K/month micro-SaaS, advises: "Find your first paying user early on to validate your idea's value." Don't wait for a perfect product.
Samuel's strategy: "Identify successful apps, clone them, and improve." This approach "validates the market and reduces the risk of failure." He now makes $35K/month from 3 cloned apps.
The 30 failures pattern
Multiple founders mentioned failing 20-30 times before finding success. One built a $10K/month app "after failing 30 projects." Persistence and rapid iteration matter more than the first idea.
Getting to $10K is one challenge. Getting to $100K requires different skills. Here's what we learned from founders who made that jump.
| Revenue Range | Videos | Example Businesses |
|---|---|---|
| $10K-$25K/mo | 19 videos | Excel Formula Bot, AI apps, micro-SaaS |
| $25K-$100K/mo | 15 videos | Cloned apps, Reddit-built businesses |
| $100K+/mo or $1M+ total | 31 videos | Job boards, open-source SaaS, mobile apps |
Positioning becomes critical
Sean took his app from $0 to $4M ARR with one strategic repositioning move
Distribution matters more than product
"Prioritize distribution from day one" - founders who built $30K/month apps
Systems replace hustle
My First Million: "The more valuable you are, the less valuable the company is"
Open source as a moat
Papermark: $900K/year bootstrapped open-source SaaS
Niche domination
$600K one-person business focused only on B2B SaaS video editing
Simplicity wins
"The key to Letterly's success lies in its relentless focus on simplicity"
One of the most common questions: how much time does it actually take? The answers varied wildly, but some patterns emerged.
The pattern is clear: AI tools have compressed the building timeline dramatically. What took months now takes days or even hours. But building is only part of the equation - customer acquisition and iteration still take time.
Sebastian, who built a $15K/month habit tracking app, focused on "a clean, simple interface and core habit tracking functionality for the MVP, prioritizing user privacy with local data storage." The MVP-first approach lets you start earning while improving.
The app-a-month challenge
Adam, who went from $200K in debt to building a $1M app, "embarked on a challenge to create one app per month to learn and validate ideas quickly." Rapid experimentation beats perfectionism.
We counted how often each strategy was mentioned across 143 founder interviews. Here are the top strategies, ranked by frequency.
Using Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT to accelerate development. The most mentioned strategy by far. Founders are building MVPs in hours, not months.
Launching on Reddit, Hacker News, and niche communities. Free distribution with engaged audiences. The Excel Formula Bot's first sale came "within minutes" of a Reddit post.
Focusing on specific markets rather than going broad. The $600K video editing business only serves B2B SaaS companies. The $125K/year YouTuber focuses on a specific niche.
Finding successful products and making better versions. "I copied a $100M SaaS, undercut their prices, and made $10K" - the strategy "validates the market and reduces risk."
Sharing your journey transparently. Builds audience, accountability, and provides free marketing. Many founders credit this for their initial traction.
Strategy advice from $41K/month founder
"Improve existing ideas, find niches, use AI for rapid MVP development, and get to market quickly." Joe's advice captures the essence of what works in 2025.
Taffy lets you analyze transcripts and comments from any YouTube channel. Find out what business ideas viewers are asking about, what problems they need solved, and what niches are underserved.
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Based on 143 founder interviews, the top models are: AI tools and automation (59 mentions), SaaS/Micro-SaaS (43), content/creator businesses (15), marketplaces and directories (15), and productized services (14).
Timelines vary widely. Some founders built $1M/year businesses in a weekend, while others took years. The key pattern is rapid validation and launching quickly. With AI tools, many founders now build MVPs in days.
The most mentioned strategies are: Reddit and community marketing (29 mentions), building in public (21 mentions), and cloning/improving existing successful products (28 mentions).
Time investment varies. Some founders report working only 4 hours per day with AI tools. Others built products in weekends. The key is leveraging AI tools to accelerate development and reduce time to launch.
Many successful founders recommend copying and improving existing products. As one founder put it: the approach "validates the market and reduces the risk of failure." Find something that works and make it better.
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