Million Dollar Biz Ideas One Person can Run

Author

Joshua Clear
May 24, 2025

In partnership with

The key to a $1.3T opportunity

A new trend in real estate is making the most expensive properties obtainable. It’s called co-ownership, and it’s revolutionizing the $1.3T vacation home market.

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With rapid international growth and 41% gross profit growth last year, Pacaso is ready for what’s next. They even recently reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

But the real opportunity is now, before public markets. Until 5/29, you can join leading investors like SoftBank and Maveron for just $2.80/share.

This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC.

Sam Parr & Shaan Puri go deep here with some great business ideas
These two need no introduction, but here’s one anyway. Sam Parr is the founder of The Hustle, a newsletter that got acquired by HubSpot. Shaan Puri’s an ex-Twitch exec and serial entrepreneur with a knack for finding weirdly profitable businesses. Together, they dissect $13M solo startups like finance surgeons with caffeine-fueled precision.

🎙️ SNAPSHOT

You ever dream of building a multimillion-dollar business without ever having to endure a Zoom all-hands? This episode is your blueprint. Sam and Shaan spotlight mighty solo empires—one-person businesses that punch way above their weight, from software to niche content sites. Whether you're a coder, course creator, or just a curious hustler, this one's a banger.

💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • One-man armies are real—and rich. From Stardew Valley to Streamyard, there are folks making $10M+ with no full-time team. Think less corporate ladder, more solo hacker in a hoodie.

  • Hard ≠ Complex. Building Photoshop in a browser? That’s hard. Building a newsletter about funded startups? Way simpler—but both can hit 7 figures.

  • Timing is a cheat code. Many of these founders caught waves like the pandemic, early Twitter, or AI hype cycles. No wave? Paddle out anyway.

  • Don’t overlook “boring.” Sites like Milled.com (email inspiration) or BuiltWith (tech stack spy tool) are crazy profitable because they solve real, dull, high-value problems.

  • Courses & info products = Easy wins. Lenny’s Newsletter, CyberLeads, Marketing Examples—if you’ve got niche knowledge, you can monetize it without building software.

🛠️ TOOLS, WEBSITES, RESOURCES MENTIONED

  • Photopea – Browser-based Photoshop clone. Built by one guy. Wild.

  • TinyWow – Free utility tools (PDF converters, etc.) getting 6M+ visits/month.

  • BuiltWith – Spy on websites’ tech stacks. Insanely helpful for marketers.

  • GetCyberLeads – Curated list of newly funded companies primed to buy agency services.

  • Milled.com – Database of brand marketing emails for swipe inspiration.

  • Lenny’s Newsletter – Masterclass in monetizing thought leadership.

  • DesignJoy – Solo designer pulling $1.2M/year via design subscriptions.

💼 BUSINESS IDEAS & OPPORTUNITIES — Deep Dive

📬 1. Info Arbitrage Newsletter

Think: CyberLeads, OnlyFinders, Milled

The Game:
People hate researching. You love obsessing over weird niches. Info arbitrage is when you gather hard-to-find, high-value information and repackage it into something scannable and actionable — then charge people for it.

Examples:

  • CyberLeads: Alex West tracks companies that just raised money (aka about to hire), and sends agency owners that list with contact info. $400–$1,000/month subscriptions.

  • OnlyFinders: Curated search engine for OnlyFans. Users search, creators pay per click. Adult niche, but insane margins.

  • Milled: Aggregates ecommerce emails so marketers can spy on competitors. Monetized with ads, easy affiliate model.

Why It Works:

  • High value to a narrow audience

  • Low overhead — usually just research + email software

  • Easy to scale with SEO or Twitter growth

  • You're the middleman with leverage

Blueprint:

  1. Pick a niche (e.g. DTC brands, AI tools, local gov contracts, indie game publishers)

  2. Scrape/curate data that people pay to access or can’t easily find

  3. Build an email list or paywalled dashboard

  4. Monetize with subscriptions, affiliate links, or direct outreach

🧰 2. AI Utility Tool Site

Think: TinyWow, Remove.bg, Cleanup.pictures

The Game:
Solve simple, boring problems with AI. Think “compress a PDF,” “remove background,” “generate captions,” etc. Useful + searchable + repeatable = $$$.

Why This Works:

  • People Google these every day (hello SEO moat)

  • 90% of the traffic converts with AdSense, affiliate offers, or upsells

  • Tools are often open source or built with APIs (no coding needed)

  • Viral potential with “5 websites that feel illegal to know” TikToks

Real Example:

  • TinyWow: Gets 6M+ visits/month doing stuff like “PDF to JPG.” Owner hasn’t even turned on monetization yet.

Blueprint:

  1. Identify a utility tool you use often (or see in SEO tools like Ahrefs/Semrush)

  2. Build it with ChatGPT Plugins, open source tools, or no-code platforms

  3. Focus on fast loading speed, zero login friction, and beautiful UX

  4. Monetize with ads or upsell advanced features

🔍 3. Creator Search Engine

Think: OnlyFinders, PodBay, or TubeBuddy

The Game:
There are millions of creators on YouTube, TikTok, OnlyFans, Patreon, and more — but discovery sucks. Build a search engine that indexes these creators based on niche filters (e.g. beauty influencers with 10–50k followers in Chicago).

Examples:

  • OnlyFinders: High-intent search engine for adult content creators. Massive CPC potential. Solves OnlyFans’ biggest issue: lack of a native discovery tool.

  • PodBay: Indexes podcasts + ranks them by category

  • Playboard.co: Tracks YouTube earnings, views, growth

Why It Works:

  • Solves the “needle in haystack” problem for fans or marketers

  • Can monetize via creator ads, affiliate links, or per-click PPC from agencies

  • Grows with the creator economy — evergreen trend

Blueprint:

  1. Pick a creator platform with high traffic, poor search UX

  2. Index creators (via scraping or APIs)

  3. Add smart filters for discovery (location, tags, size, genre)

  4. Charge creators/agencies to be featured or sponsor categories

🧑‍💻 4. One-Person SaaS

Think: Photopea, WarGraphs, GymStreak

The Game:
Build a niche SaaS product that solves one pain point, charges monthly, and runs lean. No bloated teams, no VC drama, just software that prints cash.

Examples:

  • Photopea: Browser-based Photoshop alternative. 1 guy, $1M/year from ads.

  • WarGraphs: League of Legends stat tracker. 1 guy, $54M exit.

  • GymStreak: AI fitness app with 3D models. Solo founder did $2.5M/year.

Why It Works:

  • Niche software = loyal customers

  • High margin, high retention

  • Ownership = you control growth, lifestyle, and roadmap

Blueprint:

  1. Find a niche with existing user behavior (e.g. gamers, fitness, photo editing)

  2. Build a simple tool that’s 80% as good as a premium competitor

  3. Price it affordably, upsell later

  4. Grow via TikTok, SEO, Reddit, or substack content

🔧 LIFE HACKS MENTIONED — Contextualized

🏖️ 1. Sabbaticals Without Guilt

The Insight:
Solo founders like TinyWow’s Evan and GymStreak’s Joseph just... stopped working. Why? Because when you’re the boss and the product is stable, you don’t need to grind 24/7.

The Takeaway:
Freedom is the dividend of one-person businesses. You own your time. Take the summer off, then reengage when inspired.

The Real-Life Reminder:
This isn’t lazy — it’s strategic pacing. Burnout kills more businesses than competition ever will.

🧠 2. Build For Your Former Self

The Insight:
Eric Barone (Stardew Valley), Ivan (Photopea), and others built tools they personally wished existed. That’s the founder-market fit goldmine.

Why It Matters:
If you're solving your past pain point, you:

  • Understand the customer better than anyone

  • Stay motivated longer

  • Build with empathy, not guesswork

Takeaway:
Your weird obsessions and struggles? They’re startup ideas in disguise.

💸 BEST FAST-CASH IDEAS — Expanded

💰 1. GetCyberLeads

  • Model: Curated lead gen email

  • Monetization: $400–$1,000/month per subscriber

  • Lift: Medium — requires curation and consistency

  • Speed to Revenue: ~30 days

  • Why It Works: Solves a now problem for agencies: who to pitch next

💡 Pro Tip: You can copy this for freelancers (GetDesignClients), AI tools (GetAIFunding), or ecom (NewBrandLeads).

🎨 2. DesignJoy

  • Model: Async design subscription (e.g. $5K/month for unlimited tasks)

  • Monetization: Monthly retainers

  • Lift: Low to start, high to maintain solo

  • Speed to Revenue: 1–2 weeks with outbound hustle

  • Why It Works: Companies need fast, reliable design help without hiring

💡 Pro Tip: Replicate the model in dev (DevJoy), marketing (GrowthJoy), or branding (BrandJoy).

🧾 3. Paid Newsletter or Job Board

  • Model: Audience first → monetize later

  • Monetization: Sponsorships, paid tiers, job listings

  • Lift: Low upfront, high if scaled

  • Speed to Revenue: 1–3 months

  • Why It Works: Low startup cost, huge upside with niche audiences

💡 Example: Lenny’s Newsletter ($2M+/year). Started free, added paid tier + job board later.

  • WarGraphs sold for $54M – Built by one guy. Companion app for League of Legends.

  • Stardew Valley: $150M+ in revenue – One guy, 4 years of building solo.

  • TinyWow: 6.6M monthly visits – No monetization turned on yet 🤯

  • Photopea: $100K/month via ads – Built entirely solo. Essentially “Photoshop lite” online.

🔑 ACTIONABLE STRATEGIES

  • Step 1: Find niche with fanatical audience (gamers, designers, PM job seekers).

  • Step 2: Create a tool, info product, or newsletter they crave.

  • Step 3: Distribute on TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, or rank on Google.

  • Step 4: Monetize via ads, subscriptions, or affiliates. Add layers (courses, communities).

  • Step 5: Hire contractors only when it stops being fun.

📚 BOOKS MENTIONED

None explicitly mentioned, but vibes give strong “Company of One” and “The Lean Startup” energy.

🚀 GROWTH HACKS / CHEAT CODES

  • TikTok virality for web tools – TinyWow took off thanks to “websites that should be illegal” TikTok content.

  • SEO arbitrage – OnlyFinders ranks for high-intent keywords like “Latina OnlyFans,” then charges per click. Genius.

  • Be early to platforms – Lenny and Harry Dry blew up by owning their niche on Twitter pre-pandemic.

📝 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This episode is a permission slip for anyone who wants to get rich without building a big team or raising money. The world is flush with $1M+ solo businesses that started with a simple insight, niche obsession, and relentless focus. Whether it’s a PDF tool, a creator search engine, or a newsletter for B2B leads—if you’re willing to build and distribute smartly, the upside is massive. Bonus points if you’re weirdly passionate and okay with being tired for a few years.

🧠 COMMON THEME

Solo doesn’t mean small. One-person businesses are no longer side hustles—they're micro-empires. This episode is a love letter to the makers, tinkerers, and internet monks building from tiny desks with massive upside.

Watch the full episode here