The Underdog: From $10/hr to $1.5M/Year
Summary
TLDRMark's journey from a part-time waiter with dreams of becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg to a successful solopreneur is a rollercoaster of failures and eventual triumph. Despite numerous setbacks, including failed startups and financial struggles, Mark's persistence pays off when he discovers a new approach to entrepreneurship. He shifts from building complex products to creating 'painkiller' apps that solve real problems, leading to a breakthrough with his 'Ship Fast' tool. Mark's story is a testament to the power of resilience, learning from failures, and finding the right niche in the market.
Takeaways
- 😀 Mark's entrepreneurial journey began with a dream to become the next Mark Zuckerberg, focusing on a billion-dollar startup idea.
- 💼 He initially worked part-time as a waiter while trying to build his first app, which he believed would be the next big thing in the tech industry.
- 📉 Mark faced numerous failures, with 30 startups failing and no significant financial success, leading to a period of self-doubt and questioning his entrepreneurial path.
- 🌐 After moving to South Korea and experiencing more failures, Mark pivoted to smaller, quicker projects that could provide instant results.
- 🏠 Living in challenging conditions with his girlfriend, Mark was driven by the desire for success and the need to escape his circumstances.
- 💡 His first significant breakthrough came with a simple tool for escape room businesses, which led to his first paid customer and a renewed sense of hope.
- 📈 Mark's business grew to a point where he was making $4,000 a month, but the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out his revenue overnight, forcing him to reevaluate his situation.
- 😢 In his darkest moments, Mark experienced a breakdown, questioning his purpose and the value of his entrepreneurial efforts.
- 💼 After a period of reflection and recovery, Mark took a software engineering job that provided financial stability and a sense of worth, making him reconsider the benefits of traditional employment.
- 🔄 Despite the stability of his job, Mark's entrepreneurial spirit was rekindled, leading him to be fired and return to entrepreneurship with a new approach and mindset.
- 🚀 Mark's new strategy involved creating and launching 'painkiller' apps that solved real problems and were monetized from the start, which eventually led to significant financial success.
Q & A
What was Mark's initial job before becoming an entrepreneur?
-Mark initially worked as a waiter part-time while living with his parents.
What was Mark's inspiration for becoming an entrepreneur?
-Mark was inspired by the movie 'The Social Network' and Mark Zuckerberg's story, leading him to believe he could create a billion-dollar startup.
What was the first business idea Mark attempted to execute?
-Mark's first business idea was to create a 'Tinder for sports lovers', but he lacked the capacity to build it and it never materialized.
How did Mark's experience with the AI startup influence his entrepreneurial journey?
-The AI startup experience taught Mark that relying on Venture Capital might not be for him and led to his desire for quick, instant results from smaller projects.
What was the turning point that made Mark reconsider his approach to entrepreneurship?
-After multiple failures and living in poverty, Mark had a moment of intense emotional release where he questioned his path as an entrepreneur and considered giving up.
What was the first successful product Mark sold that validated his entrepreneurial efforts?
-Mark's first successful product was a tool for escape room businesses to help them get more customers, which he sold after a cold email outreach and a phone call.
How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect Mark's business?
-The COVID-19 pandemic caused Mark's business revenue to drop from $4,000 a month to zero overnight as the physical businesses he worked with shut down.
What significant life event occurred during Mark's break from entrepreneurship?
-During his break, Mark got married to his girlfriend, which was a significant personal milestone.
What was the job offer Mark received after experiencing depression and questioning his entrepreneurial path?
-Mark received a software engineering job offer that paid $9,000 a month, which made him question the value of continuing as an entrepreneur.
What was the name of the product Mark created that significantly boosted his monthly revenue?
-Mark created a product called 'Ship Fast', which helped increase his monthly revenue to $85,000 and eventually up to $135,000.
What advice does Mark give to aspiring entrepreneurs based on his experiences?
-Mark advises aspiring entrepreneurs to start anything, make the smallest version of their app as fast as they can, and learn where they are comfortable sharing their ideas to see how things react.
Outlines
🚀 Entrepreneurial Journey from Waiter to Solopreneur
Mark, an aspiring entrepreneur, started his journey working as a waiter while dreaming of becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg. Despite numerous failures and financial struggles, he persisted in his pursuit of a billion-dollar startup idea. After years of hardship, including living in a small, cockroach-infested apartment, Mark eventually found success with an app that generated enough revenue to sustain his life. However, the sudden disappearance of his business due to unforeseen circumstances led him to question his entrepreneurial path. In his darkest moments, Mark decided to change his approach and started over, eventually building a business that earned him $1.5 million a year.
🌐 The Struggle and Realization of an Entrepreneur
Mark's entrepreneurial journey was marked by multiple failures and learning experiences. He initially attempted to create a 'Tinder for sports lovers' but lacked the skills to execute the idea. Moving to South Korea, he co-founded an AI startup that also failed to gain traction. These experiences led Mark to realize the importance of starting with problems that need solving and focusing on quick, tangible results. He then shifted his focus to creating tools for businesses to gain customers, which eventually led to his first paid customer and a renewed sense of direction in his entrepreneurial pursuits.
💔 The Emotional Toll of Entrepreneurship and the Road to Recovery
Despite achieving some success, Mark faced a significant setback when his business revenue dropped to zero due to external factors. This led him to reevaluate his life choices, including a period of depression and a loss of control over his emotions. After a period of reflection and a return to a regular job as a software engineer, Mark found a sense of worthiness and stability. However, the desire for freedom and entrepreneurship eventually led him to leave his job and return to the startup world with a new perspective, focusing on quick project development and validation.
🚀 Scaling Success through Rapid Prototyping and Market Validation
Mark's new approach to entrepreneurship involved building and launching multiple projects quickly, focusing on solving real problems and creating paid products. He developed a series of apps, including mood-to-movie, a habit tracker, and a productivity tips ranking tool. Despite initial low income, Mark's persistence paid off when he created a code base that could be reused for new projects, which he decided to sell as a product. This led to a significant increase in his revenue, reaching $80,000 a month. Mark's story emphasizes the importance of not quitting, starting with a minimum viable product, and learning from others' experiences to achieve entrepreneurial success.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Entrepreneur
💡Failure
💡Startup
💡Monetize
💡Revenue
💡Pivot
💡Product-Market Fit
💡Solopreneur
💡Ship Fast
💡Worthiness
💡Underdog
Highlights
Mark's initial ambition to become the next Mark Zuckerberg and create a billion-dollar startup.
Working part-time as a waiter while pursuing entrepreneurial dreams.
The first business idea: creating a 'Tinder for sports lovers' without a clear business plan.
Realization after a year that the first app idea would never materialize due to lack of capacity to build it.
Moving to South Korea to start an AI startup with a friend, which also failed to attract customers.
Living in a small apartment with cockroaches and the frustration of multiple business failures.
The pivot to small, quick projects after the failure of larger ventures.
The first paid project for an escape room business, marking a turning point in Mark's entrepreneurial journey.
The shift in mindset from building complex products to solving universal problems for businesses.
The unexpected success of a viral project that provided enough revenue to sustain life, leading to a move to Bali.
The sudden loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out the business overnight.
Mark's emotional breakdown and questioning of his entrepreneurial path during the pandemic.
The decision to take a stable software engineering job offering a significant salary, providing a sense of worthiness.
The resurgence of the entrepreneurial spirit after being fired from the software engineering job.
Mark's new approach to entrepreneurship: building small, fast projects without raising money or having employees.
The creation of 'Ship Fast', a tool that automates the setup of landing pages and payment systems for new projects.
The exponential growth in revenue after launching 'Ship Fast', reaching $80,000 a month.
Mark's advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: start anything, learn where you're comfortable sharing ideas, and ship fast.
Transcripts
what's your
story I lived with my parents working as
a waiter part-time to make I think $10
per hour I was telling people I'm going
to make it I'm the next Mark zukerberg
and I'm going to have a billion dollar
startup idea and I'm going to focus on
it this is Mark a guy who tried
everything to become an entrepreneur but
nothing was working I didn't have any
salary I didn't have any savings I was
like broke like crazy like we're living
in like I don't like 12 square m they
were cockroaches then after years of
failure he finally built a business that
worked at some point life become like
very beautiful like finally I made it I
have my apps I make enough money to
sustain my life and Co hit everything
that I built for the last two years just
suddenly disappeared wipe
out I've been in the journey for like
almost 5 years already I failed 30
startups and I didn't build anything I
didn't save any money I didn't create
anything that would last and then one
morning I start to cry for no reason in
his darkest moments Mark does something
he never thought he would have to do it
made me question why I was an
entrepreneur why am I doing all that if
I can just get a sense of like
worthiness having a job but with
everything on the line Mark discovers
something that would change his life I
feel bad and I decide I got to change
everything I'm going to be an
entrepreneur again but these times I'll
do things differently this is the story
of how Mark Lou went from working as a
waiter for $10 an hour to making $1.5
million a year as a solopreneur welcome
to starter
story I was born in a family of
Engineers know one of my friends or
family members are entrepreneurs and I
grew up like 25 years in this ecosystem
or the only thing that matters is that
you have to have good school grade you
have to go University and I think that
created a frustration inside of me
because I didn't for some reason I
didn't care about school so I was a bad
kid I had bad grades I didn't feel like
I was belonging to where I was people
wanted to do stuff and I wanted to do
the opposite a university was the same
so they were partying but also studying
and I didn't know what I was why I was
learning what I was learning after four
years of partying and barely attending
lectures Mark graduated and had to make
a big
decision when my friends and I
graduating from uni they all got a job
pretty easily in Paris as a software
engineers and I think around the time I
might have seen the movie The Social
Network with Mark zukerberg and for some
weird Connection in my brain I was like
this is me I'm the next Mark Zuckerberg
and I'm going to have a billion dollar
startup idea and I'm going to focus on
it and the idea was to create a Tinder
for sports lover there was no business
plan in mind there was not even an idea
of how to monetize that thing I was just
I have to build that thing Mark has a
brilliant idea that he believes will be
the next billion doll unicorn so he
takes The Road Less Traveled as I chose
a different path I lived with my parents
working as a waiter part-time like at
night basically to make I think $10 per
hour I was so arrogant that I spent a
year working on this app I was telling
people I'm going to make it I build this
identity for one year of this guy who is
going to build the next brilliant idea
and you cannot even know what I'm
working on because it's a brilliant idea
right and I realized after 365 days that
this app would never exist because I
didn't have the capacity to build it and
would never make money everything
crumbled like all my oneyear arrogance
belief fell apart and that's the moment
where I stopped working on my app like I
threw away all the code in 24 hours quit
my girlfriend cuz I was a terrible
boyfriend and moved to South Korea to
the other side of the planet Mark
experiences his first failure but he's
still committed to becoming an
entrepreneur he wants to prove to
everyone that he can do this a different
way
a friend of mine gave me a call he was
in South Korea and he said he could
raise some money from VC to build an AI
startup back in 2017 which was pretty
cool we were both Engineers none of us
was was good at marketing none of us was
good at product and you know business
and so we ended up having that This
brilliant idea again is going to work
out if we build a product we build a
product it took 6 months to make an app
but we didn't get any customers so in
the end nothing happens after spending a
year building another product that got
zero customers Mark realized realized
that maybe this whole Venture Capital
thing wasn't for him but this gives him
an
idea after the AI startups I didn't have
any salary I didn't have any savings I
was like broke like crazy like I was
living with my girlfriend as well we
were living in like I don't like 12
square m they were cockroaches in the
bathrooms and stuff the frustration of
doing stuff for 2 years that led to
nothing it made me desire the craving
for like tiny project that have quick
instant results I saw this ad on
Facebook where you have those two people
holding hands together inside of one
mitt with thousands of likes I knew that
if it works for them then it would work
for me too I ended up going in the
street sending those gloves because I
was terrible at Facebook ad so I
couldn't sell any online even though we
we made zero with the gloves we probably
like sold 30 gloves I still want to
chase that thing show a different path
show a different way and show that you
can also make it with a different
strategy with three failed businesses in
countless Lessons Learned Mark realizes
he needs to do something different he
doesn't want to be a Starving Artists
sharing his flat with cockroaches and
spending all his time working on
projects that never make money with this
in mind he starts looking for his next
[Music]
idea I had this learning from those
previous startup to start first with the
problems and I was like what is a
universal problem that everybody has
that I can solve every business wants
wants more customers right so maybe I
can help any business get more customers
and the idea was to create a little tool
for escape room businesses to help them
get more customers but I met a guy who
is 100% marketer his job is marketing
and he's like why don't you just try to
sell it before you make it I listened to
him I did exactly what he told me I sent
some cold emails and I'm supposed to
have the call with his business in
Australia it's the first time I do a
like a call with a lead I'm thinking
like an engineer and I'm I like I'm
scamming her just talking to her but
she's so friendly she's like yeah so
what is your idea and in the end of the
call after 42 minutes she's like all
right yeah send me the invoice I'll pay
I'm sweating like my my armpits are
sweating so much and I make her confirm
I was like are you
sure and then she said yes after a
couple years and several failed ideas
Mark's efforts finally paid off he made
his first dollar he didn't need a fancy
website or a perfect product all he
needed was a solid idea and someone who
is willing to pay for it if you're
someone like Mark looking for their
first idea trying to make your first
dollar online then I have something
special for you this is a free breakdown
of 50 plus solo developer ideas to help
you get started it includes a bunch of
stuff business models Revenue strategies
and a bunch of other stuff you'd want to
know and it's for everyone no coders
developers Indie hackers just click the
first link in the description and we'll
send it over to you for free mark
efforts finally paid off he's made his
first dollar online but most importantly
he now knows firsthand that
entrepreneurship works but when
everything was at its best something
very unexpected happened so this viral
bought project quickly it made some
enough money to sustain my life like
$1,000 per month we moved to Bali and my
days would be exactly the same I would
uh send some emails in the morning try
to get someone on the the phone call
exactly like I did for the first dollar
in the internet and the revenue grew to
at the top you went until $4,000 in
monthly recuring Revenue at some point
life become like very beautiful like I
finally I made it I have my apps I work
on my own project I don't have any
meetings I have customers I make enough
money to sustain my life I live in belly
I learn how to surf it's just so nice
the revenue is going up and then I was
working with physical businesses and Co
hits everything closed down Revenue went
from $4,000 a month to zero in like 24
hours hours everything that I built for
the last 2 years just suddenly
disappeared wipe out after Co brings
Mark's business to zero he decides to
take a break he keeps on surfing and
living life then when the lockdown eased
something insane happened my girlfriend
and I decided to get married so we flew
back to France and we had a beautiful
wedding after a couple weeks they
started to lock down everything again we
were supposed to come back to belly but
we couldn't so I'm I'm 28 years old I'm
a married man I don't make any Revenue
most of the businesses I've tried failed
and I think at this moment I feel not so
good like I don't know why I'm doing all
that anymore I feel like I've I've never
achieved anything really and I'm back at
28 years old in the house where I left
to try to show there was another way
showing that I failed basically and then
one morning I have no clue what is
happening I start to cry for no reason
like I usually control my emotions I
start to cry but have no idea what's
going on and I look at my wall and I
start to punch my wall four times like
without even thinking my wall is pretty
thin so it go through the wall and I'm
shouting and I'm like I don't know like
so much anger that just comes out it's
like I've never felt this bad before I
don't really know what depression is but
the this lack of control that I had on
me and these emotions bursting out
without me controlling anything
maybe after 5 years of failure with no
income or savings 28 year-old freshly
married Mark decides to do something
that he never thought he would have to
do he applies for a few software
engineering jobs luckily because of his
experience he quickly lands one of the
positions and the job is like offering
you $9,000 a month I look at that I was
like i' I've been making $1,000 a month
for 5 years and now you're offering me
$9,000 per month I was like what the
is going on so I jumped straight
into the job and when you have a job
your boss is telling you today I want
you to do that so at the end of the day
once you've done that you've created the
value for the person and it makes you
feel like you're worthy I didn't get any
of this in in the P so it really feels
like I was useful to someone making more
money than he ever had all while feeling
useful to society Mark starts the
question if he was ever meant to become
an entrepreneur and maybe for him having
a regular job is enough to live a
fulfilling life those years of ENT
preneurship you aim to create something
people want and when nothing is actually
working you're basically creating void
and nobody cares about what you do
nobody needs anything that you're doing
so it feels like you're just useless it
made me question why I was an
entrepreneur why am I doing all that if
I can just get you know a sense of like
worthiness having a job I started to
have time for me on weekends because I
didn't allow myself to take time off in
the past it made me prioritize other
parts of my life that I haven't touched
previously from sleep to reading books
to working outs and the overall
happiness everything like the burst I
had previously everything started to
fade away and I started to feel much
better 6 month after getting the job
lockdown started to disappear and my
wife and I decided to go back to belly I
started to feel this little desire of
Freedom that I didn't crave previously
because I had 100% freedom but 0%
worthiness but now the fact that I had
to show up from Monday to Friday within
2 months I was already thinking like
sometimes I don't want to do this
meeting I don't want to go there I don't
want to do that and I was seeing some
tweets from from other software
Engineers who either got fired who
pursue their passion whatever and I see
that there are some guys who have a
totally different approach to
entrepreneurship they don't raise money
they don't work with the team they do
whatever they want they build tiny
project they make it
fast maybe I want that a little seed is
planted in Mark's mind yet again that
maybe he can actually do this but he
remembers all of the failures he's gone
through plus he's got a great job and
he's not ready to quit right away then
one day he receives a phone call that
would change his life around this time
in Bal like couple month after we're
here I just received a call they're like
hey it was nice working with you bye and
so when I got fired it was totally fine
because I was I was already thinking of
going back to the entrepreneurship world
to get that uh sense for Freedom
fulfilled
again the moment I get fired I build my
new identity I'm going to be an
entrepreneur again but these times I'll
do things differently I will never spend
month on a product I will never raise
money I never have employees I'll never
do all the things that frustrated me in
the past I started to realize that each
failure is not a failure if you don't
give up each failure is a learning or a
frustration for a future success and
unless I quit in the middle all those
failures will bring the success later
it's just making a matter of making
small bets small bet here small beted
there and maybe something will work out
I also decided to at the same time I
build stuff I'm going to try to share
this publicly so that people can see it
so that if my app goes wrong if nothing
happens then in the worst case maybe
I'll have created a little following
that's for the next project that I can
use to get some eyeballs and not
starting again from zero with a
reignited passion and a new approach to
entrepreneurship Mark starts to ship the
first app I build is called mood to
movie it's basically an app that match
your mood and recommend you movies based
on how you feel and then habits Garden
it's like a little habit tracker I got
around 10,000 users which I was super
proud of because it's like also like
it's helping people to get better in
life I was so happy I worked on a tool
that ranks productivity tips I built a
landing page generator so you input some
text and it's going to create an entire
website for you with text images and
buttons I created a link in BIO tool for
entrepreneurs where uh you can show your
entrepreneur resume Mark launched six
projects in 7 months but he was still
facing a big problem income he was only
making $1,000 a month and he needed to
figure out how to crack the code to make
more money I start to make painkiller
apps where it's actually solving a
problems like I try to focus on that and
I also try to focus on apps that that
are not free that like users at some
point have a pay wall the fact that I
was shipping painkillers means something
people know their struggle they know
their pain so I come up with a solution
so it's much easier to sell than a
vitamine where like the Habit tracker
for instance where it's fun but you
don't necessarily need it I try to get a
new approach of like launching viral I
would focus on the launch part try to
get as many ice balls as I can and I
started to make those like skit where I
would go on a podcast with jogan or I
would be on a movie with Leonardo
DiCaprio and this did really well like
people felt that I was having fun and
that's where my Revenue went from like
around $1,000 per month to I think it
was around
$4,000 in 2020 3 mid 2023 I had built
somewhere around 10 to 15 products and I
realized I was doing the same thing over
set up a landing page deploy it add a
button for people to pay send them an
email create an account I was like What
if I just create a little code base that
I can reuse for every new project that I
create so whenever I have a new ID I can
make it faster I can ship it faster I
did that I built it I think in like less
than a week and I was like this is super
cool why not just putting a price tag on
it and offering it to other developers
if they want to use it but I remove
expectations from anything that I would
launch I told my wife like hey you know
maybe we'll make 100 bucks that would be
nice I shipped the product went skating
and I came back home opened my dashboard
my strap dashboard like after 2 hours of
skate I was like I made 500 bucks which
is what I would make in like a week an
entrepreneurship before in 2 hours I was
like something is going wrong like I I I
really couldn't believe it and then the
next day I had made somewhere like
around3 to 4,000 and I was like what the
is going on like I would make my
best monthly salary in one day it's just
insane I think the first month I made
around 40,000 us the second month on
November for the Black Friday that day I
made S I think $8,000 I very surprised
it was steady around like $50,000 a
month except in November where there was
like a burst at 65 and I realized one
thing is product Market fit when it hits
it's like it's there you can you can
feel it I would receive messages from
people that say like hey I cannot pay
using your credit cards you except
crypto like you would have people like
ask me like to give me money it's the
first time ever never usually I'm trying
to convince people to give me money for
my product I felt so happy I couldn't
sleep at night I was awake looking at
emails looking at the stripe dashboard
going up I don't know it's a pure blee
feeling it's just insane and receiving
those messages from people who's like
thank you you changed my
life for me is like it was I don't know
if I can ever be happier than that
[Music]
so the launch gave it an initial boost I
also did uh lots of like free tools
marketing so I would build this like
logo generator and then on the right
side you would have a banner that says
like uh are you building a startups ship
it fast with ship fast and there's
obviously the YouTube episode that came
a little bit later added lots of Revenue
to the product ship fast so it went from
like $50,000 a month to somewhere around
$85,000 on the first month then 135 in
the second month 135 in the third month
and now it's slowing down a little bit
to somewhere like around $80,000 a
month okay so I do believe there are
multiple people living up there and
there is one that's very strong and that
always thinking is telling you stuff is
overthinking it's blocking you from
making the first step it's going to find
a good excuse for this idea to not work
it's going to tell you that the idea
you're working on is not perfect enough
enough to be launched so my advice would
be to it's cliche but it's start
anything start make the smallest version
of your app as fast as you can and the
second part learn where you're
comfortable sharing your ideas if it's
text go on Twitter if you're comfortable
with videos go on Tik Tok if you're
comfortable with images and you know how
to tell beautiful stories with one image
go on Instagram and learn how to blend
those two things together and see how
things react I failed 30 startups around
that but if you don't quit then at some
point you'll win it's just a matter of
not quitting before you win start now
and ship fast that's Mark's formula for
being a successful online entrepreneur
but here's the problem when you're
starting out and when you have an idea
for something you don't really know a
whole lot about what to do you don't
know necessarily if the idea is good you
don't know how to validate it and you
don't know how to monetize it well the
best way to learn is to talk to people
or study people who are a few steps
ahead of you that's what starter story
is for it's a library and community of
inspiration practical advice and stories
that you can apply to your own business
to give you a sneak peek of what that
looks like I'm going to be giving you a
free download of 50 plus solo developer
ideas just like marks that will give you
ideas and inspire you for your own thing
it'll give you a bunch of winning ideas
strategies and other cool information to
help you go from 0 to one just click the
first link in the description and we'll
send it to you for free also if you're
serious about building your business
come join starter story and we will help
you do that I really hope you guys
enjoyed this Underdog I'll see you in
the next one peace
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