He built a multi million dollar business with no employees and ZERO funding

9 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this monologue, Dan Novaes highlights how entrepreneur Peter Levels built multi‑million‑dollar online businesses entirely on his own, without employees, office space, or external investors. Using the example of Nomad List—a subscription‑based platform that helps remote workers find optimal cities—Novaes explains Levels' approach: launch quickly, iterate from user feedback, automate processes, and scale systems rather than hiring people. The revenue model relies on simple online services and subscriptions, keeping overhead minimal. Novaes argues that this demonstrates an alternative to the conventional startup trajectory, showing that a clear idea, disciplined execution, and simplicity can replace large teams and complex structures.

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Peter Levels built profitable online businesses while working completely alone. In traditional startups, growth means hiring more employees, more structure, more complexity. Peter Levels did the opposite. He built products by himself. No office, no team, no investors. One of his projects, Nomad List, helped remote workers find the best cities to live and work. He launched quickly, improved based on feedback, automated everything he could. Instead of scaling people, he scaled systems. Revenue came from subscriptions and simple online services. The business ran continuously with minimal overhead. Levels didn't follow the traditional startup path. He proved something different. A company doesn't always need a large team. Sometimes it needs a clear idea, execution, and the ability to keep things simple.