Many Solo Entrepreneurs Are Hitting $1M in Revenues, Fueled By The Pandemic’s Small Business Boom

Contrary to popular belief, one isn’t the loneliest number — especially when it comes with six zeros. Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman bet we’ll soon see a founder reach a billion-dollar valuation without any employees. With more than 58K solopreneurs hitting the $1M revenue mark between 2020 and 2021, he may just win the bet.

• Since the pandemic, many Americans have abandoned traditional 9-to-5 jobs to start their own ventures, leading to a surge in nonemployer businesses — now nearly 28.5M strong (BI).
• Leading this entrepreneurial rush are the professional, scientific, and technical services sectors, with 874 out of 14.45K millionaire businesses in these areas seeing revenues exceed $2.5M.

The future is solo: There hasn’t been a better time to be a solopreneur — especially since tools like AI can now manage multiple tasks that would traditionally require a team. Additionally, the costs of starting and testing business ideas have significantly decreased, reducing the need for traditional funding sources. As hybrid work and remote work models become the norm — the appeal of starting your own business has never been higher.