021

The Goal

Build a minimally sell-able product or service in <1 month, close your first sale on launch day, and grow into a profitable recurring side business by month 4

021 helps you do this without having you quit your job, spend any money, or raise venture capital––you have nothing to lose!

What is 021?

An accelerator for smart, talented people who want to build an independent income by creating SaaS products, productized services, or simple e-commerce businesses.

021 is for:

Software engineers (with or without full-time jobs) who want to build a side project, but don’t know what to build, how to launch, how to get sales, or how to grow
Entrepreneurs (technical or not) who want to build & launch profitable products that are self-sustaining and grow without venture capital
Consultants who have useful skillsets they could market as freelancers, but don't want to run a traditional agency or know how to get clients
Data scientists who can scrape and manipulate data, but don't know how to productize or monetize their datasets
Product designers who can build polished physical & digital products, but don't what exactly to build or how to sell it
Influencers who have niche audiences they could sell to, but have nothing to sell
Students who have spare time and want to build a side hustle to make some extra cash and get practical experience

The 021 Timeline

Learn more about how 021 works here

Why work with us?

We launched 15 products in 2018, generated $80k+ in sales, then doubled those sales in 2019 with a core team of only 2 people and no investors.

Over the years we've created a simple system for finding market opportunities, building minimal products in <1 month, and getting sales on day 1. We've designed 021 around that system.

Check out our portfolio here!

Hundreds of businesses from all over the world have paid for our products and our work's been featured by hundreds of media outlets.

What do you get with 021?

Access to our team, resources, and community to guide you through finding, building, launching, growing, and selling an indie internet business
Guidance on finding the right product or service to build, then a refined product roadmap to launch a "minimally sell-able product" in 1 month
All pre-launch product expenses covered (like server costs, domains, hosting, tools like Intercom, etc.)
A product launch led by us, including sales copy, branding, a landing page, and marketing assets
A program manager to support you through your roadmaps with feedback and marketing tasks
A refined growth roadmap to help you grow your product and cut churn after launch

Our goal is to remove all friction that comes with starting an internet business. We help you cut out all the BS and avoid dead-end time sinks so you can just focus on building what matters.

You don't need to know how to code, have a product already, revenues, or even a good idea

We bet on the entrepreneur, not their product, traction, or market

To succeed in 021, you should:

Have enough time to complete a 1-month product sprint and 3-month growth sprint (both can be done without being full-time)
Be able to build their core product or operate their service (fulfill orders or manage an outsourced team) on their own
Be willing to hustle and run their business independently

FAQ

If this doesn't suffice, feel free to ask us questions in our live chat in the bottom right

Do I need to know how to code?

No there are many valuable products and services you can build using no-code tools (Airtable, Zapier, etc.).

Will 021 build the product for me?

No, it is your job to build the product on your own. 021 will build the landing page, write all the sales copy, design the branding & marketing assets, launch the product for you, and give you access to our resources, guidance, and community to help you along the way. In the case of a product or service that really isn't anything but a landing page that accepts payments (common for lots of productized services) and an order fulfillment flow after payment, you would be responsible for managing the order fulfillment system. That might sound intimidating, but we have a few products that are super easy to work with that we love to use for this use-case.

Does 021 cost money? Does 021 have equity in the project?

We don't charge you anything up front. We cover all costs required to get the project to launch. Once the project has become profitable, we split profits 50/50 for the first year. After the first year, we split profits 20/80––meaning that for every 80 cents you pay yourself you'll pay us 20 cents. Upon completion of 021, we'll incorporate the project together as a company, and we'll be 20% equity partners in the business.

Do I need to build a SaaS product? Or can I build a productized service or Shopify store?

You can build any kind of product we think you can get minimally sell-able in 1 month. This could be a SaaS product if you're a software engineer, a productized service if you're a marketing consultant or copywriter, or a Shopify store if you're an influencer.

What do I have to do during my 1-month product sprint?

It depends on the project you're working on and your skillset. We'll work together designing the right roadmap that will output a minimally sell-able product in <1 month that you'll be able to complete given the amount of time you have available to work.

How long does 021 last?

The whole program is about 4 months. Technically it's possible to complete the program much quicker, but we design the product & growth roadmaps to be about 4 months of work. The product roadmap takes about 1 month, and growth about 3.

Do I have to go somewhere to participate in 021 or is it completely remote?

021 is completely remote. We communicate through Slack channels and video calls. We're based in NYC if you want to meet up though. (We also bounce around LA, SF, Taiwan, and Idaho.)

How much time will I need to have available to succeed in 021?

The more the better. Depending on your skillset or how quickly you work, you could get away with as little as 5 hours per week––but we recommend a minimum of 10 hours per week.

What happens if I get halfway through building out my product and I can't (or don't) finish it?

If you consistently miss your roadmap goals due to inactivity and neglect to complete your product sprint within 1.5 months you'll forfeit the project. At that point, someone else can jump on the project and take it to completion as their own. We know that life sometimes gets in the way, so we do make exceptions––but if we're too lenient on timelines, no one will ever launch!

What resources do I get from participating in 021?

We have a collection of docs to help you find a market opportunity to work on, build minimally sell-able products, launch your product, grow, close sales through live chat & email, and run quality customer support

What happens after I complete 021?

We'll incorporate the project into a company together, and we'll be 20% equity partners in the business. We'll continue supporting you through our resources and product launches

Do I need to have a product already to participate in 021?

No, we'll help you find an opportunity to work on if you don't already have a product.

We back talented people who want to build their own profitable side projects without VC