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Pieter Levels is a prime example of self-taught success in the tech and digital nomad communities.

Although he began with a business degree, Levels moved from being a disengaged employee to becoming a leader in the digital nomad movement.

His path from coding as a hobby to becoming a multimillionaire highlights his ability to spot niche markets and leverage them through determination, self-taught coding skills, and an understanding of community needs.

Pieter Levels has created several businesses that enhance the digital nomad lifestyle. Here’s a short list of the startups he shipped:

• Levels.vc $209K/m

• PhotoAI.com $53K/m

• InteriorAI.com $47K/m

• NomadList.com $30K/m

• RemoteOK.com $51K/m

Pieter Levels is known for his transparency in sharing his income, which is quite remarkable.

But it's important to remember he didn't start off at the top. He put in a lot of hard work and dedication to reach his current position.

Now, let's dive into his inspiring story!

After graduation, Pieter Levels made money by posting music on YouTube.

After business college, Pieter Levels earned $2,000-$3,000 monthly by uploading music to YouTube, choosing this over a traditional job.

But the home-bound routine and the moral gray area of using others' music took a toll on his well-being.

On a friend's advice, he sold his belongings and traveled with just his laptop. While nomading through Asia, his income dropped, making it hard to get by.

Struggling, he returned to his parents' house in the Netherlands to reflect on his life.

Seeing peers in prestigious jobs, while he faced dwindling earnings, Pieter began to seek a fresh direction.

12 Startups in 12 Months

With a need for innovation, Pieter Levels embarked on his ambitious plan to launch 12 startups in 12 months.

For more insights, his blog offers an in-depth look at his journey.

Fail Fast, Win Fast

Peter’s first startup, "Play My Inbox," drawing on his experience of sharing music with friends via email. This app let users create playlists from the music they sent to each other.

Levels often focuses on personal challenges in his projects, advising developers to "Focus on your own issues first when developing services!" Despide the fact "Play My Inbox" didn't make money, he found the process exciting anyway.

The next venture pursued was "gifbook," a service designed to print animated GIFs into physical books. Unlike purely digital services, gifbook involved real-world logistics like printing and delivery, which significantly reduced the profit margins. Due to these financial challenges, Levels eventually decided to shut the service down.

Thirt was a boldly named service, "Go Fucking Do It." Users set a goal and a deadline, linked their credit card, and faced a financial penalty if they failed to meet their goal. Surprisingly, the service brought in about $500 a month, enough for Levels to live on.

Initially, Levels considered a more conventional name but opted for the provocative "Go Fucking Do It," which included the expletive to grab attention and create buzz. This experience led him to conclude that using unique and daring phrases in marketing can be more effective than opting for common names.

And the winning project is Nomad List, which he founded while searching for the best places to live as a nomad. He couldn't find a comprehensive resource online that compared cities by cost, weather, and internet quality, so he created it himself.

Starting with just a spreadsheet shared on Twitter, the concept quickly gained traction when he mistakenly allowed public editing, leading to widespread community contributions. Recognizing the strong demand, Levels developed it into a full-fledged service.

Today, Nomad List earns about 30k per month, demonstrating the power of solving a personal need and gradually building a product with community input.

In a similar way, his other project, Remote OK, provides a job board for remote workers and brings in around $51,000 per month, following the same principles of addressing specific needs and fostering user participation.

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