one-time Startups

Plunge is a hardware company that manufactures and sells at-home cold plunge devices. Founded in 2020 by Ryan Duey and Michael after their brick-and-mortar float therapy and sauna businesses were impacted by COVID, the company grew from $270k in first-year revenue to $120M+ ARR in four years. Their success is driven by influencer gifting, organic word-of-mouth, and highly efficient paid advertising (7-10x ROAS on Facebook and Google).

Peter Rahal co-founded RX Bar in 2012 with $5,000 of his own money (plus $5,000 from co-founder Jared) in his mom's basement in Chicago. By identifying CrossFit as an underserved distribution channel with high velocity (80 bars/week vs. 1-4 in convenience stores), he scaled to $2M, then $7M, then $160M+ in revenue within 5 years before selling for $600M. A strategic rebrand emphasizing simple, whole-food ingredients (three egg whites, two dates, six almonds, four cashews) helped him cross into mainstream retail. Now he's launched David Bar, a protein-dense alternative with 26-27g protein and ~150 calories.

Ridge Wallet is a bootstrapped e-commerce brand founded in 2013 that grew from $1M (2013) to over $200M in annual revenue without raising external capital or taking on debt. The company scaled by mastering Facebook advertising arbitrage, expanding strategically into complementary product categories like men's wedding bands, and maintaining profitability from day one.

Mobile Emissions is a service that brings vehicle emissions testing to customers' homes for $50-60, eliminating the need to visit mechanic shops. The founders were getting most customers from organic Google search but had dismissed paid Google Ads after a poorly-tracked initial attempt with free credits. The business had opportunity to significantly scale by properly executing Google Ads and optimizing their value proposition on their website and Google Business Profile.

Foam Party Hats is a novelty merchandise company founded by Grace and Manuel Rojas that creates custom foam hats for events and sports occasions. The company gained massive viral traction when Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore wore a custom cheese grater hat (a play on Green Bay Packers' cheese heads) during a post-game celebration that went viral with 2.2 million views, resulting in 10,000 orders in a week (~$500k in revenue). The founders appeared on Shark Tank and secured $100k for 25% equity.

Brian Brushwood is an entertainer and content creator with over 400 Discovery Channel episodes, 1M+ YouTube subscribers, and multiple podcasts. Three years ago, he launched Scam Stuff (Modern Rogue Gear), an online store selling magic equipment, lockpicking sets, and bar culture products. The online store has become his highest revenue stream, complementing his diversified income from podcasts ($2,000/episode via Patreon), corporate speaking ($10,000+/gig), stage shows, and TV production work.

Jonathan Goodman is a 29-year-old entrepreneur who built the Personal Trainer Development Center and Viral Nomics brand, selling courses, books, and training programs to fitness professionals. His 1K Extra course launch from September 28-October 6 generated $299,962.15 in revenue with $285,433.38 in profit by using social-gated content (an Instagram operations document), email list leverage, and strategic $3,012 retargeting spend that drove 78-118 additional sales. He travels the world full-time with his girlfriend, using revenue to fund experiences across Hawaii, Thailand, Uruguay, Iceland, and Costa Rica.

Rob Burke founded MindTalk Technology to create communication devices built into mouth guards that let users hear through vibrations transmitted via their jawbone and teeth. The company has soft commitments for 5,000 units and is working with professional teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Stars. Rob is raising $1.7 million on a convertible note with 6% interest, having already secured $100,000 in soft commitments.

Baby Bathwater Event Series, co-founded by Hollis Carter and Michael Lubbidge, is a high-end mastermind event that brings together 100 carefully curated entrepreneurs and founders. The second official event generated approximately $330,000 in revenue from 110 attendees paying $3,000-$5,000 per ticket, with all profits reinvested into the community and future events.

Systemized.ly is a boutique marketing automation and systems consulting agency founded by David Abrams in 2014. The agency builds custom high-end funnels and marketing systems, charging $5,000-$20,000 per project, and generated $35,000 in October with a mix of professional services and recurring consulting packages. David intentionally keeps the team small (8 people, mix of full-time and contractors) and operates at a 40% cost-to-revenue ratio to maintain profitability while reinvesting in building scalable software products like Demio, a webinar platform launching in beta.

Jason Zook is a creative entrepreneur who sold his last name twice (first for $45,000 to headsets.com) and is known for making over a million dollars wearing t-shirts for brands. His latest venture, Buy My Future, launched with a unique 60-day transparent journal on Medium documenting the entire project, followed by 44 customer interviews to craft messaging. In just two weeks, he sold 165 lifetime access units at $1,000 each, generating $165,000 in revenue with $120,000 in profit after $8,900 in expenses, building a community around guaranteed access to his future projects.

Ziglar Corporation, led by Tom Ziglar, is a legacy personal development and training company that has modernized its distribution through digital channels. The company offers a $7,500 five-day Ziglar Legacy Certification course and generates significant traction through 4 million Facebook fans, 400,000-500,000 unique weekly visitors to the Ziglar Vault content hub, and a top-100 US podcast with 35,000+ downloads per episode, adding 3,000-5,000 email subscribers weekly.

Chris Merkel founded Razor agency in 2008 at age 20, starting with his first client deal ($60-70k) from his mom's basement. By age 28, he grew the agency to over $3 million in annual revenue through word-of-mouth referrals, scaling from solo work to a team of 8-16 people across Atlanta and New York offices. The agency specializes in conceptual prototyping, iPhone apps, custom websites, and backend systems for startups and Fortune 100 brands.

Jordan Gray is a sex and relationship coach who built a seven-figure business primarily through content marketing and syndication. Over 2.5 years, he wrote 10 books and ~250 articles, syndicating 180+ pieces across major publications (Entrepreneur.com, Cosmo, Thought Catalog) that funnel traffic back to his website where customers discover his $97 Supercharge Your Sex Life video course.

Noah Rasheta built iStabilizer, a smartphone and tablet accessories company, after struggling to film his young son at the park with his iPhone 3GS. Starting with a universal smartphone tripod adapter costing $1 to make and retailing for $19.95, he grew the business from $60-70K in first-year revenue to $400-500K after landing a Walmart deal. Today the company has 15 SKUs and generates significant revenue from major retailers like AT&T Wireless ($600K annually) and Walmart ($400K annually), with 75% of revenue from retail partnerships and 25% from online sales.

Jay Papasan and Gary Keller launched 'The One Thing' book with a concentrated, strategic month-long campaign that sold 27,000 copies in a single week, exceeding their 20,000-copy best-seller threshold. They leveraged three core channels: their internal network of 4,300 real estate agents, an email list of 35,000+ subscribers built on permission-based marketing, and 35 live training events across locations that reached approximately 16,000 people. The book achieved sustained growth year-over-year with sales up 43% in July and 26% annually, driven by word-of-mouth and timeless content strategy rather than short-term promotional tactics.

Billy Murphy built Forever Jobless into a content platform with 96,000 Instagram followers by organizing shout-for-shout cross-promotion groups and direct outreach to influencers. He converted his Instagram audience into a 26,000-person email list and launched an Instagram course at $397 one-time payment, generating $20,000-$30,000 in revenue in August alone. His strategy demonstrates how organic Instagram growth through peer promotion can be significantly more cost-effective than paid advertising.

Barn and Willow is a vertically integrated home decor brand founded by Trisha Roy in December 2014 that designs, manufactures, and sells premium custom window treatments and accessories directly to consumers at accessible prices. The company reached $22,500-$25,000 in monthly revenue within 9-10 months through a bootstrapped model with strong 85% gross margins, primarily driven by influencer partnerships and word-of-mouth marketing. After joining 500 Startups, the company achieved cash-flow positivity while building a 25% repeat purchase rate among early customers.

Sparks Entertainment is a creative lighting design and event production agency founded by Gil Wellsford at age 21, now operating across New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. The company generates approximately $1.2M in annual revenue by providing lighting, audio, audio-visual, and staging services for corporate events, tours, and social events. Growth is primarily driven through personal relationships and referrals, with 70-80% profit margins on events before capital equipment purchases.

Ryan Moran builds physical product businesses on Amazon, treating the platform as a customer acquisition funnel rather than the final destination. In October, his main business generated $500,000 in monthly revenue with approximately 50% net margins, while running a separate yoga products business that he previously sold for below $500k. He focuses on extracting customers from Amazon through in-package messaging and email capture to build recurring relationships beyond the platform.