Solo Stove
Spencer and Jeff Jan had a simple vision: create a high-quality camping stove and earn passive income while working just four hours a week. The design had to be intuitive and visually appealing—"as sleek as a spaceship," as the source describes it. Rather than starting from a traditional office, the brothers were geographically separated: Spencer was in Shanghai to source and locate the manufacturer, while Jeff managed logistics from his garage in Dallas.
When they launched Solo Stove in 2010, the founders made strategic use of the tools available to them. They leveraged Kickstarter to validate demand and secure initial funding, then expanded to Amazon to reach a broader audience. The brothers also famously used Starbucks for office meetings, demonstrating how lean their operation was in the early days.
Over a nine-year period, Solo Stove evolved from a side project into a 9-figure brand. The success was significant enough that the company attracted acquisition interest—in fact, the brand was acquired twice at 9-figure valuations. These dual exits made both brothers wealthy enough to move from their four-hour work week goal to a complete 0-hour work week, having fully exited the business.
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