Nomad List

How Pieter Levels Makes $2.7M/Year With A Laptop & No Employees

Pieter Levels @levelsio is a digital nomad, entrepreneur, and software developer who has mastered the art of building a one-man, profitable, online businesses.

Monthly Revenue

$250K

Starting Costs

$150

Score

92 🔥

Founders

Monthly Traffic

624,923

Gross Margin

90%

Profitable

Yes

Growth Rate (CAGR)

39%

Customer

B2C

Revenue Per Visitor

$0.40

Founders

Monthly Traffic

624,923

Gross Margin

90%

Profitable

Yes

Growth Rate (CAGR)

39%

Customer

B2C

Revenue Per Visitor

$0.40

Who is Pieter Levels?

Pieter Levels is the ideal solopreneur.

He stands out as the example self-taught success in the tech and digital nomad spheres. With an educational background in business, Levels transitioned from an uninspired employee to a figurehead of the digital nomad movement.

His journey from playing with code as a hobby to becoming a multimillionaire showcases his knack for identifying niche markets and capitalizing on them through sheer determination, self-education in development, and a keen sense of community needs.

Levels' businesses revolve around facilitating the digital nomad lifestyle. Here's a short list of all the businesses he's started:

PhotoAI: $70K/m

InteriorAI: $49K/m

RemoteOK $41K/m

NomadList $30K/m

readMAKE (book): $21k/m

These platforms are unified by their focus on automation, user-generated content, and community-building, catering to a growing demographic that seeks flexibility, freedom, and opportunity in work and life.

What problem does Nomad List solve?

Levels' ventures address the critical pain points of remote workers and digital nomads: finding conducive places to live and work, connecting with like-minded individuals, securing remote employment, and acquiring new skills.

His platforms serve as comprehensive resources that simplify the transition to and sustainment of a remote work lifestyle.

Niches

Solopreneurs

Target Audiences

Remote Workers Digital Nomads

Founder-Market Fit

Skills

What skills did Pieter Levels have that led to their success?

Coding Skills

Passions

Product Design Data Problem Solving

How did Pieter come up with the idea for Nomad List?

Personal Need and Frustration:

The idea for Nomad List sparked from Levels' personal desire to escape the 9-5 grind and work from anywhere in the world.
Many of his other projects originated from personal needs or frustrations. For instance, he created Remote OK because he saw a gap in the job market for remote positions, aiming to make it easier for individuals to find remote work opportunities globally.

12 Startups in 12 Months Challenge:

In 2014, Levels set himself the challenge of launching 12 startups in 12 months.
This experiment wasn't just about building businesses but about learning rapidly, understanding the market, and identifying what works and what doesn't.
This challenge led to the creation of several projects, including Nomad List.

Desire for Autonomy and Freedom:

Levels has always been motivated by a desire for autonomy, freedom, and the ability to work from anywhere.
This personal philosophy has driven him to create platforms that empower others to do the same, by providing tools, resources, and communities that support a location-independent lifestyle.

Solving Problems for Digital Nomads:

He recognized the unique challenges faced by digital nomads, such as finding the best places to live and work remotely.
Levels sought to address these issues through his platforms, creating a suite of tools and resources that cater specifically to the needs of this community.

Automation and Minimalism:

He is a proponent of automation and running lean operations.
This philosophy has not only influenced how he builds and manages his businesses but also what kinds of projects he decides to pursue.
He focuses on creating efficient, automated systems that require minimal ongoing maintenance, allowing him to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

How did Pieter build the initial version of Nomad List?

Tech Stack:

PHP: For server-side scripting to generate dynamic page content.

JavaScript: To create interactive elements on the website, enhancing user experience.

jQuery: A JavaScript library used to simplify HTML DOM tree traversal and manipulation, as well as event handling and animation.

Leveraging Existing Data:

He started by compiling data on various cities around the world, focusing on factors important to digital nomads like cost of living, internet speed, and climate.

This data formed the foundational content of Nomad List.

Crowdsourcing for More Data:

Understanding the power of community, Pieter incorporated mechanisms for users to contribute their own insights and updates about different locations, enriching the database with real-world experiences.

Automation from the Start:

To manage the growing platform with minimal manual intervention, Pieter implemented automated processes for tasks such as data updates, user submissions, and content moderation.

Rapid Development and Deployment:

He emphasized quick development cycles, pushing out features and adjustments rapidly to test ideas and respond to user feedback. This agile development process allowed for continuous improvement based on actual user needs and behaviors.

Minimalist and Functional Design:

The initial design focused on usability and speed, ensuring that users could easily access the information they needed without unnecessary frills.

SEO Optimization:

From the outset, Pieter paid attention to search engine optimization, ensuring that content was structured and tagged in a way that made it discoverable to those searching for digital nomad-related information.

What were the initial startup costs for Nomad List?

Estimated Startup Costs: $65-$150

Domain Registration: $10 to $20 per year for each domain. Given Pieter's multiple ventures, let's estimate 3 domains initially.
Basic Hosting Services: $5 to $10 per month for shared hosting. As traffic grows, costs may increase to $20-$100 per month for more robust hosting solutions.
SSL Certificate: Often free with hosting services, but standalone certificates can range from $0 (Let's Encrypt) to over $100 per year for more comprehensive security options.
Development Tools: Utilizing open-source tools and platforms such as PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, which are free. The cost is primarily in the time spent learning and developing.
Text Editor/IDE: Free options like Visual Studio Code or Atom, or up to $89 per year for more advanced IDEs like PhpStorm for PHP development.
Database Management: Starting with free options like SQLite or MySQL that come with most hosting plans. Advanced needs may require paid solutions or upgrades.
Email Service: Basic plans are often free up to a certain number of emails sent per month (e.g., SendGrid, Mailgun). Beyond free tiers, costs can start from $10 per month.
Analytics and SEO Tools: Free tools like Google Analytics for website analytics; costs for SEO tools vary widely but can start from $99 per month for platforms like Ahrefs or SEMrush.
Design Tools: Can range from free (Canva for basic graphics) to subscriptions like Adobe Creative Cloud starting at $20.99 per month for individual apps.

Photo Credit: goldpenguin.org

How did Pieter launch Nomad List and get initial traction?

Specific Launch Tactics

PRE-LAUNCH:

Building Anticipation: Months before the official launch, Pieter engaged with potential users on social media, especially Twitter, and forums related to digital nomad lifestyles, sharing insights and snippets of what he was building.
Content Teasers: He shared early previews and concept ideas on his personal blog and through social media posts, effectively creating anticipation and gathering early feedback.

LAUNCH STRATEGY:

Leveraging Hacker News: Pieter smartly utilized Hacker News, a popular site among tech enthusiasts and digital nomads, by posting about Nomad List upon launch. The platform's relevance to the community helped it gain immediate traction.
Social Media Blitz: On launch day, Pieter tweeted about the release, pinning the tweet, and engaging with every retweet and comment to maximize exposure.
Community Engagement: He actively participated in digital nomad forums and Facebook groups, not just promoting his platform but also contributing valuable advice and insights, which helped build credibility and interest.

POST-LAUNCH GROWTH HACKS

Crowdsourcing Data: Shortly after launch, Pieter introduced features that allowed users to contribute their own data and reviews about locations, making the platform more comprehensive and valuable to users.
Content Marketing: He continued to share stories, data insights, and user testimonials on his blog and social media, which were often picked up by larger tech and lifestyle publications, further increasing visibility.
Iterative Improvements: Based on user feedback collected during the initial weeks, Pieter made rapid iterations to the website, adding new features, and improving the user interface, which he communicated through update logs on social media and the website itself.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY:

Launching a Slack Channel: A few months post-launch, Pieter introduced a Slack channel for digital nomads, further cementing Nomad List as not just a resource but a community hub, which significantly increased user engagement and retention.

ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION:

Email Newsletters: Pieter started sending out regular newsletters featuring top cities, user stories, and updates about Nomad List, keeping users engaged and driving repeat visits to the site.
Special Promotions: He occasionally offered discounts on Nomad List membership, especially around holidays or special events, which he promoted via social media and email marketing.

What was the growth strategy for Nomad List and how did they scale?

His approach to growing his businesses, particularly Nomad List and Remote OK, can be outlined through a series of strategic steps and philosophies he adopted over time:

Launch with Public Interest – Pieter launched Nomad List in 2014 by publicly sharing his idea on Twitter, generating initial interest and feedback even before the site was officially live.

Rapid Iteration – After launching, Pieter quickly iterated on feedback, making constant updates to Nomad List based on user suggestions and needs.

Transparency – From the early days, Levels built trust by being highly transparent about his revenues, costs, and the challenges he faced.

Community Building – Recognizing the importance of community, Pieter integrated community features into Nomad List, such as forums and Slack groups.

User Experience Focus – A significant part of his strategy was focusing on the user experience, making his websites fast, accessible, and easy to use.

Automation and Efficiency – Pieter automated as much of his workflow as possible, allowing him to operate his businesses efficiently as a solo founder.

Direct Engagement on Social Media – He used social media not just for marketing, but for direct engagement, answering queries, and joining conversations.

Leveraging Data for Decisions – Pieter made use of the data collected from his sites to make informed decisions about new features, targeting, and improvements.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building Nomad List?

Bootstrap when possible:

Levels' success underscores the viability of bootstrapping, proving that with the right skills and dedication, entrepreneurs can build and scale profitable businesses without external funding.

Focus on community:

Building a community not only fosters user engagement but also creates a loyal customer base willing to support and promote your product.

Automate early and often:

Automation enables scalability and frees up time for strategic thinking and new initiatives.

Be transparent:

Sharing the journey, including both successes and failures, can build trust and attract a dedicated following.

Adapt and iterate:

Listening to user feedback and being willing to pivot or adjust offerings based on this feedback is crucial for long-term success.

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