Dan Koe made $4.2M last year.
And he only spends 2h a day writing content.
Here’s his story:
As a kid, Dan noticed something unsettling.
Most people seemed miserable.
So he gave himself one option:
“Do the exact opposite of everyone else.”
While most people drowned in a toxic flood of mainstream media and news...
Dan read self-improvement books and went to the gym after school.
At college, Dan’s goal was to work out how to avoid the 9-to-5.
First, he posted fitness videos on YouTube.
One of his videos gained 20K views.
But he soon got bored and gave up. Partying and video games took priority.
Until one night, when he and some friends got arrested for smoking pot.
Days later, he received a letter.
He had 2 options:
1. Go to court and risk becoming a convicted felon, or
2. Pay $10K and pee in a cup for 6 months
This shook Dan.
So he cleaned up his act and began self-educating like mad.
Around that time, he picked up Photoshop
He’d spend 6-8h every day editing images.
He posted his creations on Instagram and gained 2,500 followers.
But a few months in he lost interest and stopped.
Time at college was ticking by.
Dan still needed to work out how to make money online.
So he launched a Facebook Ads agency.
But he had no patience for it.
Next, he focused on something he knew well – EDM festivals.
He spun up an e-com store that sold rave clothing.
Sold one shiny bra.
Then... gave up again.
What changed the game for him was taking an Intro to Web Development Course.
Coding became his new obsession.
After reaching out to friends and family, he got a couple of paid gigs.
Meanwhile, his time at college was running out.
The $500 he’d made from freelancing wasn’t going to save him from a 9-to-5.
Desperate, Dan pitched his Dad a half-baked business idea.
His Dad lent him some money.
The plan? Sell blue-light glasses.
He threw everything at it, including his Dad’s loan.
But it flopped.
With no other option, Dan got a job at a web design agency.
He used his income to launch another e-com product – minimalist wallets.
Another flop.
So he went back to freelancing.
He switched from offering web dev services to building service funnels (a more valuable business proposition).
With that, he raised his prices.
Quit his agency job.
And started posting on Twitter (X).
Dan’s skill base had grown. Graphic design, marketing, sales, web development, freelancing.
So he packaged up everything he’d learned into a digital product.
It added another $3K/m to his freelance income.
All with only 500 followers.
“Solve your own problems and sell the solution”
Doubling down on digital products got him to 6-figs a year.
And since then, Dan’s income and audience have exploded.
Today, he’s:
- Amassed 3.4M followers (w/145K on LinkedIn)
- Made $4.2M+ as a one-person business, and
- Authored a book titled The Art of Focus
Dan’s story is one of trial and error. And it shows what’s possible from walking an unconventional path.