This solo founder turned a side project into a $2.5B company

n8n started as a side project. Now it’s worth $2.5B.

Jan Oberhauser built it to solve his own problem: workflow automation that didn't require a developer. He built and sold solo. He didn't make his first hire until he had thousands of users. Full story here.

We see this solo success pattern constantly:

1. Solo Founder builds a product to address their own problem

2. Others have the same needs

3. Founder handles all sales

4. Then builds a team once it’s already working

Another example that’s closer to home: One SFP founder discovered a problem worth solving during his high school internship. He decided to build a startup and has successfully scaled to $1M ARR completely solo.

There are other ways to build successful startups solo, and we’ll be creating playbooks that cover the strategies and tactics used. Reply if there are any specific solo-founded startups you’d like us to prioritize.

Julian