Dayana Doncheva founded EcardForest, an online greeting card business, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company allows multiple people to sign and personalize digital cards for special occasions, with a focus on privacy and environmental sustainability. Within a year of launching, EcardForest reached $180K in annual revenue, driven primarily by business clients.

Paige Patten and Dan Hubbard founded FriendsWith, a social commerce platform from Auckland, New Zealand, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The platform blends social media photo sharing with e-commerce and affiliate rewards, focusing on fashion and lifestyle brands. By encouraging users to promote products through creative posts, FriendsWith enables individuals to earn commissions without upfront costs. The platform aims to revolutionize shopping by integrating user-generated content with social commerce, and it has grown significantly since its launch in August 2020.

Link Moser, founder of Windhill Design LLC, created a successful WordPress development and SEO company that generated $212,000 in revenue in 2021, largely through recurring services like managed website hosting and maintenance. With a focus on small businesses, Moser leveraged his early interest in computers and marketing to grow his business. The company now manages over 220 websites, and Link continues to explore growth through acquisitions and offering additional digital marketing services.

Sander Visser, founder of Checkout Page, launched a payment software to help independent businesses easily accept payments online. Initially a side project, the company has processed over $1 million in transactions with $13,000 in annual revenue. With plans to grow, Visser is teaming up with a co-founder, Andy, to expand the business, which is designed to work without requiring coding knowledge.

Zack Johnson founded ggCircuit, a company offering software and services for esports arenas worldwide. The company provides three core services: ggLeap, a cloud-based management tool; ggRock, a system for game updates; and consulting and maintenance for esports arenas. The company has grown rapidly, generating $4 million in revenue in the past 12 months and is projected to double that figure in the coming year.

Paige Patten and Dan Hubbard founded FriendsWith, a social commerce platform from Auckland, New Zealand, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The platform blends social media photo sharing with e-commerce and affiliate rewards, focusing on fashion and lifestyle brands. By encouraging users to promote products through creative posts, FriendsWith enables individuals to earn commissions without upfront costs. The platform aims to revolutionize shopping by integrating user-generated content with social commerce, and it has grown significantly since its launch in August 2020.

Zack Hall, a software developer and woodworker, founded "SketchUp For Woodworkers," an online course that teaches woodworkers to use 3D design software. Starting as a hobby, Zack saw potential in an old website offering outdated SketchUp tutorials, purchased it for $5,000, and revamped it into a successful course. His business now generates around $1,000 per month, driven by organic SEO traffic.

Ana Colak-Fustin founded ByRecruiters, a business that sells resume templates on Etsy and helps job seekers improve their applications. Since starting in 2018, Ana has sold over 6,000 resume templates to clients worldwide. Her side hustle now generates $30K a year, offering resume designs, job search tools, and coaching services to professionals.


Sergey Voynov is the founder of G-71, a cybersecurity company specializing in data leak deterrence. With over two decades of experience in IT, Sergey has grown G-71 into a successful business generating $1.5M annually. The company’s primary product, LeaksID, uses a patented algorithm to apply unique anti-leak marks on sensitive documents, ensuring leak deterrence and easy identification of culprits.

Fabien, the founder of FAB FRENCH INSURANCE, launched a successful insurance brokerage in France targeting English speakers. He started with an initial investment of $10K and now makes over $3 million annually, offering services related to visas, car insurance, and home insurance. His business has grown rapidly due to niche targeting and a strong online presence.

Manthan Koolwal founded Scrapingdog, a web scraping API, in Jaipur, India. The company helps users extract data from websites via simple requests, which can be applied to price comparison, sentiment analysis, lead generation, and more. With additional products like MakCorps (a hotel rate shopping tool) and FlightAPI, Scrapingdog generates $22,000 in monthly revenue.

Joshua Hurley, founder of 930TECH, launched a digital marketing and IT solutions company in the middle of the pandemic. Drawing on his extensive experience in management and technology roles, he built a business focused on offering services like SEO, website design, and IT management. The company, which launched in June 2021, is making $36K a year and aims to become one of the top digital companies in Tennessee.