Building a side hustle that essentially “prints money” with minimal effort is a goal for many, and one that this entrepreneurial duo achieved with under $200.
Salvatore “Sal” Aiello, an experienced tech startup CTO, met Monica Powers, a product designer, at a virtual startup event in Silicon Valley a year ago. They quickly began working together.
Within just four days, they developed a profitable venture using a readily available tool: ChatGPT, an AI chatbot.
The pair utilized ChatGPT to conduct market research on their business ideas, swiftly refining their approach. By March, their AI-driven research tool was launched.
The tool allows users to submit business ideas and receive a detailed, 50-page report generated by ChatGPT, priced at $39. While similar research could be done with Google, Aiello explained to CNBC that their tool drastically reduces time: “There’s no reason you can’t do 1,000 Google searches and get the same results. [But] it’s a no-brainer to lean on somebody [to do it faster].”
Shortly after creating their tool, Aiello and Powers launched their business, DimeADozen, realizing its potential for resale. Over six months, it generated $66,000 in revenue with only $185 invested—$150 on the domain and $35 on hosting and a database. They split the profits equally.
Last month, DimeADozen was sold for $150,000 to Felipe Arosemena and Danielle de Corneille, who plan to run it full-time. Aiello and Powers now serve as advisors, dedicating about five hours per week.
The duo also runs three other side hustles and plans to create more. Aiello hopes DimeADozen will someday be acquired by a major software company, noting that it “really does print money.”