I rake in 6 figures a YEAR from a bedroom gig catering to celebrities
AN ENTREPRENEUR who launched his side hustle seven years ago is now in charge of three companies.
David Soffer started freelance writing at the age of 23 and has now built an impressive six-figure empire with his small, self-funded business at the age of 31.
The company's founder discovered his passion for digital marketing and in 2016 created a platform to promote startups in a way the industry had never done before.
TechRound was born from David and the vision of a previous co-founder, but it only served as a “loss maker” before growing into the success it is today – working with big names like Pelaton, Amazon and Uber.
Founder and editor-in-chief David told The Sun Online: “It was a side hustle that started in 2016 and lasted until about 2020, but now it's a business in its own right.
“It used to not be a team, it was just me and a former co-founder, but now there's a team of four or five people.
“It's a side issue that went well. Originally it was just going to be a way to make some money on the side.
“I started freelancing when I was about 23 and didn't go on holiday very often, friends did and I only earned about £200-£300 a month.
“I just thought I had to work and work to make this happen.”
David explained that it has been a long and difficult road for his company to achieve its goals.
“It was a loss maker for a while, it was a side project and we tried to keep losses down,” he said.
“When it started making a profit, it was a few hundred here or there. Then it was a few thousand here and there.”
And the hard work paid off: David and his team now see the company raking in six figures a year.
“It's doing six figures a year. It's 100 percent profitable now,” he said.
“It's been a very nice success story so far, no one really talks to start-ups and discovers them like we do.
“We've done stuff for Pelaton, Amazon, Toyota, Axa, Uber and some really big brands. That was never the intention when we started.
“Once we were able to hire some more staff, it grew and grew and grew. In 2020, because of Covid, I made the decision to pay more attention to it.”
Speaking of TechRound, the founder described what he likes about the work.
“There are all kinds of startups that don't get the attention they deserve, and they can find them through TechRound. National Press collects them from us.
“People contact me and say we changed their lives.
“My favorite part of the job is reporting on the sector in a way that is not done.
“And also growing a profitable business, it's not easy.”
BUSINESS TIPS FOR FELLOW SIDE HUSTLERS
David gave his golden advice to potential entrepreneurs like himself.
The businessman also runs another successful company called GlobMed – a medical startup.
“Growing a company and seeing the growth is incredibly fun,” he said.
“It's easy to get distracted, everyone is fighting for attention, so my advice is to stay focused on something.
“It's easy to say that there are so many things happening that you spend a little bit of time on each one, and it's just as easy to say that you put everything into something.
“But both approaches run the risk of doing nothing at all. The balance between saying I'll focus but spreading my bets a bit is very valuable.”
Running three businesses means the 31-year-old doesn't find much time to relax – a scam he warned other side hustlers about.
He confessed: “I don't get much time to relax, not enough and that's a problem.
'Unless you have someone who just finances you without any obligations, that is the reality.
“I am proud of the fact that TechRound has never had any funding, it is all self-funded and self-sustaining.
“There is sacrifice. You may see people on social media saying they grew their business in six months to a year, but there are things they don't tell you.
“It's a long, uphill battle to really start it from scratch, but once it starts playing, it's worth it.”