# Pieter Levels

> Pieter Levels (levelsio) is a Dutch solo founder, serial indie hacker, and bootstrapping legend who built a $3M/year portfolio of AI and remote-work tools — NomadList, Remote OK, PhotoAI, InteriorAI, and a viral flight simulator — entirely alone, with no investors, no employees, and a stubborn preference for vanilla PHP. He pioneered the digital nomad community, co-launched the EU/acc movement, and turned a 2014 Google Spreadsheet tweet into a global platform. His build-in-public style and radical transparency reshaped how a generation of founders think about success.

- **Role:** Founder at NomadList / Remote OK / PhotoAI
- **Organizations:** NomadList, Remote OK, PhotoAI, InteriorAI, EU/acc
- **From:** Amsterdam, Netherlands
- **Nationality:** Dutch
- **Education:** Business Administration, Rotterdam School of Management, Exchange Program, Korea University Business School, Music Production, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
- **Known for:** Built $3M+/year portfolio of products entirely solo with zero employees and zero VC funding, NomadList: #1 on Product Hunt and #1 on Hacker News simultaneously (2014); became #5 most-voted Product Hunt product of all time, Remote OK: #1 on Product Hunt at launch; became leading remote job board

## Career timeline

- **2003-2007** — Child coder (MS-DOS Batch, Windows 3.1); teenage DJ and techno/drum & bass music producer
- **2007** — Launched YouTube channel teaching music production in Reason 3; grew to 139K subscribers earning $8K/month
- **2012** — YouTube algorithm change killed income; had panic attack from 6+ cups of coffee/day; sold everything
- **2013** — Flew one-way to Bangkok with a MacBook, 4 shirts, 2 pants, 6 pairs each of socks/underwear; wrote 'Reset Your Life' blog post
- **2014** — Launched '12 Startups in 12 Months' challenge; created NomadList from a Google Spreadsheet tweet; hit #1 on Product Hunt and Hacker News simultaneously
- **2014** — Launched Remote OK remote job board (#1 on Product Hunt at launch)
- **2016** — First-ever Indie Hackers podcast interview; established as godfather of indie hacking community
- **2017** — Launched Hoodmaps (crowdsourced neighborhood vibe maps)
- **2018** — Published MAKE: Bootstrapper's Handbook (10,000+ copies sold); won Product Hunt Golden Kitty Maker of the Year and Side Project of the Year
- **2022** — Built InteriorAI using Stable Diffusion; quickly profitable at $50K MRR
- **2023** — Launched PhotoAI — $100K in first 10 days, grew to $100K+/month MRR
- **2024** — Appeared on Lex Fridman Podcast #440 (4-hour conversation); co-founded EU/acc movement
- **2025** — Built fly.pieter.com in 3 hours using Cursor AI with zero game dev experience; Elon Musk retweeted it; reached $1M ARR within 3 weeks; organized Vibe Code Game Jam (1,170 submissions, $40K prizes)
- **2026** — Organizing Cursor Vibe Jam 2026 ($35K prize pool); ~$3M/year revenue across portfolio

## Achievements

- Built $3M+/year portfolio of products entirely solo with zero employees and zero VC funding
- NomadList: #1 on Product Hunt and #1 on Hacker News simultaneously (2014); became #5 most-voted Product Hunt product of all time
- Remote OK: #1 on Product Hunt at launch; became leading remote job board
- PhotoAI: $100K in first 10 days; grew to $100K+/month MRR within 18 months
- fly.pieter.com: Built in 3 hours with AI; hit 89K players and $1M ARR within 3 weeks
- Product Hunt Golden Kitty Award — Maker of the Year (2018)
- Product Hunt Golden Kitty Award — Side Project of the Year (2018)
- First-ever Indie Hackers podcast interview subject (2016)
- Published MAKE: Bootstrapper's Handbook — 10,000+ copies sold
- Co-founded EU/acc (European Accelerationism) movement in 2024
- Organized Vibe Code Game Jam 2025: 1,170 submissions, $40,000 in prizes
- Pioneered open startup movement — publicly sharing live revenue dashboards
- Grew YouTube channel to 139K subscribers earning $8K/month as early YouTube monetizer

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Organizing Cursor Vibe Jam 2026 with $35K prize pool; deadline May 1, 2026; sponsored by Cursor, Bolt.new, Glif, Tripo3D
- **2025-03** — fly.pieter.com reached $1M ARR within 3 weeks of launch; peaked at 89K players and 26K simultaneous users
- **2025-02** — Built multiplayer 3D flight simulator fly.pieter.com in 3 hours using Cursor AI; Elon Musk retweeted it
- **2025-01** — Organized Vibe Code Game Jam (#vibejam) — 1,170 game submissions, $40,000 in prizes
- **2024-08** — Appeared on Lex Fridman Podcast #440 for a 4-hour conversation on programming, AI startups, and digital nomad life
- **2024-06** — Co-founded EU/acc (European Accelerationism) movement to reduce tech regulation in Europe
- **2024-01** — Portfolio generating ~$3M/year across NomadList, Remote OK, PhotoAI, InteriorAI, and other products

## Links

- Website: https://levels.io
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/levelsio
- GitHub: https://github.com/levelsio

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/pieter-levels
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-26