The Story
Pat Walls built Starter Story - a library of 4,000+ case studies and business breakdowns - into a million-dollar business. The crazy part? He built it from inside a Starbucks while working a full-time job, with only 2 hours a day.
In 2017, Pat was 26 years old with a great six-figure job in New York City. But something wasn't right. Every day felt empty - clock in, Zoom meetings, lunch, write code, clock out. Secretly, he dreamed about quitting and starting his own business, but he had no idea where to start.
That's when he had his lightbulb moment: turn these questions into a product. Research successful businesses, write about findings on a blog, share with others who want to learn. But for months, he procrastinated. Every day he walked by a Starbucks on his way home, told himself he'd stop in and work on the idea, then walked home and watched Netflix instead.
Everything changed when he read "Deep Work" by Cal Newport. He made a contract with himself: tomorrow, walk into Starbucks, order coffee, set a timer for 2 hours, and just focus.
Key Insights
The Deep Work Contract
- •Day 1: Walked in, set timer, got started - 2 hours flew by in flow state
- •Day 2: Did it again
- •Day 3: Did it again
- •Never stopped - every single day, 2 hours of deep work
- •Started waking up at 6am to get deep work in BEFORE his full-time job
The Timeline
- •Month 1: Came up with name "Starter Story," bought domain for $12/year, launched with a few stories
- •Month 2: Published dozens of stories, started newsletter, got first 100 subscribers
- •Month 4: First big break - story went viral on Reddit, thousands crashed the site
- •Month 6: Started monetization - newsletter sponsorship, affiliate revenue
The $12,000 Moment
- •Got an email from Klaviyo's CEO saying he loved Starter Story
- •Conversation led to sponsorship discussion
- •The number: $12,000
- •"More money than I'd ever seen in my life"
- •Got the notification while at Starbucks - heart beating out of chest
- •Direct result of all those 6am mornings and 2-hour deep work sessions
The Decision
- •$12,000 represented a choice: keep playing it safe or go all in?
- •Remembered why he started: build something for himself, not someone else's dream
- •"If I don't make this decision right now, I might never do it"
- •Walked into work and handed in his resignation
5 Years Later
- •Never had a regular job again
- •Never got another paycheck
- •Built Starter Story into a million-dollar business
Key Advice
"The most important thing I did was just going inside that Starbucks, getting to work, and taking action every single day. I was giving myself a chance to become lucky."