Top 10 One-person Startups
blog.onlineclock.net
blog.onlineclock.net
I can't say with absolute certainty about all the rest but many were solo founders who quickly attracted a team.
I can't really comment on the rest.
[0] http://www.marco.org/about Past Projects
Although he's not officially considered a co-founder, he and Bezos were discussing the company even before it was incorporated, and Bezos once referred to him as "the most important person ever in the history of Amazon.com."
Source : http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-earliest-employees-20...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOXpKUu6pUg
There are some that grow to large sizes with a pretty small number of employees though.
Amazon was "one person" as in boundaries defined by legal ownership of a business entity, but it was really kicked off by hiring Shel Kaphan to engineer their first web store. If Jeff Bezos was more inclusive, and/or Shel Kaphan was more business-savvy, he arguably might have been a co-founder instead of a forgotten employee (albeit a wealthy ex-employee.)
If we rule out situations like amazon, and listed only companies that were truly "built" by one person until it reached critical mass, that would be a much more interesting list.
It's certainly possible but obviously very hard for many reasons.
My night project, PaperBox (gopaperbox.com), started with just two guys doing it a combined 20 hours per week or so. Over the course of 6 months or so, we have released several updates and grown substantially. I do wonder what we could be if we could commit to it full time and have any sort of a marketing budget.
That said, the way we use the internet today is changing which is why I don't think its exactly impossible but would question how difficult it would be in comparison to 20years ago.
I wish I had one so I could show it to the VCs who we're closing a round with. They insist I get a co-founder for the business side (I'm a techie), with lot's of contacts. I said I prefer to hire a biz person instead, but they say we can't afford, at this stage, to spend our money on a top-level exec. So it we'll be better if we just find one that's willing to become a co-founder. I replied to them a "co-founder" is much more than an exec with lots of equity and a below-market wage. Years ago it would have been great to have a business co-founder so I could focus more on product. But not after 4 years, with a team of 11 and a profitable enterprise software business. But I don't know if that's common or not. Is it? I feel hiring a co-founder (sic) is not a formula for success.
I'm the nerd looking for the suit, not the other way around, though I do have some business experience myself. I at least know which way is up in the biz domain. :)
But if I don't find such a person who really looks like a great fit (both skills and personality/vision compatibility), I will go it alone. I consider the sole founder path superior to a bad or hasty fit for a co-founder. I do have a partnership and some advisor relationships in the works, so I'm not totally alone. If I raise I'll also have investors to threaten to demote me if the goals aren't m^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H I mean contribute valuable insight.
I suspect it is in the area of affiliate marketing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAVq-sW6LCA
Not sure I'd call it a "tech" startup, but it definitely counts as a startup and a successful one. Apologies to #2 if I'm wrong about it being sole founder. I'd say it's more successful than some of the revenue-free entries on this list.
Examples:
Blurb, founded by Eileen Gittins
Mightybell, founded by Gina Bianchini
LearnVest, founded by Alexa von Tobel
Joyus, founded by Sukhinder Singh Cassidy
Remember: if there's no revenue, it's not a business. It's a hobby.
EDIT: To clarify, (I noted someone else pointing out it's very US-centric, which is ANOTHER problem) I have serious doubts it's really the top 10 in the world. More likely the top 10 this author has heard of.
Maybe they should try harder then.