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Sweaty Startups: The MFM Guide to Getting Rich with Physical Labor Businesses

8 min read

Sweaty Startups: The MFM Guide to Getting Rich with Physical Labor Businesses

Lincoln Snyder was still in high school when his window cleaning business hit $60,000 in revenue at 50% margins. No venture funding. No coding skills. Just a ladder, some squeegees, and posts on Nextdoor.

The business world loves to celebrate the exceptional. We obsess over unicorns, billion-dollar valuations, and founders who changed everything. But most wealth is built differently. It is built quietly, with a cargo van and a willingness to do what others will not.

What Is a Sweaty Startup?

A sweaty startup is a local service business that requires physical labor rather than digital innovation. Window cleaning. Gutter cleaning. Self-storage. Moving companies. HVAC. Pressure washing.

The term was popularized by Nick Huber, whose book The Sweaty Startup: How to Get Rich Doing Boring Things became a manifesto for entrepreneurs who prefer cash flow over cap tables. Shaan Puri put it simply when recommending the book to young founders: “You guys are all doing sweaty startups. This is great.”

These are Boring Businesses by design. No algorithms. No disruption. Just solving persistent, unglamorous problems that people will pay money to make disappear.

The appeal is straightforward: while everyone else chases the next AI startup, sweaty startup founders face limited competition from people willing to get their hands dirty.

Why Sweaty Startups Work

Nick Huber remembers the moment he committed to a different path. “When I started my moving company, we bought a cargo van for 30. They had zero energy for it.”

That last line reveals the entire strategy. Sweaty startups work because the competition is often lazy, unmarketable, or both.

The advantages compound. Startup costs are low, frequently under $5,000. Cash flow begins immediately because there is no waiting for product-market fit. Recession-resistant local demand means customers will always need someone to clean their gutters, move their furniture, or store their belongings.

Sam Parr captured the refreshing nature of this world: “It’s also awesome not to hear about AI. Like these guys are actually doing the damn thing in real life and it sounds awesome to hear different stuff.”

Best Sweaty Startup Ideas from MFM

Lincoln Snyder’s story is not unusual among those who actually try. At Lake Dallas High School in Texas, he built Sunshine Exteriors into a legitimate business. “My business is Sunshine Exteriors. So we clean windows, gutters, power wash, fence staining, and holiday lighting,” he explained. “Last year we did $60,000 in revenue at about just above 50% margin.”

The ideas that work are deceptively simple:

Window cleaning and pressure washing require minimal equipment and serve customers who would rather pay than spend a Saturday on a ladder.

Gutter cleaning has produced remarkable success stories. Shaan Puri once declared: “I want to show you the perfect landing page. The best landing page I have ever seen, the greatest marketing landing page of all time. I want you to go to www.suckmyguttersclean.com.” That business generates $1.5-2 million annually.

Self Storage scaled Nick Huber’s Bolt Storage to $103 million in acquisitions across 61 properties.

Moving companies, HVAC, plumbing, and roofing all follow the same pattern. They serve essential needs that technology cannot fully automate.

Laundromats are often called the “gateway drug” to sweaty startup investing.

How to Start a Sweaty Startup

Sam Parr’s frustration with overthinking entrepreneurs is palpable. “Dude, if you’re listening, how many people have we had on this pod saying ‘I don’t have an idea, I don’t have this, you know, this doesn’t scale,’ all this bullshit. He’s 18 years old, he made 30 grand and it was from posting on Nextdoor in his neighborhood.”

The playbook is almost embarrassingly simple:

Start with local demand. Check Nextdoor, Facebook groups, and neighborhood apps to find what people need. Buy minimal equipment. Huber’s cargo van cost $3,000. Get first customers through door knocking, flyers, and neighborhood apps. Reinvest profits to hire help. Scale with systems, not your own labor.

For administrative work, Huber recommends global talent. “We get 60,000 applicants a month. If you want to do this yourself, go on LinkedIn, post a job in Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, or the Philippines. Promote it with $100 a day for 5 days. You’ll get 1,000 applicants.”

The Digital vs Sweaty Debate

Not everyone is convinced sweaty startups are the right path. Sam Parr has been direct about his preference: “Personally I think making money digitally is significantly better because it requires close to no capital in some cases you can work from anywhere. I think that it’s way harder to make a million dollars a year from a brick and mortar business than it does digitally.”

Shaan Puri shares the concern. “I don’t want to go worry about the roof damage at my self storage facility or that the 15 an hour employee called out sick.” He contrasts this with Milk Road, their newsletter that “we pushed one button to send to 300,000 people and just printed profits from month one.”

Andrew Wilkinson offers a balanced view. “I love Cody and I love Nick. I think what they’re advocating is basically, ‘Look, don’t go and work for someone else when you can create your own job.’”

The key insight is that sweaty startups are accessible to everyone. You do not need coding skills, connections, or capital. You need willingness.

Nick Huber’s Evolution and Lessons Learned

Even the sweaty startup king has been humbled.

“I think the last five years in business,” Huber reflected recently, “5 years ago, you guys had me on the pod. I felt like I knew everything. I think it was that irrational confidence early in my career that I wouldn’t trade for anything because it led to a lot of success. But yeah, man. You just realize that business is hard.”

The numbers tell the story. “I started 10 plus companies over a three-year period. Four of them have been shut down. I thought with a personal brand that’s strong enough, you could get into an agency business of any kind and go to the moon. Then the algorithm changed.”

His perspective on the HoldCo Model has evolved too. “Running a HoldCo is overrated. I’ve been labeled a ‘HoldCo guy,’ but you really have to know your stuff to run more than one company. Most wealthy people I know focused on one thing for a long time.”

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

The most important question, according to Andrew Wilkinson: “Are you buying your own job or are you buying a business? If the business returns more than the cost of the owner’s salary, then I’d say that’s great, I’d say that’s a C.”

A C-tier rating on the Business Tier List is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Shaan Puri sharpens the critique. “What they say is ‘Own your own business’ and you said ‘Own your own job.’ And I think there’s a big difference between those two things.”

The path from job to business requires systems. Cash flow must exceed what you could pay someone else to do your work. Otherwise, you have simply created employment for yourself, which is fine. But it is not the same as owning a business.

The distinction matters. Know which one you are building.

FAQ

What is a sweaty startup?

A sweaty startup is a local service business that requires physical labor rather than digital innovation. Examples include window cleaning, gutter cleaning, self-storage, moving companies, HVAC, and pressure washing. The term was popularized by Nick Huber, whose book The Sweaty Startup outlines how to get rich doing boring things.

How much money do you need to start a sweaty startup?

Most sweaty startups can be started for under 3,000 cargo van. Lincoln Snyder started Sunshine Exteriors as a high school student with minimal equipment.

Are sweaty startups a good path to wealth?

It depends. Sam Parr and Shaan Puri argue digital businesses are easier to scale and more profitable. Andrew Wilkinson rates sweaty startups as C-tier because many are essentially buying yourself a job. However, for those willing to build systems and scale, businesses like Nick Huber’s Bolt Storage show the potential.

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Word Count: ~1,060 words Voice: Morgan Housel Status: Draft v2

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