Pieter Levels

Background

Pieter Levels is a Dutch entrepreneur and programmer who studied at the University of Amsterdam, though he did not complete a formal degree in medicine. His early career was characterized by a series of short-term roles and freelance work, primarily in web development and design. This period was defined by a focus on self-directed learning and a rejection of the traditional corporate career path, which laid the foundation for his future work philosophy.

Major contributions

Pieter Levels is best known for founding Nomad List, a platform that provides data and a community for remote workers to find optimal cities to live and work from. He is also the creator of Remote OK, a job board focused exclusively on remote positions. His most significant theoretical contribution is the concept of "solopreneurship," which advocates for building profitable, automated online businesses as a single founder. He is a proponent of the "12 startups in 12 months" challenge, a methodology for rapid prototyping and validating business ideas, from which both Nomad List and Remote OK emerged.

Impact on their field

Levels's work has had a substantial impact on the remote work and digital nomad movements. By creating essential tools like Nomad List and Remote OK, he provided the infrastructure that helped normalize and popularize location-independent work. His public building and revenue transparency, often shared via social media and blogs, demystified the process of launching a successful online business and inspired a generation of indie hackers and solopreneurs to launch their own ventures.

Current work/relevance

Pieter Levels continues to maintain and develop his flagship products, Nomad List and Remote OK. He remains an active and influential figure online, frequently discussing topics related to solopreneurship, remote work trends, and the future of technology and society. His work is highly relevant as the adoption of remote work continues to grow globally, and the indie hacker movement gains more mainstream attention.

Pieter Levels is a Dutch entrepreneur, digital nomad, and the founder of Nomad List, a popular online community and resource for remote workers. He is a prominent figure in the remote work movement, championing a lifestyle of location independence. His background is not in traditional business but in design and coding, which he taught himself. He famously embarked on a mission to build 12 startups in 12 months, a project that catapulted him into the tech spotlight.

Why they matter

Pieter Levels matters because he successfully built multiple profitable, bootstrapped businesses as a solo founder, proving that a massive team and venture capital aren't always necessary for success. His work has empowered thousands of people to design a life of freedom, travel, and work from anywhere. He is a leading voice against the "move to Silicon Valley" narrative, demonstrating that great companies can be built from a laptop anywhere in the world.

Key achievements:

Building and scaling Nomad List to a community of over 100,000 members

Creating Remote OK, one of the web's largest job boards for remote positions

Successfully bootstrapping all his ventures to profitability without outside funding

Pioneering the concept of the "digital nomad" as a viable and mainstream career path

What they’re known for

Pieter Levels is best known as the creator of Nomad List. The platform helps remote workers choose their next destination by ranking cities based on cost, internet speed, weather, and safety. It’s more than a directory; it’s a thriving community where members connect and share experiences. He is also famous for his transparent and public building style, often sharing his revenue, challenges, and progress openly on Twitter and his blog. This radical transparency has become a hallmark of his personal brand, inspiring a generation of indie makers and solopreneurs.