New course: Your first 1000 dollars online + Top jobs

Passion economy and the side hustle revolution

Dear subscribers,

It is 3am. I am Utkarsh, writing to you few hours after an insightful discussion with journalist Barkha Dutt in Imperial College, London. Some of you may disagree with her on various issues but no one can deny that the Emmy nominated reporter has built her category of one. When I met her, I wasn’t thinking about politics but about passion economy.

She and I have many parallels in terms of life and career choices in the last two years. She quit her cushy job at NDTV, started her own company, wrote a book and became a fellow at Oxford.

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She is a lot more senior than me and has dedicated 30 years of her life to journalism but passion economy is a broader trend of unbundling of work from employment. It is not only for millennials such as myself but for seasoned executives like her. This is my story in a tweet.

For the bigger picture, you can read my book.

The passion economy changed my life. I have not “arrived” or anything but each day of my life unleashes adventure of a different kind. It isn’t easy but who said following your passion would be a bed of roses. It takes discipline, improvisation and firefighting to live to see another day. Thanks to your unconditional love and support, I am where I wanted to be. For that, I am grateful.

When I packed my bags in Delhi, quit Microsoft and left for Oxford, I didn’t really know how things would pan out but I knew the adventure will be worth it.

Just this newsletter that you are reading has made more than $100,000 in the last 18 months. I am decently well known but I am definitely not a celebrity with millions of followers. Barkha Dutt has more than 7 million followers. My personal follower count across platforms would be orders of magnitudes less than her.

The beauty of the passion economy is that if you are intentional about it, you don’t need to be famous to make it work for you. In “Your First 1000 Dollars Online” course, I will dive deep into the concepts I talk about in the book and explain what you can do to take the leap.

Gumroad founder Sahil Lavingia, in his Network Capital masterclass, shared that the first dollar you make online changes you forever. He is spot on. The zero to one journey - as a side hustle or your main gig - can transform your relationship with work. You just need to make your first dollar.

Sahil is not being literal here but I am convinced that the day you make $1000 on the internet is a special day. That’s when you know you are ready to scale your impact.

Towards that goal, trying to become like someone else is NOT going to work. The world does not need more videos on “3 ways to become more productive”. It might get you some likes and swipes but it is unlikely going to make you any money.

Why?

Because it is a winner take all market. There are some leaders who have already established themselves making such content. Unless you figure out your unique voice and your unique area of focus, such pursuits will lead to “creator burnout”.

Everyone has a super power but we tend to ignore it wrongly choosing the hotter option or the easier option. We tend to ignore our intrinsic curiosity for what’s popular today and end up with suboptimal results. My goal is to help you figure out what you are good at, what you love to do and what you can be paid for on the internet - with or without advertising revenue. FYI - Network Capital makes 0 dollars advertising, we also spend 0 dollars doing paid advertising. When we got funded by Facebook, we did get advertising credits which we used but nothing more.

Now let’s discuss the structure of the course

Module 1: Should you quit your job?

Module 2: What are the various ways you can make $1000 online?

Module 3: Which path is right for you?

Module 4: Do you need funding to start?

Module 5: Can you really make it big online? How much can you expect to earn and in what timeframe?

Module 6: Who should you partner with?

Module 7: Implementation best practices and challenges

Module 8: Capstone project

Classes will start on August 6 but the prework you need to do begins from July 15. I will be conducting an information session this Sunday, July 10, 1pm London time. If you are interested in making your first $1000 online, you should join in. This is the link to register your interest.

Catch you on Sunday!

Before you go, there are some interesting jobs to check out

Also, this is a thoughtful note one of our members sent. He is heading to INSEAD. It is a pleasure to see our community members carry the Network Capital flag in top institutes around the world.

If you feel that you need some mentorship to accelerate your career, consider subscribing to Network Capital or gifting it to someone who may need it.