FOR EXECUTIVES

Build Something You Own. Create More Options for What Comes Next.

You've spent decades building companies, your career and your financial future.

SideStarter helps accomplished executives use everything they've accumulated—their experience, expertise, relationships, ideas and resources—to build something of their own.
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You've Invested In Your Financial Future. What About The Rest Of It?

Stocks.
Bonds.
Real estate.
Retirement accounts.
Private investments.
You've spent decades accumulating assets designed to give you financial security and freedom.

But you've been accumulating something else at the same time.
You don’t have to leave your career to start building what comes after it.

You.

Your experience.
Your expertise.
Your relationships.
Your reputation.
Your ideas.
Your interests.
Your understanding of problems other people don't see.
What if you invested a small part of what you've accumulated in turning those advantages into something you own?
Not simply another financial investment.

An investment in yourself—and what comes next.

The Further You Get In Your Career, The More You Should Own.

Early in your career, your greatest asset may be your future earning potential.

Later, you have something younger entrepreneurs can't replicate:

Decades of accumulated advantage.

You've seen what works.
You've seen what doesn't.
You understand an industry.
You know customers.
You recognize problems others miss.
You've built relationships.
You've established credibility.
You've accumulated ideas.
You've spent decades learning things that would take someone else decades to learn.
Yet most executives never convert those advantages into something they actually own.
Turn what you know into what you own.
This may be one of the best times in your life to build something.

Not despite where you are in your career.

Because of it.

THE 1% RULE

Consider Investing 1% Of Your Net Worth In What Comes Next.

You've spent decades building your net worth.

SideStarter believes accomplished executives should consider a simple question:
What if you invested just 1% of what you've accumulated in building the next 20 years of your life?
Not 20%.
Not 10%.

1%.

1% to build something you own.
1% to create more options.
1% to pursue an idea you've thought about for years.
1% to create something meaningful.
1% to make an impact.
1% to build something that could outlast your career.
Maybe what you build becomes enormously valuable.

Maybe it creates another source of income.

Maybe it becomes your next company.

But perhaps the return is something completely different.
Purpose.
Freedom.
Impact.
Challenge.
Ownership.
A reason to stay engaged.
Something for your family.
Something that outlives you.
Some returns belong on a balance sheet.

Others belong in a life.

That's what the 1% Rule is really about.

Not simply investing money.
Investing in who you're becoming next.
The 1% Rule is a SideStarter philosophy, not individualized financial advice. The appropriate amount, if any, depends on your circumstances.

Your Career Should Create More Than Your Next Job.

The further you get in your career, the less your future should depend entirely upon your next employer.

Yet your income, title, opportunities and professional identity may still depend heavily on:

Decades of accumulated advantage.

Your company.
Your industry.
Your next promotion.
Your next role.
Your next employer.
That's concentration risk.

Building something you own creates another option.
Another asset.
Another potential source of income.
Another professional identity.
Another source of purpose.
Another path for what comes next.
You don't need one perfect Plan B.

You need options.

POSSIBILITIES

What Could You Build?
Almost Anything.

SideStarter isn't built around one particular type of business.
We start with you.
Whatever you want to build, you shouldn’t have to start from zero.
Your experience.
Your expertise.
Your interests.
Your relationships.
Your ideas.
The opportunities you see.
And what you want the next 10 or 20 years of your life to look like.
Then we determine what could be worth building.

That might be:

A Company

Turn an opportunity you've recognized into a business you own.

An AI Product

Apply your industry knowledge to an opportunity being created or transformed by AI.

Software

Turn a problem you understand exceptionally well into a software product, platform or service.

A Consumer Brand

Take an idea, interest or unmet need and build a product and brand around it.

An Advisory Business

Package decades of expertise and relationships into a business helping companies or executives.

A Media Company

Build an audience and platform around an industry, subject, point of view or passion.

An IP Platform

Turn your expertise into proprietary frameworks, methodologies, assessments, research, data or other intellectual property.

A Membership Business

Build a community around a profession, industry, interest, problem or shared purpose.

An Acquisition Platform

Use your experience to identify, acquire and build businesses in a market you understand particularly well.

A New Corporate Venture

Identify and build a new business with your current company—with the opportunity for you to lead what gets created.

A Nonprofit

Turn an issue or cause you care about into an organization capable of creating meaningful impact.

A Foundation

Create something lasting around a mission, community or cause that's important to you.
Or Something Neither Of Us Has Thought Of Yet.

You may have an idea you've been thinking about for ten years.

You may have five ideas and not know which one is best.

Or you may simply know:

I Want To Start Building Something Of My Own.

That's enough.
We'll help figure out what it should be.

Invest In More Than Retirement. Invest In What Comes After It.

Financial planning asks an important question:

Will I Have Enough?

But eventually another question becomes just as important:

Enough For What?

What will you do with your time?
What will challenge you?
What will excite you?
What will you own?
What will you build?
Who will you work with?
What impact will you have?
What could you create for your family?
What might you leave behind?
You can have enough money to retire and still have no idea what you actually want the next 20 years of your life to look like.
Financial security gives you freedom.

Building something gives that freedom somewhere to go.

Because the next 20 years aren't simply something to finance.

They're something to build.

Don't Wait Until You Need What's Next.

Most executives start seriously thinking about their next chapter when something changes.
A company gets acquired.
Leadership changes.
A role disappears.
An industry shifts.
They decide they don't want another full-time operating role.
Or retirement suddenly doesn't feel quite as far away.
Then they ask:

What Should I Do Next?

We believe that's the wrong time to start.
Build your next option while you still have plenty of options.
While your career is going well.
While your network is strong.
While your expertise is current.
While your reputation is growing.
While you have income.
And while nothing you're building has to work immediately.

The Best Time To Create Options Is Before You Need Them.

This Isn't About Leaving Your Career.

You may love what you're doing.
You may have another 5, 10 or 20 years in your current career.
Great.

Start On The Side.

Build deliberately.
Test ideas.
Create an asset.
Find customers or build an audience.
Let it compound.
And see where it goes.
Maybe it always stays on the side.

Maybe it generates additional income.

Maybe it creates board, advisory or investment opportunities.

Maybe it becomes something meaningful for you to run later.

Maybe it creates impact.

Maybe it becomes part of your legacy.

Or maybe someday:

It Becomes Bigger Than Your Career.

You don't have to decide today.
You're creating the option to decide later.
PROCESS

How SideStarter Works

You bring the experience.

We Bring Everything Else.

Most accomplished executives don't have a shortage of ideas.

They have a shortage of time.

You don't need another full-time job building your Side Venture.

That's what we're here for.

01 — DISCOVER

We start with your experience, expertise, interests, ideas, relationships and goals.

We look at what you've accumulated over your career and identify opportunities where those advantages could give you an edge.

02 — VALIDATE

An interesting idea isn't necessarily a good opportunity.

Before significant time or money is invested, we research the market, talk to potential customers and test whether genuine demand exists.
Find the signal before making the investment.

03 — BUILD

Once we've identified something worth pursuing, SideStarter does the heavy lifting.
Strategy.
Brand.
Product.
Technology.
Content.
Positioning.
Go-to-market.
Infrastructure.
Whatever your particular Side Venture requires.

04 — LAUNCH

We don't stop at creating something.

We Put It Into The World.
Customers.
Users.
Members.
Readers.
Listeners.
Partners.
Whatever matters for what you're building.

05 — GROW

Then you decide what you want it to become.
Keep it small.
Generate income.
Build an audience.
Hire someone to run it.
Grow it aggressively.
Acquire other businesses.
Sell it someday.
Pass it on.
Make it your next chapter.
Or make it part of your legacy.

You Own It. You Decide.

You Don't Need More Work.

We're Not Giving You Another Project To Manage.

Most accomplished executives have plenty to do already.

That's why SideStarter is designed around using relatively little of your time.

We primarily work with you through conversations and interviews to extract the expertise, ideas and decisions we need.

Then our team builds around you.

You don't need to become a developer.
A marketer.
A designer.
A publisher.
A recruiter.
Or a startup operator.
And you don't need to spend your nights and weekends coordinating all of them.
You need a team that can turn what you've accumulated into something you own.

What Does The Return Look Like?
It Doesn't Have To Be Just Financial.

What you build could become valuable.
It could generate income.
It could become a significant company.
It could someday be sold.
That's certainly one possible return.
But it's not the only one.

Your return might be:
More choices about how you spend your time.
Something meaningful to work on for the next 20 years.
A company your family could someday own.
An opportunity to work on something you genuinely love.
A cause you finally have the ability to pursue.
A completely new professional chapter.
Something that keeps you challenged, curious and engaged.
An impact that extends beyond your career.
A legacy that continues without you.
Which means the return on your 1% could be financial.
Or personal.
Or both.
Some returns belong on a balance sheet.

Others belong in a life.

OUR BACKGROUND

Why SideStarter

SideStarter was founded by Jonathan Aspatore, who has spent more than 25 years starting and building companies.

Jonathan has taken businesses from zero to millions in revenue and successfully sold multiple companies to Fortune 500 companies.

That experience led to a simple belief:

Don't Wait Until You Need What's Next To Start Building It.

You've already accumulated one of the hardest things to acquire:
Decades of advantage.
We bring the company-building team around it.
Strategy.
Research.
Technology.
Brand.
Product.
Marketing.
Operations.
Launch.
Growth.
You Bring The Opportunity. We Bring Everything Else.

We Don't Work With Everyone.

Building something meaningful takes real involvement from our team.

Our capacity is limited.

So SideStarter works with a select number of executives at a time.

We're Looking For Accumulated Advantage.

Experience.
Expertise.
Credibility.
Relationships.
Ideas.
Industry insight.
Access.
Passion.
And problems you've spent years learning how to solve.
You don't need a finished business plan.
You don't need a startup idea.
You don't even need to know exactly what you want to build.
We simply have to believe there's something worth building around you.
That's why every relationship starts with:
Request Consideration

Request Consideration

Tell us about yourself.
What you've accomplished.
What you know particularly well.
Where you've spent your career.
What interests you.
What matters to you.
And anything you've ever considered building.
We'll review your background and think about what might be possible.
If we believe there's enough potential to explore together, we'll invite you to a conversation.
No commitment.
No expectation that you leave your career.
No requirement that you already know what you want to build.
Request Consideration
SideStarter accepts a limited number of new executive engagements.

Build What Comes Next.

You've spent decades building your career.

You've spent decades building your net worth.

You've invested in your financial future.

Consider Putting 1% Behind The Rest Of Your Future.

Something you own.
Something that creates options.
Something that challenges you.
Something meaningful.
Something that could become valuable.
Something that could outlast your career.
Because the next 20 years aren't simply something to finance.

They're Something To Build.

And remember:
Some returns belong on a balance sheet.

Others belong in a life.
Build the asset. Create the options. Decide later.
Request Consideration