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My First Million

3 Startup Ideas: Mouse Jigglers, Employee Monitoring Softwares and Photoshop Copycats

Episode 608: Sam Parr and Shaan Puri react to the $22M "fake-work" app, mouse jigglers & Ryan Serhant’s Netflix show.

Sam ParrhostShaan Purihost

Jul 12, 202453mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Overemployment culture: remote work enables “J1/J2/J3”
Sam revisits a trend they discussed years earlier: overemployment—people secretly holding multiple remote jobs at once. He and Shaan frame it as a subculture that grew rapidly once remote work made it easier to hide.
- •Sam describes overemployment as a tactic/strategy that took off during the remote-work shift
- •Shaan defines it as one person having multiple jobs without the employers knowing
- •Remote work is described as the key unlock that made this possible
- •Sam frames the audience overlap that finds the topic fascinating and morally messy
Mouse jigglers and monitoring software collide (Wells Fargo example)
Sam explains how some employees used hardware devices to fake activity and how companies responded with expanded employee monitoring. A recent layoff story becomes the jumping-off point for why this market is bigger than they expected.
- •Sam recounts Wells Fargo laying off employees after finding mouse-jiggling and auto-typing devices
- •He describes mouse jigglers as devices that keep the cursor moving to appear active
- •They discuss how employee monitoring/tracking software has exploded post-pandemic
- •Sam cites a survey result that a meaningful portion of monitored users appear to be using jigglers (and that the true number may be higher)
A “winner” in the jiggler market: Tech8 USA and wink-wink marketing
They dig into a specific Amazon seller and how overtly the product is marketed as a way to appear productive while doing other things. The humor centers on how transparent the positioning is, despite the polite language.
- •Sam points to Tech8 USA and describes customizable mouse movers sold around the $30–$40 range
- •Shaan reads product copy pitching it as an “undetectable” gift for busy people
- •They compare the marketing to euphemistic product positioning that signals the real use case
- •Sam notes it’s a business where founders keep a low profile, likely due to the awkward implications
Hubstaff’s growth: from side project to $22M ARR employee-tracking business
Sam highlights Hubstaff as the flip side of the ecosystem: software designed to monitor productivity and detect suspicious behavior. He describes its rapid growth, and Shaan reacts to the scale and the shift away from building in public.
- •Sam describes Hubstaff as tracking software and says it started as a side project before exploding
- •Shaan reacts to the reported $22M ARR and customer scale
- •They note the founder previously shared metrics publicly but removed the dashboard as it grew
- •Sam characterizes it as bootstrapped and now likely worth nine figures
Would you use employee monitoring—and why overemployment feels like betrayal
The conversation shifts from the business opportunity to the emotional and ethical implications. Shaan and Sam debate whether they’d deploy monitoring tools and why discovering overemployment would feel personal.
- •Shaan compares the feeling of team members hiding multiple jobs to being “cheated on”
- •Sam says he’s open to monitoring tools in principle, though conflicted
- •They contrast trust in small teams versus the temptation to verify behavior
- •They acknowledge the moral ambiguity and discomfort around surveillance
The Overemployed ecosystem: subreddit culture, paid community, and affiliate plays
Sam describes how the overemployment subreddit matured into a broader ecosystem of sites, affiliate links, and a large Discord. He explains how the community is organized and why anonymity is central.
- •Sam describes the Overemployed subreddit’s culture and jargon (J1/J2/J3)
- •He says the subreddit moderator launched overemployed.com with affiliate links and product reviews
- •Sam describes a paid Discord community and its large membership
- •He notes the founder is anonymous (“Isaac” only) and presents as a “career polygamist”
They reject overemployment as a strategy: ethics, relationships, and “just study” analogy
Shaan and Sam make clear they’re not tempted by overemployment and argue it’s a losing game. They compare the effort of elaborate deception to spending that energy on something more straightforward.
- •Shaan and Sam say they have zero desire to do overemployment themselves
- •Sam says it violates his ethical code, even if it may not be illegal
- •Shaan argues it’s emotionally taxing to live a lie and not the best path to success
- •Sam tells a story about elaborate test-cheating and concludes: you could have just studied
Intentional internet and an “info diet”: avoiding algorithmic fast food
Shaan shifts to a broader idea: treating online content like nutrition and consuming it intentionally. Sam agrees and describes a fear of being influenced by the wrong sources.
- •Shaan criticizes relying on major social feeds as a low-quality “fast food” content diet
- •He explains his concept of the “intentional internet” (choosing what you want from a session)
- •Sam agrees and says he worries about being influenced by the wrong people
- •Shaan proposes an “info diet pyramid” with different content types and proportions
Superfood content: reading early writing from people who later became great
Shaan shares a tactic: find someone accomplished and read their early blog posts or older material. They use Brian Koppelman’s old blog post as an example and read it aloud.
- •Shaan recommends finding ‘ballers’ and reading their early blog posts/interviews/courses
- •They find Brian Koppelman’s simple, old blog and highlight its plain format
- •Shaan reads Koppelman’s post about writing what fascinates you and ‘calculating less’
- •They reflect on how early work can be surprisingly simple yet meaningful
Applying “write what fascinates you” to business—and to their own podcast packaging
Shaan connects the writing advice to building companies and to the show’s creative strategy. He argues that fascination-driven work is harder to copy, and they discuss tension between authenticity and click-optimized packaging.
- •Shaan contrasts a calculated, market-mapped approach with building around genuine obsession
- •He says fascination makes it easier to do the work and can lead to better outcomes
- •They connect the principle to why the podcast works: their unique taste is the defensibility
- •Shaan criticizes overly optimized YouTube titles/thumbnails and wants to roll that back
Indie hacker “superpowers”: Photopea’s success and a new After Effects-style web app
Sam shares an example of an ultra-productive solo builder archetype they admire. He recaps Photopea’s growth, then introduces a new web-based tool aiming to do something similar for motion graphics editing.
- •Sam describes Photopea as a free, browser-based Photoshop-like product and cites its revenue growth over time
- •Shaan reacts to Photopea’s scale and frames these builders as ‘radioactive’ indie hackers
- •Sam introduces a new web-based editor positioned as an alternative to Adobe After Effects
- •They praise the understated launch and the sheer craftsmanship of a one-person build
Waymo ride in San Francisco: a ‘magic’ experience and why it changes everything
Shaan recounts taking a driverless taxi and becoming convinced this shift is imminent and underappreciated. He compares it to a bad Uber ride and explains why he’d even pay extra for the driverless experience.
- •Shaan describes ordering a driverless car via app, unlocking it, and riding with no driver
- •He says it felt seamless and made regular rides feel dramatically worse by comparison
- •He notes the ride was 20–30% more expensive than an Uber and he was happy to pay it
- •They discuss broader implications like safety, reduced traffic, and changed car ownership/utilization
Netflix’s ‘Owning Manhattan’: Ryan Serhant, reality TV dynamics, and a memorable quote
Shaan reviews the appeal of the real-estate reality show and the personalities involved. The segment culminates in a quote about focusing on greatness rather than attention, which leads to a brief, personal reflection between the hosts.
- •Shaan explains the show’s premise: building Serhant’s brokerage to compete at the top of New York real estate
- •They discuss the mix of luxury listings, agent branding, and reality-show drama
- •Shaan shares Serhant’s line: stop trying to get noticed and spend time trying to be great
- •Sam and Shaan reflect on personal growth, influences, and how they consume mainstream entertainment
Media as a growth engine: the ‘Kardashian model’ for high-ticket real estate
They zoom out on the business model behind the show: using entertainment as marketing that directly drives the core business. Sam adds perspective on Serhant’s intensity, legitimacy, and broader business footprint as they wrap the episode.
- •Shaan argues the show functions as an extended marketing vehicle for Serhant’s brokerage
- •He compares it to the Kardashian-style loop: media attention fueling product/business growth
- •Sam shares that friends bought an apartment through Serhant and describes him as hands-on
- •They conclude with mutual respect for the work ethic and the “be great” principle as a closer

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