Introduction
In this interview, we dive deep into the world of freelance software engineer earnings with Pierpaolo, a 23-year-old entrepreneur who dropped out of university to pursue coding and business. Starting from humble beginnings with small outreach efforts, Pierpaolo managed to scale his skills into a lucrative income stream. He shares his journey from earning his first €600 to securing a €10,000 monthly contract, highlighting the importance of networking, accountability, and continuous learning.
Founder Success Story QnA
Could you please give an introduction about yourself?
Yes, pleasure to be here. My name is Pierpaolo. I’m from Italy and I joined The Real World about two years ago right as we started with our own custom application. The impact it’s had since then has been truly life-changing, and I’m honored to be here.
What were you doing before you joined and what led to you joining?
Before I joined, I was always a bit entrepreneurial. I understood that I wanted to chase financial and location freedom. That’s always been an ambition of mine since I was a teenager. For the most part, that’s what I was doing in life—trying to start businesses and go through different hustles. When I came across The Real World, I was quite blown away. I realized there is so much value being taught here, all the different ways to make money. This is exactly what I’ve been trying to do by myself without really any guidance, just based on Google or YouTube videos. When I realized there’s a community dedicated to helping you achieve this stuff, with professors guiding you through all the steps, that clicked with me and I had to try it out.
Which campuses did you get into when you joined?
Originally, I joined what was called the Freelancing Campus (now called the Social Media and Client Acquisition Campus). When I first joined, I looked across the board to see what the options were and evaluated my skills. Being a software engineer, I noted that down and realized this is a pretty valuable skill in the marketplace. I asked myself how I can bring this skill to the marketplace and start making money through my own actions rather than a job.
What was the difference between the lessons in the campus and what you had previously seen online?
Joining The Real World, you just get action steps. You have the professor guiding you every single day. They have live streams where you can ask questions live tailored to your situation and get feedback. It’s also very high on accountability; you know exactly what you need to do. If you work off your checklist and check everything off every single day over a long enough time span, you will start to achieve your milestones. When you look at YouTube videos or what’s out there, a lot of it is just clickbait. They try to keep you in for the views, but at the end of the day, you’re not really enforced to take any action. You just end up in this loop of searching for motivation but never taking action.
What was it like actually trying to acquire clients?
It started off quite rough because I never tried to go out in the marketplace and start outreaching, do sales pitches, and get on closing calls. That was quite new for me. I went through different steps of testing different mediums. I started DMing people on Instagram. I sent hundreds of DMs to sell website services, landing pages, ClickFunnels, and that sort of thing. But the key to the success I’ve experienced was testing different channels. I went from Instagram all the way to in-person networking. I tried a lot of things that didn’t work, and some worked. What has worked has worked very well.
How many outreaches did you need to do before landing your first client?
I genuinely lost count because it was quite a few. I landed my first client while outreaching to startups that are based in the Netherlands and needed some sales channels through their website—think of like ClickFunnels and that sort of thing. That was my first paying client. I found them through just scraping the web for startups that met my criteria.
What was the process of landing that first client?
I ran a cold email outreach and followed up two days after with a phone call. On the phone call, we clicked and they were interested in what I was offering. From there, we got on a closing call where we discussed how we move forward and what the quote would be. That’s how I closed them.
What was your very first quote for your online client?
My very first quote is quite laughable; it was €600. This was after maybe eight months of being in The Real World and about two months of taking it seriously. That was my first paying client. From there on, it honestly went quite exponential. Once you do it once, you get that belief in yourself and it kind of snowballs.
How did you scale from there?
I did use them as a testimonial for future clients, but the main thing that changed was the belief in yourself—that if you stick to the process, you can make it happen. It took me two months of outreaching and testing different things to get the first client. Within the next two weeks, I actually landed another client before the money from my first invoice even came to my bank account.
How did you scale your pricing and services?
The services did evolve. Being a software engineer, I realized I could sell websites, but I’m also very competent in building web apps and full-stack applications. After getting my first two or three lower-end website clients, I started branching out into how I can land bigger projects more suiting to my skill set. I realized I needed to change my medium of outreaching from something like spraying and praying on Instagram DMs to something more targeted. I started attending in-person networking events, which I learned from Arno in the business campus. That is where I landed my two biggest clients of the year.
Can you give details on those two biggest clients?
The first big client was a retainer I landed through networking out of my circle, people through people. It was a software startup building a SaaS tool. They needed more firing power on development because the owner was a bit technical but busy with sales. I closed him on that pain point. That client was about €2,500 a month. The second client was an enterprise company here in the Netherlands that needed an energy dashboard built to monitor energy consumption in their physical stores. Through networking in circles of business owners, I got in touch with the owner informally. We hopped on a closing call a week later. This client was my first five-figure client, €10,000 a month for a four-month project.
What is your total earnings related to this?
If I combine all the projects I’ve done so far from last year, it’s been about €52,000 after tax. As a cumulative total, I would believe €66,000 EUR. I turned 23 recently.
Did you decide not to go to university?
I studied computer science for a very brief window until I decided to drop out. I’ve always been entrepreneurial and had a drive to learn more. I was always outside of school learning about new things, which is where my passion for software engineering came from. By the time I got to university, I realized it was so slow; everything they were teaching me I had already picked up a while ago teaching myself. I decided to drop out and go my own way, which turned out to be a pretty good decision.
What do your parents think about your decisions?
Not going to lie, my mother took dropping out of university pretty hard. But she sees my work ethic and knows I’ve always been about it. I told her, “Listen, let’s try this out for a year or two. Let’s see how far I get. The option to go back is always there.” So is it really a risk or just something you need to try?
What impact has the community had on you?
It’s had a huge impact, more than I can describe. The lessons bring forth action steps. Luke’s lessons, for example, had a profound impact because before you know what work needs to be done, but once you hear Luke, you almost get zero excuses for not doing the work. You get this sort of community, almost like a brotherhood, where everybody is held accountable. If people are showing up every day and putting in their work, why shouldn’t I be doing that too?
What are your plans for the future?
Right now, my main focus is keeping at the hustle and growing my business. Once I started making money, I also looked into the investing campus to multiply that money. That has been another huge game-changer because money is just a store of energy. Multiplying that money through investing is essentially almost multiplying your efforts and your lifespan.
What advice do you have for people afraid of getting scammed?
I think it’s a ridiculous question. I asked myself what has had the highest ROI in my life: my gym membership or The Real World? I would say hands down The Real World every single time. Within it, you not only learn how to make money and multiply that money, but you also have the fitness campus which has a calisthenics course you can do at home. The ROI is invaluable; you can’t measure it in Euros or dollars.
Pierpaolo Business Stats
Pierpaolo has achieved remarkable success as a freelancer in a short period. By leveraging his software engineering skills and focusing on high-value networking, he transformed his income trajectory significantly.
- Current Age: 23 Years Old
- Cumulative Earnings: €66,000
- Highest Monthly Contract: €10,000
- Education: Dropped out of Computer Science
- Location: Netherlands (Originally from Italy)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| First Client Earnings | €600 |
| Retainer Client | €2,500 / month |
| Enterprise Project | €10,000 / month |
| Last Year’s Income | €52,000 (after tax) |
Pierpaolo Method
Pierpaolo’s method involved a transition from low-effort digital outreach to high-effort physical networking. He focused on proving his value through smaller projects before upselling his full-stack capabilities.
- Skill Assessment: Identified software engineering as a high-value skill.
- Cold Outreach: Started with Instagram DMs and cold emails to startups.
- Networking: Shifted to in-person networking events to find high-value clients.
- Service Evolution: Moved from simple websites to complex web apps and SaaS development.
- Investing: Allocates business profits into investments to multiply wealth.
Pierpaolo Tools
To manage his business and deliver results, Pierpaolo utilizes a mix of educational platforms and development tools tailored to client needs.
- The Real World: Used for learning business processes, client acquisition, and accountability.
- ClickFunnels: Offered as a service to clients for sales channels.
- Full Stack Development: Custom coding skills used to build SaaS tools and dashboards.
- Cold Email & Phone: Primary communication tools for initial outreach.
Key Notes
Several key takeaways emerge from Pierpaolo’s story that can help aspiring freelancers understand the realities of the gig economy.
- Accountability is Key: Having a community and checklist prevents procrastination.
- Networking Beats Cold DMs: In-person connections led to his biggest contracts.
- Self-Belief: Landing the first client is the hardest; it becomes easier afterward.
- Education vs. University: Self-teaching coding was faster than university for him.
- Risk Tolerance: Willingness to drop out and quit a job accelerated his success.
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
You can replicate Pierpaolo’s success by following these five actionable steps to launch your freelance software engineer earnings journey.
- Join a Community: Find a mentorship group like The Real World for guidance.
- Evaluate Skills: Determine what high-value skills you can offer to the market.
- Start Outreach: Use cold email and social media to find your first few clients.
- Attend Events: Go to in-person networking events to meet decision-makers.
- Reinvest Profits: Use your income to invest and scale your business further.
Conclusion
Pierpaolo’s story demonstrates that with the right mindset, skills, and willingness to take action, achieving substantial freelance software engineer earnings is possible at a young age. By pivoting from traditional education paths to self-directed learning and high-leverage networking, he secured financial and location freedom. His journey serves as an inspiration for anyone looking to escape the 9-to-5 grind and build a life on their own terms.