Nathan May: from selling Minecraft maps at 15 to a $400,000 month at 28
His mom made $32,000 a year and he never left Ohio until 18. He made his first $100,000 selling Minecraft maps to YouTubers. He became a millionaire at 22, weeks after his mom died. Here is what he built next, the numbers, and what you can copy.
Overview
Nathan May grew up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Ohio. His mom made $31,000 to $32,000 a year. "We didn't have money for vacations." He did not leave Ohio until he was 18, when he got on a Greyhound bus.
At 15, his video game habit became a business. He and a team sold custom Minecraft maps to famous YouTubers. "It's how I made my first $100,000." He invested it, and it grew past $1 million.
He went to Wharton, then joined the consulting firm BCG. He became a millionaire at 22, within weeks of his mom dying of stage three lung cancer. He got the call on a BCG ski trip. "I did not feel happy from the money at all."
He looked at the senior partners making $3 million to $5 million a year and the time they never spent with their kids, and decided he did not want that. He quit BCG, moved back to Ohio to cut costs, and went all in on building a business: a newsletter agency.
How it really happened
- The basement. His mom made about $32,000 a year and was a hoarder. The basement held stacks of Campbell's chicken noodle soup, 20 bottles of Heinz ketchup, and four Shake Weights. "She thought the world was gonna get nuked or something."
- The clothes budget. In middle school it was about $150 a year, spent at Kohl's. At Wharton, a new friend handed him an old Tommy Hilfiger shirt worth $80.
- Seventh grade. He weighed 200 pounds with a terrible GPA. He lost 70 pounds in one year because a friend named Morgan ran up and down the basement stairs with him. He says every big jump in his life has happened that way, because of one person next to him.
- Minecraft. He got obsessed with what YouTubers were building and got really good: dragons, trees, castles. He and two other guys formed a little company selling custom maps to famous YouTubers. That made his first $100,000, in high school.
- The actor plan. He actually wanted to be a stage actor and took the Greyhound to New York to audition for schools like NYU Tisch. His mom pushed him toward business instead.
- The newsletter idea. He came across a company making $12 million a year from an app, with a newsletter on the side doing $1 million a year. He could not code. "I could write. I could do a newsletter." So he started a small one, and that grew into the agency.
- Who he works for now. His agency grows newsletters for people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jay Shetty and Tyler Denk, the founder of beehiiv. It is two years old.
Timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| Childhood | Grows up poor in Ohio. His mom makes about $32,000 a year |
| Age 15 | Sells custom Minecraft maps to YouTubers. Makes his first $100,000 |
| Age 18 | Leaves Ohio for the first time, on a Greyhound bus |
| College | Wharton, then the consulting firm BCG |
| Age 22 | His mom dies. Within weeks his investments make him a millionaire |
| After | Quits BCG, moves back to Ohio to cut costs, starts his agency |
| January 2026 | Best month: about $400,000 |
| Today | 28, agency doing a couple million dollars a year, aiming for $10 million liquid |
The numbers
| Figure | Number |
|---|---|
| Agency revenue | A couple million dollars a year |
| Best month | About $400,000 |
| First $100,000 | Selling Minecraft maps at 15 |
| Millionaire | At 22 |
| His mom's income | $31,000 to $32,000 a year |
| Cash in the business | About $75,000. Everything else goes into his brokerage account |
| His "enough" number | $10 million liquid, worked out with ChatGPT from about $180,000 a year in spending |
| Age | 28 |
How it makes money
Nathan's agency grows newsletters for personal brands and media companies, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jay Shetty and beehiiv founder Tyler Denk. It does a couple million dollars a year, and about $400,000 in its best month.
He works out of a shared office with seven or eight founders he calls the Media Mafia, all doing millions a year with media and content. They post a monthly revenue and profit leaderboard in a group text.
What they did right
1. He turned a hobby into his first business
A Minecraft habit at 15 became $100,000 selling maps to YouTubers.
2. He walked away from the safe path
He looked at what BCG partners gave up for $3 million to $5 million a year and quit.
3. He cut his costs to buy time
He moved back to Ohio, where living was cheap, to build the agency.
4. He surrounded himself with builders
"Every major breakthrough came from being around the right person at the right time." His office of founders shares a revenue leaderboard. "It is so motivating, and it's so transparent."
Do what they did: step by step
1. Sell something from your hobby.
Do this: list the games, sports or crafts you spend hours on. Who in that world pays for things? Offer them one.
2. Find out what "enough" is for you.
Nathan worked his out as $10 million liquid.
Do this: add up what a comfortable year costs you, then work out what it would take to fund it.
3. Lower your costs before you start.
Do this: find one big monthly cost you can cut for a year while you build.
4. Find your people.
Do this: find three people building something like you and agree to share your numbers every month.
Want 50 more breakdowns like this?
Real businesses with their revenue, tools, costs and how they grew, plus step-by-step guides to start your own. Free.
Get free accessMore breakdowns
Sources
- Hampton, Moneywise with Daniel Berk, "He Made $400k/Month Before 30... Then Realized It Meant Nothing" (interview and full transcript), May 2026
