From Venture-Backed Treadmill to $10M Services Business

Ian Myers built Oceans, a high-skill operational outsourcing business, from nothing in late 2021 to over $10 million in annual revenue by 2024. The business hires full-time workers in Sri Lanka and South Africa and places them with hundreds of clients—entrepreneurs, e-commerce brands, and service businesses—charging $3,000 to $4,000 per month per head. The company is profitable and has generated millions in profit since launch. But the path there was anything but direct.

Escaping the Treadmill

Before Oceans, Myers had already tried two versions of entrepreneurship and found both wanting. He started a venture-backed app company, raised money, and eventually sold it. But the experience left him cold. "The second you raise money, your board's telling you what metrics you gotta hit. You're sort of on this treadmill of raising the next round." He realized that raising venture capital didn't mean working for yourself—it meant working for your board.

That realization pushed him toward profitable services businesses. His criteria had shifted: he wanted something that was his, where he made the decisions, and where he could go fast or slow. "I approach this business from what do I want my life to be like," he says. "Not how do I make the most money or how do I get the most adventure financing."