The story of how a 48-year-old real estate agent with seven kids and "borderline technical knowledge" accidentally built a Web3 media powerhouse—and the lessons any founder can steal without asking permission.
Picture this: It's 8:30 AM. Most crypto enthusiasts are either sleeping off their late-night Discord sessions or doom-scrolling through their collapsing portfolios. Meanwhile, Stephen Perrino (known online as PeaceLoveMusic.btc) is live-streaming crypto news to a dedicated audience, many of whom schedule their morning coffee around his broadcast.
This daily ritual—"DeOrganized Morning Show"—has become something of a cult phenomenon in the Stacks ecosystem. The show has spawned spinoffs, attracted sponsors, and built a community so devoted they'll follow Stephen through conversations about everything from Bitcoin's price action to Brussels sprouts recipes (okay, I made that last part up, but you get the point).
Here's the kicker: DeOrganized Media launched with exactly $138 in funding.
The Accidental Media Mogul
Stephen isn't your typical startup founder. He didn't quit his job at Google to pursue his passion project. He didn't raise a seed round from Andreessen Horowitz. He didn't even have a business plan.
"What I was originally going to do was write 20 articles and host weekly spaces," Stephen explains, thinking back to his early days in the Stacks ecosystem. A modest proposal that has somehow morphed into a mini-media empire with multiple shows, dozens of collaborators, and plans for a suite of decentralized applications.
How does one go from writing a few articles to building a Web3 media company with essentially no budget? It turns out, there's a method to the madness—one that any bootstrapped founder can learn from.
The Art of Showing Up When Nobody Else Will
Stephen's first brilliant move was accidentally brilliant: he picked the most undesirable time slot in crypto.
"I chose the morning because there was no other times to write everything. There was too many shows," Stephen recalls. "I didn't want to step on anybody's toes and be opposite them, and there was nothing going on in the morning. So that's why I started doing the morning slot."
While everyone else was fighting over prime evening hours, Stephen claimed empty territory that nobody wanted. It's the entrepreneurial equivalent of buying real estate in a "bad neighborhood" before gentrification hits.
FOUNDER LESSON #1: Find the underserved spaces where competition doesn't exist. The most obvious times/places/markets are usually the most crowded. Look where others aren't looking.
But claiming territory is just the beginning. Stephen had to show up. Consistently. Day after day.
"The biggest obstacle really was committing. I'm gonna do this at the same time every day, Monday through Friday," he explains. "When I became like, I'm going to keep doing this and actually grow it into something more, it had to become consistent."
FOUNDER LESSON #2: Consistency isn't sexy, but it's the difference between the businesses that survive and those that don't. If you're looking for something and it requires you to ask somebody for business, and then you get that business, people tend to stop asking. But you've got to keep being consistent with the ask.
The "Minimum Viable Media Empire" Strategy
Most founders obsess over their product. Stephen obsessed over his relationships.
He didn't start with a massive marketing budget or sophisticated growth strategy. Instead, he did something much simpler: he showed up in everyone else's spaces.
"We're in the spaces. We're supporting everybody else. BoostX has a space. We're out supporting BoostX. Boom has a space. I try to get in," Stephen explains.
This approach created a virtuous cycle: Stephen supported others in the ecosystem, and they, in turn, supported him. It wasn't a calculated strategy as much as it was an extension of Stephen's personality, but it worked incredibly well.
FOUNDER LESSON #3: The best growth hack isn't a hack at all—it's genuine community participation. Support others before you ask for support. Be the person who shows up for everyone else, and they'll show up for you.
The result? A community that feels personally invested in DeOrganized Media's success.
"That actually is what makes our success, it's what helps, it's what fuels our growth—the ecosystem supports us. They tune in to support us. They tune in and chat with us because they like us and they like what we're doing."
The Art of Scaling on Zero Dollars
When most media companies want to grow, they raise capital and hire people. When Stephen wanted to grow, he just... let people join.
"One of the things that I wish I had earlier was more people streaming with me on a regular basis," he reflects. "Like it wasn't just me, because I think that that makes much better content when there's conversations and not just somebody talking about stuff."
Instead of hiring full-time employees (impossible on his non-existent budget), Stephen created a structure where others could contribute in ways that benefited everyone. GPSC started co-hosting on Fridays. Stacksy began doing weekly Stacks ecosystem updates on Mondays. Blockface added an AI segment. Zenitron joined to talk about Web3 gaming.
FOUNDER LESSON #4: When you can't afford to pay people, create a platform where they can build their own audience and reputation. Contributors get visibility, you get content, and the audience gets variety.
This collaborative approach created something greater than the sum of its parts—a diverse media platform with different voices, perspectives, and content offerings.
The Shameless Self-Funding Hustle
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: money. Or rather, the lack of it.
"Right now BitFlow, StackingDAO, we've had deals with Hermetica, Jack's done some stuff with us with Roo, Shoutout, Skullcoin's a sponsor too with some of the stuff that they've been sponsoring on Find2Earn, plus all of the meme tokens."
Stephen didn't start with these partnerships. He started by providing value, building an audience, and then—only then—creating opportunities for sponsors to get involved.
FOUNDER LESSON #5: Build first, monetize later. Provide so much value that monetization becomes the obvious next step, not a desperate attempt to stay afloat.
But even with sponsors, Stephen's operation remains scrappy. "Most of my money is self-funded and I don't spend a lot of money on the business. I only spend what's necessary."
The Real-Life Schedule of a Bootstrapped Founder
Want to know what Stephen's typical day looks like? Brace yourself:
6:00 AM: Drinking coffee, working on ChatGPT to produce news items for the morning show 6:30 AM: At the laptop, setting up the Restream app with headlines and show notes 8:00 AM: Binta hosts the warm-up space 8:30 AM: Live stream goes live, Stephen reads the news and brings on guests 9:30 AM: Zenitron comes on for Find2Earn games 10:00 AM: Stephen leaves to show a house (remember, he's still a full-time realtor) 3:00 PM: Joins the BitFlow space 7:00 PM: Jumps in to chat with GPSC on the night show
FOUNDER LESSON #6: Entrepreneurship isn't about quitting your job and going all-in. It's about finding the hours around your job, your family, and your life to build something meaningful. The best time to work on your startup is whenever you can.
The Future Is DeOrganized
When asked where he sees DeOrganized Media in 12 months, Stephen's vision is ambitious yet clearly defined:
"12 months from now, I anticipate we'll be at or near live streaming 24-7 or at least a 12 hour like a long all day stream section with lots of different content in the middle with different people, different personalities coming on."
Beyond the media content, Stephen envisions a suite of applications: deorganized.media, deorganized.events, deorganized.games, deorganized.music, deorganized.nft, deorganized.art, deorganized.publishing, and deorganized.finance.
The connecting thread? Supporting "the creation and control of digital rights, digital content, and distribution by the owner of that content."
Lessons for the Rest of Us
What can the average, non-crypto, non-media founder take away from Stephen's journey? A lot, actually.
Find the empty spaces. Look for the time slots, market segments, or content areas that everyone else is ignoring.
Show up consistently. The single biggest factor in Stephen's success wasn't talent, funding, or connections—it was his willingness to show up day after day.
Support before asking for support. Build genuine relationships by helping others before you need help yourself.
Create platforms, not just products. Enable others to build alongside you rather than trying to do everything yourself.
Start with value, not monetization. Build something people want, and the money will follow.
Work around your life, not instead of it. You don't need to quit your job to start something meaningful.
Build in public. Stephen's entire operation has developed in full view of his audience, creating investment and loyalty you can't buy.
The most refreshing part of Stephen's story is how attainable it feels. He didn't need venture capital, a co-founding team of Stanford CS grads, or a revolutionary AI algorithm. He just needed passion, consistency, and a willingness to provide value to a community he cared about.
And if a 48-year-old realtor with seven kids can build a Web3 media company with $138 and "borderline technical knowledge," what's your excuse?
You can find DeOrganized Media at deorganized.media, or follow them on X at @DeorganizedBTC. Stephen can be found at @PeaceLoveMusicG
Visit https://boom.money to learn more about the project or follow us on X @boom_wallet
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