Couple started upcycling furniture found on the curb—they've now made over $1M flipping homes

The couple began their journey in 2020 when they noticed furniture being discarded on neighborhood streets during their walks. Initially, they collected these pieces to furnish their own home, but soon found themselves rescuing more furniture than they could use personally, leading them to start selling the upcycled pieces as a side hobby and hustle. At the time, both partners had traditional corporate jobs - one working in finance and the other in marketing for a real estate company. Their furniture flipping naturally evolved into broader home design and renovation work. The turning point came when they introduced a social media component to their business, which they identified as their 'aha moment.' This social media presence provided an additional financial element that made their venture profitable enough to allow them to leave their traditional 9-to-5 jobs. The couple also discovered and utilized the IRS primary residence exclusion for capital gains tax as a wealth-building strategy, which allows single filers to deduct up to $250,000 tax-free and married couples filing jointly to deduct up to $500,000 tax-free on their primary home, provided they lived there for two out of the last five years.