# HypeProxies × STELLA PROXIES Audit: When Sneaker Bots Hit $0 for 7 Months, How the Same Founder Scaled AI Scraping Proxies to $351.8K/Mo

- **Case ID**: BID-044 (HypeProxies × STELLA PROXIES)
- **Category**: Picks & Shovels Pivot Audit · HypeProxies × STELLA PROXIES ($16.18M Combined): From Sneaker-Bot Zero ($0 for 7 Months) to $351.8K/Mo AI Scraping Infrastructure
- **Published**: 2026-11-07
- **Author**: Jimmy (https://www.jimmydecodes.com/en/about/)
- **Canonical URL**: https://www.jimmydecodes.com/en/cases/hypeproxies-stella/

## The Short Answer (Verdict)

> [Verified] Per TrustMRR's Stripe ledgers (synced Nov 1, 2026), US founder Gunnar (`@basedgunnar`, 1,667 X followers) executed a masterclass infrastructure pivot across two businesses totaling $16,177,797 all-time ($3,254,400 combined LTM). As sneaker-botting collapsed, his consumer proxy brand STELLA PROXIES (`stellaproxies.com`, DR 23.0, $4,248,649 all-time) slid from $48,642 in Nov 2025 to $23,265 in Mar 2026, and then hit $0.00/mo in actual collected cash for 7 consecutive months (Apr–Oct 2026, despite $636 in residual stated MRR across 6 legacy subs). Simultaneously, he scaled HypeProxies (`hypeproxies.com`, DR 28.0) by selling unmetered 10Gbps ISP proxies to '190+ AI, scraping & automation teams'—generating $11,929,148 all-time, $3,039,237 LTM ($1,758,830 in 6m; $947,730 in 3m), and $351,813 in Aug 2026 ($346,529 Sept; $273,281 Oct; $255,216 30d cash) with $0.00 stated MRR (0 subscription objects; billed via invoice/top-up checkouts).

US founder Gunnar (@basedgunnar) owns two Stripe-verified proxy businesses totaling $16,177,797 on TrustMRR: when sneaker reselling died, STELLA PROXIES ($4.25M all-time) dropped to $0.00/mo in actual cash for 7 straight months — while Gunnar repositioned his unmetered ISP infrastructure as HypeProxies for '190+ AI & scraping teams', hitting $351,813/mo peak and $11.93M all-time!

## Key Numbers (Evidence-Graded)

| Metric | Figure | Evidence Level | Source & Basis |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Combined Founder Portfolio | $16,177,797 combined all-time | $3,254,400 combined LTM | Verified | Sum of HypeProxies ($11.93M) + STELLA PROXIES ($4.25M) Stripe ledgers |
| STELLA 7-Month Zero Streak | $4,248,649 all-time | $0.00/mo cash for 7 straight months (Apr–Oct 2026) | Verified | Fell from $48,642 in Nov 2025 ($23,265 Mar 2026) to $0 cash ($636 residual MRR) |
| HypeProxies B2B AI Surge | $11,929,148 all-time | $3,039,237 LTM | $351,813 Aug 2026 peak | Verified | TrustMRR Stripe sync (Nov 1, 2026; $1,758,830 6m, $273,281 Oct, $255,216 L30D) |
| 190+ B2B AI Teams on Top-Ups | $0.00 stated MRR (0 sub objects) | 50 IPs $65 / 100 IPs $125 / 254 IPs $300 | Verified | Serves 190+ AI & scraping teams via recurring invoice/subnet checkouts |
| Turnkey B2B Price Radar Cost | ~$3.80/mo per client (50 competitor URLs/day via Firecrawl + Claude) | Our estimate | Managed proxy scraping ($1.50) + Claude Sonnet 4.5 diffing ($2.30) |

## A $16.18M Survival Lesson: Same Bare-Metal Shovel, Brand-New Gold Rush

Most founders panic when their primary customer segment disappears. During the 2021–2022 sneaker and GPU reselling boom, US founder Gunnar (`@basedgunnar`) built **STELLA PROXIES (`stellaproxies.com`)**, processing **$4,248,649 in all-time Stripe revenue** by selling fast proxies to sneaker-botters.

Then the sneaker market died. STELLA's monthly cash slid from `$48,642` in Nov 2025 (`$53,306` in Feb 2026) to `$23,265` in Mar 2026 — and then hit **`$0.00/month` in actual collected cash for seven consecutive months from April through October 2026** (even though Stripe still displays `$636` in residual stated MRR across `6` legacy subscription objects).

Did Gunnar go broke? Look at his sister company **HypeProxies (`hypeproxies.com`)**: using the exact same expertise in unmetered 10Gbps static ISP subnets, he repositioned the infrastructure for **'190+ AI, scraping & automation teams'**. HypeProxies has generated **$11,929,148 all-time** and **$3,039,237 LTM** (`$1,758,830` in 6m; `$947,730` in 3m), surging to **$351,813 in August 2026**, **$346,529 in September**, and **$273,281 in October 2026**!

## Why HypeProxies Prints $255K–$351K/Mo With $0.00 Stated MRR

Comparing both ledgers highlights why raw cash collection matters more than surface MRR badges: STELLA shows `$636` MRR while collecting `$0.00` for 7 straight months, whereas **HypeProxies shows `$0.00` stated MRR (`0` Stripe subscription objects) while collecting `$255,216` in the last 30 days**!

Why? While its self-serve tiers start at `50 IPs for $65/mo`, `100 IPs for $125/mo`, and `254 IPs for $300/mo`, its **190+ B2B AI training and web-scraping teams** purchase dedicated subnet blocks via recurring invoice checkouts and capacity top-ups (`~$1,300+/month` average revenue per team `[Estimate]`).

## The Solo B2B Playbook: Don't Lease Raw IPv4 Subnets—Sell $750/Mo 'Competitor Price & Stockout Radars'

Leasing raw ARIN/RIPE IPv4 blocks and managing abuse tickets is capital-intensive. Instead, ask what non-technical e-commerce and wholesale executives actually want from web scraping: **they want an 8:00 AM Slack alert whenever a top competitor cuts prices, launches a promo, goes out of stock, or violates Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) agreements.**

Using our Part VII **Airtable + Firecrawl/Apify Managed Proxy API + Claude Sonnet 4.5 Diff Engine** (~$3.80/month in total API cost per client), you can deliver a turnkey **100-SKU Competitor Price & Stockout Radar** for **$750/month** at a **97%+ gross margin**!

## Three questions to ask about businesses like this

1. What are the verified Stripe figures for Gunnar's two proxy businesses (HypeProxies and STELLA PROXIES)? — Per TrustMRR (Nov 1, 2026): $16,177,797 combined all-time revenue ($3,254,400 LTM). STELLA PROXIES generated $4,248,649 all-time ($215,163 LTM), fell from $48,642 in Nov 2025 to $23,265 in Mar 2026, and hit $0.00/mo in actual cash from Apr–Oct 2026 ($636 residual MRR across 6 subs); HypeProxies generated $11,929,148 all-time, $3,039,237 LTM ($1,758,830 6m; $947,730 3m), and $351,813 peak in Aug 2026 ($346,529 Sept; $273,281 Oct; $255,216 30d cash) with $0.00 stated MRR (0 sub objects).
2. How did Gunnar survive the death of the sneaker-bot market? — By pivoting his unmetered 10Gbps ISP proxy infrastructure from high-churn sneaker resellers to '190+ B2B AI training, SERP aggregation, and web-scraping teams' (published plans: 50 IPs $65/mo, 100 IPs $125/mo, 254 IPs $300/mo).
3. How can a solo operator monetize B2B web scraping without managing proxy servers? — Combine Firecrawl or Apify's managed proxy API with Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Airtable to sell $750/month 'Automated Competitor Price-Drop, Stockout & MAP Violation Radars' to e-commerce brands.

## FAQ

### Q: Why use Firecrawl + Claude instead of traditional Python BeautifulSoup/XPath scrapers?
A: Traditional scrapers break every time a competitor changes a CSS class name, and they falsely report '$0 / out of stock' when hit by a Cloudflare challenge. Firecrawl converts the rendered page to clean Markdown via rotating proxies, while our Claude QA gate automatically detects WAF challenges and retries silently.

### Q: Is automated competitor price monitoring legal?
A: Yes, monitoring publicly accessible retail product pages (that are not behind a login wall and contain zero personal user data) at low daily frequencies (1–2 checks/day) is standard practice across retail and e-commerce.

### Q: Which metrics are [Verified] vs. [Estimated]?
A: All Stripe revenue totals ($11.93M HypeProxies, $4.25M STELLA, $16.18M combined, $0 MRR on HypeProxies, $636 residual MRR on STELLA) are [Verified]; upstream IPv4 margins (60%–70%) and B2B radar API costs (~$3.80/mo) are [Estimated].

## Sources

1. Verified HypeProxies Stripe ledger (Founded Oct 2, 2019 by Gunnar @basedgunnar, US / hypeproxies.com / DR 28.0 / $11,929,148 all-time / $3,039,237 LTM / $1,758,830 6m / $947,730 3m / $351,813 Aug 2026 peak / $346,529 Sept / $273,281 Oct / $255,216 L30D -25.8% / $0.00 stated MRR & 0 subscription objects, Nov 1, 2026): TrustMRR HypeProxies: https://trustmrr.com/startup/hypeproxies
2. Verified STELLA PROXIES Stripe ledger (Founded Apr 26, 2021 by Gunnar @basedgunnar, US / stellaproxies.com / DR 23.0 / $4,248,649 all-time / $215,163 LTM / $48,642 Nov 2025, $53,306 Feb 2026, $23,265 Mar 2026 / $0.00/mo actual cash for 7 consecutive months Apr–Oct 2026 with $636 residual MRR across 6 legacy subs, Nov 1, 2026): TrustMRR STELLA PROXIES: https://trustmrr.com/startup/stella-proxies
3. HypeProxies official unmetered 10Gbps ISP proxy platform for 190+ AI & scraping teams (50 IPs $65/mo, 100 IPs $125/mo, 254 IPs $300/mo): hypeproxies.com: https://hypeproxies.com/

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*Citation note: When citing figures from this teardown, please credit "Jimmy Decodes (https://www.jimmydecodes.com/en/cases/hypeproxies-stella/)" and include the stated evidence label (Verified / Self-reported / Third-party / Our estimate).*