Russell Brunson
Co-founder of ClickFunnels and one of the most influential figures in modern online marketing. Here's his track record, and what he adds to Side Hustle Summit 2026.
TL;DR
Russell Brunson co-founded ClickFunnels in 2014 and built it into a platform used by more than 100,000 active businesses, generating over $100 million in annual revenue, without taking outside investment. He is a New York Times bestselling author whose trilogy, DotCom Secrets, Expert Secrets and Traffic Secrets, has sold over 600,000 copies, and he created the Two Comma Club award. At Side Hustle Summit 2026 he headlines Episode 04 on September 9, covering offers and funnels. He also runs two free five-day challenges of his own, both reviewed on this site.
- Known for
- Co-founding ClickFunnels and defining the modern sales funnel
- Company
- ClickFunnels: 100,000+ active businesses, $100M+ annual revenue
- Books
- DotCom Secrets, Expert Secrets, Traffic Secrets: 600,000+ copies
- Recognition
- New York Times bestselling author, creator of the Two Comma Club
- At the summit
- Headlines Episode 04 on September 9, 2026
- Other events
- One Comma Club Challenge and AI Secrets Challenge, both free
Which one this is: Russell Brunson's role at Side Hustle Summit 2026, where he headlines one episode alongside Iman Gadzhi. He separately runs two free challenges of his own, the One Comma Club Challenge and the AI Secrets Challenge, which are different events with different dates and are reviewed separately on this site.
Russell Brunson At A Glance
| Known for | Co-founding ClickFunnels and defining the modern sales funnel |
|---|---|
| Company | ClickFunnels: 100,000+ active businesses, $100M+ annual revenue |
| Books | DotCom Secrets, Expert Secrets, Traffic Secrets: 600,000+ copies sold |
| Recognition | New York Times bestselling author; creator of the Two Comma Club award |
| Role at the summit | Headlines Episode 04, September 9, 2026 |
The Short Version
Russell Brunson co-founded ClickFunnels in 2014, a software platform that lets non-technical people build sales funnels without hiring a developer. It has grown into a platform used by more than 100,000 active businesses, generating over $100 million in annual revenue, and it made Brunson one of the most recognizable names in direct-response marketing.
He is also a New York Times bestselling author. His trilogy, DotCom Secrets, Expert Secrets and Traffic Secrets, has sold more than 600,000 copies combined and functions as a standard reference across a large part of the online-business industry.
Why His Track Record Matters Here
Russell Brunson created the Two Comma Club, an award recognizing entrepreneurs who have generated at least $1 million through a single ClickFunnels funnel. Thousands of businesses, across industries ranging from ecommerce to coaching to software, have earned it. That range is exactly why his approach to offers and funnels is considered proven across niches rather than tied to one type of business.
Paired with Iman Gadzhi's focus on audience and personal brand, his half of Side Hustle Summit 2026 covers the side of the equation most side hustles get wrong: turning attention into an actual, repeatable sale.
What He Will Teach
His session, billed on the official event page as Russell Brunson - The Billion-Dollar Mentor, focuses on the mechanics of turning an idea into a business that actually sells: structuring an offer, building the simple funnel that sells it, where traffic comes from, and how to turn a one-off effort into a repeatable system. His material tends to be concrete and framework-driven.
If you have read his books, some foundations will be familiar. The value of a live session like this is usually in the updates: what is currently working in 2026, rather than what worked when the books were written.
Who Should Pay Closest Attention To His Session
If you already have some audience, an idea, or a skill you want to sell, Episode 04 is likely the single most actionable session of the summit for you. If you are starting from zero with no audience yet, Iman Gadzhi's episodes on building attention are the logical starting point before his session.
The full agenda and how the five episodes fit together is on our schedule page.
The Two Comma Club, And Why It Matters Here
The Two Comma Club is the award ClickFunnels gives to a business that has generated at least a million dollars through a single funnel. Two commas, as in $1,000,000. Thousands of businesses have earned it, across ecommerce, coaching, services and software, and the plaque became one of the most recognisable objects in the industry.
The range is the point. An award earned by a supplement brand, a consultant and a software company using the same underlying structure says something about how portable that structure is. It is the strongest single piece of evidence that what he teaches is not tied to one type of business, which is why it comes up whenever his track record is discussed.
ClickFunnels also runs an entry level version of that award, the One Comma Club, issued at a thousand dollars in sales. His One Comma Club Challenge is built around that first rung, which is a useful signal about where his free events are pitched: they start at the beginning, not at scale.
What Is Not Public About His Session
Episode 04 has a title, a date and a host. What is not published is how long the session runs, whether he presents alone or alongside Iman Gadzhi, and whether the material is new or draws on his existing frameworks. Given the format, expect the concepts from his books applied to the 2026 landscape rather than a wholly new system, but the organisers have not stated that either way.
Last updated: July 23, 2026.
The main event · September 6 to 13, 2026
On Stage With Iman Gadzhi At Side Hustle Summit 2026
Side Hustle Summit 2026 is the first event ever to put Iman Gadzhi and Russell Brunson on the same stage. Across five free live episodes, Iman covers building attention and a personal brand, and Russell headlines Episode 04, The Billion-Dollar Mentor, on September 9, 2026, on turning that attention into a repeatable sale. Free registration opens August 10, 2026.
His Other Free Events, Reviewed
Outside the summit, Russell Brunson runs his own free live challenges. We reviewed both, agenda by agenda.
One Comma Club Challenge
Five days on AI and funnels for people who have not made a first sale online, built around ClickFunnels' entry level award. Runs August 10 to 14, 2026.
AI Secrets Challenge
Five days with his ClickFunnels co-founder Todd Dickerson on running a one-person business with AI. New editions start most Mondays.
Russell Brunson: Common Questions
Who is Russell Brunson?
Russell Brunson is an entrepreneur who co-founded ClickFunnels, the sales-funnel software platform used by more than 100,000 active businesses, and the author of three bestselling business books. He is a co-host of Side Hustle Summit 2026.
What is ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels is a software platform that lets people build sales funnels, the sequences of pages that turn visitors into customers, without needing a developer. Brunson co-founded it in 2014, and it has since grown to serve more than 100,000 active businesses generating over $100 million in annual revenue.
What is the Two Comma Club?
The Two Comma Club is an award Russell Brunson created to recognize entrepreneurs who have generated at least $1 million through a single ClickFunnels sales funnel. Thousands of businesses across a wide range of industries have earned it, which is a large part of why ClickFunnels' methodology is considered proven across niches rather than tied to one industry.
What are Russell Brunson's books?
His three best-known books are DotCom Secrets, on the mechanics of sales funnels; Expert Secrets, on building an audience and a movement around expertise; and Traffic Secrets, on acquiring attention. Combined, the trilogy has sold more than 600,000 copies, and he is a New York Times bestselling author.
What will Russell Brunson teach at Side Hustle Summit 2026?
He headlines Episode 04, titled Russell Brunson - The Billion-Dollar Mentor, on September 9, 2026. Expect the mechanics of turning an idea into a business that actually sells: offers, funnels, traffic and the systems that make a side hustle repeatable, the exact territory ClickFunnels was built to cover.
When does Russell Brunson speak at the Side Hustle Summit?
Episode 04 on September 9, 2026, at 1 PM Eastern for general admission. It is the only session built entirely around him, so that is the date to prioritise if he is your reason for attending.
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