▲What Is the Side Hustle Summit?
Have you ever seen an ad for a "free online event" and wondered if it's really free — or really worth it? I had the same question. So instead of guessing, I studied two primary sources: the full replay of the private planning event where the creators explained everything to their partners, and the official affiliate program terms published by the operating company. This review is built on both.
The Side Hustle Summit is a free online challenge from Iman Gadzhi and Russell Brunson, scheduled for September 6–13, 2026 and streamed live from Dubai to the whole world. The live teaching sessions run September 6 through 9, with a follow-up session on September 13. Their goal is bold: the largest online event ever, targeting 2.5 million sign-ups. For scale, their last event pulled 1.2 million registrants with 150,000 people watching live at once, and the record they're chasing sits around 2.3 million.
The teaching centers on what the team calls "shadow operating" — partnering with creators who already have an audience and helping them launch and sell digital products, instead of building your own audience from zero. In plain words: the creator brings the followers, you bring the launch machine, and you split the results. Their team says students from past events used this exact approach.
Who actually runs it? The event is operated by Prime Mover LLC, an Idaho limited liability company based in Eagle, Idaho — the corporate side of Russell Brunson's world — in partnership with Iman Gadzhi's organization. That matters: this isn't an anonymous internet pop-up. There's a named U.S. company, a physical address, and formal legal terms behind the whole campaign, which we dig into on the legitimacy page.
▲Side Hustle Summit Pricing: Every OTO and Upsell
The event is free to join, but it's built like a funnel — a path with paid steps. The official program terms even list exactly which products exist in the funnel: the VIP ticket upgrade, an upsell, an order bump, and the back-end Monetise program. Here is the complete price map so nothing surprises you:
| Step | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free registration | $0 | All live sessions, streamed from Dubai. Officially free — the program terms confirm registration carries no charge |
| Upsell #1 — VIP ticket | $25 | Bonus deep-dive sessions + prize drawings (MacBooks, FaceTimes, London dinner). See our VIP ticket review |
| Upsell #2 / order bump | $25 | Digital extras like "Ask Iman," an AI chatbot trained to answer the way Iman would |
| OTO — Companion offer | $995 | A one-time companion package presented in the funnel |
| Core offer — Monetize | $1,995 | Software + training pitched on day 2. The official terms describe it as "currently anticipated to be offered at $1,995." Full breakdown in our Monetize review |
The honest math: you can attend 100% free and still learn plenty. Or you could spend from $25 to about $3,000 if you buy everything. Nobody forces you — but the event is designed, very skillfully, to make buying feel exciting. Knowing the map ahead of time is your best defense and your best advantage.
▲What Happens Each Day
Day 1 (Sept 6) is the kickoff and orientation. The core teaching runs across the live days, and the Monetize offer opens on day 2. From there, past events added fresh bonuses on days 3, 4, and 5 — licensed software and tools stacked onto the offer so early buyers keep getting extras. A follow-up session lands September 13, and the cart closes September 15. The full day-by-day picture, including why the early pitch actually helps you as a buyer, is on the schedule page.
▲The Results They Claim — Read This Part Carefully
The organizers track buyer results after each event and report about $8.9 million in combined student earnings after their first event, $15 million after the second, and roughly $31 million after the third. Those are striking numbers. They are also the sellers' own tracking, not an independent audit — and the official program terms themselves forbid anyone from claiming the event guarantees you'll make money.
Results shared by the organizers are their own reported figures. Your results will vary based on many factors, including your education, effort, and market conditions. There is no guarantee you will make any money.
Even the hosts are blunt about this: in the partner replay, Iman said that in any mass-market program, roughly 80% of buyers won't follow through long enough to succeed — the same way most people who buy a guitar never join a band. That's not a scam signal; it's an honesty signal. But it means the deciding factor isn't the software. It's you.
▲Pros and Cons — The Fair Look
What I like: the main event costs nothing, both hosts have long public track records, the products carry a refund policy described as truly "no questions asked," a named U.S. company with formal terms stands behind the campaign, and there's a generous stack of free and paid extras — see the full bonus list. The company even polices its own promoters: affiliates are contractually required to disclose their links, banned from making income guarantees, and banned from spammy tactics like telemarketing and incentivized leads.
What gives me pause: the event exists to sell, and the sales moments are planned to the day. Prices may shift under split-testing. The income numbers come from the sellers, not a referee. And the skill being taught — partnering with creators — takes real, sustained work that most buyers historically don't put in.
Our Verdict
Sign up for the free Side Hustle Summit — it costs nothing to watch two proven teachers run the biggest launch of their careers. Keep your wallet closed until day 2 or 3, watch how the bonus stack develops, and only buy Monetize if the shadow-operating idea truly fits your goals, your budget, and the hours you'll actually invest. You have until the cart closes on September 15 to decide calmly.