Alex Tew created the Million Dollar Homepage project to fund his college tuition.

Starting in August, 2005, Tew began selling blocks of pixels on his page for $1 a pixel. Buyers could use the space for advertising or whatever they wished. Word of the project spread and soon Tew was getting coverage in mainstream magazines. After a month, he had sold over $150,000 worth of space and by January, 2006, he had exceeded the one million dollar mark.

It reminds me of the adage "A journey begins with one single step."  From TechCult's top 100 Web Celebrities.