#172 - Indie Businesses Making Millions, Advice to Young Entrepreneurs & How to Grow a Podcast

WeWork isn’t the only game in coworking. In this episode, Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@theSamParr) break down the multi-billion dollar coworking industry and identify what you need to succeed. Shaan shares an awesome story about Steve Jobs and the guys talk about the future of sports recovery and where money is to be made with athletic endorsements. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (1:24) - Episode Intro * (3:18) - Opportunities in coworking * (11:56) - The MFM co-working space? * (15:27) - The mystique of Adam Neumann * (19:34) - The duality of extreme confidence * (30:40) - You can't say no to Steve Jobs * (36:39) - Shaan's dream exercise for new hires * (38:47) - The Nike of sports recovery * (47:29) - Cryotherapy in a barrel * (51:13) - Saunas and sensory deprivation * (52:57) - Leveraging opportunities around pro athletes * (58:07) - Outro

11 Juni 202159min

Sam (@theSamParr) & Shaan (@ShaanVP) discuss second-hand e-commerce, door-to-door sales, and business poised to bounce back after COVID in this episode. They start off the episode recapping the live shows in Miami and Austin which leads them into personal travel and other slingshot business set to rebound after a COVID slump. The guys transition to the Mayweather Paul fight, the infamous Charizard necklace, and to some exciting things happening in the NFT space. They close it out with Shaan sharing ideas on litigation finance, second-hand e-commerce, and a fantastic story on door-to-door sales. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (1:16) - Episode Overview * (2:31) - Intro * (5:44) - Recap of Live Shows * (6:55) - Personal travel is crazy right now * (10:10) - Sam & Shaan on slingshot startups * (20:26) - How sports are innovating * (23:09) - Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul * (25:27) - The Charizard Necklace * (27:18) - LaMelo Ball’s NFT collection * (33:55) - What is Ether.Cards * (41:52) - Peter Thiel and litigation finance * (50:22) - Second-hand e-commerce * (1:00:42) - Mega-segment on door-to-door sales * (1:20:11) - Outro

9 Juni 20211h 21min

Sam (@theSamParr) & Shaan (@ShaanVP) do a little Q&A in this episode. They talk about their financial goals, their romantic relationships, and what they would do if they were 21 again. They finish off the episode talking about the podcast growth, live events, and brainstorm a few ideas around community and sports you can do as you get older. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (1:19) - Intro * (4:00) - The Twitter bio paradox * (6:15) - Intro to Q&A * (6:30) - Q1 - What's it like to be rich? * (11:51) - Q2 - What do you read/research outside business? * (14:03) - Q3 - How did success influence your romantic relationships? * (20:34) - Q4 - What pandemic behavior do you want to keep? * (22:00) - Q5 - If you were 21 again, what would you be doing? * (25:44) - Q6 - What's your best purchase over $2K & best under $100? * (27:52) - Podcast growth update * (29:55) - On growth plateaus * (32:47) - Live event update * (34:53) - Community around the "neighborhood 7/11" * (44:25) - The new golf * (53:53) - Outro

4 Juni 202156min

Sam (@theSamParr) gets real in this episode. He talks about his struggles with alcohol and the reasons why he is now sober. He shares 8 lessons he learned from his experiences. He ends the episode by answering questions he received on Twitter. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (0:00) - Intro * (3:56) - How it started - Sam's background with alcohol * (11:24) - The first turning point [oasis] * (13:36) - Asking for help [university clinic] * (14:49) - Going to California * (17:41) - The second turning point [Joe Garvin] * (20:07) - Getting help [SF Clinic] * (23:13) - Coping while sober [eating sugar] * (24:39) - What Sam has learned * (25:46) - Lesson 1 - The inner game * (27:26) - Lesson 2 - Being open * (29:33) - Lesson 3 - Booze messes up your body * (31:16) - Lesson 4 - Sober Sam = Attractive Sam * (33:04) - Lesson 5 - Having fun while sober * (35:14) - Lesson 6 - Intense realism * (36:57) - Lesson 7 - Control your emotions, control your reality * (37:17) - Lesson 8 - Saving $$$ * (37:58) - Q&A

2 Juni 202146min

Jack Smith (@_jacksmith) is the most clever entrepreneur I know. He’s cofounded multiple startups: Vungle, Coin, Shyp. With Vungle recently selling for $750M, we talk about his early businesses as a kid, selling prank itching powder on the playground - all the way to his infamous “LinkedIn Hack” that got him his first $120k investment check. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (1:05) Episode Intro by Sam * (4:10) Who is Jack Smith? * (9:30) How Jack hustled as a 12-year-old * (13:55) Jack on productivity and procrastination * (21:26) How Jack raised for Vungle * (31:13) How Shaan got his in at Monkey Inferno * (35:16) The early iterations of Vungle * (41:37) How Jack leveraged his beginner's mindset * (45:19) Jack on VC norms & selling his stock * (49:44) What Jack would do if he was 20 again

1 Juni 202155min

Shaan (@ShaanVP) talks about a powerful reframing technique that can be used to make any "2-star" experience a "5-star" experience. Shaan tells a story of how this technique was used perfectly. The truth is we can all choose the experience we want and manifest it. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. ---------

30 Maj 20218min

There are entrepreneurs quietly generating six figures working part-time in the vending machine business. Others have been able to scale to multi-million and even multi-billion-dollar figures in the industry. Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@TheSamParr) break down the vending machine industry with tons of numbers and exactly how some are pulling it off. The guys transition from a "boring" business to high-tech ones as they break down how Vimeo went from a College Humor project to competing with YouTube and earning an $8b valuation. They also talk about a trendy new pod that generated 500k downloads on its first day and they brainstorm on a fun concept: ghost kitchens for gifts. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (5:55) How Vimeo became an $8b company * (14:26) The next big social app? * (25:45) The millions to be made in vending machines * (41:35) Ghost kitchens for gifts * (53:00) Post-podcast free talk

28 Maj 20211h 1min

Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) -- lead writer for The Hustle -- interviewed hedge fund legend Stanley Druckenmiller on May 11. Widely regarded as one of the greatest investors ever, Druckenmiller famously made $1 billion in a single trade shorting the British Pound in 1992.  Sam (@theSamParr) has a brief intro chat with Trung before transitioning into the 40-minute Druckenmiller Q&A, which covers: 1) the parallels between now and the Dot-com bubble; 2) the appeal of Bitcoin; 3) the first Big Tech firm likely to reach a $5T valuation; 4) what makes a great investor; and 5) Druckenmiller’s investment in fintech startup Toggle AI (which set up the interview).  --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (8:25) Lessons from the Dot-com Bubble  * (17:40) What’s the first Big Tech company likely to reach a $5T valuation?  * (19:25) What’s the biggest risk to the equity markets?  * (21:55) What are the long-term effects of the Wall Street Bets saga?  * (24:20) How he uses Toggle AI in his investing process * (26:50) What makes a great investor?  * (35:20) What is the appeal of Bitcoin?  * (42:20) His thoughts on Dogecoin  * (44:20) Advice for 20-year olds

27 Maj 202151min