
#112 - Why Buying Businesses Is Better Than Starting Them and The Mad Genius of Kanye West
Sam Parr (@theSamParr) and Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) shoot the wind on today’s pod. In today’s episode you’ll hear: Sam asks Shaan what he’s learned about working at a big company and what he can apply to a smaller company (0:30), Shaan asks Sam about a personnel shuffle at The Hustle (9:00), the guys talk about a Kanye West tweet where he wants to create Y-Combinator for music (11:30), Sam and Shaan debate if a great domain name can make you (22:15), Sam and Shaan talk about the Snowflake IPO (29:55), Shaan shares a crazy conversation with a 20-year old multi-millionaire (37:00), the guys share how they learn from beginners and why you should too (43:10), Shaan talks about Bubble Hotels (48:30). Our sponsor today is lemon.io! They are offering a 15% discount for the first 6 weeks of work for all MFM fans. Go to Lemon.io/mfm to claim the offer! Joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
18 Sep 202052min

#111 - Sam Parr Returns: The Scheme King is Back
Sam Parr (@theSamParr) is back with Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) on the pod today after a leave of absence from the show. In today’s episode you’ll hear: Shaan and Sam talk about Sam’s medical condition and catch up generally (0:18), Sam asks Shaan for a recap on some of the episodes from while Sam was out and Shaan tells him about Kat Cole and her rise to corporate prominence (21:45), Shaan tells Sam about the show with the Jonathon Barkl from Air Garage (25:10), Shaan and Sam talk about cultural and ethnic food delivery options like SayWeee! (29:30), Sam asks Shaan how his rolling venture fund is going (40:00), Shaan explains what a rolling venture fund is (48:45). Our sponsor today is lemon.io! They are offering a 15% discount for the first 6 weeks of work for all MFM fans. Go to Lemon.io/mfm to claim the offer! Joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
16 Sep 202052min

#110 with Kat Cole - Ideas From the Head of a $4B+ Business
Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) hosts the pod today with guests Kat Cole (@KatColeATL) COO & President of Focus Brands. In today's episode you'll hear: (00:56) Kat introduce herself and the company she leads -- Focus Brands, (2:38) Kat explains her career trajectory and how she got to where she is today, (9:24) Shaan explains how he got into entrepreneurship in college and how he ended up leading an idea lab, (19:25) Shaan and Kat get into the brainstorm -- Kat's first idea is for an app that assigns people a score for how good or bad their lifestyle is for the planet, (30:50) Kat proposes her idea for a new type of restaurant that blends grocery store, convenience store, and restaurant (she calls it "food as pharmacy"), (33:40) Kat gives her opinion on ghost kitchens, (41:00) how Focus Brands and Kat dealt with the coronavirus pandemic Companies mentioned: - https://www.focusbrands.com/ Books mentioned: - https://www.secondsale.com/i/eat-right-4-your-type-the-individualized-diet-solution-to-staying-healthy-living-longer-achieving-your-ideal-weight/9780399142550?gclid=CjwKCAjwnef6BRAgEiwAgv8mQWoId6gPA1nb1ICM_usP-nwG1olrG_K4cbsBuLPvM4XklGDz2y4arhoCROwQAvD_BwE This episode is presented by Tempo! Check them out at tempo.fit and use code "Sam100" for $100 off. Have you joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
11 Sep 202053min

#109 with Jonathon Barkl - The Founder of AirGarage Jams Out on Ideas
Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) hosts the pod today with guests Jonathon Barkl (@jonathonbarkl). In today's episode you'll hear (2:40) the opportunities in improving the business insurance process, (9:00) improving the USPS by doubling down on PO Box forwarding, (10:40) idea for customer service outsourcing using older folks, (18:44) Jonathan explains how and why he created his startup, AirGarage -- which he describes as a full stack parking operator that helps churches and businesses manage and rent out their parking lots, (32:00) Shaan asks Jonathan what his information diet is -- the first thing he does is read a book in the morning and he loves Tik-Tok, (40:20) Shaan asks Jonathan what the best purchase under $120 he's made recently. Links to companies mentioned: - https://www.mopoints.com/ - https://www.usestable.com - https://www.usertesting.com/ - https://www.rev.com/ - https://www.fireflyon.com/ - https://cleantheworld.org/ - https://www.unclaimedbaggage.com/ - https://remarkable.com/ Books mentioned - https://www.amazon.com/Superpower-Quest-Transform-American-Energy/dp/1501163582 - https://www.amazon.com/Genghis-Khan-Man-Conquered-World/dp/0224072900 This episode is presented by Tempo! Check them out at tempo.fit and use code "TempoHustle" for $100 off. Have you joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
9 Sep 202050min

#108 with Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal - Brainstorming with the Acquired Podcast
Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) hosts the pod today with guests Ben Gilbert (@gilbert) and David Rosenthal (djrosent) from the Aquired podcast (@acquiredfm). In today’s episode you’ll hear: Shaan asks Ben and David to give some background on themselves and the Acquired podcast (0:30), Shaan gives four personalities that every company needs to succeed (11:00), the Acquired guys pitch an idea for an Airbnb that says whether or not the location has wifi (18:00), the Acquired guys talk about making your own stock index (29:10), Shaan talks about putting solar panels into space and beaming energy back down to earth (39:00), the guys talk about different ways to mitigate tax liability (48:10), the Acquired guys asks Shaan to tell the story of Bebo (62:10). This episode is presented by Tempo! Check them out at tempo.fit and use code "TempoHustle" for $100 off. Have you joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
7 Sep 20201h 28min

#107 with Chris Bakke - This Serial Entrepreneur is an Idea Machine
Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) hosts the pod today with guest Chris Bakke (@ChrisJBakke) an early employee at Bank Juice, which sold to Zillow. In today’s episode you’ll hear: Chris gives his background and how he ended up in the Bay Area (1:15), Shaan gives his philosophy on how to hire new people (9:35), Chris explains why he thinks raising capital is a good idea (14:15), Chris has an idea he calls "Shopify for SaaS products" (17:05), Chris and Shaan kick around how to get subject matter expertise out of gurus to build a service business (21:50), Chris has an idea for franchising a service like GeekSquad (27:05), Shaan tells a story of how his friend franchised a service model (31:30), Shaan and Chris explain how at-home camps/schools can generate a lot of money (40:05), Shaan gives a framework of how to give poor people something that rich people have and how that translates to give small businesses something they want that big businesses already have (39:45), Chris gives the elevator pitch for his new company that replaces big consultants with software (52:50). This episode is presented by Tempo! Check them out at tempo.fit and use code "TempoHustle" for $100 off. Have you joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
4 Sep 202056min

#106 - The Q&A Special: We Answer Your Questions Live
Today’s episode is a Q&A from the archives. Sam Parr (@theSamParr) and Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) host a Q&A on the one year anniversary of Trends. In today’s episode you’ll hear: Sam talks through how to research topics and businesses (5:15), Shaan answers Sam’s question “what’s a contrarian opinion you hold?” (9:45), Shaan talks about where an entrepreneur should focus their energy (20:52), a lister asks “what’s one thing that you believed that ended up completely opposite?” (25:38), Sam talks about one of the lead gen companies he sold (31:40), Sam and Shaan do a rapid fire questions (35:45), A listener asks about shipping logistics (56:30), Sam and Shaan weigh in on how to adapt your business to COVID (67:30). This episode is presented by Tempo! Check them out at tempo.fit and use code "TempoHustle" for $100 off. Joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
2 Sep 20201h 19min

#105 with Avlok Kohli and Xavier Helgesen - Leading AngelList Ventures and Buying Businesses Like Berkshire Hathaway
Today’s episode is a double header. Sam Parr (@theSamParr) is out today, so Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) hosts the pod today with two guests Xavier Helgesen (@XavierHelgesen) Co-CEO of Enduring Ventures and Avlok Kohli (@Avlok) CEO of AngelList. In today’s episode you’ll hear: Avlok gives his background on how he became CEO of AngelList (1:55), Shaan asks Avlok how he Fast Buy got acquired so fast (6:15), Avlok shares some ideas he has for the future of business (11:15), Shaan and Avlok talk about how to improve meetings (13:20), Shaan asks Avlok some of the cool companies he’s seen at AngelList (18:45), Shaan asks “What’s it like working with Naval?” (23:20), Shaan and Avlok talk about the problems with traditional funds and the potential with rolling funds (25:30). Shaan interviews Xavier Helgesen (54:52), Xavier gives his background (55:40), Shaan asks Xavier about his solar company in Africa (56:40), Xavier talks about his CFO-brain and how it’s helped his career (59:30), Shaan asks Xavier what he’s interested in lately (61:00), Xavier tells about his acquisition of UpCouncil (66:55), Shaan asks Xavier how to implement a profit-sharing company (78:20), Shaan explains how local and neighborhood networks are simple and profitable (85:10), Xavier explains what he looks at in financial statements when looking at a companies to acquire (68:28), Shaan asks Xavier if he has an opinion on SPACs (95:15), Xavier gives a list of a few books that every entrepreneur should read (102:45). This episode is presented by Tempo! Check them out at tempo.fit and use code "TempoHustle" for $100 off. Joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
28 Aug 20201h 49min