My First Million

My First Million

A My First Million conversation (episode 865) in which Shaan Puri and Sam Parr talk about using the last 99 days of the year, Parkinson's law, building systems around your weaknesses, running events, and a bathtub analogy for warming up creative output. Sponsor: the description links a HubSpot resource; no HubSpot read appears in the parts covered. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note covers the 99-days opening, the Parkinson's law and quarters discussion, the systems and events discussion, the bathtub analogy, and the closing, and does not cover every part of the roughly 60 minute episode, including the sections on jelly beans, thinking hats and notebooks. Personal stories and claims are the speakers' own and not independently checked. This is a business and habits conversation, not medical, legal or financial advice.

My First Million

Whatnot co-founder Grant Lafontaine tells Sam and Shaan how the collectibles marketplace chose Funko and Pokemon as its first categories, the scrappy tactics that seeded sellers, how 'Grails' giveaways bought users cheaply after a flop first try, and how he built an operating rhythm as the company scaled. TL;DR Lafontaine picked used collectibles because eBay data showed demand, launched a marketplace in a week before an investor call, and learned giveaways only work after you fix the math. Based on approximately the first 49,800 caption characters, covering most of the 60-minute episode. A sponsor read appears mid-episode and is not covered. Details come from machine-generated captions and the guest's own claims; business figures are not independently checked. Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=TAHAlGH_DK0

My First Million

A My First Million solo episode (episode 862) in which Shaan Puri shares what he calls non-obvious rules for building an audience, drawn from his experience with a podcast he says has over 100 million downloads. Rules covered include who follows you mattering more than how many, finding your inner nerd, content before packaging, building a binge bank, and people wanting a feeling more than information. Sponsor: HubSpot, which offers a free guide of the episode's notes, read in the episode and linked in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note covers the intro, rules one and two, the HubSpot read, rules about content first and the binge bank, rule seven and the closing, and does not cover every part of the roughly 18 minute episode, and not every one of the eight rules in detail. Audience figures and examples are Shaan's own and not independently checked.

My First Million

A My First Million conversation (episode 861) with Sam Parr, Shaan Puri and investor David Rubenstein, co-founder of Carlyle. He talks about the entrepreneur's fear, a missed chance to take 20% of the company Jeff Bezos was about to build, working as a young White House adviser under President Carter, losing contacts after the election, and his frugal habits. Sponsor: the description links a HubSpot resource; no HubSpot read appears in the parts covered. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note covers the opening, the Carter White House section, the post-election lesson, the frugal habits section, and the section on starting Carlyle, and does not cover every part of the roughly 62 minute conversation, and the video title's claim about the dollar was not in the parts covered. Figures and stories are the speaker's recollections and not independently checked. This is a summary, not financial or investment advice.

My First Million

A My First Million conversation (episode 860) with Sam Parr, Shaan Puri and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. They cover a past trip to Ethiopia with Charity Water, how Charity Water built trust by showing donors where money goes, the economics of skate parks, and the story of how the Tony Hawk video game was pitched and eventually made. Sponsor: the description links a HubSpot promotion; no HubSpot read appears in the parts covered. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note covers the opening, the Charity Water and skate park discussion, the video game pitch story, and the closing, and does not cover every part of the roughly 71 minute conversation, including the sections on the price of greatness, scraping by and the 900. Stories and figures are the speakers' own recollections and not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 859, where host Shaan Puri interviews Danny Yeung about building the supplement brand IM8 to what he says is a 200 million dollar run rate in 18 months. Yeung recounts a telemarketing start at 15, a restaurant, a hotel furniture import business, a Hong Kong group-buying company that Groupon part-acquired, the DNA and COVID testing company Prenetics, its NASDAQ listing and 95 percent revenue drop, and the launch of IM8. Sponsor: the description links HubSpot, with IM8 as the guest's own brand. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the full career story up to the COVID crash, and the description, and does not cover the IM8 growth tactics, events, or the AI section in detail of the roughly 52 minute episode. All figures and product claims are the speakers' own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is medical or financial advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 858, where Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss how people turn strange hobbies into businesses. In the opening, Shaan describes a New York perfume tour run by Asia Grant of Scent Social Club, compares it to Nick Gray's Museum Hack tours, and argues that enthusiasm can be a moat and that it is better to be the only one than the best. The description also lists segments on mafia tours, Dolly Parton and LeBron James. Sponsor: the description promotes Hampton and Somewhere and links a HubSpot business ideas database. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening perfume tour and Museum Hack discussion and the description, and does not cover the mafia tours, Dolly Parton or LeBron James segments of the roughly 57 minute episode. All figures and claims are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 857, where Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss unusual behaviours of legendary CEOs. Shaan presents seven CEO moves that sound wrong but work, which the description lists as Option Drop, Friction Removal Service, 1-bit communication, Single-tasking, Continuous culling, Reward failure and Clone yourself, then an alternative of giving up on greatness. In the opening he explains why he collects frame-breaking stories and tells how a 13-year-old scout once sent him the founder behind ApplyBoard. Sponsor: the description promotes Hampton and Somewhere and links a HubSpot CEO lessons guide. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the ApplyBoard story set-up, a short middle section on focus and the description, and does not cover the detail of each of the seven moves in the roughly 42 minute episode. All stories and claims are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 855 with hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri interviewing Allison Ellsworth, co-founder of the prebiotic soda brand Poppi, which she and her husband sold for about 2 billion dollars. She covers the brand's origin as Mother Beverage, selling at a farmers market, appearing on Shark Tank, a rebrand, the March 2020 launch, the growth to a sale, and how fast growth felt. The description also lists segments on Shark Tank, branding spend, Rohan Oza and Super Bowl commercials. Sponsor: the description links HubSpot and Sam's database on becoming a millionaire. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the available captions are sparse for the 74 minute episode, so this note covers the opening growth story most closely and does not cover every segment. All figures are the speakers' own claims and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 854, where hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri hear three founders pitch their juiciest number and give live advice. The video description lists Rishi Talati of Hot Plate, Ajay Mehta of Tolan and Jonathan Baer of Overlap. This note covers mainly the Hot Plate segment: a platform that lets independent food sellers take pre-orders from their Instagram audience, which the founder says has powered over 100 million dollars of sales, plus the hosts' advice in a later section about selling a feeling rather than a product. Sponsor: the description links HubSpot and promotes Hampton, Somewhere and Mercury. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening Hot Plate pitch, one middle section of advice and the description, and does not cover the Tolan or Overlap segments or the full 58 minute episode. All business figures are the speakers' own claims and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 853, a Shoot Your Shot session recorded in San Francisco where hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri hear three founders give their big number and pitch, then advise them live. The description lists Nick Haschka of OnPoint Generators, Kevin Moyer of Smash My Trash and Noam Aizenberg of TMJaw. This note covers mainly the first segment: Nick's backup generator company in California, which he says has about 12 million dollars in annual recurring revenue and was built by acquisition after a consulting career. Sponsor: the description links HubSpot and promotes Hampton, Somewhere and Mercury. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the show opening, the opening generator pitch with its first Q and A, and the description, and does not cover the Smash My Trash or TMJaw segments or the full 56 minute episode. All figures are the founders' own claims and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 852, the first Shoot Your Shot session in San Francisco, where Sam Parr and Shaan Puri hear three founders give their big number and pitch, then advise them live. The description lists Raghav Gupta of Posha, Nick Saltarelli of Mid-Day Squares and Shreyas Parab of DayDream Dental. This note covers mainly the show opening and the Posha pitch, a home cooking robot company that the founder says has shipped about 1,000 robots and is backed by Accel. Sponsor: the description links HubSpot and promotes Hampton and Somewhere. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the format introduction, the opening Posha pitch and the description, and does not cover the Mid-Day Squares or DayDream Dental segments or the full 60 minute episode. All figures are the founders' own claims and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 850, in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk about businesses hidden in plain sight and finding markets with weak competition. This note covers the opening banter, the business of lab testing on monkeys, the salad oil fraud story, and the ideas that nothing around you exists by accident and that gaps are everywhere. Sponsor: HubSpot, named in a mid-roll read for a free download of business ideas discussed on the show. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note covers roughly the first 17 minutes of the roughly 45 minute conversation, plus the closing remarks and the show notes, and does not cover the later sections on noticing, enthusiasm, your 8-year-old self, being shameless and the San Francisco trip. The show is a loose conversation; all facts, figures and stories are the hosts' own claims and are not independently checked. This is not business, medical or financial advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 849, a Drunk Ideas episode where hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri, with producer Ari as co-host, brainstorm nine half-baked but possibly workable business ideas. The description lists them as reverse vacations, a rap battle plus UFC fight, a giant claw machine, a butter dispenser, beepers for kids, a Mexican Benihana, bulk custom gifts, Slop Stop and take your roommate to work day, and they vote at the end. This note covers the show premise, the reverse vacation idea, the kids landline and beeper discussion and the final vote. Sponsor: the description links a HubSpot business ideas database and promotes Hampton, Somewhere and Mercury. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the first idea, the beeper segment, the closing vote and the description, and does not cover the other ideas in detail across the roughly 56 minute episode. The ideas are jokes and brainstorms; stats mentioned are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 848, where Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss a seven-point sales comment from Hacker News, the rule of reciprocity from Robert Cialdini's book Influence, the business of Magic: The Gathering and Hasbro, and a closing thought on caring less about what others think. The sales comment says people buy only time, money, sex and approval or peace of mind, and that you should sell aspirin rather than vitamins. Sponsor: the description links a HubSpot CEO lessons guide and promotes Hampton and Somewhere. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening Hacker News sales comment, the reciprocity story, the start of the Magic: The Gathering segment, the closing and the description, and does not cover every segment, such as the Bernard Arnault letter or the Bryan Johnson discussion, in the roughly 48 minute episode. The hosts' claims and figures are their own and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode 847, where Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk about dynastic wealth. Shaan opens with a high school senior's graduation invitation, then tells the story of the Italian chocolate family behind Rocher chocolates, Nutella and Kinder products, which he describes as one of the most secretive family-owned businesses in the world and the richest in Italy, started by a grandfather after World War II. Later segments include a golden window of opportunity, meeting an extreme multi-billionaire, an update on a podcaster friend and the idea of giving children exposure to find what they love. Sponsor: the description links a HubSpot business ideas database and promotes Hampton and Somewhere. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening letter, the start of the chocolate family story, a middle section on giving children exposure, the closing and the description, and does not cover every segment of the roughly 46 minute episode. Family names and company history follow the hosts' telling and the captions are imperfect; all figures are the speakers' own claims and are not independently checked.

My First Million

A My First Million episode (Episode 845) in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with marketing veteran Rory Sutherland about behavioral economics in marketing. Sutherland argues that small, seemingly trivial decisions can have large effects, that economic logic predicts consumer behavior poorly, that people often buy for reasons other than the obvious one, and that irritations are a source of innovation. He gives examples from direct-response advertising history and describes an idea for a pre-made flat white coffee brand. Sponsor: HubSpot (My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast), with Hampton and Somewhere also promoted in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, three middle sections on meta-thinking, advertising tests and logic limits, the coffee idea, the closing and the description, and does not cover every point in the roughly 75 minute conversation. All claims are the speakers' own and are not independently checked. This is a summary, not business, financial or investment advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 844, where Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss how one of America's richest families makes its money, the Cargill family, then Jevons paradox, the Luddites, and where the opportunity lies. Shaan says Cargill is the largest private company in America for 40 years, owned 88 percent by the family, with more revenue than Goldman Sachs, Nike and Starbucks combined. He explains how it began as a grain middleman storing farmers' crops at railroad grain elevators, and the hosts discuss the middleman lesson and Jevons paradox, where efficiency gains increase total use. Sponsor: the description links a HubSpot unsexy business ideas database and promotes Hampton and Somewhere. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the Cargill opening, a section on Jevons paradox, the closing and the description, and does not cover the family meetings, Luddites or ice king segments in the roughly 51 minute episode. All claims and figures are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.

My First Million

A My First Million episode in which host Sam Parr spends a day with Mark O'Brien, who buys, restores and sells brownstone homes in New York City, to see the economics and lifestyle of a blue-collar millionaire. Parr tours a townhouse and a commercial property being restored, asks about purchase, build and sale prices, hears how O'Brien finds properties, and ends by scoring the business and lifestyle out of 30 each. Sponsor: HubSpot (My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast), with Hampton, Somewhere and Mercury also promoted in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, a middle section on finding properties and a project tour, the closing scores and the description, and does not cover every moment of the roughly 20 minute video. All prices, returns and scores are the speakers' own claims and opinions and are not independently checked. This is a summary, not financial or investment advice.

My First Million

A My First Million episode (Episode 839) in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss what Shaan learned on a week-long trip to New York City. Shaan organizes the lessons under five key phrases: trust as a service, marketing, proximity, city brands, and what is it really. He describes visiting comedian Hasan Minhaj's office, a coach who spent a million dollars learning from top coaches, how cities work as brands, a marketer's idea that everybody wants something, and a book discussion at the end. Sponsor: HubSpot (My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast), with Hampton and others promoted in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the proximity section, a middle section on city brands and coaching, a marketing section, the closing book discussion and the description, and does not cover every point in the roughly 62 minute conversation. All stories and views are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.

My First Million

My First Million episode, sponsored by HubSpot, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk about reinventing yourself and going all-in on a lifestyle as a brand strategy. Starting from Ballerina Farm's Hannah Neeleman and the tradwife phenomenon, they argue the underrated play is to actually live a life publicly and let the product follow, citing American Pickers, the Ghost Town Living YouTube channel, a New York real estate agent who remade himself as a brownstone renovator, and the hedge fund pair behind the Mountain Pass rare-earth mine. The second half turns inward: Robert Greene's law to recreate yourself, defining your terms to expose unclear thinking, wanting what you actually want instead of mimetic wants, with Nick Gray and Palmer Luckey as examples, and environment hacks like curating your feed and MrBeast changing his peer group to get fit. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the lifestyle-brand argument and the self-reinvention discussion only, so side stories are not summarized. These are the hosts' opinions and retellings, not independently verified, and nothing here is business, investment or life advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 831 in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri tell the story of La Frieda Meats, a butcher business they describe as a roughly 270 million dollar a year meat purveyor, then move to Nick Sleep's investor letters and Elon Musk's idiot index. The idiot index, as Sam explains it, compares the price of a part with the cost of its raw materials, so the markup is the idiot tax you pay for not knowing how to make the part yourself. They also discuss cost-plus contracting in defense, and the kingmaker move, where you create the awards, the event or the list to put yourself at the center of a market. They end with a business idea for teen nerd awards. Sponsors and promotions named in the description: Hampton, Somewhere and Mercury. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the conversation, but this summary highlights the butcher story, the idiot index, cost-plus and the kingmaker move only, so other segments are not summarized. All claims and figures are the hosts' own and are not independently verified. Nothing here is financial, legal or investment advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 826, in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee). Gary says he went about four years without owning a laptop and describes his work style. He lists his businesses, saying VaynerX is about 400 million dollars in revenue and that he is actively involved in seven businesses doing eight figures or more, including a sports representation arm, a restaurant group and Vee Friends. He tells how he realised he was an all-time atrocious firer who had superhero syndrome and learned to communicate candidly, describes how he picks projects and why he invested in Liquid Death, and discusses mimetic desire and playing for what makes him feel good, not just maximising dollars. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Mercury, Somewhere, and the hosts' Hampton community. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the business breakdown, the firing and management section, the Liquid Death story and the closing, and may not cover every point in the roughly 49 minute video. All business figures and views are the speakers' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment, medical or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 824, in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri record a live strategy meeting for the podcast with a new team member. Shaan explains a pre-work method he says he learned at Amazon, then they discuss a 90-day plan to build an army of young video clippers paid to post clips of the show, a possible bigger content event, growing the newsletter with plain-speak summaries, a dinner club, and picking everyday brands such as Stanley for backstory episodes. They finish by agreeing to focus on a few things for 90 days before adding more. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Hampton, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the pre-work method, the clip army section, the newsletter section, the content ideas section and the closing, and may not cover every point in the roughly 47 minute video. Business views and figures are the speakers' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 823, in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri skip a planned guest and riff live. Sam opens with a Billy of the week on Sir Jim Ratcliffe: a chemical engineer who left a private equity job, bought an 80 million pound BP chemical spin-off with 3 million in equity, built it into Ineos, and later started the Grenadier SUV because Land Rover would not remake the Defender, a venture Sam says has lost about 2 billion dollars since 2018. The hosts then discuss raising kids with an edge, how confidence comes from adventure and adversity, finding your natural inclination, and a commission-only TikTok selling model behind rapidly growing hoodie brands, including whether it is profitable. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Hampton, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the Ratcliffe story, the confidence and childhood sections and the TikTok selling sections, and may not cover every point in the roughly 49 minute video. Figures and claims are the speakers' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 820, in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Rohan Oza, whom they call the brandfather, about his formula for building consumer brands that end in large exits. Rohan says he started only Poppi as a co-founder and otherwise bought into brands early, including Vitaminwater, Smartwater and others, and describes how he met the Poppi founders on Shark Tank, took 25 percent and helped bring in an operator CEO before an exit the hosts put above 2 billion dollars. His rules include influence the influencer, make the brand part of pop culture, spot winners early, and treating shelf space as the original algorithm. He also stresses that selling the company is a separate, low-repetition skill. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot and the hosts' other products. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the influence the influencer rule, the Poppi story, the founder versus operator discussion, the M&A and water sections and the closing, and may not cover every point in the roughly 63 minute video. Deal values, health claims about products and business views are the speakers' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or health advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 818 in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk about how to design a life worth living. Shaan draws on Joseph Campbell's line to follow your bliss, argues that most people do not know their passion and tend to follow what is familiar, and says to find a loop you love, meaning the repeatable cycle of work inside any job. He tells how shadowing an orthopedic surgeon showed him the daily loop was not what he wanted. They also discuss enthusiasm and mastery and a list of the top five regrets of the dying from a palliative care nurse, which Shaan notes is observational and not scientific. Sponsors and promotions named in the description: Hampton, Somewhere and Mercury. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the conversation, but this summary highlights the bliss, loop and regrets ideas only, so other segments are not summarized. All views are the speakers' own and are not independently verified. Nothing here is medical, mental-health, financial or career advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 817, in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Chad Janis, who says he sold his gummies business, Gruns, for more than a billion dollars in under three years. Chad tells the origin story, saying the gummy idea came in about a day and that he moved to launch within a week of the idea. He argues that new formats win, shares his view of world-class ecommerce marketing, says a better product is usually what separates good from great, and describes how earning trust by doing good work gave him access to mentors and opportunities. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the origin story, the format and marketing sections, the access discussion and the closing, and may miss details of the roughly 63 minute video. Sales figures, valuations and views on competitors are the speakers' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or health advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 815, in which Sam Parr talks with author Charles Duhigg about how to change your life through habits. Charles explains the habit loop and the idea of replacing part of a routine, argues for dealing with small tasks such as email right away to free up mental space, and discusses what he calls super communicators, including connection, trust and why he thinks authenticity is really the act of being willing to be vulnerable. He also describes his reporting method of mass outreach, saying only a few percent respond and that great work requires being willing to waste time. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the inbox, communication, authenticity and cold outreach sections and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 58 minute video. Personal stories, including the host's past drinking, and all claims about brains and behavior are the speakers' own. Nothing here is medical, mental-health, legal or financial advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 800, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss the backstory of the book Think and Grow Rich, lessons from prolific independent builders, and a lighter segment about Sam's dating advice. Sam says, as his own claim, that the book's backstory is fake and that its author used it as a front-door offer to upsell a costly course, while noting the book still has good material. The hosts then discuss what makes a self-help guru legitimate, tell the story of an open source project built by one developer that they say grew very fast, and say that people who make many things get more shots on goal, build skill and remove their filter. They also relay Christina Cacioppo's story of teaching herself to code. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the Think and Grow Rich story, the many-attempts discussion, the Christina Cacioppo story and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 49 minute video. Statements about people, companies and valuations are the hosts' own claims and not independently checked. Nothing here is medical, mental-health, legal or financial advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 799, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Starter Story founder Pat Walls about selling his company to HubSpot and about business ideas he has seen lately. Pat says the deal had not yet closed at recording, describes the psychology of waiting for it to be signed, closed and wired, and says that of 12 founders he talks to each week, about six are doing well with iPhone apps, such as one that blocks scrolling until you do push-ups. He explains how Starter Story builds each video around one big idea, why he built his company around asynchronous systems rather than urgency culture, and tells the story of a think week where he concluded that he is his own greatest obstacle. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot, which was buying the guest's company. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, app ideas, video format, systems and think week sections, and may miss parts of the roughly 47 minute video. Revenue figures and deal details are the speakers' own claims and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 798, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri tell the story of Gordon Butch Stewart, the Jamaican founder of the Sandals all-inclusive resorts, and then move to related stories. They say Butch was a hustler as a boy who said he wanted to be just a rich fisherman, studied competitors the way Sam Walton did, and turned a resort into a couples-only product built for one killer use case. They also discuss using data to run casinos, how China and Russia searched early for talent in math and sport, the Michelangelo effect, and a closing story in the Dad Corner. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, the hosts' business idea database, and Sam's community Hampton. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the couples-only rebrand, the casino data and talent search sections and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 46 minute video. Biographical details and numbers are the hosts' own claims and not independently checked. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 794, in which Sam Parr talks with his mother-in-law, Smithy Sodine, about how she built a business of more than a million dollars a year in her 50s by selling pillows. Sam says she started with about 10 thousand dollars after asking him for advice, then researched better advice herself and learned the internet and Shopify from scratch. Smithy tells her immigrant story from Haiti to New York, says immigrants feel they have nothing to lose, and describes how she evaluates offers, saying no one will give you anything for free. She explains pulling her pillows from Bed Bath and Beyond after two or three months because she did not like the business model, while doing well on Wayfair. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot and its side hustle idea database from The Hustle. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, origin, immigrant story, retailer sections and closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 40 minute video. Revenue and personal stories are the speakers' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 792, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri recap a weekend at their annual basketball camp for founders, which Shaan says Forbes calls the billionaires basketball camp, with guests including MrBeast, Scooter Braun, Nick Mowbray and Jesse Itzler. Shaan says the camp was held in Greenville, North Carolina with 17 private jets in town for about 25 guests. He shares three lessons: intensity is the strategy, culture is an action word, and you cannot top pigs with pigs. They discuss whether top people were always intense, a story of treating people so well that it does not math out on paper, and the difference between millionaires and billionaires. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot and Sam's community Hampton. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the intensity and culture lessons, the government design story and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 43 minute video. Net worth and event details are the hosts' own claims and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment, political or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 791, in which Shaan Puri and Sam Parr talk about excellence and how to decide whether an idea is worth chasing, starting from an annual basketball camp event Shaan co-hosts with billionaires and MrBeast. Shaan says irritation leads to innovation, that the bigger you go the easier it gets, and that a product should be you pushed out. Sam says he built something he disliked and that you can outgrow a project. They then tell the story of Steve Prefontaine and break down the Nike playbook, including how Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman started the company and how athlete-focused branding can build a lifestyle. Sponsor named: HubSpot and its 30-day operating system for building excellence. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the project philosophies, the Nike story and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 67 minute video. Histories, valuations and personal views are the hosts' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 790, in which Shaan Puri talks with Tyler Denk, co-founder of the newsletter platform beehiiv, about how the company got its first million dollars in revenue, which Tyler says took about a year. Tyler says most people could replicate the strategy and walks through it step by step: launch with one story of credibility or a painful problem, talk to a couple hundred potential customers, get the first 100 users, ship one marketable feature, and send a message from the founder. He shares a growth trick of following and messaging every person who signed up under a manual approval flow, and says monthly investor updates replaced coffee meetings and helped raise a Series A of 12.5 million dollars in a week. Sponsor named in the description: beehiiv, the guest's company, with its newsletter challenge. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the story and customer interview sections, the founder message trick, investor updates and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 54 minute video. Revenue and funding figures are the guest's own claims and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 789, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Tommy Mello, founder of A1 Garage Door Service, about turning garage door repair into a very large home services business. Tommy tells his origin story, including a near-failure and a time in jail, and says he learned persuasion and sales language, such as saying investment instead of cost. He says he finds blueprints and coaches rather than inventing from scratch, trained employees hard, and is not afraid to spend heavily on marketing, saying the company spends about 4.3 million dollars a month. He gives a sales and marketing masterclass for home services, explains why a bad company name and vehicle wraps mattered, and discusses valuation multiples in demand-driven industries and other home services ideas. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the origin, the blueprint, the marketing and valuation sections and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 73 minute video. Revenue, spend and valuation figures are Tommy's and the hosts' own claims and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 788, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk about simple businesses that made a million dollars, starting with team-specific novelty foam hats that they say took off at sports games and reached about 10,000 orders in a week. Shaan says being clever and doing simple things is actually a form of genius. The hosts also discuss a star registry business, a ten-hour fireplace video, and the story of a founder who made an anniversary and birthday reminder site after realizing nobody wanted his first idea but they did seem to want this. Shaan then argues that getting bored of what gets great results is a real problem, using a coaching example, and the show closes with a Billy of the Week on a supermarket baron, a segment on the billionaire tax, and a story about taking his son courtside. Sponsor named in the description: HubSpot and its side hustle idea list. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the birthday alarm story, the do not get bored of greatness section and the closing, and may miss parts of the roughly 64 minute video. Sales figures and business histories are the hosts' own claims and not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment, political or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 787 in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with author Morgan Housel about the art of spending money. The conversation opens with Warren Buffett, where Morgan says the key lesson for ordinary people is that Buffett was a good investor for 80 years, and that 99% of his net worth came after his 60th birthday. He says Buffett's edge included patience and the trust of investors and sellers who knew Berkshire would not strip their businesses. The chapters in the description go on to cover not cutting your flowers, two ways to use money, the freedom number, the Koch brothers story, performing for others, the Total Man list, the art of spending money and ten years of money wisdom in 60 seconds. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this summary leans on the opening Buffett segment of the captions and on the chapter list, so later segments are listed by title only. All views are the speakers' own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment, legal or medical advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 785 in which Shaan Puri talks with entrepreneur Nick Huber, known online as the Sweaty Startup, about the biggest bet he ever made and the mistakes he learned the hard way. Nick says he has been humbled in his 30s: he started 11 companies, shut down four, and learned that business is really hard, especially after the algorithm changed and customers watched spending. He and Shaan retell the story of a $47 million stock offer for the talent company then called Shepherd, now Somewhere, and the new owner syndrome that followed. Shaan gives a short masterclass on hiring overseas talent using paid task trials, and names places such as Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the Philippines as talent hubs. Chapters in the description also list buying a domain for 400K, Peter Thiel's Stanford class and brutal advice. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the intro, the portfolio, the Shepherd story and the hiring segment, but later chapters are only named by title. All views are the speakers' own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, legal or medical advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 784 in which Sam Parr talks with David Senra, host of the Founders podcast, about greatness, balance and what destroys successful people. David says the gap between the best and pretty good is not 20% but many times larger, and describes wanting to be the best in the world at what he does. He credits a friend's advice about constantly refining who you associate with, shares a line that mediocrity is invisible until passion shows up, and says he reads one to four books a month and trusts intuition and taste when deciding what to underline. Later chapters in the description cover advice for 19 year olds, an ideal board of advisors, not doing what someone else can do, and what successful people think about at the end. He tells a story of a founder with hundreds of stores who still cannot wait to get back to work. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot and others listed in the show links. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the opening, the reading and taste segments and the advisors segment, but not every chapter. Later chapters are named by title only. All views are the speakers' own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 783 in which Shaan Puri is the guest, interviewed by his former intern Walter about quitting a 120K a year job in his 20s to become, in his words, strategically broke. Shaan says he left a boring job after a month and a half to work on a sushi restaurant idea with two friends who split a 25,000 dollar prize, chose to be rich in time, adventure and learning instead of money, and says he is quick to reverse bad decisions. He says fear underlies most of what holds people back, and tells a Tony Robbins event story about a Simon Says game to argue that most people are not serious. Chapters in the description also cover how to get what you actually want, the most important voice in your life, selling his company to Twitch and Amazon, and the idea that you cannot run an A/B test on life. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the early chapters through the not serious segment in detail, while later chapters are named by title only. All views are Shaan's own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, career, legal or medical advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 782 in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri answer listener mailbag questions at the start of the new year. The first question asks about the biggest business mistake they have not spoken about. Sam says he tends to hire ambitious young people and that most of the time it is a poor plan, since more experienced hires cost two or three times more at Hampton but give results he says are five to ten times better. Shaan names project selection as his biggest mistake and lists past ideas such as a sushi restaurant chain, a social media app, a game streaming app and a craft beer app. Chapters in the description also cover the best company to work at to become a millionaire, Hampton revenue in 2025, misogis for 2026, a F-you money purchase, what the MFM OGs are up to, compounding wealth, a jail call and the best idea heard on the pod. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the opening mistakes segment in detail, while later questions are named by title only. All views are the speakers' own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, legal or medical advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 780 in which Shaan Puri visits Jesse Itzler's home to plan 2026 together. Jesse describes a morning routine of a short workout and sauna, then a planning system he says rests on three steps, with the first being to get light by clearing clutter, unused apps and subscriptions so you start the year without baggage. Jesse says he wants to be the CEO and architect of his life, and that the calendar is a blank check and an honest autobiography. Shaan says he cleaned his car cup holder, desk and home gym and cancelled about 1,300 dollars of monthly subscriptions. The description lists later steps for closing the books and planning the year, and names sponsors HubSpot, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the available captions cover roughly the first 16 to 18 minutes of the 26 minute episode, mainly the intro, peak state and get light steps. Later steps are not summarized. All claims are the speakers' own views and are not independently checked. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 779 in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Alex Smereczniak, the founder of Franzy, about franchising as what Alex calls one of the most overlooked paths to wealth in America. Alex tells how he bought a college laundry pickup business as a Wake Forest freshman with about 2,000 dollars saved, grew it from about 30,000 to just under 300,000 dollars of revenue in a school year with an orientation week booth, and sold it for about ten times what he paid. He says there are about 4,000 franchise brands, many of them hidden gems, and the chapters in the description cover the blueprint, one operator who opened 100 franchises, brands such as PopUp Bagels, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Crumbl and Garage Kings, senior care, funeral homes and red flags. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the opening and the laundry story in detail, while later chapters are named by title only. All claims are the speakers' own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is financial, investment, legal or medical advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 778 in which Sam Parr talks with Brian Halligan, co-founder and former CEO of HubSpot, about the highs and lows of building the company. Brian grades his own enjoyment by company size, saying he had what he calls CEO market fit between 10 and a thousand employees and enjoyed the larger stage less. He says founder work is at least a 996 schedule, that about 90 percent of the time things are broken, and that he still feels imposter syndrome. Chapters in the description also cover whether it ever stops sucking, whether the trade offs were worth it, whether AI is a bubble, whether you have to be liked, what he would do if he had to start over, and what he got wrong. Sponsors named in the description: HubSpot, Somewhere, Mercury and Beehiiv. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the opening chapters in detail, and later chapters such as starting over and what he got wrong are named by title only. All views are Brian's and Sam's own and are not independently checked. Nothing here is medical, mental-health, financial or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode, sponsored by HubSpot, in which the hosts speak with Chris Camillo of Dumb Money Live about the observational investing method he calls social arbitrage. Camillo says he started with twenty thousand dollars in 2007 and describes looking for early, meaningful changes in consumer behavior or culture that other investors have not priced in, entering at information asymmetry and exiting at information parity. He traces the method to childhood estate-sale arbitrage and a Snapple short, walks through trades built on a Jeffree Star video about E.L.F. Cosmetics, Tik Tok comments, and Sphere's Wizard of Oz seat sales, and is equally open about his worst trade, losing a third of his portfolio on Restaurant Brands before his big pandemic year. He argues everyone should keep a separate big money risk account funded by small tradeoffs. The hosts push back, noting how dangerous leverage is for most people. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the method, the example trades and the risk discussion only. Camillo's returns are his own claims, not independently verified, and nothing here is financial or investment advice - leveraged trading can lose everything.

My First Million

My First Million's year-in-review episode in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri, joined by Steph Smith, rapid-fire through categories (no sponsor read appears in the episode audio) on their best and worst of 2025. Sam calls moving to a furnished New York apartment near family his best investment, Shaan defends a no-research stock shopping spree he tweeted out with a 10-year hold in mind, and Steph shares a personal health decision she credits with changing her year. They trade their biggest personal losses, including Shaan's jury duty spiral and Steph staying in a job too long, name frame-breaking people like a brash personal injury lawyer and behavioral scientist Kristen Berman, and close on Shaan's year learning piano, new parenthood on both sides, and Sam's case that anyone can learn to love running. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the investment answers, the personal stories and the running pitch only, so some category rounds are not summarized. These are the hosts' and guest's personal stories and opinions, and specific stock picks and health decisions mentioned are their own - nothing here is financial, investment or medical advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode 775 in which hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Ryan Deiss about building systems so a business runs without its founder. Ryan says the more valuable you are, the less valuable the company is, and describes a four step process: establish defaults, identify constraints, map business processes, and use a high output team canvas. He says every business makes, sells and fulfills, and that problems are either supply or demand constraints. Sponsors and promotions named in the description: Somewhere and Mercury, plus Ryan's Scalable operating system link. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover the conversation, but this summary highlights the four step process and common ideas only, so the later segments on mistakes, Scalable and the psychology of money are not fully summarized. All views are the speakers' own and are not independently verified. Nothing here is financial, legal or investment advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode in which the hosts talk with John Morgan, founder of the Morgan and Morgan law firm, about the side hustles behind the billboards. Morgan describes starting as a personal injury lawyer after his brother's accident, paying 50 percent referral fees until he bet on advertising and built a national brand. Then the layers: Wonderworks, the upside-down interactive science attraction inspired by disappointing science centers with his kids; Alcatraz East, a crime and punishment museum born when Alcatraz was sold out for two weeks, which failed first in Washington DC before thriving in Pigeon Forge; plus fairs, shopping centers, apartment complexes, Marriott hotels and a billboard company sold to Lamar. His through-lines: sell the sizzle, treat failure as relocation data, and hunt big game. The episode promotes the hosts' own side hustle ideas database and carries no separate sponsor read. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the business lessons only. These are the guest's own figures and stories, not independently verified, and nothing here is business or legal advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode, sponsored by HubSpot, in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk about why people do not change and what actually works. Sam shows his five-year diary, where each date stacks five years of entries, and admits he has complained about the same things for over a decade: how he spends time, where to live, losing his temper. His conclusion: inertia is the default, feelings are unreliable, and the only times he changed - fitness, business, habits - a system with accountability was in place, the same reason the jump from ten to a hundred million in business is systems. Shaan adds the James Clear line about falling to the level of our systems, argues you want the feeling you think the thing will give you, and makes the case for reminders over new strategies: coaches repeat the same two or three cues fifty times, and companies can absorb one new project a quarter, not five. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the systems and change discussion only, so later segments are not covered. These are the hosts' own views and stories, not professional advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode, sponsored by HubSpot, in which the hosts talk with Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas, about going from a garage to a billion-dollar entertainment company. Cole traces the path: a torn shoulder ends his playing dream, boredom in the best seat in the Cape Cod League convinces him baseball fails its spectators, and at 23 he becomes general manager of a team with 268 dollars in the bank. He describes years of PT Barnum experiments - grandma beauty pageants, garbage can nachos, a dig to China night - then Savannah: two tickets sold in three months, seven figures of debt, shops telling his wife to get out, and a January 2016 call that the money was gone, so they sold their house and moved into a garage. His principles: create attention first, do the opposite of normal, and show people the experience because no one knows what they want until you show them. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the founding story and philosophy only, so the later business segments are not covered. These are the guest's own account, not independently verified, and nothing here is business advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode in which Shaan Puri and Sam Parr dissect weirdly simple blue-collar businesses worth copying. Shaan deconstructs what he calls the greatest landing page ever, a gutter vacuum company whose page stacks proof, a daily coupon, field photos and a named person who answers the phone. Then Billy Bob Teeth: Jonah White's bizarre backstory, twenty million sets of novelty teeth sold, and the reframe that plastic gag teeth are a permission slip to be silly. They also cover a roofer running MrBeast-style free-roof videos as top-of-funnel for a local business, and debate whether such content should build a national brand. The takeaway thread: unsexy local services with sharp copy and remarkable branding print money while everyone chases software. This episode carries no separate sponsor read. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the business breakdowns only, so some later riffs are not covered. These are the hosts' own takes and cited figures, not independently verified, and nothing here is business or investment advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, in a conversation framed as a business masterclass. Horowitz explains why most management books fail - management is situational and emotional, nothing like a cookbook - and says the hard part is the conversation itself: getting all the way to the truth with yourself before confronting an executive. He walks through advising a founder whose CTO made a colleague cry, tells the story of young Mark Zuckerberg weighing whether to fire his executive team a second time while traffic was flat, and names the pattern that kills CEOs: hesitation, since a delayed decision makes even a smart leader too late. He also shares A16Z's culture rules with shock value, like fining partners 10 dollars a minute for lateness to founder meetings, and his run toward the pain and darkness principle. No separate sponsor read appears in this episode. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this summary highlights the leadership and culture lessons; his current interests and other stories are not covered. These are Horowitz's own views and recollections, not independently verified.

My First Million

My First Million episode in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri brainstorm with repeat guest Sheel Mohnot, fintech investor and founder of Thistle, through business ideas that sound strange but print money. They cover a drone service that does roofing quotes so contractors skip the worst part of their funnel, menu-style bathroom remodeling pioneered by founders from Zynga and Casper, the confusing peptide market and the case for a trusted information source before the rules clarify, a broader surrogacy matching agency - Sheel shares his own surrogacy journey and why today's agencies can only show the carriers they have, like a realtor showing only their own listings - and EMS workout studios for the wellness rabbit hole. They also debate the 50-year mortgage, with Sheel arguing it inflates prices and that supply, not demand tricks, fixes affordability. No separate sponsor read appears in this episode. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this summary highlights the brainstorm's main ideas; side stories and tangents are not covered. Everything here is the hosts' and guest's opinion, not business, financial or medical advice.

My First Million

My First Million episode in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Jamie Siminoff, inventor of the Ring doorbell, about the aftermath of selling Ring to Amazon for 1.15 billion dollars. Siminoff recounts the awkward courtship with Amazon, doing 480 million dollars of revenue in 2017 while growing triple digits and nearly hitting the wall daily, and the ADT injunction that landed an hour before a term sheet and almost killed the deal. He describes growing Ring to around four billion in revenue at Amazon, stepping down burnt out in 2023, and returning because he missed the mission. His operating style is pure inventor: no staff meetings ever, hiring on the spot when someone clearly sees the problems, and firing within three to six months because every leader wishes they had done it sooner. He also brainstorms his bug-killer idea, attacking mosquito eggs in standing water from first principles. No separate sponsor read appears in this episode. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this summary highlights the exit story and operating lessons; other brainstorm ideas are not covered. These are Siminoff's own recollections and opinions, not independently verified.

My First Million

My First Million episode in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri riff through viral moments and business lessons, anchored on the 20-year-old who built a street-interview agency making over three million dollars a year. They break down how he productized a format every founder wants but nobody wants to do - walking ten miles a day filming strangers - and why that is the perfect white-belt starter business: your first business will be one of your worst, so get in the game. The conversation moves through Bill Ackman's may-I-meet-you moment, Sam's story of selling The Hustle and underestimating how big it could get while Morning Brew went on to 90 million in revenue, and the Amazing Digital Circus brothers who built a hundreds-of-millions-of-views animated show on YouTube from Australia and kept it there while signing with streaming. No separate sponsor read appears in this episode. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this summary highlights the business segments; the opening banter and other riffs are not covered. These are the hosts' own views and recollections, not independently verified, and nothing here is business advice.