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My First Million

+$1 Billion Businesses You've Never Heard Of (#497)

Episode 497: Shaan Puri and Sam Parr share 4 businesses that are crushing it — from airport security to Etsy store-owner’s favorite machine to well-branded women’s products. Plus, Shaan shares a dating app idea that‘s thoroughly OP.

Sam ParrhostShaan Purihost

Sep 21, 20231h 4mWatch on YouTube

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Chapter summaries

Merch drop: turning MFM sayings into limited-edition collectibles
Shaan announces that My First Million is finally launching merch, with Sam adding hoodies to the lineup. They discuss a creator-merch framework—consumables vs. collectibles—and why they prefer merch as a tribe signal rather than a big revenue driver.
- •Merch launch announcement and what’s available so far
- •A creator’s choice: consumables (like drinks/food) vs. collectibles (limited items)
- •Why they avoided merch for years and what changed
- •Using merch as a “badge” that signals membership in a community
Community signaling and “tribe filters” (plus Skittles, pinatas, and nighttime eating)
They riff on how fandoms act as social filters—if you like the show, you’re likely compatible with others who do too. The conversation turns comedic with Sam’s Skittles stash for a birthday pinata and both hosts joking about their late-night snacking habits.
- •MFM as a filter for like-minded people and shared humor
- •Limited edition merch as a recognizable signal to others
- •Sam’s birthday pinata plan and accidentally eating the Skittles
- •Nighttime routines: “nighttime daddy playtime” and chaotic snacking
New Clips channel: hand-curated highlights in 3–4 minute bursts
Shaan announces a new YouTube Clips channel designed for short, high-signal moments from each episode. He explains how he wants it to match how he personally consumes podcasts and why subscriber growth matters to justify the editing effort.
- •What the Clips channel is and where to find it (clipmfm.com / My First Million Clips)
- •Curation approach: only 1–3 meaningful moments per episode
- •Why Shaan chose to hand-curate instead of outsourcing
- •Sharing clips is easier than sharing full hour-long episodes
Business breakdown: Clear’s comeback from bankruptcy to airport biometric monopoly
Sam tells the origin story of Clear, tracing it from an early post-9/11 identity concept that flopped into a rebranded subscription business bought out of bankruptcy. He breaks down how Clear operates in airports, how it shares revenue with airports, and why the business has become so large.
- •Clear’s early predecessor failed after raising significant capital, then was bought out of bankruptcy
- •Repositioning and rebranding as a premium/luxury-feeling service
- •How Clear gets airport access: revenue share with airports and strategic relationships
- •Reported scale discussed: hundreds of millions in revenue and multi-billion market cap
Clear’s expanded identity vision—and skepticism about where biometrics make sense
They explore Clear’s ambition to become an identity layer beyond airports, including signing into services and paying at venues using biometrics. Shaan questions whether the value proposition works outside high-stakes, high-friction situations like airport security, and Sam gives examples where identity verification is increasingly required.
- •Clear’s broader identity roadmap beyond the airport line
- •Shaan’s critique: hardware and friction may outweigh benefits in many settings
- •Example of age/identity verification requirements on certain websites
- •Debate over whether Clear is undervalued given its monopoly-like positioning
A related “hidden in plain sight” business: faster-throughput metal detectors
Shaan shares a side example of noticing infrastructure businesses everywhere—like metal detectors at large venues—and wondering who sells them and wins contracts. He describes a company making a metal detector designed to speed up the flow of people through security.
- •Theme: noticing everyday infrastructure as big business opportunities
- •Metal detectors as a widespread, contract-driven category
- •Product angle: reduce friction by letting people move through faster
- •How a small improvement could win major venue contracts
Business breakdown: Cricut and the surprising scale of at-home crafting machines
After a sponsor segment, Shaan introduces Cricut, describing it as a home crafting cutter that enables DIY production for creators and small sellers. They discuss how it evolved from shop-based machines to affordable home devices and why the crafting ecosystem (including Etsy sellers) makes the market larger than it appears.
- •What a Cricut machine does (cutting shapes/materials for DIY crafts)
- •How the product moved from craft shops into consumers’ homes
- •Cricut’s scale as described: very large revenue and meaningful free cash flow
- •Why the crafting community and Etsy sellers create a big demand base
The Etsy-to-brand playbook: the “real story” behind Native Deodorant (as told here)
They discuss how Etsy can validate product demand and inspire larger brands. Sam recounts how Native Deodorant started by sourcing from an Etsy seller, testing products, and then scaling manufacturing, contrasting that with more polished origin stories founders sometimes tell later.
- •Using Etsy to find top-selling products and validate demand
- •Sam’s account of Native starting via an Etsy seller and private-labeling
- •Transition from small-batch creator supply to scalable manufacturing
- •Honesty vs. “touching origin stories” that get reverse-engineered later
Business breakdown: Aunt Flow and building a recurring-revenue “installed base”
Shaan describes an investment in a company that installs dispensers with women’s hygiene products in restrooms, positioned as a modern replacement for older vending-style options. They discuss how policy changes drive adoption, why multi-site facilities sign contracts, and how installed hardware can create long-term defensibility.
- •Product concept: wall-installed dispensers stocked with pads/tampons
- •Design and branding as differentiation from older, less appealing alternatives
- •State-by-state requirements creating demand in schools, stadiums, and facilities
- •Recurring revenue logic: installation plus ongoing refills and low churn once installed
iCracked: dorm-room hustle, campus scaling, and why hypergrowth expectations can backfire
Shaan revisits Sam’s earlier work telling the iCracked story and explains how the company scaled by training college students as repair techs. He outlines the growth tactics (including local press and SEO), then the challenges that followed after raising a much larger round and needing to hit venture-scale outcomes.
- •On-demand phone repair concept and scaling via college campuses
- •Operational model: trained local techs dispatched with leads
- •Growth through press narratives and SEO stacking across markets
- •How raising a large round increased pressure for outsized growth and narrowed options
Business breakdown: Cloud Poker Night’s positioning, product experience, and a community event idea
They transition from iCracked’s founders into Cloud Poker Night and praise its landing page and framing of poker as a business social sport. Sam explains how the product works like live poker with video and private card views, and Shaan proposes hosting a community poker night for podcast listeners.
- •Positioning: “Poker is the new sport for business minds” vs. generic software messaging
- •Using credibility and quotes to sell the idea of poker before selling the product
- •How gameplay works (video + dealer + private card camera per player)
- •Idea to host a listener poker night and create a community experience
How viral products actually spread: ‘word of mouth’ vs. true virality
Shaan explains his definition of virality as something that spreads automatically as part of usage, not merely because people recommend it. He gives an email-signature example and describes a “host-to-attendee-to-host” loop where participants become future organizers, applying the idea to event-style products like Cloud Poker Night.
- •Distinction: word-of-mouth recommendations vs. built-in viral distribution
- •Example of virality via automatic messaging attached to usage
- •Event-platform loop: attendees later become hosts
- •Why Cloud Poker Night could benefit from this group-driven distribution pattern
Gamer dating app idea, niche dating app lessons, and a Dil Mil acquisition story
Shaan pitches the concept of a gamer-focused dating app where matches can ‘squad up’ and play a game together as the date mechanic. Sam pushes back on dating apps being hard markets, leading into a story about Dil Mil and how niche positioning and distribution can lead to acquisition by a larger portfolio of dating apps.
- •Pitch: gamers as a large market with shared activities that can reduce date friction
- •Built-in first date: play a game together based on shared preferences
- •Debate on whether dating apps are winner-take-all or can support niches
- •Story of Dil Mil: niche targeting, LinkedIn login idea, and eventual sale to a larger dating-app group

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