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My First MillionBehind The Scenes of Selling My Company For Millions | Suli Ali (#410)
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At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Suli Ali on Deal Doula Lessons, Business Ideas, and Opting Out
- Suli Ali shares acquisition lessons from advising on Shaan's Milk Road deals and his own TinyCo sale, stressing upfront transparency about a business's flaws and signaling openness to sell without seeming desperate.
- The two trade business ideas, including a Robinhood-style app for real estate and niche agencies or B2B content that serve specific industries, while Shaan is skeptical of consumer-facing content creation as a business.
- Suli recounts his investing misses and hits, such as passing on a Coinbase investment and backing out of a Facebook stock purchase, and explains why he moved from small startup checks toward buying stakes in profitable businesses.
- Suli describes wanting to acquire an undervalued public company like Squarespace by making a public offer, and he walks through a dental practice roll-up that left his friend a big winner.
- The conversation closes on life stages and the idea that opting out of the rat race can be the real win, with Suli saying his life is limited by his imagination and that he wants to hire a 'chief fun officer'.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasDisclose your business's flaws early
Shaan, following Sam's advice, listed the reasons not to buy Milk Road at a dinner with buyers, and the buyers later said it built trust. Suli says buyers care less about the nuances sellers worry about than sellers think.
Saying 'we're not for sale' can cost you
Suli says buyers talk to many companies and cross off those that say no. His approach is to get an offer from an interested party, then use it to approach other strategic buyers.
Pick a specific business function or industry and serve it
Shaan argues an agency focused on one narrow function or sector, such as email or conversion optimization, can reach $100K a month with ten clients at $10K. He adds that such a business can be sold, unlike a job.
Look for a blueprint and clone proven playbooks
Shaan says he looks for a replicable blueprint before starting something, and Suli credits him with cloning successful friends' businesses in new categories. Shaan adds that he is fine breaking the rule as long as he does it knowingly.
Hesitation on obvious opportunities is costly
Suli skipped a $25K Coinbase investment because he doubted crypto, and he backed out of buying Facebook stock. He says he is still sitting on T-bills waiting for a better entry. His father kept buying Florida houses as prices fell and now owns around 100 rentals.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesThe only way to win the rat race is to opt out of the rat race, and, uh, he has opted out and, uh, has thereby won the rat race.
— Suli Ali
my life is actually limited by my imagination. And, uh, growing up, I always assumed it was limited by, you know, money or resources, and now I realize my life is just limited by my imagination.
— Suli Ali
I think the entrepreneur's instinct is hide that, you know, as far, put it behind your back. You know, if they, if they, if they ask for it, you show them, but like don't scare them away.
— Shaan Puri
I would start a Y Combinator for creators and, um, maximize the, uh... Basically find, uh, the next Kim Kardashian, the next MrBeast, and, uh, support them and own a piece of them, and be a king maker where I'm making other kings.
— Suli Ali
I think competing for deals sucks. I hate trying... I find it very demeaning trying to convince somebody to let me invest $50,000 in their round.
— Suli Ali
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
