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My First MillionBusiness Finds: Hormozi’s Skool Investment, $700M Water & VC Hacks
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WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Sam and Shaan Share Six Business Finds: VC Hacks to Fake Reviews
- Shaan describes a reported tactic where photographers outside top VC offices capture entrepreneurs and sell the list of fundraisers to other funds, plus an X account, StealthCoSpy, that tracks people going into stealth mode.
- Sam highlights a Reddit post by the MVMT Watches founder, who says he sold his company, made his life comfortable, and ended up lonelier and more depressed than ever.
- Shaan shows how Skool's web traffic roughly doubled from about 8 million to almost 17 million monthly visitors after Alex Hormozi bought it, and the hosts discuss converting media fame into a SaaS asset.
- Sam breaks down a personal finance post about a New Jersey couple earning $3.7 million a year and spending about $77,000 a month, while Shaan argues it is mostly engagement bait.
- Shaan praises Liquid Death's marketing stunt of auctioning ad space on cases of water, and Sam closes with an article claiming 16 media companies dominate product review sites, which leads both to distrust reviews and brainstorm a subscription alternative.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasInformation edges exist in venture capital too
Shaan says he used to think Silicon Valley lacked the ruthless edge-seeking of traditional finance, until he heard of photographers outside VC offices selling lists of founders who pitched top firms.
Selling a company doesn't solve life's problems
The MVMT founder wrote that after his exit he optimized for comfort and ended up lonelier and more depressed than ever. He said money and ego had been his motivators, and next he needs fulfillment and to help others.
An audience can be a growth lever for an acquisition
Shaan explains Hormozi bought Skool with a large audience to drive traffic, and Similarweb data showed monthly visitors going from about 8 million to nearly 17 million, though part of that was announcement curiosity.
Converting media fame into SaaS ownership is a smart move
Shaan notes YouTube doesn't pay very well, while SaaS is one of the best business models, so buying Skool turns attention into a stronger asset.
High income doesn't guarantee financial freedom
Sam argues that even at nearly $4 million a year, spending of about $77,000 a month makes it hard to build the roughly $25 million he estimates is needed to live off withdrawals. Shaan counters that the post is largely engagement bait.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesI take a kind of crappy but high-volume business model, which is, let's say media, but I use it to buy assets in the best business model, SAS, which is what he did, right?
— Shaan Puri
I think it's insane. I think it's insane and brilliant.
— Sam Parr
When you Google "best mattress," you're not gonna find the best mattress. You're gonna find: Who is the best at SEO?
— Shaan Puri
It's all a circle jerk, and I don't trust any of the reviews online at this point, and it's ve- it makes me very skeptical.
— Sam Parr
That was the entire bet was, "Yeah, it's water. Um, and then we're gonna be absolutely incredible, world-class at marketing, and that'll be the thing." And they pulled it off.
— Shaan Puri
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SPEAKERS
Sam Parr
hostCo-host of the My First Million podcast and founder of the Hampton community.
Shaan Puri
hostCo-host of the My First Million podcast and entrepreneur/investor known for dissecting business ideas and growth tactics.
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
