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My First MillionMy First Million

How A YouTube Car Reviewer Sold His Company For $80M | Doug DeMuro (#456)

No more small boy spreadsheets, build your business on the free HubSpot CRM: https://mfmpod.link/hrd - Episode 456: Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) and Shaan Puri (https://twitter.com/ShaanVP) talk to Doug DeMuro (https://twitter.com/DougDeMuro) founder and creator of the popular YouTube channel Cars and Bids, about selling the majority of his company for $40 Milllion, competitors, and more. — Check Out Shaan's Stuff: • Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com • Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire global talent (like Shaan does) and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than their US equivalents. — Check Out Sam's Stuff: • Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/ • Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/ • Copy That - https://copythat.com • Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth 💰 Pitch your startup for a shot at a $1M investment with Sam Parr as the MC https://clickhubspot.com/pitch ----- Links: * Cars and Bids - https://carsandbids.com/ * Cars and Bids YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqjHFMB_JYTaEnf_vmTNqg * Exotic Car Hacks - https://www.exoticcarhacks.com/ * DrDisRespect - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcJL2ld6kxy_nuV1u7PVQ0g * WhistlinDiesel - https://www.youtube.com/@whistlindiesel 📧: Sign up for The Hustle Daily Newsletter: https://mfmpod.link/xon 🎙️: Download Our Podcast: https://link.chtbl.com/Xq6lWi3m A podcast where we brainstorm new business ideas based on trends & opportunities we see in the market. Sometimes we have famous guests, and they do it with us. ------ Show Notes: (00:00) - Intro (00:18) - Intro to Doug (03:13) - The key to building trust (07:50) - When was the turning point for your channel? (14:26) - Why did you think you could beat Bring A Trailer? (16:31) - How creator business partnerships work (27:07) - How does your brand change as you gain wealth? (47:37) - How does it feel to be wealthy? (52:11) - Doug's feud with Car Dealer Guy (01:08:04) - Will Doug ever fly private? (01:09:38) - Sam gets flustered by Doug ----- For more quality videos subscribe here ➡https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyaN6mg5u8Cjy2ZI4ikWaug?sub_confirmation=1 🔔 Turn on notifications to stay updated with new uploads #shorts #youtubeshorts Like || Share || Subscribe

Sam ParrhostDoug DeMuroguestShaan Purihost
May 16, 20231h 17mWatch on YouTube ↗

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At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Doug DeMuro on Building Cars and Bids and Selling to Chernin

  1. Doug DeMuro says his YouTube channel succeeded with little strategy, relying on information-dense, low-production car reviews, and a switch to two videos a week in 2016 made it a viable living.
  2. He launched Cars and Bids in 2020 with a viewer-turned-partner named Blake, using his audience as the key advantage against the larger Bring a Trailer, and ended up with the majority stake.
  3. Doug describes the Chernin Group deal as appealing because they specialize in creator-led businesses, and says financial security has left him more relaxed and working better, though he still lives modestly.
  4. The hosts and Doug discuss creator personas and brand-building, including heel characters like DrDisRespect and WhistlinDiesel, Twitter controversy dynamics, and Doug's feud with Car Dealership Guy.
  5. The conversation ends with tangents on museum tax strategies, the Escalade's driver assistance, minivans, Doug's cross-country drives, and Jay Leno's McLaren F1.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Content quality and information beat production polish

Doug says he deliberately used a camcorder and iPhone and focused on overloading viewers with useful details about the cars they might actually buy, rather than flashy production or driving impressions.

Audience is the decisive advantage for a creator-led marketplace

Doug says many other auction sites launched and failed since Cars and Bids, and that arriving with an audience mattered as much as the product; it is also why he got the majority stake despite Blake's seed money.

Creators should build a business beyond their channel

Doug says he started Cars and Bids out of fear the audience might drift away, and he urges his car-creator friends to start businesses because you never know when the audience will go.

Income uncertainty kept him frugal even when earning well

Doug explains that he never knew when a competitor or algorithm shift could end the income, so he saved heavily and avoided depreciating purchases until the Chernin deal closed.

The right investor can matter as much as the price

Doug says he was wary of PE and VC firms telling him how to run his YouTube channel, and was won over by Chernin's focus on creator-led businesses and their hands-off approach.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

I tell all my friends now in this space, like, "You need to start businesses. Like, this will not last forever. You need to start businesses."

— Doug DeMuro

I think I am a little bit more anxious about money than a lot of people, and it's nice to not have any of that anxiety anymore.

— Doug DeMuro

If you're chasing money, you'd, you'd work harder. And maybe I did work harder, but I think I'm working better now.

— Doug DeMuro

I wear my stupid shorts and T-shirt, and like, you can think what you want. I'm driving a Carrera GT, so.

— Doug DeMuro

I, I truly think they're crazy. Like, if you really think about it-

— Doug DeMuro

YouTube channel growthCars and Bids launchCompeting with Bring a TrailerChernin Group saleCreator-led businessesTwitter controversy and Car Dealership GuyWealth and financial anxiety

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