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My First MillionHow This +$80M Founder Launches A Startup In A Weekend | ft. Noah Kagain (#546)
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WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Noah Kagan on Acting Now, Asking Boldly, and Building AppSumo
- Noah Kagan says the top result readers report from his book Million Dollar Weekend is the 'now not how' idea: start immediately instead of waiting to feel ready, with the power of asking as the second theme.
- Sam Parr and Shaan Puri share personal stories of action: Sam tattooed 'act now' on his feet after Noah's Monthly 1K course, and Shaan made $1,000 in a weekend selling customized wristbands after abandoning a 300-page business plan.
- Noah shares AppSumo's numbers, with $76.7M gross sales, $56M net revenue and $7.5M profit, and explains that he reinvests nearly all profit each Q4 to grow the business.
- Noah recounts his time at Facebook in 2005, from a cold application with mock-ups to being fired, while Shaan questions the accuracy of popular startup lore about Zuckerberg turning down a Yahoo offer.
- Shaan describes shifting toward focus by saying no to 1x opportunities and protecting his first three hours of each day for content, while Noah argues billionaires typically stuck with one thing for decades.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasAction beats waiting to be ready
Noah says people wait to feel ready and never are, so he urges them to ask what they can do today, such as getting a first dollar from a friend or relative.
Asking is the core skill of business
Noah argues all business comes down to an ask, whether for a sponsor, customer, partner or employee, and the coffee challenge of requesting a discount builds tolerance for rejection.
Joe Gebbia's sales formula reframes rejection
Shaan relays Gebbia's formula that some will say yes, some won't, so who cares and move on, as the basic entrepreneurial sales mindset.
Big companies often start small and fast
Noah points to Airbnb emailing a designer's conference attendees to ask about their couch, and to Zuckerberg copying ConnectU in a weekend, as proof that launches needn't be elaborate or heavily funded.
Longevity and market selection drive quiet success
Noah credits AppSumo's growth to sticking with it for nearly 14 years in a growing software market, and Shaan cites Carrd as another product that stayed quiet for years while crushing it.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotespeople are waiting to be ready, and they're just never ready.
— Noah Kagan
A lifetime, and we're trying to get rich in a weekend.
— Noah Kagan
I realized that a lot of smart people are overthinkers. They hesitate, they doubt, they overanalyze.
— Shaan Puri
I think in general, the more successful you get, uh, the more opportunities you get, but the more things you should and, and you should be saying no to.
— Shaan Puri
Look what you did in the weekend that you didn't do in months.
— Shaan Puri
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SPEAKERS
Noah Kagan
guestEntrepreneur and founder of AppSumo; former early employee at Facebook and Mint.
Sam Parr
hostCo-host of My First Million and entrepreneur (Hampton).
Shaan Puri
hostCo-host of My First Million and entrepreneur/investor.
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
