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My First MillionHow To Get Started With Building An Audience in 2022 (#373)
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Audience building as a byproduct of “professional curiosity”
The host asks what audience building means personally, and Shaan explains he didn’t pursue an audience as a primary goal. After selling his company, he designed his days around curiosity and turned learning into shareable content as a way to sustain that lifestyle.
- •Shaan frames audience as an outcome of doing work he genuinely enjoys
- •He describes narrowing big life questions into “what’s a great day I could do every day?”
- •He defines his approach as being “professionally curious”
- •Content becomes a way to package learnings and make curiosity economically sustainable
Filling niches and the execution gap: why growth is “simple, not easy”
Saagar compares building an audience to making money: provide something that doesn’t exist, and people reward it with attention. He outlines his approach of filling niches over time, and emphasizes that the concept is straightforward but the consistent execution over years is extremely difficult.
- •Audience growth comes from providing something missing and letting attention “commoditize” it
- •Saagar describes stacking niche upon niche under a consistent philosophy
- •He highlights the exponential nature of outcomes at the very top
- •He stresses long-term consistency through changing conditions as the hard part
“Make great content” and “make something people want” as the core principle
The conversation turns to what separates the top creators from everyone else, with Shaan using MrBeast as an example of focusing on fundamentals. Shaan ties this to the startup maxim “make something people want,” reframing great content as content people actually want.
- •Shaan recounts MrBeast’s focus on making the best videos possible
- •They break “great” down to attention, retention, and emotion
- •Shaan connects audience building to the idea of making something people want
- •Saagar adds that gear and production upgrades are secondary to content quality
Production polish vs. substance: cameras aren’t the bottleneck
Saagar pushes back on creators obsessing over equipment, thumbnails, and other surface-level optimizations before the content works. He explains that sophisticated production came later for him, and that elite creators iterate relentlessly using the same analytics tools everyone has.
- •Saagar argues creators blame gear when the real issue is content
- •He describes upgrading production only after building an audience
- •He notes thumbnails and headlines matter, but they’re not the foundation
- •He points to analytics literacy and iteration as a differentiator
Company brand vs. personal brand: trade-offs, faces, and sellability
The host asks about building a company brand versus a personal brand, and Saagar contrasts business constraints with personal freedom. Shaan then offers a clear framework: companies should often use individual faces to grow faster, while individuals building media assets may want a separate brand umbrella so it can become independent and potentially transferable.
- •Saagar says business branding reflects shared principles and mutual agreement
- •He contrasts that with his personal account where he explores interests with less concern
- •Shaan argues people follow people more than companies, so companies should leverage faces
- •Shaan explains why he created a separate brand for a media product rather than tying it to his name
“Repeat That Tweet” begins: why the metaverse tweet traveled so far
They start a segment reacting to viral tweets, beginning with Shaan’s metaverse post. Shaan breaks down why it spread widely and explains his core idea: the metaverse is less about avatars and more about a tipping point where digital life becomes more important than physical life.
- •Shaan attributes virality to being timely, calling perceived “bullshit,” and backing it up
- •He describes the metaverse as a tipping point toward prioritizing digital identity and assets
- •He notes how the internet has moved from a “computer room” to being ever-present
- •He shares how the tweet spread across platforms and was referenced in other conversations
Identity friction and cultural resistance: a personal reaction to the metaverse idea
The host mentions someone reacting strongly to Shaan’s metaverse tweet, and Shaan recounts being contacted directly about it. Shaan compares it to the shift from newspapers to digital news—liking the old format doesn’t stop adoption when the new system offers stronger advantages.
- •Shaan describes someone feeling the metaverse idea threatened what they value in real life
- •He emphasizes momentum toward digital life even when people prefer analog experiences
- •He uses newspapers as an example of preferences being overtaken by convenience and access
- •He frames the shift as directionally persistent despite objections
Saagar’s viral tweets: facts, context, and letting people form conclusions
Saagar explains why certain tweets spread: they present timely, meaningful facts without instructing the audience what to think. He describes how concise framing lets people apply the information to their own viewpoint, which makes it shareable.
- •Saagar says his most viral posts often provide facts people can interpret themselves
- •He emphasizes timeliness as the primary driver
- •He cites resonance with everyday life as a key ingredient
- •He highlights concision as part of why Twitter works for this style
Serving worldviews—and the cynical acceleration of “bias-compatible” content
Shaan builds on Saagar’s point by describing how information can be used as a tool for different agendas. He discusses how creators can grow faster by feeding an audience’s existing worldview, and suggests being deliberate about which worldview you understand and want to serve.
- •Shaan describes virality as giving people “ammo” they can use in arguments
- •He argues audiences often seek worldview-confirming information
- •He notes this dynamic applies beyond politics, including crypto communities
- •He proposes choosing a worldview you understand and packaging content that fits it
Timeliness vs. craftsmanship: the Luna video “flop” lesson
Shaan tells a story about making a heavily produced video after a major crypto event, only for it to underperform because it came out weeks later. He contrasts “great but late” with “good enough and immediate,” arguing that timing dominates in reaction-driven moments.
- •Shaan describes losing money in the event and having a strong take to share
- •He chose high production value and iteration, but release timing slipped
- •He concludes the world moved on, limiting the content’s reach
- •He states the principle: good enough at the right time beats great at the wrong time
More tweet mechanics: live transcription, entrepreneur identity bait, and “nuance” triggers
Shaan explains additional tweets that worked, including live-typing a high-interest audio appearance and packaging quotes that match his audience’s identity. He also describes deliberately provocative phrasing to spark engagement, and frames Twitter as a game rather than a place to be overly serious.
- •Shaan describes gaining reach by transcribing a high-demand appearance in real time
- •He argues curation/remixing can build an audience without “original” insight
- •He explains tailoring messages to his audience’s entrepreneurial self-image
- •He describes using provocative framing to trigger reactions and drive engagement
Saagar’s “two viral events + thesis” template and the niche opened by legacy media distrust
Saagar breaks down a tweet that combined two widely discussed events into a single explanatory narrative about media market conditions. He argues that many consumers don’t trust mainstream media, which creates room for alternative coverage that explains failures others avoid discussing.
- •Saagar describes pairing two viral events and adding a broader thesis statement
- •He emphasizes punchy framing and aligning with audience sentiment
- •He frames distrust as a large addressable audience for his type of coverage
- •He argues some stories go under-covered due to professional incentives in legacy media
Tactics for the first 100K on Twitter: super-nodes, inflection points, and “don’t quit and go viral”
In rapid-fire tactical Q&A, Saagar says Twitter growth often hinges on getting a small set of key accounts to follow and retweet you by providing what they need. Shaan adds his version: early relationships with a small number of influential people mattered most, plus principles like narrowing your domain, developing a “red pill” viewpoint, speaking from personal experience, and staying consistent long enough to hit viral moments.
- •Saagar says the “secret” is getting a few key accounts to retweet you by serving them
- •He describes inflection points around follower thresholds and compounding ease of growth
- •Shaan emphasizes that the earliest few relationships matter more than raw counts
- •Shaan outlines tools: tight domain focus, a distinctive “red pill” point of view, speaking from “I,” and persistence plus going viral
