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My First MillionThreads Becomes The Fastest Growing App Of All Time... (#473)
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Threads launch hype, early reactions, and picking sides (Zuck vs Elon)
The hosts kick off with the viral “Zuck vs Elon” framing and share their first impressions of Threads after a few days of use. They quickly shift into how the rivalry has become tribal and why both of them find themselves unexpectedly rooting for Zuckerberg over Musk.
- •A speaker reads a tweet joking about Musk buying Twitter for $44B and Zuckerberg cloning it cheaply and stealing users
- •The hosts set up the episode structure: Threads vs Twitter, bull case vs bear case, then predictions
- •Sam Parr describes signing up at launch after hearing about a leak and notes the Instagram follower advantage
- •Sam Parr says his Twitter feed has become filled with violent content and feels “sad,” making Threads appealing
- •Both hosts discuss why they now view Zuckerberg as more likable and relatable than before
Elon’s posting style and why it’s pushing people away
The conversation turns to Musk’s provocative posts and how that behavior shapes public perception of Twitter’s leadership. The hosts contrast this with Zuckerberg’s more controlled, meme-savvy public presence around the Threads launch.
- •Sam Parr recounts Musk posting “Zuck is a cuck” and mentioning a “dick measuring contest,” which he finds off-putting
- •Shaan Puri calls Musk a “tryhard” and shares a joke tweet responding to Musk’s insult
- •They describe Zuckerberg being active on Threads and posting a meme, suggesting he’s “in on the joke”
- •They discuss how leadership personality influences which platform people want to support
Threads bull case: explosive growth, Instagram leverage, and better execution
Shaan lays out the optimistic argument for Threads: rapid user growth, massive distribution through Instagram, and Meta’s execution advantage. The hosts argue Threads can outgrow Twitter even without convincing most Twitter users to switch.
- •Shaan Puri cites Threads reaching 100 million users in about five days and calls it the fastest-growing product
- •They note Instagram’s massive user base and argue a fraction converting would make Threads larger than Twitter
- •Shaan Puri argues Threads can expand the market by attracting people who never liked or stuck with Twitter
- •They debate whether Twitter’s weakness is the concept or the execution—and suggest Meta will execute better on onboarding, feed quality, spam and abuse
- •Sam Parr emphasizes Meta’s advertising platform strength compared to Twitter’s historically weak ad offering
Threads bear case: Meta’s app graveyard, churn risk, and missing features
The hosts outline reasons Threads might not win: Meta’s mixed track record with standalone apps, high churn after curiosity fades, and Twitter’s entrenched content advantages. They also note that Threads is currently a clone with key omissions.
- •Shaan Puri questions Meta’s success with standalone apps, citing a ‘graveyard’ of attempts that didn’t work
- •They discuss how early sign-ups don’t guarantee retention and predict substantial churn
- •They note Twitter’s advantage in news, sports, journalists, and other ‘key content’ ecosystems
- •Shaan Puri argues Threads offers few improvements and lacks features like DMs/inbox (as they understand it)
- •They discuss creator inertia: people with long-built Twitter audiences may resist starting over elsewhere
Predictions: Threads likely wins mainstream, Twitter becomes niche
Both hosts make their calls on how the competition plays out over the next 18–24 months. They also react to public signals like traffic data and repeat the mantra that betting against Zuckerberg in consumer social is risky.
- •Sam Parr predicts the outcome will be closer to the bull case and says he wouldn’t bet against Zuckerberg in consumer social
- •They discuss a chart shared by Cloudflare’s CEO suggesting Twitter traffic down about 5% and debate whether that’s meaningful and whether sharing it is appropriate
- •Shaan Puri predicts Threads becomes bigger than Twitter without ‘killing’ it, while Twitter hits a growth ceiling and remains a strong niche
- •They compare domain strengths: Zuckerberg in social apps vs Musk in other industries
- •They discuss how Twitter’s self-inflicted friction (limits, paywall-like changes, login walls) helps Threads’ chances
Culture and moderation: positivity on Threads vs negativity on Twitter
The hosts explore how platform culture gets shaped by algorithms and moderation choices. They describe Threads as seeded with positivity and contrast it with Twitter’s tendency to surface conflict and mockery.
- •Sam Parr describes Threads feeling more positive, with upbeat posts dominating his early feed
- •Shaan Puri argues culture is shaped by what platforms suppress or highlight, not just overt features
- •They discuss Twitter’s tendency to show all replies—including hostility—and how that can be draining
- •Shaan Puri compares improvements in YouTube comments over time as an example of a platform fixing a toxic norm
- •They reference Zuckerberg stating a goal to build a ‘public conversation’ product that reaches a billion users and prioritizes getting the tone right
Sam Parr’s overheard Meta engineer story: launch week energy and big pay packages
Sam shares a dinner anecdote about sitting near someone who worked on the Threads team and overhearing details about morale and compensation. The story turns into a broader riff on social awareness, status talk, and how people discuss money in public.
- •Sam Parr recounts overhearing a Meta Threads team member describing launch week as the most exciting time in his career
- •He claims the person mentioned a seven-figure annual compensation and that morale at Meta felt high
- •They discuss how tacky it feels to talk about money loudly around service staff and in public spaces
- •Shaan Puri jokes about Facebook engineers lacking awareness
- •They compare New York vs San Francisco conversational norms about money vs building
Social awkwardness and public complaints: hot chocolate and decaf coffee stories
The hosts swap stories about friends who handle minor problems in socially uncomfortable ways. The tone is comedic and centers on how certain public confrontations feel embarrassing to witness.
- •Shaan Puri tells a story about a friend bluntly telling a server a recommended hot chocolate was ‘not very good’
- •Sam Parr describes a friend insisting on calling a restaurant to complain they served regular coffee instead of decaf
- •They discuss how some people escalate small issues and how uncomfortable it feels to be around it
- •Shaan Puri jokes about a mother-in-law who wants to ‘call the news’ over problems
L of the Week: Subway delay leads to Taco Bell—and an unforgettable power move
Shaan introduces a new segment idea about sharing personal losses, then tells a long comedic story about trying to get food. It culminates in a memorable Taco Bell scene that becomes a ‘loss’ for Shaan and a ‘win’ for a stranger.
- •Shaan Puri describes leaving Subway after a long, emotionally intense conversation between two strangers delays the line
- •He goes to Taco Bell for the first time in years and observes he’s the only person in his 30s there
- •Shaan recounts a man loudly farting in the restaurant and then staring everyone down confidently afterward
- •They joke about the ‘alpha’ behavior and the shared humility of being there at that time
- •Shaan says Taco Bell’s food and menu creativity surprised him positively
Interview begins: Sam Ovens’ reputation, apology story, and what Skool is
The episode pivots to an interview with Sam Ovens, starting with Sam Parr’s story about previously leaving a negative comment on Ovens’ ads and later apologizing. Ovens introduces himself and his current company, Skool, described as a community platform for creators.
- •Sam Parr explains he once posted a hater comment on Sam Ovens’ ad and later apologized after learning more
- •The hosts describe Ovens’ past public persona in ads versus his calmer, more introverted interview presence
- •Sam Ovens introduces Skool and his role as CEO, framing it as a community platform for creators
- •They position Ovens as a fascinating, unusual personality compared to typical internet marketing guests
Why Sam Ovens sold courses: from Mixergy student to Dropbox ‘course’ to Consulting.com
Ovens explains how he entered the course business through learning software entrepreneurship and then coaching demand after an interview. He describes turning repetitive coaching into recorded material and eventually scaling into a major training business.
- •Sam Ovens says he first encountered courses via Mixergy and a program from Dane Maxwell
- •He built a software company called SnapInspect and then received inbound requests for paid help
- •He began selling coaching packages (six one-hour Skype calls) and noticed he was repeating himself
- •He recorded calls, sold the recordings as a course in a Dropbox folder, and validated demand when buyers didn’t ask for refunds
- •He learned marketing from the ‘internet marketing’ world and later transitioned into what became Consulting.com
Consulting.com peak, the Lean Thinking reset, and rebuilding around customer value
Ovens details Consulting.com’s scale and why it became unsatisfying: rapid hiring, high ad spend, and operational strain. He describes a turning point after reading a book on his honeymoon and restructuring to reduce ad dependence and increase customer-centered work.
- •Sam Ovens says Consulting.com peaked around 2017–2018 at about $36M revenue with about $5M profit
- •He says the company grew to around 50 people and spent about $2M per month on ads, with ‘everything breaking’
- •He describes learning from a book that led him to examine headcount, capital, and attention through the lens of customer value
- •He says the business was too focused on ads—something customers didn’t value and that often annoyed them
- •He shifted toward organic content and making team roles more directly customer-facing
Skool’s growth loop, funding stance, and a billion-user ambition
Ovens explains why he returned to software and how Skool grows through a viral community-creation loop. He also describes self-funding, refusing VC money for now, deliberate unprofitability, and his aspiration to build something used by a billion people.
- •Sam Ovens says he self-funded Skool and put most of his money into the company after buying a home and keeping family reserves
- •He says the company isn’t profitable by choice and that top-tier VCs reach out frequently, but he’s not taking funding
- •He explains Skool’s growth mechanism: members join communities, and about 1% create their own communities and invite others, creating a loop
- •He says Skool is based with people in LA and San Francisco
- •He states his long-term goal is to build something a billion people use
Personality, minimalism, obsession with product details—and why he’s not bullish on AI
The hosts dig into Ovens’ personal habits, how he spends time without social media, and his intense focus on product design. The interview ends with a discussion of his skepticism about AI hype and a brief debate where Shaan says he’ll take the other side.
- •Sam Ovens describes minimalist habits: sleeping on a Japanese futon, owning few clothes, sticking to one soap, and avoiding sunglasses
- •He says he has no social media and largely avoids news, spending most time on Skool and winding down with older TV series
- •He explains being highly detail-oriented, joking he can see a pixel, and designing interfaces in Figma
- •He describes his role as a filter and prioritizer of ideas sourced from users, power users, and the team, rather than pure top-down dictation
- •Sam Ovens says AI is massively overhyped and says ChatGPT hasn’t replaced his Google usage; he’s not bullish on its future
Publisher timestamps
- 0:00Intro
- 2:10Threads vs Twitter
- 4:15Zuck vs Elon
- 12:30Threads Bull case
- 13:40Threads Bear case
- 19:05Predictions
- 32:30L of the Week
- 39:54Intro Sam Ovens
- 43:40Why sell courses?
- 58:03Getting traffic on Skool
- 1:04:38How large will Skool become?
- 1:06:22Are you weird in other areas of your life?
- 1:19:30Why Sam's not into A.I.
