My First Million

Latest Episodes:

This 3-hour Elizabeth Holmes doc broke our brains Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Sam's database on how long it takes to become a millionaire: https://clickhubspot.com/ekvd

Episode 874: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) are breaking down the best documentary of the year.

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

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Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire worldwide talent like Shaan and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than US equivalents.

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

We put a multimillionaire’s portfolio into Claude (the results shocked us) Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

Investing guide: 35+ money principles from investors/financial operators https://clickhubspot.com/tmgc

Episode 873: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talk about an investor who makes 2.9 decisions a year, Zuck’s victory lap and what happened when Sam hired an executive coach.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) Zero Action Investing

(7:55) Premortems

(10:05) Zuck's Victory Lap

(16:50) The Superpower of 100x Leaders

(20:45) Sam Hires an Executive Coach

(21:35) Identify the Game You're Playing

(30:15) Keep Your Sails Up

(33:45) Sam Attacks His Panic Attacks

(38:55) Role Playing Hard Situations

(41:00) How to Prep for the Scariest Moments

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

the 6 traits of people who can’t stop making money Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

Take our founder personality quiz: https://clickhubspot.com/dclt

Episode 872: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talk about the different types of founders.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) Natural Money-Makers

(1:52) Attributes of Natural Money-Makers

(3:10) The Story of Nick Kokonas

(8:12) The Story of Jay Gould

(10:00) Can It Be Learned?

(13:04) The Story of Syed Balkhi

(17:58) Only Spend the Second Derivative

(22:27) Trading Valuable Hours for Useless Dollars

(26:50) Other Play Styles That Win

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Links:

• Syed Balkhi episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzHdrQ5pDFo

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

3 embarrassing moments that changed my life Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

$1M Solopreneur MVP guide: https://clickhubspot.com/ftws

Episode 870: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) tells 3 embarrassing stories. One from his personal life, one from business, and a most recent one.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) intro

(1:15) recent embarrassment

(5:20) Lesson: “You Can Make Hell Out of Heaven”

(8:15) business embarrassment

(12:58) Lesson: “Worship at the Church of Action”

(15:35) personal embarrassment

(19:55) Lesson: “The Decision Is Upstream of All Action”

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

The creative genius behind Squatty Potty & Poo-Pourri reveals his marketing playbook Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

$1M Attention Guide: 15+ ways to get eyeballs on what you're building https://clickhubspot.com/okbv

Episode 869: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talks to Angel Studios founder Jeff Harmon ( https://x.com/JeffreyHarmon ) about finding and exploiting glitches.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) I helped a dentist create one of the greatest marketing campaigns

(8:35) How to find the glitch in the system

(11:10) Go for your own problems

(13:25) Where is the attention going?

(16:10) ANGEL

(19:15) 19-minute ad experiment

(25:30) The genius moment behind Squatty Potty, Poo-Pourri

(26:55) Poo-Pourri ad

(27:25) How to craft a $100M ad

(28:55) Use comedians

(35:55) Warm up the algorithm

(39:35) Super Bowl stunts

(41:10) PG-13 content for the masses

(44:45) Base hits vs. home runs

(45:10) The economics of the movie business

(47:05) “I’ve never met a billionaire who doesn’t want to make movies”

(49:55) The brutality of Hollywood

(54:10) Having a personal vibe coder

(1:00:05) Advice to my younger self

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Links:

• Angel Studios — angel.com

• Poo-Pourri — poopourri.com

• Squatty Potty — squattypotty.com

• Purple — purple.com

• A24 — a24films.com

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

3 businesses we think are about to blow up Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

Database of 140+ business ideas: https://clickhubspot.com/slkm

Episode 868: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talk about 3 business ideas.

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Show Notes:

(3:08) Idea: Oxytocin dosing

(20:17) Idea: Loneliness solutions

(27:30) Idea: Faith-based businesses

(27:33) Angel Studios

(34:36) What’s the reaction to the action?

(42:03) The brutal business of making hit movies

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

We tested Instinct, MUSE and Grokbot. They’re ridiculous. Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Get Sam's guide to turn AI into your executive coach: https://clickhubspot.com/vbrp

Episode 867: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) test out the new ai personal assistants.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) Intro

(2:42) AI is the highest ELO game in the world

(5:18) Instinct

(9:31) Grokbot

(20:24) It’s not all about intelligence

(38:35) Micro1

(44:08) Exploiting vulnerabilities

(58:48) $100 billion companies everywhere

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Links:

• Instinct - https://instinct.com/

• Grokbot - https://x.ai/news/introducing-grok-bot

• micro1 - https://www.micro1.ai/

• OpenRouter - https://openrouter.ai/

• MUSE - https://muse.ai/

—

Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

MIT scientist: Elon Musk was right, we are almost certainly in a simulation Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

(Free) MFM's pro-level business resources shared by the best in the biz: https://clickhubspot.com/pvks

Episode 866: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talks to MIT Scientist about whether or not we’re living in a simulation.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) Are We Living in a Simulation?

(8:30) Ancient Religions Already Believed This

(14:40) AI Agents Are Getting Weird

(28:40) Quantum Physics & the Simulation Theory

(40:50) Aliens, UFOs & Glitches in the Matrix

(51:30) Dreams, Past Lives & DMT

(55:00) How Simulation Theory Changes How You Live

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Links:

• The Simulation Hypothesis by Rizwan Virk - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774523/the-simulation-hypothesis-by-rizwan-virk/

• Zen Entrepreneurship by Rizwan Virk - https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rizwan_Virk_Zen_Entrepreneurship?id=CE9zEAAAQBAJ

• The Zen Entrepreneur and the Dream by Rizwan Virk - https://www.zenentrepreneur.com/

• Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - https://yogananda.org/autobiography-of-a-yogi

• Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? by Nick Bostrom - https://nickbostrom.com/

• Second Life - https://www.secondlife.com/

• SETI Institute - https://www.seti.org/

• Project Blue Book Archives - https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

There’s 98 days until 2027...Do this and you’ll thank yourself on Jan 1st Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Sam's database on how long it takes to become a millionaire: https://clickhubspot.com/brgh

Episode 865: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talk to about how to win 2027.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) There are 99 days left in the year

(1:40) Parkinson’s Law

(3:35) The toxic love of events

(9:25) Joel Greenblatt’s Jelly Bean experiment

(12:25) The aftershocks of Joe Hudson

(15:30) Shaan’s “5 voices in the head” theory

(18:05) Six Thinking Hats

(20:00) The two minds of a creator

(22:45) Blue notebook vs. red notebook

(23:50) Sam’s three notebooks

(27:00) “Your brain is an old mansion”

(30:00) Obscure billionaire, family dynasty

(41:40) Nike stock falls 80%

(44:00) I created a monster / turn shit into gold

(48:35) Tales from the house

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

Whatnot founder: This is the future of e-commerce Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

$1M Attention Guide: 15+ ways to get eyeballs on what you're building https://clickhubspot.com/brcv

Episode 863: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talk to Grant Lafontaine ( https://x.com/GrantLaFontaine ) the founder of Whatnot.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) Intro

(1:00) Grant turned down Shaan’s investment

(2:12) Shaan buys a crab on Whatnot

(3:58) First 1,000 users

(19:07) Black hat growth tactics

(28:52) 30 sales to $2.3M in year 1

(34:03) $2.3M to $163M in year 2

(34:56) $163M to $1B in year 3

(37:02) How to be a billion-dollar founder

(42:04) Going all the way deep on a single problem

(45:44) Don’t let people use fancy language

(49:48) Being disagreeable but likable

(50:43) The reason I left Facebook

(53:39) “If you think you’re moving fast, you’re probably not”

(54:13) Trends: NeeDohs, squishies, gold bars

(56:21) 9-figure sellers

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Links:

• Whatnot - https://www.whatnot.com/

—

Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm

—

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com

• Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC

• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:

beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge

My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

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