My First Million

Latest Episodes:

#224 - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Dyrdek from 0 to $405M in Exits Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

Rob Dyrdek (@robdyrdek), founder & CEO of venture studio Dyrdek Machine, former professional skateboarder, and star of hit shows like Rob & Big and Ridiculousness, joins Sam (@TheSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) to discuss how he transitioned from acting and athletics to venture capital and how he structures his many business interests. He also talks about how he structures his life to achieve maximum human optimization, why he’s glad he didn’t have TikTok growing up, and much more.

Show Notes:

* (00:57) Why Ridiculousness is always on MTV

* (11:35) How Rob structures his business, money, and time

* (16:49) How Rob tracks his time with custom scripts

* (26:22) The transition from skater kid to human optimization

* (35:40) The value of opening your finances

* (44:16) Why Rob is glad he didn’t have TikTok growing up

* (58:29) Why Rob is trying to create a “Drake equation” for business

Links:

* Rob’s Podcast: https://dyrdekmachine.com/build-with-rob

#223 - Sam & Shaan Bet $500, Ozy Media Scam, Why Google is Dying, and More Oct 01, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) discuss the latest news on the unfolding Ozy Media story, discuss why Google might not be a dominant tech giant in ten years, and place a bet on whether Shaan can make $10k in a day with a mall Santa scheme.

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Show notes:

* (1:00) How to explain My First Million

* (2:53) Why furniture-less design is the new style

* (9:46) Shady sh*t of the week: Ozy Media

* (19:44) The research power of Newspapers.com

* (30:37) Blue-collar side hustle: Mall Santas

* (38:46) Sam and Shaan make a $500 bet

* (40:40) Royalty-free music and its AI-generated future

* (43:04) Why NerdWallet persisted

* (53:13) Why big companies shut down products worth $10s of millions

* (58:48) Why Google and Facebook employees are soft

SPECIAL: Peter Diamandis on the Longevity Opportunity, Bitcoin’s Bull Case and Musk vs. Bezos Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

About: Peter Diamandis is the Founder & Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which leads the world in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions. He is also the Executive Founder and Director of Singularity University, a global learning and innovation community using exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges and build a better future for all.

As an entrepreneur, Diamandis has started over 20 companies in the areas of longevity, space, venture capital, and education. He is also co-founder of BOLD Capital Partners, a venture fund with $500m investing in exponential technologies. Diamandis earned degrees in Molecular Genetics and Aerospace Engineering from MIT and holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

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* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

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Show notes:

* (1:02) Peter’s background

* (5:07) The science of longevity

* (10:26) What are the sub-verticals in longevity?

* (14:47) How long can humans live?

* (18:49) Will longevity lead to overpopulation?

* (23:09) How living to 130 will affect finance

* (24:34) Why Peter is investing in Bitcoin

* (33:53) The intersection of Bitcoin and longevity

* (34:40) Will there be a crypto Xprize?

* (35:34) Peter’s space career (including the first XPrize)

* (40:12) Why SpaceX’s achievements are so impressive

* (42:20) Musk vs. Bezos

* (46:53) The importance of mindset

* (53:34) How to change your media diet

* (56:31) What is the superpower for Musk, Bezos, Larry Page, Richard Branson?

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Links mentioned in podcast:

* XPrize (https://www.xprize.org/)

* Peter’s newsletter (https://www.diamandis.com/subscribe)

* Futureloop (https://www.futureloop.com/)

* Peter Diamandis website (https://www.diamandis.com/)

* Peter’s Bitcoin webinar with Michael Saylor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFxEM29LyeE)

* Peter interviews Elon Musk for the $100m carbon removal Xprize (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN88HPUm6j0)

#222 - How to Get a Slice of Harvard's Billion Dollar Case Study Industry Sep 24, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) break down Harvard's publishing arm and how you can create something to get a slice of the action. Sam also shares how he would approach Trends if he were to make it again. They also talk about the end of the MFM NFT auction and Shaan recaps a LinkedIn post about the early days of Canva.

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* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

* The Canva story - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/21-questions-from-aussie-startups-highs-lows-lessons-learned-perkins/

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Show notes:

* (0:59) Shaan is jacked

* (2:53) Strength correlations to longevity

* (11:02) The MFM NFT

* (15:06) Harvard Business Review

* (25:35) Getting in on the case study game

* (31:37) Other spaces to make this work

* (34:58) Maybe don't fake it til you make it

* (39:50) On investor due diligence

* (45:33) Don't be this guy

* (53:42) The long path for Canva's success

#221 - How to Make Millions With a Modern Day Infomercial Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@theSamParr) break down a 30-year-old infomercial and they discuss the modern day approach that can make you millions. They also talk about businesses built around trust, professional certifications, and what investors Shaan would call first if he was raising. You'll also meet a serial entrepreneur who is this weeks' Internet Founder of the Week.

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* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

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Show notes:

* (0:57) Meet a future guest

* (4:34) Building a business around trust

* (9:17) The problem with content businesses

* (12:25) Subscription opportunities for content based businesses

* (18:30) Trust as a service businesses

* (23:01) Someone got a little blue checkmark

* (25:16) The health department score is BS

* (28:34) Klout reimagined

* (32:14) Thoughts on professional certifications

* (34:24) Meet Matt Mickiewicz

* (42:12) Guthy-Renker - direct marketing masters

* (53:07) The modern day infomercial

* (59:19) The first five investors Shaan would call

SPECIAL: Thomas Edison (Part 3) Sep 18, 2021

Show notes

This a special release of the 3-part Thomas Edison series from the How to Take Over the World podcast with Ben Wilson.

Description - All of my Edison notes that didn't make it into Part 1 & Part 2, including:

Edison vs. Tesla

Edison vs. Elon Musk

Puritanism and Edison

How Edison Went Deaf (Maybe)

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* How to Take Over the World - https://www.httotw.com/

* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

SPECIAL: Thomas Edison (Part 2) Sep 18, 2021

Show notes

This is a special release of the 3-part Thomas Edison series from the How to Take Over the World podcast with Ben Wilson.

Description - How did Thomas Edison rise from obscure origins in a frontier town in Michigan to become the most famous man of his age and one of the greatest inventors of all time? In part 2, we cover Edison's life from his invention of the light bulb to his death.

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* How to Take Over the World - https://www.httotw.com/

* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

SPECIAL: Thomas Edison (Part 1) Sep 18, 2021

Show notes

This is a special release of the 3-part Thomas Edison series from the How to Take Over the World podcast with Ben Wilson.

Description - How did Thomas Edison rise from obscure origins in a frontier town in Michigan to become the most famous man of his age and one of the greatest inventors of all time? In part 1, we cover Edison's life from his birth up through his invention of the phonograph.

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* How to Take Over the World - https://www.httotw.com/

* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

ANNOUNCEMENT: A Special Series Drops Tomorrow Sep 17, 2021

Show notes

We're excited to announce that tomorrow we are releasing a 3-part series from one of Sam's favorite history podcasts, How to Take Over the World. In this episode Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) talk with Ben Wilson (@BenWilsonTweets), the creator of the How to Take Over the World Podcast (@HTTOTW), about his research process and they all share favorite moments from the series.

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* How to Take Over the World - https://www.httotw.com/

* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

#220 - 12 Startups That Can Make You a Millionaire (Sara's List) Sep 17, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) update "Sara's List". This was a list of companies Sam and his wife created 5 years ago when she was looking for a job. What was the criteria? They had to be established startups who had the potential to 5-10x over the next 5 years. She went with Airbnb. If you are looking for a new job, check out these 12.

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* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/

* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million

* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.

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Show notes:

* (1:01) Sara's List 2.0

* (6:59) Flexport

* (9:30) Zapier

* (13:16) Uniswap

* (18:07) Anduril

* (21:45) Replit

* (27:39) Airtable

* (31:01) Figma

* (33:38) Rippling

* (36:35) OpenStore