My First Million

Latest Episodes:

#192 - Making Billions with Greeting Cards, How the FBI Took Down Thousands of Criminals, & Rich People (not) Paying Taxes Jun 18, 2021

Show notes

Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@TheSamParr) break down the greeting card industry. They talk about digital cards and the staying power of card subscriptions, a new way to send gifts over social, and Shaan shares a story about his roots as a business operator. They discuss a subscription business for expecting mothers and Shaan shares an interesting story about the FBI. The end of the episode they talk about a little known Billy of the week.

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Show notes:

* (1:23) Recap of episode

* (2:54) Making billions with greeting cards

* (5:46) Segue: how the podcast changed Shaan's brain

* (8:51) Back to greeting cards

* (9:56) Making millions for decades at birthdayalarm.com

* (15:54) Givingli & Hooked

* (18:39) Thoughts on the Pro Republic article

* (25:28) The subscription for expecting mothers

* (34:20) Outpacing the S&P with the anti-Galloway Index

* (37:33) The secret FBI crackdown on criminals

* (40:51) The growth of privacy focused apps

* (43:20) Recapping the genius of Mike Maples

* (48:35) Technology at Chick-fil-a

* (54:53) McKinsey for tech consulting

* (56:55) Consensys

* (59:27) The Gordon Bombay of crypto

* (1:04:19) The hypothetical invisible medium that permeates the universe

#191 with Mike Maples - 4 Big Trends and $0 to $1 Billion Startup Idea Frameworks Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@TheSamParr) talk with seed VC Mike Maples (@m2jr). Mike is a co-founding Partner at Floodgate. He has been on the Forbes Midas List eight times in the last decade due to notable investments like Twitter, Twitch, Lyft, and Okta. In this episode he talks about the four big trends he is excited about, the types of companies he likes to invest in, and why a startup isn’t a company. He shares a few of the mental models he uses at Floodgate to evaluate startups and shares the thoughts behind some of his unique turns of phrase.

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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) – Debrief of the episode

* (6:37) - Intro to Mike Maples

* (9:02) - How Mike thinks about the next big thing

* (11:00) – The 4 inflections Mike is excited about

* (13:51) – Cloud Offices

* (19:33) – A brief history of centralization & decentralization

* (22:48) – Examples of software defined companies

* (26:14) – A practical way to prepare for the future

* (30:23) – How Mike thinks about investing in startups

* (33:07) – Startup investing mental models

* (37:39) – Mike’s take on "1 to n" businesses

* (42:36) – Mike on Balaji

* (47:11) – Mike on media companies

* (49:49) – Force a choice, not a comparison

* (54:46) – Mike’s information diet

* (57:40) – Contact info & future topics

Greatest Hits #5 - The 1-800-GOT-JUNK Story Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

We're trying a new format. Sam (@theSamParr) adds his commentary throughout the episode this week. Let him know on Twitter what you think of the change.

Brian Scudamore (@BrianScudamore) is North America’s Junk Man. He turned a $700 pickup truck into one of the world's most successful franchises. Hear how he got started, got on Oprah, stumbled and almost killed his business, and the philosophies he uses to run his multimillion dollar junk empire!

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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:

* (3:41) Intro by Shaan to original episode

* (5:22) How Brian got his story out there

* (8:42) The origin story of 1-800-Got-Junk

* (19:28) How Brian got the 1-800-Got-Junk number

* (24:18) The vision board and getting on Oprah

* (34:07) How Brian tore everything down to rebuild even better

* (38:56) What Brian focuses on when hiring

* (47:07) Why business went down $40M and how Brian responded

* (51:58) Q1: What does Brian see as their breakthrough moment?

* (53:14) Q2: How does Brian get liquidity & think about money?

* (56:44) Q3: What would Brian do if he was 21 again?

* (57:58) Getting in touch with Brian

Sam's commentary:

* (1:02) Sam's intro commentary

* (4:42) Sam commentary 2

* (10:41) Sam commentary 3

* (12:46) Sam commentary 4

* (14:45) Sam commentary 5

* (15:23) Sam commentary 6

* (20:45) Sam commentary 7

* (31:16) Sam commentary 8

* (39:46) Sam commentary 9

* (41:33) Sam commentary 10

* (54:44) Sam commentary 11

* (59:33) Sam final commentary

MFM Mini - The Way To Be Confident Jun 13, 2021

Show notes

Shaan (@ShaanVP) used to be super shy. Now he is known for his confidence. Talking on stage in front of thousands or starting new business takes confidence. In this 10 minute mini episode he talks about what the turning point was for him, and his unusual hack for building confidence.

Like Shaan’s stories? Subscribe to his newsletter to get 1-2 stories like this a week at www.shaanpuri.com

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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.

#190 - Making Billions in Coworking, the Dark Side of Confidence, and the Future of Sports Recovery Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

WeWork isn’t the only game in coworking. In this episode, Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@theSamParr) break down the multi-billion dollar coworking industry and identify what you need to succeed. Shaan shares an awesome story about Steve Jobs and the guys talk about the future of sports recovery and where money is to be made with athletic endorsements.

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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:

* (1:24) - Episode Intro

* (3:18) - Opportunities in coworking

* (11:56) - The MFM co-working space?

* (15:27) - The mystique of Adam Neumann

* (19:34) - The duality of extreme confidence

* (30:40) - You can't say no to Steve Jobs

* (36:39) - Shaan's dream exercise for new hires

* (38:47) - The Nike of sports recovery

* (47:29) - Cryotherapy in a barrel

* (51:13) - Saunas and sensory deprivation

* (52:57) - Leveraging opportunities around pro athletes

* (58:07) - Outro

#189 - Second-hand E-commerce, Door-to-door Sales, and Live Show Recaps Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

Sam (@theSamParr) & Shaan (@ShaanVP) discuss second-hand e-commerce, door-to-door sales, and business poised to bounce back after COVID in this episode. They start off the episode recapping the live shows in Miami and Austin which leads them into personal travel and other slingshot business set to rebound after a COVID slump. The guys transition to the Mayweather Paul fight, the infamous Charizard necklace, and to some exciting things happening in the NFT space. They close it out with Shaan sharing ideas on litigation finance, second-hand e-commerce, and a fantastic story on door-to-door sales.

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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:

* (1:16) - Episode Overview

* (2:31) - Intro

* (5:44) - Recap of Live Shows

* (6:55) - Personal travel is crazy right now

* (10:10) - Sam & Shaan on slingshot startups

* (20:26) - How sports are innovating

* (23:09) - Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul

* (25:27) - The Charizard Necklace

* (27:18) - LaMelo Ball’s NFT collection

* (33:55) - What is Ether.Cards

* (41:52) - Peter Thiel and litigation finance

* (50:22) - Second-hand e-commerce

* (1:00:42) - Mega-segment on door-to-door sales

* (1:20:11) - Outro

#188 - What It's Like to Be Rich, How to Respond to Growth Plateaus, & the New Neighborhood 7/11 Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

Sam (@theSamParr) & Shaan (@ShaanVP) do a little Q&A in this episode. They talk about their financial goals, their romantic relationships, and what they would do if they were 21 again. They finish off the episode talking about the podcast growth, live events, and brainstorm a few ideas around community and sports you can do as you get older.

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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:

* (1:19) - Intro

* (4:00) - The Twitter bio paradox

* (6:15) - Intro to Q&A

* (6:30) - Q1 - What's it like to be rich?

* (11:51) - Q2 - What do you read/research outside business?

* (14:03) - Q3 - How did success influence your romantic relationships?

* (20:34) - Q4 - What pandemic behavior do you want to keep?

* (22:00) - Q5 - If you were 21 again, what would you be doing?

* (25:44) - Q6 - What's your best purchase over $2K & best under $100?

* (27:52) - Podcast growth update

* (29:55) - On growth plateaus

* (32:47) - Live event update

* (34:53) - Community around the "neighborhood 7/11"

* (44:25) - The new golf

* (53:53) - Outro

Why I Got Sober (for entrepreneurs) Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

Sam (@theSamParr) gets real in this episode. He talks about his struggles with alcohol and the reasons why he is now sober. He shares 8 lessons he learned from his experiences. He ends the episode by answering questions he received on Twitter.

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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:

* (0:00) - Intro

* (3:56) - How it started - Sam's background with alcohol

* (11:24) - The first turning point [oasis]

* (13:36) - Asking for help [university clinic]

* (14:49) - Going to California

* (17:41) - The second turning point [Joe Garvin]

* (20:07) - Getting help [SF Clinic]

* (23:13) - Coping while sober [eating sugar]

* (24:39) - What Sam has learned

* (25:46) - Lesson 1 - The inner game

* (27:26) - Lesson 2 - Being open

* (29:33) - Lesson 3 - Booze messes up your body

* (31:16) - Lesson 4 - Sober Sam = Attractive Sam

* (33:04) - Lesson 5 - Having fun while sober

* (35:14) - Lesson 6 - Intense realism

* (36:57) - Lesson 7 - Control your emotions, control your reality

* (37:17) - Lesson 8 - Saving $$$

* (37:58) - Q&A

Greatest Hits #4 - How To Sell Your Company for $750M - Meet Vungle's Jack Smith Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

Jack Smith (@_jacksmith) is the most clever entrepreneur I know. He’s cofounded multiple startups: Vungle, Coin, Shyp. With Vungle recently selling for $750M, we talk about his early businesses as a kid, selling prank itching powder on the playground - all the way to his infamous “LinkedIn Hack” that got him his first $120k investment check.

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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:

* (1:05) Episode Intro by Sam

* (4:10) Who is Jack Smith?

* (9:30) How Jack hustled as a 12-year-old

* (13:55) Jack on productivity and procrastination

* (21:26) How Jack raised for Vungle

* (31:13) How Shaan got his in at Monkey Inferno

* (35:16) The early iterations of Vungle

* (41:37) How Jack leveraged his beginner's mindset

* (45:19) Jack on VC norms & selling his stock

* (49:44) What Jack would do if he was 20 again

MFM Mini - How to Turn Any Bad Experience into a Good One May 30, 2021

Show notes

Shaan (@ShaanVP) talks about a powerful reframing technique that can be used to make any "2-star" experience a "5-star" experience. Shaan tells a story of how this technique was used perfectly. The truth is we can all choose the experience we want and manifest it.

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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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