Podcasts about beehiiv

In this episode, we sit down with Rebecca Kaden, General Partner at Union Square Ventures, where she invests in the next generation of AI, software, and technology companies shaping the future.We discuss why AI is still dramatically underhyped, how venture capitalists identify world-changing technologies before everyone else, the future of open versus closed AI ecosystems, why the best investors think in decades instead of years, and the frameworks Rebecca uses to evaluate the next wave of billion-dollar companies.If you're interested in AI, venture capital, startups, investing, or understanding how the world's best investors think, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-1&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/8dccb81c-ac02-48e1-afb3-b6a7d8ff9160-00b881l8Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

Unsexy Business Ideas Database: https://clickhubspot.com/yjsa Episode 847: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk about dynastic wealth creation.  — Show Notes: (0:00) Shaan gets invited to graduation (2:19) The richest man in Italy (16:09) The golden window (26:51) meeting an xtreme multi-billionaire (36:04) An update about Ben WIlson (42:52) achieving greatness vs being great — 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  • 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 /

Tamara Steffens is managing director of Thomson Reuters Ventures, where she invests in early-stage companies building around legal, tax, accounting, and enterprise workflow. Corporate venture capital can look like a shortcut to customers, distribution, and credibility, but Steffens says founders need to understand what has to be true before strategic money can actually help. In this conversation, we get into what happens after Thomson Reuters Ventures joins your cap table, how founders can turn a corporate investor into real product or go-to-market leverage, and why inflated TAM slides can work against you. We also talk about what founders should do before and after the check clears, why some good businesses should avoid venture capital entirely, and why she says every founder should be thinking earlier about exit paths.   RUNTIME: 36:14 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:53)    An Overview of Thomson Reuters Ventures (3:57) CVC Expectations: When Strategic Capital Can Actually Help (7:09) Why Your TAM Needs to Match the Product You Actually Have (10:04) When Strategic Capital Becomes Product Leverage (13:13)  What Founders Should Do Before and After the Check Clears (22:18) How CVC Evaluates Founders When the Market Gets Frothy (29:05) Building the Relationship Before Series A (31:30) Why Exit Paths Matter Earlier Than You Think LINKS Tamara Steffens Thomson Reuters Ventures Thomson Reuters Fund/Build/Scale Founder Narrative Advisory SUBSCRIBE

Shaan's guide to go from $0 to $1M: https://clickhubspot.com/pfkv Episode 846: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to Chris Camillo ( https://x.com/ChrisCamillo ) about the 5 trades he's betting on in 2026. — Show Notes: (0:00) Social Arbitrage (6:29) Needohs (20:16) Nerd culture (27:06) Information asymmetry (46:30) Amazon (1:02:21) Podcasting — Links: • Dumb Money Live - https://www.youtube.com/DumbMoneyLive  — 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  • 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 /

In this episode, we sit down with John Hu, the co-founder and CEO of Stan, the platform helping creators turn their audience into thriving businesses.We discuss how AI is changing entrepreneurship, why the best companies stay relentlessly founder-first, what it takes to build a $40M business with just 30 employees, the future of creator entrepreneurs, the importance of distribution and personal branding, and the principles behind building products people genuinely love.If you're interested in entrepreneurship, AI, startups, the creator economy, or building high-growth businesses, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-8&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers.Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

AdTechGod sits down with Tyler Denk, Co-Founder & CEO of beehiiv, to discuss how beehiiv evolved from a newsletter platform into a complete creator operating system. Tyler shares lessons from Morning Brew, why creators should own their audience, AI's role in publishing, and how beehiiv is reshaping newsletter and podcast monetization. Takeaways: Tyler shares how Morning Brew inspired the creation of beehiiv. Learn why owning your audience matters more than relying on social platforms. Discover how AI and automation are simplifying creator workflows. Hear how beehiiv is expanding into podcasts, communities, and advertising. Learn how the beehiiv Ad Network helps creators monetize newsletters of every size. Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Tyler Denk & beehiiv00:41 Tyler's journey from Morning Brew to founding beehiiv05:13 Reinventing newsletter publishing and growth07:46 Website builder, SEO, and content automation09:42 AI tools, MCP, and creator workflows11:05 The future of AI for content creators13:03 Building an all-in-one creator operating system15:35 Why creators should own their audience18:14 Social media strategy and platform integrations19:49 Inside the beehiiv Ad Network and newsletter monetization22:59 Helping small publishers earn advertising revenue24:57 Final thoughts and Tyler's personal newsletter Guests: AdTech God Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

$1M Attention Guide: 15+ ways to get eyeballs on what you're building https://clickhubspot.com/tkwc Episode 845: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to marketing legend Rory Sutherland ( https://x.com/rorysutherland ). — Show Notes: (0:00) Intro  (1:44) Horsepower (12:15) Reverse benchmarking (17:38) Pay attention to what irritates you (21:47) Ogilvy secrets (27:28) Marketing hacks used by Apple, UBER, McDonald's (36:35) direct response marketing 101 (1:08:50) Recommended reading — Links: • Alchemy - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F1HOAWA  • Illusion of Choice - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857199749  • Nassim Taleb books - https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nassim-Nicholas-Taleb/author/B000APVZ7W  • Ogilvy on Advertising - https://www.amazon.com/dp/039472903X  • Writing That Works - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060956437  • When More Is Not Better - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647820065  • Scientific Advertising - https://a.co/d/0ixEJA1B  • The Choice Factory - https://a.co/d/0ixa769O  — 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  • 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 /

In this episode, we sit down with Nicole Behnam, an entrepreneur, investor, and podcast host known for interviewing some of the world's top founders, investors, and business leaders.We discuss how to build relationships with influential people, why traditional education leaves entrepreneurs at a disadvantage, the future of AI and entrepreneurship, the power of storytelling, how to build a cult-like brand, and the mindset behind building one of the strongest networks in tech.If you're interested in entrepreneurship, AI, networking, business, or learning how successful founders think, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-7&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/b7b67559-e75a-4321-a59e-fbc5bed34450-008umkv4Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

Unsexy Business Ideas Database: https://clickhubspot.com/kpfm Episode 844: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk about how one of the richest families in America makes its money.  — Show Notes: (0:00) The Cargill family (13:15) projects vs empires (15:00) family meetings create family dynasties (22:55) Jevon's paradox (29:00) the story of Luddites (39:19) Where's the opportunity (49:00) the phrases we tell ourselves (52:00) The ice king — Links: • The Medici effect - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591391865  — 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  • 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 /

Thanks to AI, you could have an idea for a startup on your way home from work Thursday and finish a rough prototype by Monday morning. That's great news for founders, but it also raises the bar: if everyone can build a convincing demo, what actually separates a durable company from a clever prototype? To explore that question in depth, I interviewed Alex Niehenke a partner at Scale Venture Partners since 2012. He invests in early-stage companies tackling complex industries like insurance, wealth management, construction, and logistics. We discuss why product innovation has to be paired with distribution innovation, how he judges your TAM estimate, how founders create entirely new categories, and what investors are looking for now that building software has never been easier. RUNTIME 41:43   EPISODE BREAKDOWN (02:58) Overview: Scale Venture Partners (04:42) What Makes Slow-Moving Markets Attractive? (06:19) Product Innovation Needs Go-to-Market Innovation (08:58) Why TAM Is Really a Test of Strategic Thinking (12:03) At Least Two-Thirds of My Investments Are Category Creation (15:54) What Founder-Market Fit Means in the AI Era (21:41) What Makes a Vertical AI Startup Fundable? (24:52) What Separates a Nice Demo from a Durable Business? (27:11) Selling Into Hard Markets (33:03) When Regulation Becomes a Competitive Advantage (34:52) Founder-Led Go-to-Market Wins Early (37:01) Why Obsession Still Matters Most LINKS Alex Niehenke Scale Venture Partners Tessa Lau, CEO/Founder, Dusty Robotics Deep Tech Without Stealth: Inside Dusty Robotics' Origin Story, Fund/Build/Scale Root Insurance Motive Shoe Dog, Phil Knight Building something that's hard to explain? That's often a sign you're working on something interesting. It can also cost you fundraising, sales, hiring, and media opportunities. I help early-stage founders sharpen the narrative around what they're building: what matters, why now, who needs to care, and why they're the right team to make it happen. If you're preparing for a raise, launch, important customer meeting, panel, or hiring push, I can help you pressure-test the story before the stakes get higher.

This episode is brought to you by Circle — the all-in-one platform to run your community, courses, and memberships in one place. Try it free

You know the drill: two hours into fighting with an email template, the fonts still don't match your brand, and you're one broken column away from just hitting send on something that looks... fine. What if that email actually took ten minutes and looked like you hired a designer? Jan just spent real time inside Flodesk's brand-new AI design tool, Flodesk Studio, and she's back with the unfiltered rundown — what it nails, where it's still buggy, and whether it deserves a spot in your owned-media toolkit.What You'll LearnWhy a generic-looking email is a missed branding opportunity, not just a minor annoyanceHow Flodesk Studio builds emails around your actual colors, fonts, and voice instead of generating something off a promptThe one prompt trick that makes the AI copywriter sound like you, not like AIWhere the beta still has bugs (and what to check before you move your whole workflow over)Whether you need a full Flodesk account to use it — and how to export it elsewhere if you don'tEpisode Highlights[00:04] Why the email you've been wrestling with for two hours could take ten minutes instead [01:23] The owned-media reminder: your email list is the most personal real estate you have — you're landing in someone's inbox next to messages from actual people [02:50] What Flodesk Studio actually is, and why it matters that it's currently free, beta access [03:49] The key difference from other AI tools: every layout starts with work from real human designers, not a prompt-generated template [05:29] You don't need a Flodesk email account to use Studio — design it there, export the HTML, and drop it into Mailchimp, Kit, Beehiiv, or wherever your list already lives [06:46] Walkthrough of setup: brand colors, font mapping, and how it guides you even if your branding isn't dialed in yet [08:12] The favorite tip of the episode: ask your AI platform of choice for a short brand voice summary first, then feed that straight into Studio [10:55] Why the AI copywriter's first draft didn't need the usual heavy rework AI drafts normally require [12:44] Sending the finished email — straight through Flodesk, or downloaded as HTML for another platform [13:39] The honest bugs: a font that shifted on delivery, no click-based tagging inside Studio yet, and having to hop back into Studio for edits after import [16:46] The bottom line: a time-saver that elevates rather than replaces the human, brand-first design workKey Takeaway"A tool that makes every email look like Chef's Kiss — made, not generated — in a fraction of the time. It's good stewardship for a business owner."Resources MentionedFlodesk Studio (beta, free): studio.flodesk.comJan's full written walkthrough with screenshots: available on the blog at https://jantouchberry.com/flodesk-studio-review-my-honest-first-look-at-the-betaBook a brand and website consult with Jan: jantouchberry.comGet 2 free weeks of Flodesk - https://partners.flodesk.com/757l1wvhqq8sCall to ActionStudio can only carry a brand that's actually been defined — colors, fonts, voice, all of it. If your brand still feels like a midnight Canva situation, that's exactly where Jan comes in. Head to jantouchberry.com to book a time to talk through your next best brand and website step, then go grab your free Flodesk Studio beta and start playing.CONNECT WITH JAN:Here are all the best places and FREE stuff

Blue-Collar Business Ideas Database: https://clickhubspot.com/rvko Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) spends the day with Mark O'Brien ( https://www.instagram.com/themarkobrienteam ) to see what it's like to be a blue collar millionaire.  — Links  Mark O'Brien - https://buildmeabrownstone.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  • 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 /

In this episode, we sit down with Geoff Woo, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Antifund, an unconventional venture capital firm investing in the next generation of companies across technology, consumer, defense, and culture. Geoff is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of Ketone-IQ and has built businesses alongside creators like Jake and Logan Paul, giving him a unique perspective at the intersection of venture capital, entrepreneurship, and internet culture.We discuss why venture capital is "high-class begging," how Antifund uses celebrity partnerships to win the most competitive startup deals, why attention is becoming more valuable than capital, how AI is changing the future of startups and human expertise, the philosophy behind Ketone-IQ, and the mindset founders need to build category-defining companies.If you're interested in startups, venture capital, AI, entrepreneurship, creator businesses, or learning how top investors think, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-6&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers! Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/7b44b7f3-ac56-487b-befa-81d024355e49-00b881l8Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

In today's MadTech Daily, we cover a new study finding AI is accelerating the collapse of Google Search referral traffic, the EU fining AliExpress €550m over failures to police illegal and counterfeit products, and Beehiiv launching Community and AI Copilot as it expands beyond newsletters.

Ray Dalio's rules for building wealth: https://clickhubspot.com/rgsk Episode 842: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) sit down with Ray Dalio ( https://x.com/RayDalio ) to talk about the holy grail of investing strategies. — Show Notes: (0:00) Intro (0:49) Hitting rock bottom (8:28) Personality traits of the 1% (14:22) Partnerships that win (18:25) Pain + Reflection = Progress (23:30) What's the money for anyway? (26:26) Principles (28:41) Ray's hiring philosophy (30:43) Being a caddy (35:16) Mistakes smart investors make (37:01) What Ray spends his money on (39:13) Aliens (41:00) The 5 Big Forces (46:35) Investing in Gold and Bubble Mechanics (52:55) How Bridgewater became the biggest hedge fund (55:40) The gap between the best and everyone else (59:26) The 1 Big Takeaway — Links: • Ray's Personality Test - https://principlesyou.com/  • Bridgewater Associates - https://www.bridgewater.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  • 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 /

Arena CEO Anastasios Angelopoulos talks about Moonshot Kimi K3 beating Claude Fable 5 in coding with TITV Host Akash Pasricha. We also talk with Co-Executive Editor Martin Peers about Netflix's post-earnings drop and Stripe's proposed buyout of PayPal and Co-Executive Editor Amir Efrati about Google using backstop deals to pitch TPUs over Nvidia GPUs. Lastly, we get into Beehiiv's new community features with CEO Tyler Denk.Articles discussed on this episode: https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/moonshot-ais-new-kimi-k3-challenges-u-s-frontier-modelshttps://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/applied-ai/nobody-immune-nvidia-gpu-crunchhttps://www.theinformation.com/briefings/netflix-reports-slowing-revenue-growth-second-quarterSubscribe: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinformation The Information: https://www.theinformation.com/subscribe_hSign up for the AI Agenda newsletter: https://www.theinformation.com/features/ai-agendaTITV airs weekdays on YouTube, X and LinkedIn at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Or check us out wherever you get your podcasts.Follow us:X: https://x.com/theinformationIG: https://www.instagram.com/theinformation/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@titv.theinformationLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theinformation/Chapters:00:00 - Introduction01:13 - China's Kimi K3 Tops Coding Benchmarks20:51 - Netflix Growth Crunch & Stripe's $53B PayPal Bid30:16 - Inside Google's TPU War Against Nvidia44:50 - Beehiiv CEO Tyler Denk on Social & AI Copilots

In this episode, Matt McGarry, Ryan Carr, and Kolby Hatch analyze the recent beehiiv summer release, discussing new features like community, podcast integrations, and ad networks, and sharing insights on how to effectively leverage these tools for business growth.

Investing Guide: https://clickhubspot.com/epkr Episode 841: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to legendary investor Howard Marks about AI and making decisions in the face of fear and uncertainty.  — Show Notes: (0:00) AI Hurtles Ahead (8:26) second level thinking (10:21) investing through the end of the world (14:47) raising $11B at a time of crisis (17:54) investing with fear (20:22) the key to a successful partnership (25:01) being a good father (27:37) only 1 success: to live your life your way (34:17) Having lunch with Warren Buffett (37:18) What people don't know about Buffett (39:37) cigar butt investing (41:35) recommended reading — Links: • AI Hurtles Ahead - https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/ai-hurtles-ahead  • A Short History of Financial Euphoria - https://www.amazon.com/History-Financial-Euphoria-Penguin-Business/dp/0140238565  • Fooled by Randomness - https://www.amazon.com/Fooled-Randomness-Hidden-Markets-Incerto/dp/0812975219  — 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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

In this episode, we sit down with Ann Miura-Ko, Co-Founding Partner of Floodgate and one of Silicon Valley's earliest investors in companies like Lyft, Twitch, Twitter, and Okta. After nearly two decades investing in founders at the earliest stages of company building, Ann shares how she identifies exceptional entrepreneurs long before the rest of the market. We discuss how Twitch almost never happened, the early rivalry between Uber and Lyft, why the best entrepreneurs are truth seekers, the future of AI-pilled organizations, what teaching has revealed about curiosity and character, and how Ann thinks about investing in the next generation of world-changing companies. If you're interested in startups, venture capital, AI, or understanding how the best investors think, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-5&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/d1fb3aec-f1c5-4681-b763-af05df15ac3d-008umkv4Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

A lot of founders assume raising venture capital is just part of the process: you have an idea, build a deck, find some investors and start pitching. But what if you don't actually need the money yet? Elia Wallen is the founder and CEO of Engine, a business travel platform valued at $2 billion. He bootstrapped his first company and resisted raising outside capital for Engine until the business was growing faster than he could support on his own. In this episode, we talk about why raising too much money too soon can lead founders astray, how to tell the difference between needing capital and craving validation, why early-stage equity may be the most expensive money you'll ever raise, and how to know when your company is actually ready to start talking to investors. We also get into the risks of letting investors steer a company before product-market fit, why founders should pressure-test how much money they really need, what Elia means by having "conviction with rationale," and why the opportunity should be pulling you forward before you raise. RUNTIME 35:13   EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:40) What is Engine? (3:25) Why ignorance can be an advantage (5:38) Are you raising money for validation? (8:58) What constraint teaches founders (10:57) How much money do you actually need? (17:44)When it actually makes sense to raise (21:18) How investors can pull you off course  (26:38) Equity is more expensive than you think (30:55) How to know when you're ready to raise LINKS Elia Wallen Engine The Case for Raising Less Money Than You Can, Inc.com Building something that's hard to explain? That's often a sign you're working on something interesting. It can also cost you fundraising, sales, hiring, and media opportunities. I help early-stage founders sharpen the narrative around what they're building: what matters, why now, who needs to care, and why they're the right team to make it happen. If you're preparing for a raise, launch, important customer meeting, panel, or hiring push, I can help you pressure-test the story before the stakes get higher.

140+ Business Ideas (Database): https://clickhubspot.com/efdj Episode 840: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to Mark Pincus ( https://x.com/markpinc ) about figuring out what projects to spend your life on.  — Show Notes: (0:00) $0- $38M in 7 months (3:00) if you pick the right body of water, you don't have to have the right boat (16:51) pattern matching  (23:17) there's always a new freak (25:00) picking macros (27:48) a case for gold (39:50) How to know what to chase (49:12) create a book of life (59:59) Frameworks vs instincts (1:09:00) being hated and misunderstood (1:11:13) the story of farmville (1:15:00) avoiding the fur coat moment (1:19:49) the nickelback problem (1:22:02) introspection vs rumination — Links: • Life At The Speed of Play - https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575  — 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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

In this episode, we sit down with Kate McAndrew, Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst, a $100 million pre-seed venture fund investing in the next generation of founders. After spending more than a decade investing in over 100 early-stage companies, Kate shares how she evaluates entrepreneurs long before the rest of the market catches on. We discuss what makes a startup worth investing in, how great investors think from first principles, the traits that separate exceptional founders, how to build company cultures and institutions that last, and the unconventional path that led her into venture capital. If you're interested in startups, investing, entrepreneurship, or understanding how the best venture capitalists think, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-4&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/860f1c91-f717-41cd-a6c1-567458bfb806-00b881l8Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

Sam's guide to run your life like a $100M business: https://clickhubspot.com/krhd Episode 839: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk about everything Shaan learned from his NYC trip.  — Show Notes: (0:00) Lesson: Proximity (9:11) Lesson: What does it really mean? (23:04) Lesson: Trust (18:53) Lesson: City Brands (33:39) Lesson: Marketing — Links: • Ben Wilson's GoFundMe - https://t.co/kJN7pArRIO  — 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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Every internship said no, so Henry Jia stopped applying and built something instead. The platform he ended up engineering later booked him onto this very show. He got there with a business degree and six months of teaching himself to build, and today he is the founding engineer at PodPitch, the AI platform behind roughly 5% of podcast guest bookings worldwide.In this conversation, we get into:What his startup reads first on a resume, and why the school name never mattersHow the customer support team ended up fixing the platform's code themselvesWhy he argues most AI work needs a far cheaper model, against his own team's adviceWhat five background agents did to his laptop in the middle of this recordingMost AI career advice comes from people watching from the outside. Henry is inside the hiring, the building, and the tooling at once. If you are deciding what to learn next, or what to stop paying for, start here.

Most startup fundraising advice focuses on how to get investors interested. Ryan Ziegler sees the process from the other side of the table. As a General Partner at Edison Partners, Ryan evaluates startups that have already survived one of the hardest phases of company building: finding customers willing to pay for what they've built.  By the time founders reach him, the question is no longer whether the idea is interesting. It's whether the business is repeatable. In this episode, Ryan explains why most startups shouldn't raise money even if they can, how investors separate durable customer demand from vanity metrics, what actually makes a company ready for Series A, and why founder self-awareness may matter more than a perfect pitch deck. We also discuss customer reference calls, leadership scorecards, founder coachability, and why companies need an operating system before they try to grow. RUNTIME 45:29   EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:37) How Edison Partners Finds Bootstrapped Companies Ready to Scale (5:40) Why Most Startups Shouldn't Raise Money (Even If They Can) (11:39) How Venture Capital Can Create False Signals About Product-Market Fit (19:49) What Series A Readiness Actually Looks Like (25:01) The Difference Between Real Customer Demand and Fundraising Theater (27:35) Founder Transparency, Investor Trust, and Long-Term Partnerships (33:32) Why Coachability Beats Founder Ego (35:45) Building an Operating System That Scales Beyond the Founder (38:21) A Practical Series A Readiness Self-Audit LINKS Ryan Ziegler Edison Partners SUBSCRIBE

She bought a window cleaning business, ran it for less than a year, and sold it at a profit; all while using her M.D. in research, finishing an MBA, and building one of the most credible health voices on social media.Host Rosa Hart sits down with Kristina Bianca Cabañez Winner, physician, clinical researcher, foodie and travel influencer (@KristinaDoesResearch), and acquisition entrepreneur, for a wide-ranging conversation about health literacy on social media, buying and selling a business, pursuing an MBA while working full-time, and the best restaurants Louisville has to offer.Topics Covered:Kristina's pivot to health and wellness content: Why she shifted from food and lifestyle content to evidence-based health education, and why she believes social media needs more credible voices in the health spaceAcquisition entrepreneurshipHow to find a business to buy in LouisvilleKristina Does Research, the blood sugar experiment: How she compared a Hershey's bar to a date-sweetened chocolate bar and tracked her blood sugar to demonstrate the difference in real timeNutrition during pregnancy: Kristina's personal journey of eating intentionally while pregnant, and why she's mindful of the long-term metabolic impact on her babyMBA at U of L and her honest take on whether an MBA is worth itLeveraging vulnerability and asking for help: Why admitting what you don't know is one of the most powerful tools in entrepreneurshipLouisville restaurant recommendations:Oriental HouseKyushu (Japanese hibachi)Porch Restaurant (in the Omni Hotel)Grassa Gramma (Italian, immersive theming)Louisville's food and cocktail scene: Why both agree that Louisville punches above its weight classResources MentionedCodie Sanchez, acquisition entrepreneurship content creatorBizBuySell, business marketplaceETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition), local Louisville groupKristina Does Research newsletter on Beehiiv, with a new project launching late July/early AugustConnect with KristinaInstagram: @KristinaDoesResearchNewsletter: Kristina Does Research on Beehiivhttps://kristinadoesresearch.beehiiv.com/Connect with Rosa & The Lou ReviewInstagram: @RosaRavesFacebook: The Lou Review PodcastWebsite: loureview.comThe Lou Review Podcast is made possible by The Lou Review Foundation, dedicated to amplifying the messages of businesses and nonprofits making Louisville, Kentucky a great place to be.Connect with Kristina on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-cabanez/Timestamps1:51 — Kristina's pivot to health & wellness content on social media3:27 — What is acquisition entrepreneurship?4:17 — Buying the window cleaning business in 20245:28 — Learning every role: washing windows herself6:46 — How to find a business to buy in Louisville7:22 — BizBuySell & business marketplaces10:32 — ETA: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition group in Louisville13:18 — Kristina Does Research: evidence-based health content14:09 — The blood sugar experiment: Hershey's vs. date-sweetened chocolate16:16 — Eating intentionally during pregnancy18:58 — Louisville restaurant recommendations19:32 — Oriental House, Kyushu, Porch Restaurant & Grassa Grandma23:54 — MBA at University of Louisville: experience & value25:34 — Previous businesses: medical school solopreneur to hiring employees34:19 — Where to follow Kristina & closingThis podcast highlights powerful conversations around business, branding, entrepreneurship, and community stories from Louisville and beyond.We feature inspiring founders, creatives, and leaders sharing real insights, growth strategies, and behind-the-scenes journeys.

Many media companies run into serious scaling issues because their digital content tools are spread across separate, clunky platforms. Tyler Denk, CEO at beehiiv, breaks down how to bundle newsletters, premium subscriptions, and podcast networks into one clean delivery system. He shares his blueprint for bypassing social media algorithm changes by focusing on direct email distribution channels to build predictable, long-term brand equity.Key discussion areas include:Using first-party pixel data to scale cross-newsletter ad placements programmatically.Streamlining tech stacks by replacing fragmented blogging, mailing, and billing tools.Bundling premium content subscriptions across text and audio with Spotify Open Access.Protecting audience distribution loops from variable social media algorithms.Managing high delivery metrics (99.8%) while scaling automated advertising systems.Guest Profile: Tyler Denk is the CEO at beehiiv, directing advanced content delivery infrastructure that handles over 4 billion monthly email impressions.Connect & Scale Your Business:Follow Tyler Denk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk/Explore beehiiv Platform: https://www.beehiiv.com/Optimize Your Paid Media Strategies with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/

Get Sam and Shaan's hard-won CEO lessons in one guide: https://clickhubspot.com/ktng Episode 838: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to Aaron Levie ( https://x.com/levie ) talk about building Box, getting rich slowly, why AI might make us work harder. — Show Notes: (0:00) Story of Box (06:30) Enterprise Over Consumer (10:00) Turning Down Huge Acquisition Offers (17:05) Angel Investing, Missed Bets, and Investing in Your P&L (23:00) Aaron's Contrarian AI Takes: More Jobs, More Work (30:00) Founder Anxiety, Therapy, and Surviving the CEO Grind (38:45) The Business Strategy Books Aaron Swears By (48:00) AI Tools, Software Stocks, and Why SaaS Isn't Dead — Links: • Box - https://www.box.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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

In this episode of The New Media Show, host 2017 Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee welcomes Sam Sethi, founder of TrueFans and co-host of the Podnews Weekly Review. They had a wide-ranging conversation about the future of podcasting inside the larger creator economy. Podcasting helped create the independent creator movement through RSS, niche audiences, direct publishing, and long-form content that builds audience trust. Today's creators are building broader businesses around video, memberships, newsletters, live events, merchandise, premium content, clips, community, and direct fan relationships. So, can the creator economy help build a better, more sustainable podcasting industry? Rob and Sam explore why podcasting can no longer think only in terms of feeds, files, downloads, and ad impressions. They discuss the rise of creator portals, the importance of owning the relationship with audiences, and how platforms such as Patreon, Substack, Beehiiv, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple are changing creator expectations. The conversation also examines whether advertising is becoming less central to the creator business model, and how subscriptions, premium content, micropayments, stablecoins, and value-for-value models could create new ways to share revenue among creators, listening apps, platforms, and even audiences. Sam shares his perspective on HLS streaming, watch time and listen time analytics, activity streams, super fans, publisher feeds, and “super feeds” that can connect audio, video, events, merchandise, blogs, and community into a more portable, creator-owned media presence. Rob and Sam also dig into the impact of AI on podcasting: AI-generated shows, human engagement as a discovery signal, AI bots scraping media, the rising need for clear content licensing, and the tension between making content available to AI discovery systems while protecting creator rights and value. This episode is a deep look at where open RSS, creator ownership, platform control, AI discovery, video, monetization, and audience relationships may be heading next. Topics covered in this episode include: • The evolution of podcasting into a broader creator-led media business • Why creators need direct relationships with fans, not just platform reach • Creator portals – memberships, newsletters, live events, merchandise, and premium content • Whether ad-supported podcasting is becoming less important • HLS streaming, listen-time and watch-time measurement, and better advertising accountability • Micropayments, value-for-value, stablecoins, and new revenue-sharing models • Activity streams, super fans, community engagement, and audience signals • AI-generated podcasts, discovery, AI bots, and licensing creator content • Publisher feeds, super feeds, playlists, and collective buying power for independent creators • Open RSS, data portability, proprietary platforms, and the future of media distribution The New Media Show is a human-hosted and guested conversation about the future of creator-led digital media, including podcasting, video, live streaming, AI, audience trust, discovery, monetization, platforms, and the changing relationship between creators and their communities. Watch the video and audio editions below and on YouTube; listen to the audio edition in your favorite podcast app; watch the video edition in Apple Podcasts; and visit NewMediaShow.com and RobGreenlee.com for more episodes and industry conversations. Guest Links: Sam Sethi, Founder/CEO, TrueFans TrueFans: https://truefans.fm Sam Sethi on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/samsethi Sam Sethi on TrueFans: https://truefans.fm/fans/sam Podnews Weekly Review: https://weekly.podnews.net Sam Sethi on Podnews Weekly Review: https://weekly.podnews.net/1538779/contributors/411-sam-sethi Rob Greenlee and New Media Show Links Rob Greenlee Website: https://robgreenlee.com/ New Media Show: https://newmediashow.com/ New Media Show Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649 New Media Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow Rob Greenlee on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@RobGreenlee Podcast Hall of Fame: https://podcasthall.com/ About the Host/Author: Rob Greenlee is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee and Chair, a global new-media leader who bridges podcasting's human roots and its AI-driven future. As founder of Trust Factor Lab and host of the New Media Show and Spoken Human, Rob helps creators start, grow, monetize, and future-proof their content. He has held leadership roles at Microsoft, Spreaker, Libsyn, StreamYard, Podbean, and PodcastOne, and serves as Chairperson of the Podcast Hall of Fame. Personal / AI Disclosure Note: I used AI tools to help organize and edit this video, episode description, and generate show notes from the episode transcript. The views, clarifications, responsibility, and industry perspective are mine and my guest's. I have been working in podcasting, digital media, and platform adoption for more than two decades, and this article reflects my own position and editorial direction.The post Can Creator Economy Build a Better Podcasting? | Sam Sethi, TrueFans #671 first appeared on New Media Show.

Business Idea Database: https://clickhubspot.com/ecat Episode 837: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) bring in 3 founders with weird businesses making $10M, $20M, and $30M.  — Show Notes: (0:00) Intro (3:32) Alex Daniels, $10M junk mail magazine (20:31) Josh Weissenstein, $20M camp ground business (38:36) The $1.8B App Copying Politicians & Hedge Funds — Links: • Haven Lifestyles - https://www.havenlifestyles.com/  • Team Outsider - https://www.teamoutsider.com/  • Autopilot - https://www.joinautopilot.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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

In this episode, we sit down with Nas Daily, entrepreneur, creator, and founder of one of the world's largest creator brands. After building an audience of more than 70 million followers through nearly a decade of daily videos, Nas made the biggest gamble of his career by pivoting his content to AI. We discuss why he believes AI will create the next Walt Disney, how he built and manages a company with more than 100 employees, the philosophy behind Nas Daily, the family gamble that got him into Harvard, his perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and how he thinks about storytelling, leadership, and the future of content. If you're interested in entrepreneurship, the creator economy, AI, or building a business that stands the test of time, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-3&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/153edc4e-bc9a-410d-8f94-f9aea61e8cfd-00b881l8Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

*20+ hours of investing wisdom:* https://clickhubspot.com/cbah Episode 836: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk about people who have turned their lifestyles into millions, plus Nick Sleep's investing genius.  — Show Notes: (0:00) fringe creators (13:14) Nick Sleep's shared economies of scale (24:41) lloyd blanfein's personal finances (31:14) David Rubenstein, the man (39:09) Nat Turner's crazy new business (50:13) a brief masterclass in valuing denim — 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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

In this solo episode, Axel gets highly tactical on the one thing every real estate investor should be doing right now to get the most out of AI — regardless of which tools they use, how big their portfolio is, or how tech-savvy they are. The answer isn't a new app or a prompt hack. It's building context: the foundational informational backend of your business that allows AI tools like Claude to actually understand your company, your portfolio, and your goals well enough to do meaningful work on your behalf.Axel opens up his own Notion workspace and walks through exactly what Aligned Real Estate Partners has built — from company information and brand voice to portfolio dashboards, transaction coordination, and vendor contacts. He also shares specific real-world use cases: auto-completing loan applications, running weekly email analyses to identify new automation opportunities, and having Claude keep the Notion database updated on its own.This episode is essential listening for any investor or operator who wants to build a real estate business that scales with AI — not one that uses AI as a party trick.Join us as we dive into:Why Axel recommends Notion as the informational backbone of your real estate business — and why it integrates cleanly with Claude, Google Drive, Gmail, and other tools.The new employee analogy: why giving AI context is exactly like training a new hire, and why most people skip this step entirely.A walkthrough of Aligned's Notion workspace: company information, brand voice, mission and values, organizational chart, glossary, lessons learned, software tools, and business history.Why uploading monthly property management statements to Notion creates a living dashboard that Claude can analyze and reference at any time.How Claude is integrated with Axel's Gmail, calendar, Notion, and Beehiiv — and what becomes possible once those connections are live.The 21-day email analysis scheduled task: how Axel uses Claude Cowork to identify workflows that can be automated or removed from his plate entirely.The rent comp use case: how Claude now automatically runs a rent comp search and drafts a renewal offer whenever a lease renewal email appears in the inbox.The weekly vendor discovery task: Claude scans the last seven days of email, flags new contacts worth adding to Notion, and updates the database with one click.Are you looking to invest in real estate, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding great deals, signing on debt, and managing tenants? Aligned Real Estate Partners provides investment opportunities to passive investors looking for the returns, stability, and tax benefits multifamily real estate offers, but without the work - join our investor club to be notified of future investment opportunities.Connect with Axel:Follow him on InstagramConnect with him on LinkedinSubscribe to our YouTube channelLearn more about Aligned Real Estate Partners

In this episode, we sit down with Justin Welsh, entrepreneur, writer, and founder of a $15 million one-person business. After helping build two billion-dollar companies and raising more than $300 million in venture capital, Justin chose a different path; one focused on freedom, leverage, and ownership. We discuss the power of writing, the future of entrepreneurship in the age of AI, why many founders are building the wrong businesses, and how to create wealth without sacrificing your time, health, and relationships. If you want to build a business that supports your life instead of consuming it, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: http://Sydecar.io/partner/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-2&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/5998b389-aaa5-4d9c-bc58-a7ff3230378c-009c2hmaKalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

*Sam's guide to run your life like a $100M business:* https://clickhubspot.com/dfbn Episode 835: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk about people who have turned their lifestyles into a business. — Show Notes: (0:00) escape aesthetics (4:06) putting the life in lifestyle (17:28) Law 25: Recreate Yourself (20:20) Your word is your wand (25:06) unclear words, unclear thinking (27:24) America amazes world cup tourists (33:43) the game of more (49:07) no hedging — Links: • Your Word Is Your Wand - https://a.co/d/05683tU7  • The 48 Laws of Power - https://a.co/d/0ghzjpKk  — 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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Get our Investment Guide: https://clickhubspot.com/rgek Episode 834: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) sits down with former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blanfein ( https://x.com/lloydblankfein ) to talk about what he does with his money.  — Show Notes:  (0:00) Lloyd on Money, Day Trading, and Feeling “Rich” (3:52) Meeting Elon (5:23) What the worst traders have in common (9:54) Warren Buffett's handshake deal (15:04) Lloyd breaks down his portfolio (20:41) Advice to young investors  (23:09) biggest mistakes (25:54) Anxiety as a superpower (27:54) Family finances (31:35) Scarcity (40:46) The Goldman Obituary Test (43:53) Lessons from history — Links: • Streetwise - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780438/streetwise-by-lloyd-blankfein/  — 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  • 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 for banking 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., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

In this episode, we sit down with Mark Cuban to uncover the principles behind his success in business. From whether entrepreneurs should drop out of school to the toughest challenges he faced while building his companies, Mark shares the lessons that shaped his career. He explains why curiosity is a competitive advantage, how ego can hold people back, and what separates successful entrepreneurs from everyone else. If you're looking to build a business, advance your career, or think differently about success, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: http://Sydecar.io/partner/trailblazersBeehiive: https://www.beehiiv.com (use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)Beehiiv: Use code TRAILBLAZERS30 for 30% off your first 3 months at https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-1&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30*Beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Checkout the episode shownotes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/8dccb81c-ac02-48e1-afb3-b6a7d8ff9160-00b881l8Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

Conventional wisdom says the hardest part of building a startup is building the product. Shanea Leven says the harder challenge is figuring out what customers will actually pay for. Before co-founding Empromptu.ai, Shanea spent more than 15 years building products at companies including Google, eBay, Docker, and Cloudflare. In this conversation, she explains why sales is every bit as complex as engineering, why customer interviews aren't enough to validate an idea, and why early-stage founders need to spend more time testing demand than perfecting roadmaps. We discuss the case-study approach she uses to find customers, the controversial belief that the only real product validation is money, and what happened when a LinkedIn post generated a 1,000-person waitlist almost overnight.  Shanea also shares how she used more than 100 customer calls to shape Empromptu's direction, why she stopped fundraising when the company took  off, and the go-to-market challenges that still keep her up at night. If you're a technical founder trying to figure out whether you're building something people truly want, this episode offers a practical framework for separating genuine demand from wishful thinking. Listen to this episode if you're trying to figure out: why sales validation should happen before you commit to a roadmap how to find your first customers using the case study method what a viral waitlist can teach you about product-market fit how to distinguish customer feedback from customer demand why technical founders need to learn sales earlier than they think which early traction signals are worth trusting — and which aren't how to validate an idea before spending months building it RUNTIME 49:06   EPISODE BREAKDOWN (3:16) What Is Empromptu.ai, and Who Is it For? (6:25) Sales Is Just as Complicated as Engineering (8:14) The Case Study Method for Finding Early Customers (11:56) Why Al Is Rewriting the Product Playbook (13:37)   The Only Real Product Validation Is Money  (17:10) The S***ty Purple Website That Predicted Impromptu's Viral Launch (21:38) What 100 Waitlist Calls Taught Shanea About Customer Demand (26:28) "We evolved the platform." (34:57) "Ninety-nine percent of VCs are great at one thing." (36:20) The GTM Problem That Still Keeps Shanea Up at Night  (39:02) A Process for Selecting Your First Sales/Marketing Hires (40:59) Why She'd Hire a "Scrappy" Marketer Over a Former Meta Employee "Every Time" (44:05) The Early Traction Signal She No Longer Trusts (45:28) A 30-day Experiment Founders Can Run To Validate Their Idea LINKS Shanea Leven Empromptu.ai Empromptu raises $2M pre-seed to help enterprises build AI apps, 12/9/2025, TechCrunch SUBSCRIBE

If you're building a startup, there are easier industries to choose than healthcare. Sales cycles are long, regulations are complex, and earning the trust of providers and patients takes years. In this episode, Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate Director Jamie Sundsbak explains how healthtech founders can improve their odds of success. We discuss what Mayo looks for in founding teams, why the program focuses on product development instead of fundraising, how startups use clinical data and physician feedback to refine AI products, and what healthcare systems are actually buying in today's market. Jamie also shares lessons from reviewing hundreds of startup applications, the founding team profiles that stand out, why some companies gain traction while others stall, and what founders should know before building in one of the world's most regulated industries. Listen to this episode if you're trying to figure out: What Mayo Clinic looks for in healthtech founders How to use customer feedback to improve AI products Why some healthcare startups gain traction while others struggle What health systems are actually buying in the AI boom How to navigate the long road from MVP to clinical adoption Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/whrR0IVHEOY RUNTIME 38:35   EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:39) What Mayo Clinic Looks for in Early-Stage Healthtech Startups (13:31) How Mayo Uses Clinical Data and Physician Feedback to Improve Products (23:50) The Art of Creating Provider FOMO (25:32) The Ideal Healthtech Founding Team (29:29) Why OpenEvidence Won — and What Hospitals Are Buying Today (36:03) Healthcare Is Hard. Here's Why Founders Keep Choosing It Anyway LINKS Jamie Sundsbak Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate Most U.S. doctors are quietly using this AI tool. Few patients know about it, NBC News, 5/13/2026 SUBSCRIBE

Get our Business Idea Database: https://clickhubspot.com/wjsl Episode 833: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) breakdown the biggest IPO of all time.  — Show Notes:  (0:00) what even is SpaceX (7:11) What even is a trillion dollars? (8:51) Launches explained (9:07) Starlink (14:07) Data centers in space (17:39) Starship (24:46) Grok (28:06) a wonderful business at a silly price? (34:16) the mission (37:51) SBF's $114B fumble (39:04) funny, weird, surprising nuggets from the IPO (42:35Who's getting rich this week? (51:13) The genius insight of Luke at Gigafund (55:46) Pessimists get to be right, optimists get to be right (59:12) Elon's comp package — 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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Get our Investment Guide: https://clickhubspot.com/klsr Episode 832: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to legendary fund manager Barry Ritholtz( https://x.com/Ritholtz ) about the behaviors that destroy returns for investors and how to avoid them.  — Show Notes:  (0:00) Intro (2:19) christmas tree portfolio (4:43) the cowboy account (9:51) day trading (11:09) Barry yells at Lloyd Blankfein (13:46) panic selling (16:45) sam picks a fight (18:46) direct indexing (21:43) Great investors  (27:25) 90% of everything is crap (36:14) Elon's foray into PE (44:02) Predicting the housing crisis (46:01) spending a year as the dumbest guy on wall street (49:01) Why bubbles are good for the economy — Links: • How Not To Invest - https://www.hownottoinvestbook.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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Get our AI Newsletter Stack (with prompts): https://clickhubspot.com/weqr Ep 430 55% of buyers of a $10 playbook became paying users for Beehive, driving massive business value. Kipp and Tyler Denk (Co-Founder and CEO of beehiiv) dive into how founder-led content, owned audiences, and strategic digital products can supercharge growth—even without massive scale. Learn more on the power of email as a direct, owned channel, building trust and community through transparency, and why even niche, high-intent audiences can unlock serious monetization and brand loyalty in the creator economy. Mentions Tyler Denk https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk beehiiv https://www.beehiiv.com/ Morning Brew https://morningbrewinc.com/ Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/ Cloudflare https://www.cloudflare.com/ David Senra https://www.davidsenra.com/ Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow. https://a.co/d/03y0GZHi Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We're on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg  Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don't forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends. We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain' is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

Get our Unsexy Business Idea Database: https://clickhubspot.com/sfci Episode 831: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) tell the story of a $270M/yr meat purveyor plus Nick Sleep's letter and the framework that will make Elon a trillionaire.  — Show Notes:  (0:00) The $300M butcher (18:28) Nick Sleep letters (23:20) the idiot index (35:44) breaking your own frame (39:04) how to become a king maker (51:49) Idea: Teen nerd awards (57:23) Sam's List — Links: • https://www.lafrieda.com/ • https://www.omahasteaks.com/ • https://drinklmnt.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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Get our Business Idea Database: https://clickhubspot.com/frle Episode 830: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) rate 7 crazy business ideas that are actually genius.  — Show Notes:  (0:00) Intro (3:14) Pet Chat (5:47) Super Brain (9:44) At home hyperbarics (13:03) Blue collar meta learning (16:57) Endpoint Arena  (21:54) Bathhouse + Steakhouse Experience (27:46) Funday Press (31:52) Dumb phones (41:42) Zach Yadegari's new thing — Links: • HVAC Technician Trainining - https://www.meta.com/experiences/hvac-technician/9277146442386260/ • Endpoint Arena - https://endpointarena.com  •  The Funday Press - https://thefundaypress.com  • Dumb.co - http://dumb.co/ — 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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Sam & Shaan's hard-won CEO lessons in one guide: https://clickhubspot.com/eokb Episode 829: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) sits down with Tom Freston to talk about the insane story of starting MTV and shaping America in the 80s and 90s.  — Show Notes:  (0:00) Intro (4:04) Millionaire by 26, broke by 33 (8:49) The first days of MTV (no frontal nudity) (14:14) Music Videos (19:03) How to spot culture-changing talent (27:12) Making your employees party together (31:56) Nickelodeon, SpongeBob, and Building Legacy IP (35:21) Programming for a Specific Audience (37:33) The Facebook Acquisition That Almost Happened (41:25) Founders Who Refuse to Sell (43:29) Rupert Murdoch vs. Sumner Redstone (45:23) MySpace, Big Bets, and Getting Fired (47:55) Inside the writers room (51:33) Oprah Calling  (54:00) The End of Monoculture and the Creator Economy — Links: Unplugged - https://a.co/d/0ef6YVu2  — 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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Get our Wealth Guide (35+ insights from top investors): https://clickhubspot.com/fvif Episode 828: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talk to billionaire Joe Liemandt ( https://x.com/jliemandt ) about the experiment he's put $1,000,000,000 of his own money into. — Show Notes:  (0:00) Joe, the total man? (08:09) fighting bill gates for talent (13:14) intensity (16:18) choosing hard over easy (19:00) how to be a magnet (21:34) high standards (23:29) being persuasive  (29:23) simplicity: 3 ines, 3 words  (34:41) is 2x faster really better? (36:23) making kids run a 5k (38:45) why be public now (41:01) why put $1b into the lowest roi thing? (50:03) buying SaaS companies (51:06) cloning Warren Buffett's brain (53:00) changing your brain lift (57:19) is AI going to make everyone dumb? — Links: • Alpha School - https://alpha.school/  • 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People - https://a.co/d/048Cfexh  — 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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Get Mohnish's 9 investment principles: https://clickhubspot.com/kwdo Episode 827: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) sits down with Mohnish Pabrai to break down the mental models that made him a billionaire value investor.   — Show Notes:  (0:00) Intro (1:25) Mental models of the top 1% (3:38) The mistress is always hotter than the wife (6:37) Introduce Randomness in your life (10:47)  Humans are poor at copying (20:13) Take a simple idea seriously  (23:02)  Be and inch wide and a mile deep (30:29)  Never use Excel (35:03) Wait for fat pitches (39:38) the stock market is like a church with a casino  (44:01) Paying $650,000 to have lunch with Warren Buffett (45:43) The cautionary tale of Rick Guerin (47:22) The inner score card (49:25) The future of Berkshire Hathaway (51:29) Mohnish's best investment (1:02:39) The hardest question (1:06:16) How to beat the index (1:11:25) Mohnish's stock picks for 2026  (1:22:26)  S&P 500 (1:24:57) life advice disguised as investing advice (1:29:32)  Studying the greatest investors  (1:37:51) if you remember nothing else, remember this  — Links: Mohnish Part 1: This Guy Copy-Pasted Warren Buffett's Strategy (And Became A Billionaire) Mohnish Part 2: Go from $10,000 to $1M in just 3 years  The Dhando Investor - https://a.co/d/0hkx1t8g  — 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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /

Get Sam & Shaan's CEO lessons in one guide: https://clickhubspot.com/ptcw Episode 826: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) chop it up with Gary Vee.  — Show Notes:  (0:00) Intro (2:40) Nick Dio, VP of friendships (6:47) How to invest $1M on yourself (10:06) being long term greedy (17:53) Gary breaks down his companies and revenue (21:43) day in the life of Gary v (26:19) breaking down the 15-minute meeting (29:07) eat shit and firefight (31:00) picking projects (32:31) 5-year bets gary is making (34:04) missed fat pitches (38:00) vetting shady people (42:55) Mimetic rivals — Links: • https://vaynersports.com/  • https://www.vaynerwatt.com/ • https://winelibrary.com/  • https://empathywines.com/  • https://resy.com/  • https://vcrgroup.com/ • https://vaynerx.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  • 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 - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, 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 /