3 Things You Need To Outperform 99% Of Entrepreneurs
About This Episode
Shaan and Sam explore the "Force of Will" required for elite entrepreneurship, drawing lessons from Dana White's management of the UFC and Elon Musk's aggressive leadership at Twitter. The episode also dives into the economics of niche experiential fitness events and provides a tactical roadmap for transitioning a business from a growth focus to a profit-focused EBITDA model.
Episode Description
Show Notes
- 0:00Top traits founders should take from Dana White
- 5:351 - Brute force
- 10:212 - Extreme bias for action
- 14:55Quick audit of Dana White's gambling claims
- 18:003 - Speed
- 19:00Checklist for a perfect niche event business
- 22:56IDEA: The Beer Mile
- 24:45IDEA: Paddle Prison Break
- 25:47IDEA: Skyline Scramble
- 30:17Growth vs EBITDA vs cash flow
- 32:27Shaan's Guide to Increase EBITDA
- 34:19Step 1: create a EBITDA budget
- 37:08Step 2: communicate the plan relentlessly
- 37:48Step 3: Track and report
- 38:04Step 4: Tie into incentives
- 38:30Step 5: Repeat every 30 days
- 40:02Next stage: Cash flow
- 41:28The benefit of playing on Hard Mode
- 43:38Is e-commerce dead?
- 44:54Shaan's $30M dollar dream house
- 47:56Shaan writes an essay
- 49:43Sexier core principles
- 1:00:53Culture: What people do when the boss isn't around
Links
- [Steal This] Get our proven writing frameworks that have made us millions
- Shaan Puri essays - https://www.shaanpuri.com/essays
- Brunello Cucinelli
- Grab HubSpot's free AI-Powered Customer Platform and watch your business grow
- Wander
Check Out Shaan's Stuff
Check Out Sam's Stuff
Key Takeaways
Challenge 'default speeds' by aggressively shortening timelines; Elon Musk proved a six-month project can be condensed into six days by questioning infrastructure assumptions and prioritizing speed over comfort.
When shifting from growth to EBITDA, create an 'EBITDA budget' that allocates specific percentages of every revenue dollar to departments and tie executive bonuses to profit targets rather than revenue growth.
Avoid 'Painted Chicken' values by choosing provocative core principles that have an explicit trade-off; a value is only meaningful if it costs the company something to maintain, such as Facebook's 'move fast and break things'.
Business Ideas Mentioned
The Burley Beer Mile
Boring Business
The Paddle Prison Break
Boring Business
The Skyline Scramble
Boring Business