When everything works, you learn the wrong lessons
About This Episode
Shaan Puri and guest Nick Huber discuss the transition from Huber's early 'cocky' success to the humbling realities of managing a large business portfolio and a major acquisition. The episode focuses on the strategic errors made during the rebranding of Somewhere.com, effective systems for hiring global talent, and the importance of focus over diversification in early-stage businesses.
Episode Description
Show Notes
- 0:00Intro
- 3:24Breaking down Nick's portfolio
- 8:49The deal structure and terms
- 11:20Fail: Buying a domain for $400K, killing out traffic
- 12:24Fail Elon bought twitter + I invited competition
- 16:49new owner syndrome
- 18:43How to hire overseas talent (10-min masterclass)
- 27:18Pieter Thiel's Stanford class
- 30:17Suli's brutal advice
- 34:23Holdcos is overrated
- 36:04The tortoise always wins
- 38:52one big thing
- 47:25Roofing
- 51:07Self-storage
Links
Check Out Shaan's Stuff
- Shaan's weekly email
- Visit
- 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
Check Out Sam's Stuff
Key Takeaways
Filter global job applicants using low-friction but high-signal hurdles: require a typing speed test (minimum 35 WPM) and a 1-minute video introduction to eliminate 90% of low-quality candidates immediately.
Practice the 'One Big Thing' productivity method by dedicating the first two hours of every morning to a single high-priority task without checking email or social media to ensure long-term progress.
Scale a single distribution channel and revenue stream to its maximum potential (e.g., $300k+/month) before diversifying to avoid distracting executive leadership and stalling growth.