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December 9, 2024 • 1hr 4min
He built a $1M/MRR dinner club app in 2 weeks with 0 employees
My First Million
In this episode, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss several fascinating business stories and insights, including the rapid growth of Time Left, the psychology behind Black Friday sales, effective ChatGPT prompts, and perspectives on extreme wealth. The conversation provides valuable lessons for entrepreneurs while maintaining an engaging and entertaining dynamic between the hosts.
He built a $1M/MRR dinner club app in 2 weeks with 0 employees
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Key Takeaways
- Time Left - A dinner club app that grew from $0 to $10M+ ARR in 10 months by connecting strangers for weekly dinners
- Black Friday Strategy - Provides air cover for mid-tier brands to discount without damaging brand value
- ChatGPT Prompts - Structure prompts with role, goal and context for better results
- Wealth Perspective - Understanding the massive scale difference between millions, billions and trillions
- Learning Access - World-class education is freely available online - the barrier is motivation, not access
Introduction
In this episode, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss several fascinating business stories and insights, including the rapid growth of Time Left, the psychology behind Black Friday sales, effective ChatGPT prompts, and perspectives on extreme wealth. The conversation provides valuable lessons for entrepreneurs while maintaining an engaging and entertaining dynamic between the hosts.
Topics Discussed
The Time Left Success Story (0:00)
The hosts discuss the remarkable story of Time Left, a dinner club app that achieved $10M+ ARR in just 10 months. The French founder went through several pivots before finding success:
- Initial Background: Started as a nightlife promoter, then built and sold a media company
- Evolution of the Idea:
- 2020: Bucket list creation app
- 2021: Dating-style app matching people with shared dreams
- 2022: One-on-one activity matching
- 2023: Small group activities
- 2024: Weekly dinner clubs
- Key Success Factors:
- Simplified execution (launched in 2 weeks)
- Focus on revenue generation
- Removed friction points (like profile photos)
- Leveraged existing restaurant booking systems
Black Friday Analysis (27:41)
The hosts explore the evolution and strategy behind Black Friday, providing insights into retail psychology and brand positioning.
- Historical Context:
- Originally a negative term used by Philadelphia police
- Transformed into retail terminology for profitability
- Led to creation of Cyber Monday in 2005
- Strategic Benefits:
- Provides "air cover" for mid-tier brands to discount
- Helps clear inventory without brand damage
- Creates urgency and excitement for consumers
- Brand Positioning:
- Low-end brands: Always competing on price
- Mid-tier brands: Balance value and premium positioning
- Luxury brands: Can increase prices to reinforce positioning
Money Fast Challenge (37:24)
The hosts discuss an interesting challenge concept around conscious spending and consumption.
- Challenge Rules:
- No spending on consumables for 7 days
- Fixed expenses (rent, daycare) allowed
- No eating out or impulse purchases
- Alternative Concept: The "Money Burn" ritual
- Burning an amount that "hurts" to release attachment to money
- Symbolic gesture to address unhealthy money relationships
- Potentially polarizing but conversation-starting concept
ChatGPT Prompt Hacks (43:13)
The hosts share effective strategies for getting better results from ChatGPT interactions.
- Effective Prompt Structure:
- Role: Define ChatGPT's persona/expertise
- Goal: Clearly state desired outcome
- Context: Provide necessary background information
- Specific Techniques:
- Ask ChatGPT to pose questions until it has full context
- Use specific personas (e.g., "Explain like Malcolm Gladwell")
- Frame as coach/therapist for personal advice
Tech Wealth & Career Strategy (48:11)
Discussion of massive wealth creation in tech companies and career strategy implications.
- OpenAI Example:
- Average compensation around $800k
- Equity appreciation of ~10x in three years
- Early employees seeing $10M+ returns
- Career Implications:
- Importance of joining potential "rocket ships"
- Value of equity in fast-growing companies
- Challenge of identifying opportunities early
Warren Buffett's Wealth Distribution (50:53)
Analysis of Buffett's recent letter about wealth distribution and family legacy planning.
- Key Points from Letter:
- Challenge of distributing massive wealth
- Limited children's inheritance to $10M each
- Importance of discussing inheritance plans openly
- Wealth Scale Context:
- Understanding difference between millions, billions, trillions
- Trillion = 1,000 billion perspective
- Implications for wealth distribution
The Elon Musk Learning Method (1:00:33)
Discussion of Musk's perspective on education and learning accessibility.
- Key Insight: Access to education is no longer the barrier
- World-class content available free online
- Harvard lectures accessible to anyone
- Motivation, not access, is the main barrier
- Implications:
- Traditional education narratives may be outdated
- Self-directed learning increasingly viable
- Focus should shift to motivation and execution
Conclusion
This episode provides valuable insights across multiple domains - from startup pivots and growth strategies to practical AI usage and wealth management perspectives. The Time Left success story demonstrates the power of simplification and market timing, while discussions about Black Friday and ChatGPT offer practical tactical advice. The broader conversations about wealth and education access provide important context for career and personal development decisions.
The hosts effectively balance tactical advice with strategic insights, while maintaining an engaging and often humorous dialogue. The episode particularly excels in breaking down complex topics into actionable insights while providing entertainment value through personal anecdotes and observations.