StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

May 12, 2023 · 17m · my-first-million

My First Million Live Event With Andrew Wilkinson (Austin Texas)

Sam Parr · 5m spoken Andrew Wilkinson · 4m spoken Shaan Puri · 3m spoken Justin Turner · 25s spoken Nick Gray · 16s spoken Ad Actor · 10s spoken Kelsey Larrick · 7s spoken HubSpot Spokesperson · 5s spoken
0:00 / 0:00
▶ Watch on YouTube →

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Recorded live in Austin, Texas, My First Million hosts Shaan Puri and Sam Parr join investor Andrew Wilkinson to highlight unconventional high-revenue businesses and share candid stories of near-fatal startup missteps.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The hosts hold 57% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

The hosts as informed peer 3.3 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.0 The hosts pushing back 1.3
05100:0010:001:49–6:40 · The hosts as informed peer 3/10 The Legend of Nick Gray and Austin's Unique Businesses The hosts and guest engage in lighthearted comedic banter about Nick Gray's cocktail party before listing off quirky high-cashflow businesses discovered at an Austin dinner. The interaction is entirely collaborative and relaxed with no adversarial friction.6:40–8:51 · The hosts as informed peer 3/10 Audience Revenue Check and High-Earning Founders Andrew and the hosts poll the live audience on business revenues and interview Justin Turner about running a $37M fire equipment distribution business. The questions probe for business model specifics like margins and competitive moats without real pushback.8:54–10:57 · The hosts as informed peer 2/10 HubSpot CRM Platform Advertisement Following an ad read, audience members share their niche business ventures, including printing beer koozies and branded dog treats for luxury hotels. The tone is encouraging, curious, and playful throughout.10:58–17:07 · The hosts as informed peer 5/10 Near-Death Business Stories and Dodged Acquisition Bullets Andrew Wilkinson details near-fatal business decisions including an attempted pivot to SaaS and an uncompleted $15M acquisition, while Sam Parr relates his own near-sale of The Hustle to Vice Media. Both hosts and guest share peer-level operational vulnerability with high mutual respect.1:49–6:40 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Legend of Nick Gray and Austin's Unique Businesses The hosts and guest engage in lighthearted comedic banter about Nick Gray's cocktail party before listing off quirky high-cashflow businesses discovered at an Austin dinner. The interaction is entirely collaborative and relaxed with no adversarial friction.6:40–8:51 · Guest teaching 3/10 Audience Revenue Check and High-Earning Founders Andrew and the hosts poll the live audience on business revenues and interview Justin Turner about running a $37M fire equipment distribution business. The questions probe for business model specifics like margins and competitive moats without real pushback.8:54–10:57 · Guest teaching 2/10 HubSpot CRM Platform Advertisement Following an ad read, audience members share their niche business ventures, including printing beer koozies and branded dog treats for luxury hotels. The tone is encouraging, curious, and playful throughout.10:58–17:07 · Guest teaching 3/10 Near-Death Business Stories and Dodged Acquisition Bullets Andrew Wilkinson details near-fatal business decisions including an attempted pivot to SaaS and an uncompleted $15M acquisition, while Sam Parr relates his own near-sale of The Hustle to Vice Media. Both hosts and guest share peer-level operational vulnerability with high mutual respect.1:49–6:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Legend of Nick Gray and Austin's Unique Businesses The hosts and guest engage in lighthearted comedic banter about Nick Gray's cocktail party before listing off quirky high-cashflow businesses discovered at an Austin dinner. The interaction is entirely collaborative and relaxed with no adversarial friction.6:40–8:51 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Audience Revenue Check and High-Earning Founders Andrew and the hosts poll the live audience on business revenues and interview Justin Turner about running a $37M fire equipment distribution business. The questions probe for business model specifics like margins and competitive moats without real pushback.8:54–10:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 HubSpot CRM Platform Advertisement Following an ad read, audience members share their niche business ventures, including printing beer koozies and branded dog treats for luxury hotels. The tone is encouraging, curious, and playful throughout.10:58–17:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Near-Death Business Stories and Dodged Acquisition Bullets Andrew Wilkinson details near-fatal business decisions including an attempted pivot to SaaS and an uncompleted $15M acquisition, while Sam Parr relates his own near-sale of The Hustle to Vice Media. Both hosts and guest share peer-level operational vulnerability with high mutual respect.1:49–6:40 · The hosts pushing back 1/10 The Legend of Nick Gray and Austin's Unique Businesses The hosts and guest engage in lighthearted comedic banter about Nick Gray's cocktail party before listing off quirky high-cashflow businesses discovered at an Austin dinner. The interaction is entirely collaborative and relaxed with no adversarial friction.6:40–8:51 · The hosts pushing back 2/10 Audience Revenue Check and High-Earning Founders Andrew and the hosts poll the live audience on business revenues and interview Justin Turner about running a $37M fire equipment distribution business. The questions probe for business model specifics like margins and competitive moats without real pushback.8:54–10:57 · The hosts pushing back 1/10 HubSpot CRM Platform Advertisement Following an ad read, audience members share their niche business ventures, including printing beer koozies and branded dog treats for luxury hotels. The tone is encouraging, curious, and playful throughout.10:58–17:07 · The hosts pushing back 1/10 Near-Death Business Stories and Dodged Acquisition Bullets Andrew Wilkinson details near-fatal business decisions including an attempted pivot to SaaS and an uncompleted $15M acquisition, while Sam Parr relates his own near-sale of The Hustle to Vice Media. Both hosts and guest share peer-level operational vulnerability with high mutual respect.

speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · the hosts 71.7% · guest 28.3%0:00 · the hosts 71.7% · guest 28.3%3:00 · the hosts 82.3% · guest 17.7%3:00 · the hosts 82.3% · guest 17.7%6:00 · the hosts 46% · guest 54%6:00 · the hosts 46% · guest 54%9:00 · the hosts 52.5% · guest 47.5%9:00 · the hosts 52.5% · guest 47.5%12:00 · the hosts 21.9% · guest 78.1%12:00 · the hosts 21.9% · guest 78.1%15:00 · the hosts 75.5% · guest 24.5%15:00 · the hosts 75.5% · guest 24.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 1:28 Banter regarding Facebook demographics

Andrew jokingly mocks Sam for snapping photos to post on Facebook, teasingly asking who even uses the platform anymore.

 Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 13:30 Clarifying the disparity between Flow and MetaLab

Sam interrupts and presses Andrew on the exact numbers to highlight the recklessness of shutting down a $2M agency for a $300k SaaS product.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:08 The psychological reality of running a business

Andrew educates the audience and hosts on how even successful businesses feel like a panic-driven slow-motion knife fight internally.

 The host holds their own ▶ 15:50 Sam details dodging the Vice Media acquisition

Sam demonstrates seasoned deal literacy by explaining how checking Vice's chaotic internal situation and financials saved him from accepting an all-stock offer before their valuation collapsed.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicThe hosts as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementThe hosts pushing backWhy
The Legend of Nick Gray and Austin's Unique Businesses 3111 The hosts and guest engage in lighthearted comedic banter about Nick Gray's cocktail party before listing off quirky high-cashflow businesses discovered at an Austin dinner. The interaction is entirely collaborative and relaxed with no adversarial friction.
Audience Revenue Check and High-Earning Founders 3312 Andrew and the hosts poll the live audience on business revenues and interview Justin Turner about running a $37M fire equipment distribution business. The questions probe for business model specifics like margins and competitive moats without real pushback.
HubSpot CRM Platform Advertisement 2211 Following an ad read, audience members share their niche business ventures, including printing beer koozies and branded dog treats for luxury hotels. The tone is encouraging, curious, and playful throughout.
Near-Death Business Stories and Dodged Acquisition Bullets 5311 Andrew Wilkinson details near-fatal business decisions including an attempted pivot to SaaS and an uncompleted $15M acquisition, while Sam Parr relates his own near-sale of The Hustle to Vice Media. Both hosts and guest share peer-level operational vulnerability with high mutual respect.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Parr: Dinner attendee sold dog supplements company for $650M
“I think we had a guy there Who sold a company that sold dog supplements, which is like the greatest business ever because who knows if it works, right? Like you have no idea. He sold his company for six hundred and fifty million dollars.”
Sam Parr May 12, 2023 ▶ 5:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Parr: Dog ramp business generates $18 million in annual sales
“We had another guy who sells also dog related dog ramps. So like, so your older small dog can like go up on the couch and he does eighteen million a year in sales.”
Sam Parr May 12, 2023 ▶ 5:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Parr: Austin dinner attendee's car washes make tens of millions in profit
“We had a person who has a car, a bunch of, owns a bunch of car washes that does tens of millions in profit.”
Sam Parr May 12, 2023 ▶ 6:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Justin Turner: Fire Equipment Business Generates $37M in Annual Sales
“We sell, like, thirty-seven million dollars worth of equipment that fire departments use and firemen use every day.”
Justin Turner May 12, 2023 ▶ 8:13
Assertion Partly supported
Parr: Tiny Went Public Trading at 850 Million Canadian Dollars
“He recently took it public last week. It's now trading at eight hundred and fifty million Canadian dollars, which is only like six hundred million bucks in real money.”
Sam Parr May 12, 2023 ▶ 12:00
Disclosure
Wilkinson: MetaLab Almost Sold for $15M but Buyer Failed to Fund
“Chris and I, we, you know, running an agency is really stressful, and we got this offer for the business to sell it for fifteen million. This is about eight or nine years ago, almost 10 years ago, and... We sign the documents, you know, my lawyer calls me in, …”
Andrew Wilkinson May 12, 2023 ▶ 13:53
Insight
Wilkinson: Every Business Is a Slow-Motion Knife Fight for Survival
“There's a great quote by Brent Bishore, he goes, every business is a slow motion knife fight, right? Like, you just wake up in the morning, you're sweating, and you're fighting, you're trying to survive, right?”
Andrew Wilkinson May 12, 2023 ▶ 15:16
Disclosure
Parr: Vice Media Offered $10M in Stock to Buy The Hustle
“They get me in a room, they like send me a term sheet and they're like, well, buy your company for ten million dollars, but it's going to be all in stock. And I was like, well, show me the financials and like, let me see what's going on with your business. And…”
Sam Parr May 12, 2023 ▶ 16:33
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 300 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more