Jul 29, 2021 · 52m · my-first-million
Behind-the-Scenes of Shaan's Power Writing Course | My First Million #204
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In this episode of My First Million, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri explore high-potential startup opportunities, breaking down the unit economics of cohort-based courses, analyzing disruptive sharing-economy marketplaces, and evaluating the future of digital and physical infrastructure.
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 99.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Shaan aggressively challenges Sam's dismissal of Cafe X, arguing that automated robotic stations save massive square footage and labor costs compared to traditional staffed locations.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 14:05 Sam predicts Lambda School failureSam flatly rejects the viability of Lambda School's income-share agreement model and predicts the company could go out of business within two years.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:25 Shaan explains the mechanics of a short squeezeShaan gives a step-by-step masterclass on how heavily leveraged short positions get liquidated and trigger massive buying pressure during a price rally.
The host holds their own ▶ 11:50 Sam drops Coursera's public revenue and market valuationSam counters Shaan's niche bootcamp concept by pulling up Coursera's 400 million dollar revenue and 5.5 billion dollar market cap to advocate for enterprise corporate training.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullish on America and Dinner with a Tech Executive | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Sam shares insights from an executive with 6,000 employees in China explaining why he is bullish on America. When Sam brings up John Steinbeck, Shaan admits complete ignorance about classic American literature while Sam playfully teases him. | |
| Crypto Rally and the Mechanics of a Short Squeeze | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | Shaan breaks down the recent Bitcoin pump and clearly explains how leveraged short positions and liquidations create a short squeeze. Sam concedes that sophisticated crypto trading terminology usually goes completely over his head. | |
| The Solidity Developer Bootcamp and Course Business Models | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | Shaan pitches creating a niche bootcamp for Solidity smart contract developers modeled after Lambda School. Sam counters with Coursera's public valuation and revenue numbers, pushing back against the Lambda income share agreement model and predicting Lambda will fail. | |
| Twitter Meme Accounts and the Jose Canseco Troll | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Shaan shares the viral Greg meme trolling Jose Canseco, while Sam surprises Shaan by revealing that satirical account Dr. Parikh Patel is actually a freelance contributor for The Hustle. | |
| Unbundling Y Combinator: Outcome-Based Fundraising Coaching | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | Shaan pitches unbundling Y Combinator to offer outcome-based fundraising coaching. Sam pushes back on the premise, arguing that most people do not actually execute on or benefit from educational content. | |
| Behind the Scenes of Shaan's Power Writing Course | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Shaan transparently breaks down the full P&L, NPS scores, do-learn-redo methodology, and rehearsal process behind his Power Writing cohort. Sam engages with accurate guesses on expenses and compares notes on his wife's Maven launch. | |
| Swimply and Underestimated Sharing Economy Startups | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Sam highlights Swimply and several niche marketplace startups that succeeded despite initially seeming ridiculous. Shaan pulls up Similarweb traffic stats to validate Swimply's exponential growth trajectory. | |
| ClassPass for Online Courses and Newsletter Bundles | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Shaan proposes a ClassPass bundle for online courses and defends newsletter bundles like Every.to. Sam expresses skepticism about writer revenue-sharing mechanics, but Shaan counters using the classic Marc Andreessen bundling thesis. | |
| The Future of Gas Stations: Buc-ee's vs Automated Stations | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | Sam argues future EV charging stops will follow the Buc-ee's experiential roadside spectacle model. Shaan strongly pushes back, arguing for compact automated robotic kiosks like Cafe X to provide rapid, standardized service in high-density locations. |