Mar 10, 2021 · 1h 5m · my-first-million
MFM #159: A 9-Figure Sex Toy Company & The Man With A Million Acres
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of My First Million, Sam Parr and Sean Puri explore unconventional business empires, including the $100M Fleshlight enterprise and Brad Kelley's million-acre land portfolio. They also break down vintage tech collectibles, venture capital power laws, and the psychological shifts in risk tolerance that occur post-business exit.
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 98.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 4.1 Guest teaching 1.3 Guest disagreement 0.6 The hosts pushing back 1.6
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 59:25 Producer delivers blunt B+ rating
John Abreu candidly grades the episode a B+ on air, telling the hosts the research was solid but not as juicy as it could have been.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 55:15 Shaan rejects Indie.vc founder narrativeShaan firmly pushes back on the claim that LPs rejected Indie.vc due to philosophical bias, arguing the fund manager is whining rather than admitting subpar returns.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 22:03 Sam connects Fleshlight to Onnit and Joe RoganSam surprises Shaan by revealing that Fleshlight founder Steve Shubin's son is Aubrey Marcus of Onnit, who secured Fleshlight as Joe Rogan's very first podcast sponsor.
The host holds their own ▶ 57:26 Shaan explains VC game theory and power lawsShaan demonstrates deep mastery of venture capital mechanics, articulating how mathematical power laws and game theory dictate fund strategy rather than personal hubris.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrading Studios and the "Video Native" Generation | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Shaan and Sam casually banter about Shaan's new garage studio and discuss how Gen Z creators are video natives. Shaan brings producer John Abreu into the conversation to compare Snapchat texting vs photo reply habits. | |
| Collecting Vintage Apple Tech and Retro Hardware | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Sam shares pricing research from eBay on vintage Apple IIs, Macintosh computers, and early iPods, arguing vintage hardware will become valuable collectibles. Shaan enthusiastically agrees and plans to buy some. | |
| Crowdfunding Michael Jordan's Mansion and Viral Clips | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Shaan recaps audience feedback on crowdfunding Michael Jordan's mansion, proposing fractional ownership via Rally Road. Shaan mocks Sam for being too scared to take reputational risks after selling his company. | |
| Declining Youth Intimacy and Emerging Kegel Apps | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Sam brings up demographic stats regarding rising sexual inactivity among young men and details Nat Eliason's profitable niche Kegel training app. | |
| The Fleshlight Empire, Elephant Prosthetics, and Vice Commerce | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Shaan delivers a detailed narrative on the founding and growth of Fleshlight, their manufacturing pivot, elephant prosthetics side business, and the marketing barriers around payment processing and advertising for vice commerce. | |
| Billy of the Week: Brad Kelley's Billion-Acre Empire | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Sam profiles billionaire recluse Brad Kelley, his cigarette empire, massive land acquisitions, and purchase of Lonely Planet. Shaan probes the moral ambiguity of cigarette wealth and compares Kelley to hyper-vocal tech founders. | |
| Medlevels.fyi: Crowdsourcing Physician Compensation Data | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | After briefly shouting out Medlevels.fyi, the hosts debate angel investing principles and the shutdown of Indie.vc. Shaan pushes back hard against the narrative blaming LPs, arguing the fund simply failed to deliver compelling returns. | |
| Episode Debrief, Narrative Formats, and Timeless Wisdom | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Producer John Abreu grades the episode a B+ and doubts whether business biographies can sustain 60-90 minute podcast runtimes like true crime. Sam and Shaan discuss adopting narrative deep-dives and focusing on timeless wisdom. |
Statements from this episode (19)
Puri: Being 'video native' is a major advantage for Gen Z creators
“These guys are, you know, I would say younger people are video native. And I think that's going to be a huge, huge win for them because people like us are like self-conscious and like, just don't know how to use the tools.”
Parr: Vintage computers will become really popular collectibles
“I think these types of like old computers, these vintage computers, I think these are going to get really popular.”
Puri: Jordan rookie cards hit $2M while his $13M mansion won't sell
“Like the Michael Jordan rookie card is going for almost two million dollars, and his 56,000 square foot house can't sell for 13.”
Parr: Advisors urged him to avoid investing for six months post-acquisition
“When I did my deal, every smart person I talked to, what did you know what they said? ... Do nothing for six months. Right. So don't invest it on your hands. ... Don't invest. And so many times I've been, I've wanted to change and do something and everyone has…”
Parr: 31% of Men Aged 18 to 24 Were Sexually Inactive Pre-COVID
“And apparently, 31% of men, 18 and 24, were sexually inactive before COVID.”
Parr: Nat Eliason's Stamina Kegel App Generates Around $100K Annually
“It's called stamina. Stamina. I don't know what that play on words is. It walks you through how to do these Kegel exercises and it makes like a hundred K a year.”
Puri: Fleshlight maker generates roughly $100M in annual revenue
“So the flashlight now, these guys do, I believe, about a hundred million dollars in revenue. It's definitely above 50. It's, they don't report it, but to me, I did some sleuthing, and I think it's a hundred million dollar a year company, over a hundred employe…”
Puri: The global sex toy industry generates $20 billion annually
“Like they do, like the sex toy industry itself is about twenty billion dollars a year.”
Puri: A Stripe for vice industries addresses hundreds of billions in turnover
“And so there's an opportunity, I think, for, you know, building Stripe for Vice products because cannabis can't use Stripe and neither can any sex products porn can't use Stripe. And so if, you know, just those three industries alone, that's like multiple hund…”
Parr: Adam & Eve generates hundreds of millions in revenue
“It's a pretty huge business, hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue currently owned by, I believe, a private equity company.”
Puri: Adult products can reach $100M copying MVMT's influencer model
“And, you know, I think if you did this with Instagram models and old defense, you could basically just copy the What's that watch brand MVMT? You can copy the movement, movement watches brand model and try to, you know, they went to a hundred million in sales …”
Sam Parr: Brad Kelley sold Commonwealth Brands for $1B
“And after 10 years, he sold the cigarette company for a billion dollars.”
Sam Parr: Brad Kelley owns over 1M acres in America
“And at this point, he owns
Over a million acres in America, which is a huge, huge, huge amount, making him in 2012, the fourth largest landowner in America.”
Puri: Medlevels.fyi crowdsources doctor compensation by location and specialty
“So these guys made medlevels.fyi and it's basically doctor pay. And so they, if you go to it, you can see they don't have a ton of data yet, but they're getting some, they're getting doctors to put in how much they're getting paid based on where they live and …”
Puri has invested $1.5M to $2M across roughly 18 startups
“I think a little under 20, maybe like 18, something like that. 18 companies we've invested in deployed about, I don't know, a million and a half, two million dollars, something like that.”
Puri expects at least two of his 18 investments will reach $1B
“I think any, anything, anything can happen, but I would say I'd be surprised if out of these 18, if we don't have, you know, two companies that are worth a billion dollars or more, I'd be surprised.”
Parr made eight figures selling The Hustle within five years
“Start as in we raised money to finish less than five years, and I made eight, eight figures.”
Parr: 'We Study Billionaires' Podcast Has 40 Million Downloads
“There's this awesome podcast called We Study Billionaires, which sounds lame, but it honestly, it's like, you guys know, it's, they're huge and it's really good. And they'll read a book on someone or just a blog article and just retell the story. Right. It's r…”