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Jun 20, 2016 · 19m · top-founders

Look! A Book Author Who Actually Made Money! ($250,000 To Be Exact), EP 305: Ash

Nathan Latka · 10m spoken Ash Kumra · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews entrepreneur and author Ash Kumra, who explains how he generated over $250,000 in book royalties through targeted university bulk sales, built a 500,000-subscriber email list, and monetized his personal brand via keynote speaking and startup advisory equity.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 62.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.4 Guest teaching 2.6 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:002:28–5:29 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Generating Book Royalties and Niche Author Strategy Latka immediately pushes past vague branding talk to pin down Ash's exact revenue numbers. He calculates royalty margins and total revenue from unit sales on the fly.5:30–9:38 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Niche Audience Targeting and Email List Expansion Latka looks up Tradecraft's Alexa traffic ranking in real time to challenge Ash's half-million list claim, forcing Ash to clarify that he uses separate landing pages. Ash then explains his B2B distribution model through college departments.9:38–12:48 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Keynote Speaking Revenue and Startup Advisory Equity Stakes Latka checks startup funding records live to verify Ash's advisory claims and presses him on previous startup exits, getting Ash to admit he hasn't had any completed exits yet.12:49–15:24 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Author Authenticity and College Ambassador Email Growth Ash elaborates on his college ambassador model and co-promotional partnerships while Latka clarifies live audience numbers and distribution mechanics in a collaborative tone.15:24–18:22 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Mid-Roll Commercials for FreshBooks and HostGator Web Hosting Segment consists of sponsor ad reads followed by standard, amicable Famous Five rapid-fire questions.2:28–5:29 · Guest teaching 3/10 Generating Book Royalties and Niche Author Strategy Latka immediately pushes past vague branding talk to pin down Ash's exact revenue numbers. He calculates royalty margins and total revenue from unit sales on the fly.5:30–9:38 · Guest teaching 4/10 Niche Audience Targeting and Email List Expansion Latka looks up Tradecraft's Alexa traffic ranking in real time to challenge Ash's half-million list claim, forcing Ash to clarify that he uses separate landing pages. Ash then explains his B2B distribution model through college departments.9:38–12:48 · Guest teaching 2/10 Keynote Speaking Revenue and Startup Advisory Equity Stakes Latka checks startup funding records live to verify Ash's advisory claims and presses him on previous startup exits, getting Ash to admit he hasn't had any completed exits yet.12:49–15:24 · Guest teaching 3/10 Author Authenticity and College Ambassador Email Growth Ash elaborates on his college ambassador model and co-promotional partnerships while Latka clarifies live audience numbers and distribution mechanics in a collaborative tone.15:24–18:22 · Guest teaching 1/10 Mid-Roll Commercials for FreshBooks and HostGator Web Hosting Segment consists of sponsor ad reads followed by standard, amicable Famous Five rapid-fire questions.2:28–5:29 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Generating Book Royalties and Niche Author Strategy Latka immediately pushes past vague branding talk to pin down Ash's exact revenue numbers. He calculates royalty margins and total revenue from unit sales on the fly.5:30–9:38 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Niche Audience Targeting and Email List Expansion Latka looks up Tradecraft's Alexa traffic ranking in real time to challenge Ash's half-million list claim, forcing Ash to clarify that he uses separate landing pages. Ash then explains his B2B distribution model through college departments.9:38–12:48 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Keynote Speaking Revenue and Startup Advisory Equity Stakes Latka checks startup funding records live to verify Ash's advisory claims and presses him on previous startup exits, getting Ash to admit he hasn't had any completed exits yet.12:49–15:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Author Authenticity and College Ambassador Email Growth Ash elaborates on his college ambassador model and co-promotional partnerships while Latka clarifies live audience numbers and distribution mechanics in a collaborative tone.15:24–18:22 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Roll Commercials for FreshBooks and HostGator Web Hosting Segment consists of sponsor ad reads followed by standard, amicable Famous Five rapid-fire questions.2:28–5:29 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Generating Book Royalties and Niche Author Strategy Latka immediately pushes past vague branding talk to pin down Ash's exact revenue numbers. He calculates royalty margins and total revenue from unit sales on the fly.5:30–9:38 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Niche Audience Targeting and Email List Expansion Latka looks up Tradecraft's Alexa traffic ranking in real time to challenge Ash's half-million list claim, forcing Ash to clarify that he uses separate landing pages. Ash then explains his B2B distribution model through college departments.9:38–12:48 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Keynote Speaking Revenue and Startup Advisory Equity Stakes Latka checks startup funding records live to verify Ash's advisory claims and presses him on previous startup exits, getting Ash to admit he hasn't had any completed exits yet.12:49–15:24 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Author Authenticity and College Ambassador Email Growth Ash elaborates on his college ambassador model and co-promotional partnerships while Latka clarifies live audience numbers and distribution mechanics in a collaborative tone.15:24–18:22 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Roll Commercials for FreshBooks and HostGator Web Hosting Segment consists of sponsor ad reads followed by standard, amicable Famous Five rapid-fire questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 90.8% · guest 9.2%0:00 · Nathan 90.8% · guest 9.2%3:00 · Nathan 48.5% · guest 51.5%3:00 · Nathan 48.5% · guest 51.5%6:00 · Nathan 48.8% · guest 51.2%6:00 · Nathan 48.8% · guest 51.2%9:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%9:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%12:00 · Nathan 45.5% · guest 54.5%12:00 · Nathan 45.5% · guest 54.5%15:00 · Nathan 88.1% · guest 11.9%15:00 · Nathan 88.1% · guest 11.9%18:00 · Nathan 86.9% · guest 13.1%18:00 · Nathan 86.9% · guest 13.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:41 Ash teases Latka over book title confusion

When Latka asks if many people confuse his book with another title, Ash playfully pushes back stating Latka is the only one.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:04 Pushing on Alexa rank discrepancies

Latka refuses to take the 500,000 subscriber claim at face value, pointing out that Tradecraft's Alexa traffic is far too low to support that volume.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:43 B2B university program bulk sales strategy

Ash educates Latka on avoiding student-level retail sales by pitching bulk purchases directly to university departments and entrepreneurship program budgets.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:42 Citing startup funding data in real time

Latka demonstrates real-time research expertise by pulling up and quoting exact dates and dollar figures for My Open Road's seed funding rounds.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Generating Book Royalties and Niche Author Strategy 6314 Latka immediately pushes past vague branding talk to pin down Ash's exact revenue numbers. He calculates royalty margins and total revenue from unit sales on the fly.
Niche Audience Targeting and Email List Expansion 7426 Latka looks up Tradecraft's Alexa traffic ranking in real time to challenge Ash's half-million list claim, forcing Ash to clarify that he uses separate landing pages. Ash then explains his B2B distribution model through college departments.
Keynote Speaking Revenue and Startup Advisory Equity Stakes 7226 Latka checks startup funding records live to verify Ash's advisory claims and presses him on previous startup exits, getting Ash to admit he hasn't had any completed exits yet.
Author Authenticity and College Ambassador Email Growth 4312 Ash elaborates on his college ambassador model and co-promotional partnerships while Latka clarifies live audience numbers and distribution mechanics in a collaborative tone.
Mid-Roll Commercials for FreshBooks and HostGator Web Hosting 3101 Segment consists of sponsor ad reads followed by standard, amicable Famous Five rapid-fire questions.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kumra: 'Confessions from an Entrepreneur' sold over 150,000 copies
“Confessions from an Entrepreneur, Volume One. I sold over a 150,000 copies.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 3:52
Disclosure
Kumra normally charges a $5,000 to $25,000 speaking fee
“So I normally charge a speaking fee of anywhere from five to 25,000 dollars.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 5:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kumra says his email list size is roughly 500,000 people
“My list size is probably half a million people.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 5:50
Disclosure
Kumra used B2B book sales to colleges to avoid charging students
“No, I focused on programs. So I kind of used a B to B approach. I don't like charging to, I feel guilty trying to charge students, especially when you're like a broke college entrepreneur. So I got over that guilt by going to the programs and saying, Hey, list…”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 8:44
Disclosure
Kumra made slightly under six figures in 2015 speaking revenue
“To be honest, I have taken down a lot of speaking, but I made about, I don't know, a little under six figures.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 9:47
Disclosure
Ash Kumra holds equity in 15 startups
“15.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 12:12
Disclosure
Ash Kumra has had zero startup exits to date
“I haven't had any exits yet, but this one will be announced very soon.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 12:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kumra: Worked with over 300 colleges for student ambassador programs
“I've built ambassadors at various colleges. So I've worked with over 300 colleges.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 14:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kumra: Typically puts 1,000 to 5,000 attendees live on co-promoted webinars
“One to 5000.”
Ash Kumra Jun 20, 2016 ▶ 14:51
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