Intro
In this episode of “My First Million,” the hosts discuss the success story of Petroleum Exports (Petex), a SaaS business based in Scotland, and delve into the fascinating journey of Sonny Vaccaro, the marketer behind Nike’s Air Jordan brand. They also explore the aggressive growth strategy of Hims, a telemedicine health company, and analyze Mark Zuckerberg’s impressive accomplishments. Join the hosts as they break down these business stories and share valuable insights.
Main Takeaways
Petroleum Exports (Petex): A Technical Specialist Software for Oil and Gas
- Scotland is home to a cool SaaS business called Petroleum Exports (Petex), which is a highly technical specialist software crucial for oil and gas operations.
- Petex made £78 million in revenue last year, with £67 million of it being profit.
- The company paid a dividend of $41 million, which went directly to the owner’s pocket.
- Petex’s financial information is publicly available on Companies House in the UK.
- Petex was founded in 1990 by a man named Abe with a challenging first and last name.
Building a Successful Business: Focus, Time, and Long-Term Perspective
- Petex started as a petroleum consultant for the oil and gas industry and created mathematical models to help manage projects.
- Petex pivoted to providing software, with their core product composed of complex features such as multi-phase network modeling and optimization.
- Petex had 78 million pounds in revenue last year, with 58 million in profit and 50 million in dividends.
- Petex’s focus and time were key to their success, taking 15 years to reach 10 million in revenue, and they have an average all-in cost per employee of 101,000 pounds per year, resulting in a 9x ROI per person hired.
- “Focus plus time. That’s what this guy did. Everyone talks about focus, but what does focus mean? You basically, in my opinion, need to focus enough to turn your idea into a machine.” – Andrew Lynch.
- The importance of focus and time in building a successful business, and the need to have a long-term perspective when evaluating success.
- The biggest pain in business is failing slowly and wasting time.
- Only work on a business as long as your boat isn’t leaking.
- HubSpot’s initial customer churn was terrible, but they focused on making happy customers to reduce churn.
- Churn reduction is a team sport, and it’s important to focus on features that work and double down on them.
Hims: Aggressive Growth and Telemedicine
- The company being discussed charges $300,000 per year for a license and only has 450 clients.
- It’s important to focus on long-term solutions that solve problems in your business, rather than small hacks or arbitrages.
- In large capital-intensive businesses, a price increase of 10% may not be significant in the grand scheme of things.
- Machine learning and AI present opportunities to create similar companies that can process data and provide insights to large corporations.
- Understanding the problems and needs of companies in industries like oil and gas is crucial for selling into them.
- Building relationships with potential clients in industries like oil and gas is crucial for selling into them.
- Taking the time to understand clients’ problems and needs can lead to millions of dollars in deals over time.
- Opportunities for big ideas are often hidden in plain sight.
- Simple ideas, like selling plain men’s t-shirts, can lead to $100 million plus companies.
Sonny Vaccaro: The Marketer Behind Nike’s Air Jordan Brand
- Some startup stories may contain lies, but they can still be entertaining and inspiring.
- True Classic grew from $15 million to $150 million in revenue in three years, all through Facebook ads selling plain t-shirts.
- Fresh Clean Tees is over $50 million in revenue, while Cuts is over $100 million in revenue, all scaling quickly during an obvious market demand.
- Both Roman and Hims launched within a couple of months of each other in 2017, taking advantage of a regulatory inflection in the telemedicine industry.
- Hims did $27 million in revenue in 2018 with $27 million in ad spend but scaled quickly to $540 million in revenue in 2022.
- Despite their rapid growth, Hims is burning money and only has a 2% margin.
- Hims and Roman, now rebranded as Ro, both came out of an incubator and are the two biggest incubator hits that did the same thing for hair loss and ED respectively.
- Hims is an amazing story of building a successful business out of an incubator, with impressive revenue growth, ad spend, and money burned.
- Hims has a high cost to acquire customers, with an average of $150 to acquire a customer, and they only made a small 2% margin despite burning a lot of money.
- Hims’ approach to the business was pure aggression, pouring a lot of money in and burning it to ramp up the scale of the business.
Mark Zuckerberg: Achievements and Ambitious Goals
- Mark Zuckerberg recently completed the Murph workout, which consists of a one-mile run, 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 squats, another mile run, all while wearing a 20-pound vest.
- Zuckerberg completed the Murph in 39 minutes and 58 seconds, which is an impressive time.
- The world record holder for the Murph is Hunter McIntyre, with a time of 34 minutes.
- Zuckerberg’s time would have placed him in 10th or 15th place in the Murph games.
- Zuckerberg’s accomplishments in wealth, power, intelligence, and fitness are impressive, especially at his young age.
- Zuckerberg’s scandal-free personal life and family are also noteworthy.
- Mark Zuckerberg’s early comments about Facebook users trusting him with their personal information show a disconnect between him and the public.
- Zuckerberg sets ambitious goals for himself every year, such as learning Mandarin to bring Facebook to China.
- Despite being a billionaire, Zuckerberg still lives in a regular house in the Mission district of San Francisco.
- He has purchased neighboring homes to maintain privacy and even personally approached a homeowner to buy their property.
- Some people may dislike Zuckerberg and Facebook, but his dedication to excellence and achieving goals can still be inspiring.
Sonny Vaccaro: The Marketing Genius Behind Nike’s Air Jordan Brand
- Sonny Vaccaro, a marketer for Nike, was responsible for creating the Air Jordan brand and making Michael Jordan a billionaire through royalties on every pair sold.
- Vaccaro created a high school all-American game to find the best young basketball players and attract college coaches to scout them, leading to the discovery of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
- He also created a summer camp for the best players called ABCD while working for Adidas.
- Vaccaro was a hired assassin for Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, using his marketing skills to help each company win in their market.
- His dedication to excellence and achieving goals can be inspiring.
- Sonny Vicaro’s strategy to get college players wearing Nike shoes involved bribing coaches with money and free shoes.
- This strategy allowed Nike to be worn by all the best college players and was a land grab across the country before other companies could react.
- Vicaro also sued the NCAA for using players’ names and faces to market the tournament without compensation, leading to the current NIL rule.
- Vicaro was known for his dedication to excellence and owning his niche, with quotes like “there’s only one man on Earth who could tell you who the best sixth-grade basketball player in the country is, and it’s Sonny Vicaro.”
- Vicaro’s signings of Jordan, Kobe, and almost LeBron helped build tens of billions of value for Nike, Adidas, and Reebok.
Dan Romero: Coinbase’s Relationship Builder and Crypto Success
- Brian Armstrong called out Dan Romero as a key person who built Coinbase’s relationships with banks and made over $100 million through the process.
- Dan Romero’s passion for the internet and technology led him to early crypto adoption and success at Coinbase.
- Enthusiasm is massively underrated and can lead to success and fulfillment.
- Dan Romero is now a successful and wealthy individual who enjoys a luxurious lifestyle and is in great physical shape.
Summary
Petroleum Exports (Petex): A Story of Focus, Time, and Success
Petroleum Exports (Petex) is a Scottish SaaS business that specializes in providing crucial software for the oil and gas industry. Founded in 1990 by Abe, Petex initially started as a petroleum consultant before pivoting to software development. Their complex software features, such as multi-phase network modeling and optimization, have contributed to their impressive revenue of £78 million, with £67 million in profit. Petex’s success can be attributed to their unwavering focus and dedication over 15 years, resulting in a 9x ROI per person hired. Their long-term perspective and commitment to solving industry problems have paid off, making them a thriving business in the oil and gas sector.
Hims: Aggressive Growth and Telemedicine Revolution
Hims, a telemedicine health company, has experienced rapid growth and success by aggressively scaling their business. Despite burning money and having a slim margin, Hims capitalized on the regulatory inflection in the telemedicine industry, launching alongside Roman (now Ro) in 2017. Hims’ approach involved pouring significant resources into customer acquisition, resulting in impressive revenue growth from $27 million in 2018 to $540 million in 2022. However, their high customer acquisition cost and minimal margin highlight the challenges of sustaining profitability in such a competitive market. Nevertheless, Hims’ story showcases the potential of telemedicine startups and the importance of aggressive growth strategies.
Sonny Vaccaro: The Marketing Genius Behind Nike’s Air Jordan Brand
Sonny Vaccaro’s impact on the sports marketing industry cannot be overstated. As a marketer for Nike, Vaccaro played a pivotal role in creating the iconic Air Jordan brand, catapulting Michael Jordan to billionaire status through royalties. His innovative strategies, such as creating a high school all-American game and a summer camp for top players, helped him discover talents like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Vaccaro’s dedication to excellence and his ability to navigate the competitive landscape of sports apparel marketing made him a hired assassin for Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. His influence and signings of basketball legends like Jordan, Kobe, and nearly LeBron have contributed to the immense value generated by these brands.
Mark Zuckerberg: Achievements, Ambition, and Controversy
Mark Zuckerberg’s accomplishments in wealth, power, intelligence, and fitness are undeniably impressive, especially considering his young age. From completing the challenging Murph workout in under 40 minutes to setting ambitious goals for himself, Zuckerberg exemplifies dedication and ambition. However, his early comments about user trust and privacy concerns demonstrate a disconnect between him and the public. Despite controversies surrounding Facebook, Zuckerberg’s commitment to excellence and goal achievement can still be inspiring. His modest lifestyle, despite being a billionaire, and his dedication to maintaining privacy through strategic property acquisitions also provide insights into his character.
Dan Romero: Coinbase’s Relationship Builder and Crypto Success
Dan Romero’s passion for the internet and technology led him to early adoption and success in the crypto industry. As a key figure in building Coinbase’s relationships with banks, Romero played a vital role in the company’s growth and success. His enthusiasm and dedication to his work have contributed to his personal wealth and luxurious lifestyle. Romero’s journey showcases the power of enthusiasm and its potential to lead to success and fulfillment.
Conclusion
This episode of “My First Million” provides valuable insights into the success stories of businesses like Petroleum Exports (Petex) and Hims, the marketing genius of Sonny Vaccaro, the achievements of Mark Zuckerberg, and the passion-driven journey of Dan Romero. From the importance of focus and time in building a successful business to the power of aggressive growth strategies and dedication to excellence, these stories offer inspiration and lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. Whether it’s the technical expertise of Petex, the aggressive scaling of Hims, or the marketing brilliance of Vaccaro, there are valuable takeaways for anyone interested in business and entrepreneurship.
