Filed my taxes. Pulled some weeds. Had some thoughts.

I shared a ton on my podcast (listen on Spotify or iTunes).

Here’s what’s been on my mind lately:

1- AI just saved me money on taxes

Quick plug for AppSumo: we are giving away ChatGPT PRO for LIFE (yes, this is what they’re doing behind my back!) – it’s free. Go enter here.

This tax season, I uploaded all my business tax docs to ChatGPT.

Then I asked: “What am I missing?”

Turns out, there were legit savings I hadn’t noticed. Especially around the new rules for R&D expenses (IRC 174 for fellow tax nerds).

It’s WILD what AI can do right now.

A friend used it to figure out how much to offer on a house and the messaging to send. Another guy redesigned his entire home with it. I’ve been asking it to pretend it’s Warren Buffet and give me feedback on my stock portfolio.

Eventually, everyone will catch up.

But right now, there’s a massive arbitrage opportunity. Especially if you’re in the wealth generation phase of your life, you need to be learning and implementing AI.

2- Weeds are stealing your best stuff

The other day I was pulling weeds in the front yard when I realized something:

If you don’t rip them out fully by the roots, they grow back. Not only that, they spread. And when you water your yard, the weeds steal the water from the grass.

Then I realized how weeds can impact our businesses:

• That teammate who talks behind people’s backs infects company culture.
• That marketing channel that doesn’t work steals time from a better one.
• That client who sucks up all your time prevents your team from serving the ones who actually grow the business.

What’s 1 weed in your business that you can remove today?

3- Raise your PERCENTAGE line

In your 20s and 30s, you should probably just say yes to everything. That’s how you figure out what you like and build your career.

But over time, that line should go up.

I call it the 80% line.

If someone hits me up and says, “Hey, want to go for a walk?”

I ask myself: Do I actually want to do that?

If it’s not at least 80%, I say no.

It’s not about thinking you’re too good for other people. It’s about being clear on what matters and how limited your time is. I have a kid now. I have family dinners. There’s not a lot of space left.

The more I say no to things below the line, the more I notice something better shows up.

4- This airline book is fire

I read a book on Ryanair, the European budget airline.

I’ve only flown them once. They’re not really talked about in America.

But the book? So damn good.

What I loved: they figured out their business model and stayed honest about it.

A few favorite quotes from Michael O’Leary, the CEO:

“We bow down to nobody. We’ll stuff every one of them in Europe.”

“No, we shouldn’t give you a cup of coffee. We only charge €19 for the ticket.”

They didn’t try to please everyone. They knew what they were – and stuck to it.

Most companies eventually go vanilla. They forget what made them great.

Look at Southwest. They’re not the cheapest anymore. They charge for bags. They’ve lost their edge. So now I fly Delta.

So a question on my mind is: How do you evolve, but stay true to what made you great?

5- What’s a good life… right now?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

What is a good life?

There were times when working a bunch was a good life.

And there are times now when walking around my neighborhood with my baby is a good life.

And maybe both are true.

For me today, a good day looks like:

• Working on AppSumo for an hour,
• Checking my finances,
• Doing a crucigram (aka crossword),
• Biking,
• And spending time with my family.

That’s it. That’s the good stuff.

Some people tell me I should be working more. Making more YouTube videos. Trying to get to $100 million net worth.

Why?

I already get to do what I want.

I already like how I spend my days.

So here’s the question:

Are you living your version of a good life… right now?

If not, change it.

If you are, don’t miss it while chasing something else.

Rooting for you,
Noah

Ps. I still love seeing everyone sharing pictures of my book and changing their lives. Have you grabbed a copy of Million Dollar Weekend for a friend?

The post April Musings 2025 appeared first on Noah Kagan.

Fifteen years ago, I started AppSumo with $50 and a dream to never get a real job.

I just wanted to make $3,000/month and work from anywhere.

Since then, we’ve promoted thousands of tools, built a profitable company, helped creators get rich, and made every mistake in the book (and still making a few).

Here are the 9 biggest lessons I’ve learned in 15 years of building AppSumo.

1. You will lose your way. Have a compass.

We’ve tried a lot of things over the years: A Shopify app, physical goods marketplace, even Tinder-for-email (yep, really).

Most didn’t work. What did work?

Our original premise: Great product. Great Price. Great Promotion.

We turned that into a doc called the MoM (Master Operating Manual). These are Operating Principles that should never change and make it black & white to all teammates the guardrails for our business.

The best companies do the same.

• Amazon: customer obsession
• Berkshire: buy and hold great businesses
• Meta: connect everyone

Most of the time, you don’t need a new idea – just a reminder to stick with the one that works.

A few examples of our Master Operating Manual (aka MoM)

2. Your market matters

Your market’s future size is the most important thing in business success.

When I started AppSumo, there were maybe 10 decent software tools on the market.

Now? There are millions.

Sure, we worked hard and have a great business model, but the market was the most important. Pick a market that’s growing (ideally smaller since it’s more likely to be ignored by most).

Growth of the U.S. Software Tools Market (2005–2015)

3. Scorecards and accountability

Many businesses fail because they don’t have clear outcomes or clear owners.

At AppSumo, every team has a scorecard:

1. What’s the target?
2. Are we on track?
3. What’s being done to hit it?

Example of recent scorecard for the amazing David Kelly who runs our AppSumo Originals Group. 

One of the tools we’re building is CustomerFinder.ai – the best tool to help businesses find customers. So far it’s been a rough roll out but still very optimistic, check it out.

4. The leader keeps the highest standard

We once hired a Vice President with an impressive resume. But he kept showing up late to meetings. Then he started gossiping behind people’s backs instead of giving feedback directly. We fired him the same day.

At AppSumo, we show up on time. We give feedback directly. We don’t play politics.

Keep the bar high and help people rise to your level. Be the example.

A core value in our internal culture handbook

5. Get an assistant

Hiring a U.S.-based assistant (shoutout Trusty Oak) is one of the highest-leverage moves.

A great assistant saves you the most valuable resource: your time.

Last year I went assistant-free. It was fine. I survived. BUT recently I hired Jacy from the above firm (no affiliation or sponsorship) and she reminded me of how much a game changer it is.

Helping find lost gifts for my wife (yay husband of the year), scheduling complex activities, getting money back from people, reservations and more… It’s truly priceless.

6. The bigger you grow the bigger the stress

When AppSumo started growing fast, I’d come down from my office, tired, stressed and just overall irritated. My wife (who was pregnant at the time) told me to save some energy left for the family. She was right.

More growth means more people, more responsibility, and more pressure on you.

The billionaire founder of Kinko’s told me he was stressed for 34 years until the day they sold.

So if it feels heavy, it doesn’t mean you’re failing, it means you’re growing. And if you want less stress, you can always keep a smaller, simpler (and happier) biz if that’s what you want.

7. Taste the dish

I told David, who runs our Originals team, to use CustomerFinder.ai to get one new customer for BreezeDoc.com.

At AppSumo, I still buy our deals and use the software we promote.

Too many businesses get disconnected from the customer experience because leadership stops using the product.

You’d be shocked how many founders never actually use what they sell.

Most businesses drift because the people running them never experience them.

Use your own product. Eat at your own restaurant. Go through your own checkout.

8. Starting is easy. Sticking with it is the hard part.

It’s never been easier to start a business (Especially with AI). But that’s not the hard part.

The hard part is showing up when it’s NOT exciting. When growth slows. When it’s boring.

We’ve been doing AppSumo for 15 years. Some years were rocket ships. Others felt like pushing a boulder uphill.

Not everything needs to 10x. Sometimes 2% growth and staying in the game is the real win.

Here’s our revenue growth over the last 2 decades

9. Build your life, not just your business

Too many people build a business they hate… just to impress people they don’t even like.

If your business already gives you the freedom to live your dream life, don’t miss it while chasing more.

Lately, my days are more focused on being a present father, attentive husband (I try!) and then supporting the hungry next-generation leadership of AppSumo. 

Whatever your version of success is, build toward that.

——

AppSumo changed my life – and I’m damn proud of what we’ve built.

Here’s to the next 15 years of making, learning, and staying weird.

Be Epic,
Noah

P.S. Haven’t been to AppSumo.com lately? Check it out and let me know what you think on Twitter

The post 15 year of AppSumo appeared first on Noah Kagan.

Recently, I caught up with my longtime friend Sam Parr – founder of Hampton and co-host of the My First Million podcast. Listen to the chat here (Spotify & iTunes)

3 BIG takeaways from our chat:

1. Inside a billionaire retreat – MrBeast had a guy sprint in with a banana. Some guests had bodyguards. Others showed up barefoot. The way these people operate is wild.
2. How Sam made $1M in 48 hours – He had no website and no product – just a tweet, a few calls, and cash in the bank before anything existed.
3. How fatherhood rewires ambition – We both built businesses to make millions. Now? We’re questioning what “success” really looks like.

Listen to the full episode here: Spotify & iTunes

And if you want to see what Sam’s building, check out his projects:

• TryRosedale.com – Self-improvement without the fluff.
• JoinHampton.com – A private founder community.
• CopyThat.com – Helping writers write better.
• SamsList.co – Find quality accountants.

Be Epic,
Noah

The post Hey Sam Parr appeared first on Noah Kagan.

I woke up this morning to snow in Austin, Texas.

Yes, snow.

I didn’t think that was possible, but, well… here we are.

While I was making snow angels , I realized it’s been a while since I’ve just shared what’s on my mind. Just raw thoughts, like the early days of blogging.

Lately, money has been top of mind. Money is such a wild concept – a human invention that impacts everyone. I love what money enables, but I’ve been thinking a lot about how we interact with it.

Recently my financial advisors (hi, Adam, he’ll read this) fired me. I didn’t want to pay the $100k fee. Since then, I’ve been diving back into managing my own finances and here’s what’s been top of mind…

Last night, I bought some Ethereum. Why? Because Donald Trump Jr. tweeted about it. (I know. Dumb move.)

https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1881494777293611302 

The next morning, it was up $30. I sold it and made a whopping $10 after fees. This little experiment made me reflect on my relationship with money.

I wasn’t investing. I was GAMBLING. It was fun and exhilarating – but it’s the same trap so many people fall for, thinking they’ll strike it rich.

This morning, I was pushing my daughter in her stroller and we passed the mini-market. I saw a construction worker walk out with lottery tickets. Same story. Hoping for easy money.

Gambling on money isn’t new, but lately, it feels like more people believe the fundamentals don’t apply anymore. They do. You can’t ignore the laws of nature.

Now, you can get rich gambling or day trading – but only if you have an advantage and treat it like a profession. It’s hard to win at a professional level if you’re playing like a hobbyist.

Getting rich is simple, not easy. It’s a sacrifice. Give up something TODAY, and you’ll have more TOMORROW.

https://x.com/SpinninBackfist/status/1879044474997006839

That’s it. Sacrifice is the price of admission.

Preserving and growing your money?

That’s the boring part. I’ve been exploring tools like Kubera, HonestMath, and Frec to manage my finances. Also talking with wealthy friends like David Hauser (who sold Grasshopper for $200m). Since my days at Mint (rip) the amount of fin-tech is overwhelming and very promising. 

Here’s what I’m learning: Simplicity wins. Fewer accounts. Clearer goals. Automated systems. Complexity isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a TRAP.

In my 20s, I was obsessed with chasing every penny. I’d jump into anything that promised the gains. Today, I’m okay with a little less upside if it means my finances are simpler and my stress is lower.

For yourself – reflect on 

1. What do you have an advantage in?
2. What can you sacrifice today that in 10 years will help provide your ideal lifestyle?

The moral of the story? Make money doing something you’re great at – and then get boring af with your finances. It’s not flashy and probably won’t make you go viral on Instagram. But most often it’s the boring stuff that does the heavy lifting over time.

Rooting for you,

Noah

Ps. I’m looking for an assistant. Someone proactive, insanely detailed, and reliable. Basically, someone who’s better than AI. If you know someone, DM me on Twitter @NoahKagan. I’ll pay you $1,000 if your referral gets hired.

The post I bought Crypto appeared first on Noah Kagan.

Hola amigo,

It’s December, and as the year wraps up, I’ve been doing some thinking. You know, the good ol’ “let’s reflect on everything” end-of-year vibe.

Today I wanted to share 9 of my biggest learnings from 2024 (and my goals for 2025):

1- Stop playing the blame game

There’s this growing sentiment of the haves vs. have-nots. People pointing fingers at the rich, powerful, or lucky, saying, “It’s not fair.”

And you know what? Life isn’t fair. Your boss might suck. Your city might be overpriced. Someone else might’ve been born into money.

But blaming doesn’t solve anything. As my buddy Adam Gilbert says: Blame = Be Lame.

The truth is, no one’s coming to save you. Take back your power.

2- AI Is coming for your job (embrace it)

If your job involves repetitive tasks on a computer, AI is coming for you. Customer service, admin work, even parts of sales—it’s all getting automated.

But here’s the opportunity: AI doesn’t have to be your enemy. It can be your ally. Learn the tools, master the tech, and use it to work smarter, not harder.

And if you’re in a field that’s super replaceable? Pivot. Do something AI can’t touch (yet), like plumbing, landscaping, or fixing crawl spaces.

3- Who you know WELL > what you know

There’s this story about Elon Musk texting Larry Ellison for $1 billion. Larry replied, “How about $2B?” Just like that, Twitter got bought.

You might not have billionaire friends, but strong relationships matter more than anything. This year, I leaned into friendships with people who inspire me (shoutout Nick Gray, Neville Medhora, Dan Andrews).

They challenge me, encourage me, and make me better. Relationships like that? Priceless.

4- Focus is your superpower

Ever sit down to do one thing and suddenly find yourself scrolling Instagram, answering emails, and watching a video about how Stephen Curry hit a deep no-look three-pointer?

Yeah, me too.

In 2024, I felt like my brain had too many tabs open. Everything was pulling for my attention, and I got distracted more than I’d like to admit.

Focus is the most important skill today. The more you can shut out the noise and get clear on what you want, the more you can actually do.

I get it—talking about focus feels cliché. But it’s cliché for a reason. The clearer you are about what you want in life, the more you can live on your terms, not the algorithm’s.

5- Life moves in seasons

This year, life moved at a different pace. I got married, stopped doing content, and have been obsessed with fantasy football (LOL).

I used to think if I wasn’t doing everything in my power to get ahead, I was failing.

But here’s what I’ve learned: Life isn’t static. It moves in seasons.

In my 20s, my season was hustle. Build businesses, grow my career, say yes to everything.

Now? My season is different. Could I be publishing more content and promoting Million Dollar Weekend more? Sure. But I’m more focused on spending time with my family and being a dad.

It’s okay to be unbalanced (and then be balanced). Embrace the season you’re in.

6- Celebrate your wins

Here’s what most of us do:

1. Hit a goal.
2. Immediately move on to the next goal.

Sound familiar? We get so focused on what’s next that we rarely stop to appreciate what we’ve accomplished.

Acknowledging your wins isn’t just about feeling good. It’s about reinforcing the mindset and behaviors that got you there. When you reflect, you get a chance to appreciate the progress you’ve made (and it fuels your motivation to keep going).

Your celebration doesn’t have to be extravagant. It could be as simple as sharing the win with a friend, treating yourself to a favorite meal, or taking a quiet moment to reflect on how far you’ve come.

We recently took the entire AppSumo team to Mexico to celebrate the year. Cool!!

7- Your partner = your life’s biggest decision

The single most important decision you’ll ever make is who you choose as your partner. Period.

This year, my wife reminded me why she’s my biggest win. She encourages me, supports me, and somehow tolerates my fantasy football obsession.

The right partner doesn’t just make life easier; they make life better.

If you haven’t found that person yet, don’t rush into a relationship just to fill a void. Choosing the wrong partner can hold you back, but the right one will amplify everything good in your life.

Your person is out there. Trust the process and, in the meantime, focus on becoming the best version of yourself that you would want to date.

8- The biggest risk is not taking risks

A few weeks ago, I met a guy at a dinner party. He’s 35, stuck in a job he hates, and talking about how he’ll “someday” start a business.

Honestly, I’m scared for him. If he doesn’t start a business now, he’ll be stuck doing what he’s currently doing when he’s 50.

Staying where you are feels safe. It’s familiar, comfortable, and predictable. But “someday” isn’t real. It’s a convenient excuse to avoid discomfort and uncertainty.

The truth? The greatest risk isn’t failing; it’s living a life in a way that you don’t want to live.

9- Sign up for something epic in 2025

A few years ago, I walked 50,000 steps in one day on a YouTube livestream.

Painful? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Next year, I’m biking across Portugal with my buddy Anton. Big, scary goals make life more exciting. Sign up for a race. Take a crazy trip. Learn something new.

When you’re old and on your deathbed, you won’t regret taking more adventures.

My 2025 Goals:

That’s the plan. Let’s make 2025 epic.

Rooting for you,

Noah

Ps. What’s your one big goal for next year? Hit reply and let me know. I’d love to hear.

The post 9 Lessons from 2024 + My Goals for 2025 appeared first on Noah Kagan.

~~

It’s Wednesday, November 27th, 2024.

One month since I last wrote to you.

How are you? I miss you.

Since my daughter was born I’ve slowed down on content—one piece a month now. She just turned four months old, and, well, life’s been BUSY. She’s napping in the other room, so I’m going to try and type quietly. Shhh.

Today, I want to share three things:

1. Parenting insights (what I’ve been learning lately)
2. A genius business model you can steal
3. A book I’ve been loving

1. Parenting stuff

Becoming a dad has been the hardest, most rewarding experience of my life. It’s overwhelming but deeply grounding.

One big lesson? Who you choose as your partner is everything.

I don’t think we realize the magnitude of this until we’re in the thick of parenting. The sleepless nights, the tough decisions, the shared values—it all hinges on that partnership. I’ve thought about what life would’ve been like with certain exes, and let’s just say it wouldn’t have worked.

So if you’re in a great relationship, give them a high-five (or a pat on the tushy) today. And if you’re not? Take your time. Finding someone who shares your vision for life isn’t just worth it; it’s essential.

Another thing I’ve learned? Parenting forces priority.

My available time has been cut to a quarter of what it used to be. So now I ask: What’s truly important?

I like to always be available for bath time, so I prioritize my nights around it. It’s been a good exercise in what you SAY versus what you DO.

Oh, wait. Do you hear that? Is she waking up already? Hang tight.

…

Ok, I’m back.

2. A genius business model

Let’s talk about Baselang, an online Spanish tutoring platform. (This is not sponsored)

Here’s the premise:

1. They connect people like me, who want to learn Spanish, with native Spanish speakers in South America.
2. Tutors get flexibility to work on their own schedules, and learners get affordable, structured lessons.

Why is it brilliant?

1. It creates value on both sides. Tutors earn money on their terms, and students pay as little as $6 per hour (plus $9 monthly membership).
2. It’s scalable. Baselang provides the platform and curriculum, but the real “work” is done by the tutors and students.

It reminds me of businesses like Airbnb or Turo that unlock unused resources. Except here, it’s untapped teaching talent.

I’m already seeing results, and it’s making me think about how this model could be applied to other industries.

Could you create a platform that matches underutilized skills with people who need them? I can see similar platforms created for other languages, marketing, sales, or a trade skill.

It’s an idea worth pondering.

If you want to sign up for baselang (learn Spanish), here’s my affiliate link (yay!).

3. A book I’ve been loving

I recently started reading Kochland.

It’s one of those companies you’ve heard of but have NO idea about. The two brothers who run it are some of the richest people in America (and it’s the 2nd largest private business in the world). But how they got there, the drama, the business strategy and more are SO good.

I love books that are not mainstream, have great stories and include great tips you can apply to your own business.

Here are my top takeaways (so far):

1. Reinvest your profits.

The Koch brothers reinvested nearly every dollar back into the business instead of taking big payouts. The result? Today, each brother is worth around $44 billion.

This got me thinking: In our own businesses, are we reinvesting intelligently? If you can generate a higher return on investment (say, 10%+) by reinvesting in your business compared to the stock market average (~7%), it’s worth considering. But if your business ROI falls short, maybe the market is the better bet.

2. Focus on ROI—and track it.

The Kochs didn’t just spend money; they meticulously tracked outcomes. If an initiative didn’t produce results, they’d cut it fast. If it worked, they doubled down.

For example, at AppSumo, we’ve started applying this to giveaways. Instead of just hoping for great results, we’re asking: What’s the ROI? How can we improve next time? This level of accountability is something I want to dial up even more.

3. Extend your strengths. 

The Koch brothers expanded by building on their core expertise. Their background in oil and gas enabled them to seamlessly branch into chemicals, paper, and trading. They didn’t stray far from what they knew—they compounded their knowledge and experience.

What’s your unfair advantage? Whether it’s expertise, a proprietary method, or a unique resource, lean into it.

If you’re tired of cookie-cutter business books, give Kochland a try. It’s one of the best I’ve read in years, and I’m not even finished yet.

Alright, that’s it for today.

I’d love to hear from you – how was your year? Hit reply, and let me know.

Adios,

Noah

Ps. At AppSumo, we’re giving away $100,000 to one lucky business owner. Check it out.

The post A book, a baby, and a billionaire appeared first on Noah Kagan.

I look up as far as I can see–and all I can think about is how I’m going to give up early.

“I can just skip the last part of my ride. I’ve ridden enough. No one will even know.”

I shake my head and keep pedaling, ignoring my thoughts.

I finish the climb, out of breath. It feels like I’m having a heart attack.

I stop and take a deep breath.

A few seconds pass…

I take another breath. I hop back on my bike and start biking again.

That’s suffering.

Pushing through even when your mind is telling you to quit.

And I’ve realized that a big reason I’ve been able to build a few million dollar businesses and get to where I am today is my willingness to practice (and embrace) suffering over long periods of time.

I don’t say that to brag at all. The point I’m trying to make is:

The more you can lean into suffering, the more you will get what you want out of life. 

Now, what does professional suffering look like, you ask?

For me, it was:

• Getting sued by a competitor and banned by Facebook on the same day (ouch!)
• Living on floors or with my family until I was 30 to save money.
• Making $0k and then $42k respectively with AppSumo for 2 years
• Being up at 4am doing sales calls and customer support while on vacation in Croatia

In the moment, it felt like getting punched in the gut. But looking back, I’m glad I went through all that suffering–because even though it sucked, it was for something I chose to suffer for.

The truth is, suffering is inevitable. You can’t escape it.

The goal is to find something worth suffering for.

For example, I LOVE promoting things. It’s why I’ve been blogging since 2000 and still do it to this day.

Is it all sunshine and rainbows? Heck no.

The micro is suffering, but the macro is rewarding.

Another example:

Recently with AppSumo, I’ve been frustrated with certain aspects of our business (partners closing, teammates leaving, HR, how our site functions). And my default response is to avoid the suffering and run away. It’s a primal reaction that’s within all of us.

We run toward pleasure and run away from pain.

But what if the pain and suffering are there to help us grow? 

The moment where you lean into suffering is where you get the most growth. That’s what I call The Threshold: the place where the suffering improves you.

So — I’m leaning into helping our leadership team identify areas that I believe can be better, and being patient with the changes.

What does leaning into suffering look like for you?

It could be:

• Getting up 30 minutes earlier to start your business
• Not watching Netflix at night to create content
• Giving up Friday night beers to talk to customers
• Eating in so you can invest it in your company

Now, I’m not a superhuman. As you know, I still have a tendency to avoid suffering (which is only natural).

A few things that have helped me improve at suffering:

1/ Realize that suffering (to an extent) is a good thing.

Suffer now → Success later

2/ Surround yourself with coaches or people who keep it real

You know who I’m talking about… the ones who talk shit to you when they know you can be doing better.

3/ Practice suffering.

Make it a habit.

• Take the stairs
• Wake up early
• Go to the gym

Put yourself through voluntary suffering so that when involuntary suffering arises, you’re better equipped to handle it. 

Rooting for you,

Noah

The post A few thoughts on suffering appeared first on Noah Kagan.

What happened? Where did I go?

The short answer: I had a baby

The long answer: I’ve been pausing to reflect on how I can better live in alignment with what feels right (right now).

Let me explain…

Something I’ve been learning from the book Bringing up Bebe (highly recommend for any new parents out there) is the power of The Pause.

The Pause is when you take a moment before you go check on your sleeping baby who started crying. If you always immediately get your baby without pausing, they never learn to comfort themselves and fall back asleep. And you won’t get good sleep since your kid is up crying.

Similarly, I’m taking a pause on different areas of my life:

• I’m simplifying my finances (to mostly cash & index funds plus selling all my real estate)

• Reducing (not stopping) my day-to-day involvement with AppSumo

• Pausing most of my social media content creation

• And pausing all interviews for 2024

If you never take a pause it’s easy to keep doing the things that aren’t serving you anymore.

My life today is…

1. Wake up early to help my wife take care of the baby

2. Take a Spanish class from Baselang for 1 hour

3. Grill some food

4. Spend 2 hours studying fantasy football & chess

5. And then go cycling

That’s my entire day… and it’s satisfying.

This pause isn’t forever. But for now, my focus is on figuring out what feels right for my next phase of life.

So many people work towards something and when they get there, they just keep on working. It’s like finishing a marathon and immediately starting another one without pausing to recharge, celebrate, and think about what you really want next.

(A great book on this is Awareness by Anthony Demello. H/t Tim Ferriss).

As I reflect on my life in decades, it creates beautiful buckets of how life changes:

• My 20s (hustle) were all about just doing anything and everything to get rich. I felt like I was always lacking something.
• My 30s (stable) were accepting parts of life I liked, doubling down on what’s working and staying consistent.
• My 40s (simplify) are simplifying the distractions, and focusing on the few things that matter.
• My 50s (enjoy) – if I had to guess it would just be accepting myself, embracing who I am fully with much less apologies or shame around them. Might do this in my 40s!

Success varies depending on where you’re at in life. What you want can (and frankly should) change.

If I’m honest, I’ve had to drag myself to record a small clip for our latest YouTube video. And the idea of interviewing more people just to have more content is not appealing.

I feel guilty because I often preach (and truly believe) that success comes through consistency. But at some point, we need to get off the hamster wheel, and reflect which wheel we want to be running on.

If you spend so much time getting rich but never enjoy being rich – are you even rich?

And let me be clear:

“Rich” doesn’t just mean having lots of money. It means living the life YOU want.

Sometimes I’ve created YouTube videos cause I think there’s something lacking in me and the only answer is by asking these super-wealthy people. But the real answer is to get clear about how I want to live, create work that I enjoy, and live that life. Actually living my life in alignment is the best way to inspire others on how to live.

When I get up at 3 am to check the NFL Fantasy Football waiver wire…That’s me living my life. Even though no one external cares, and there’s barely any money on the line –I LOVE getting to do it. It’s an amazing game that I can play endlessly. That is the ideal work. A game you love to keep playing.

So how am I running Appsumo while taking a pause? I’m still involved, but have made a few changes:

1. Removing Slack. Trust the team you’ve hired to run the business.

2. Monthly Business Review (MBR). Get monthly business reports discussing how the company is doing against the budget.

3. 1-Pager Company Strategy. Clarify the outcomes and empower your team to make the best choices to get there.

4. Hiring badass people. Shoutout to Ilona Abramova, Seann Stubbs, Anna Notario, Chad Boyda, and other leaders helping run AppSumo.

As a content creator – the external validation of being seen and worthy is addicting. It’s easy to chase more views, more followers, more fame. But recently I’ve been reflecting on how I can be content with just myself. What if no one knew what I was doing, would I still be happy?

There’s nothing wrong with wanting attention or enjoying the game of making popular content. That’s why it’s a pause and not forever.

As ambitious, driven, and motivated people it’s hard to escape the feeling of guilt that things “should” be a certain way. But it’s that exact internal conflict that creates the uneasy tension that doesn’t feel right.

If you fully listened to yourself what would your life look like?

Excited for you,

Noah “Le Pause” Kagan

The post Le Pause appeared first on Noah Kagan.

Meet my ex-CEO, Ayman Al-Abdullah. He joined AppSumo in 2016, and took the company from $5M to $70 million per year in revenue in only 6 years.

Now, as a CEO coach, Ayman helps 7-figure CEOs get to 9-figure by working less.

Here’s his story:

Struggling entrepreneur

Before joining AppSumo, Ayman had started a few businesses–but struggled to get them off the ground. “None of them had taken off,” he said, so he took a traditional 9-5 job.

This was in 2008, and everybody was getting their job offers rescinded. The only jobs that were out there were in Accounting. So Ayman interned at an accounting firm–but immediately knew it wasn’t for him.

“I remember them telling us they were increasing our billable hours from 50 to 60 hours (which meant we had to work longer days). The guy sitting next to me literally broke down and started crying at his desk. I remember going, ‘Holy shit is this going to be my next 40 years?’”

Luckily, Ayman parlayed that experience into a position at Microsoft, where he worked for 3-4 years. He was part of a rotational program and loved that he got to learn new skills.

But eventually, the pull of entrepreneurship was too strong to ignore…

The big decision

“I had saved $50,000 and was planning to move to Thailand to stretch it out a few years,” Ayman said. “But I also recognized that I lacked the skills to launch and scale companies.”

“If you want to be an entrepreneur,” Ayman said. “The best way to learn is to go work for an entrepreneur you respect and admire. It’s better than any MBA or what you can learn on your own.”

Before leaving Microsoft, Ayman recorded two pitch videos. First, to be Sam Altman’s chief of staff (he was CEO of YC at the time), and second, to me (Watch Ayman’s pitch video here).

Unfortunately, by the time we jumped on a call, the position Ayman applied for had been filled. But I told him the whole team was moving over to run SumoMe (our new email capture tool), so we needed someone to run AppSumo.

His eyes lit up and I remember him telling me, “Hey, I think AppSumo has a ton of meat left on the bone.”

Early days at AppSumo

We started Ayman on a 2-week trial. He had to close 2 deals in 2 weeks. We still have people do trials to this day. 

Even though he was still working at Microsoft full–time, he crushed the trial and we hired him.

Ayman was living in Seattle at the time, and moved to Austin with just the stuff in his backpack (this was in 2015, before moving to Austin was the cool thing to do).

“In the first year, our only goal was survival,” Ayman recalled. “Every profit we made at AppSumo went straight to funding SumoMe. It was just me running the show, and hiring help seemed impossible.”

So Ayman got creative.

He paid an intern $15/hour out of his own pocket to take repetitive work off his plate. He then used that free time to focus on sales.

“That decision alone doubled our business,” Ayman said. “There’s always an undiscovered talent out there who can grow with your company. Nothing wrong with hiring college kids who are eager to learn.”

After a year, SumoMe became self-funded and Ayman could finally start reinvesting back into AppSumo’s growth.

Ayman’s proudest accomplishments

Before Ayman, we were stuck around ~$5M in revenue. Under Ayman’s leadership, AppSumo’s revenue skyrocketed from $5M to $70M in six years.

But Ayman’s proudest accomplishment is the team.

“Most tech companies have an 18-month turnover. At AppSumo, we have a leadership team that’s been in place for over 6 years,” Ayman said with a grin. “We’ve been able to build something incredible, but also have a ton of fun along the way.”

And in 2021, we were rated the #1 place to work in Austin for tech.

Now Ayman is a CEO coach helping 7-figure CEOs get to 9-figures.

When I asked Ayman for his advice to founders who want to scale their businesses, he half-jokingly said, “Don’t do it. Sell the business, and get out as quickly as you can. There are better ways to live your life.”

Ayman’s Advice for aspiring CEOs

1- Get clear about what you want

The truth is starting a business (0-1) and scaling a business (1-n) are completely different ball games.

Most founders are better off selling their company–and sticking with what they’re best at (starting and launching companies) or hiring an operator to run them.

The different stages of a company

If you’re determined to keep your company, Ayman advises first defining what success means to you. “Too often, founders build companies they end up hating,” he warns. Know your end goal–whether it’s growth, a lifestyle business, or an IPO.

2- Know who you’re serving

When Ayman started working at AppSumo, we were serving everyone from Solopreneur Sally to Enterprise Ethan. But when he analyzed our top customers, it was actually Marketing Agency Matt. This was someone running a business full-time (not dabbling in entrepreneurship), who wanted to reduce monthly expenses to fixed costs.

“The decision to make lifetime deals for Marketing Agency Matt alone tripled the business nearly overnight,” Ayman said.

Revisit your customer base to see:

• Who actually loves you the most?
• Who’s not a pain in the ass?
• Who spends the most?
• Who refers the most?

“The most common pitfall I see CEOs make is building for the wrong avatar,” Ayman said. “CEOs try to sell as much as they can to everyone. But when you sell to everyone, you sell to no one.”

3- Keep the main thing the main thing

Another mistake early founders make is having shiny object syndrome.

I know, I know… we’ve ALL heard this before. But cliches are cliches for a reason–because oftentimes they’re true!

Many founders go into this feast or famine mode (a great month followed by a horrible month) because they keep getting sidetracked by distractions.

Ayman shared an old parable with me about the power of focus:

First-time founders try to serve everyone in the world, have dozens of features, integrate AI, and dominate multiple markets all at the same time. Second-time founders focus on becoming the go-to solution in a specific niche.

4- Focus on cash flow

Apple was founded in 1976. The iPhone didn’t come out until 2008. “People like to look at Apple as an overnight success. But when I was growing up, they were the blue computers that the weird kids bought,” Ayman said. “It took 31 years for them to become mainstream.”

One of Ayman’s favorite lines is: “You can recover from a bad strategy or hire. But you can’t recover from running out of cash.”

Few companies make it past a decade, let alone three. The longer the game, the fewer players there are. Think about cash flow. Focus on survivability.

5- Keep the team lean

When should founders start hiring? According to Ayman, as late as possible.

“You should not be bragging about your headcount,” Ayman said. “Hiring is a sign of failure. Eliminate, automate, then as a last resort delegate.”

At AppSumo we had a rule of 1 hire for every $1M in revenue. If you don’t do that, you’re hiring for the wrong roles.

“When you do hire, hire A players,” Ayman said. “Yes, they cost 50% more. But you need less of them. They require less hand-holding.”

Being cheap with talent is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.

Another great line from Ayman: “You’re one good hire away from cutting your costs in half and two good hires from a completely different company.”

CEO Resources

When I asked Ayman what he does to learn how to be a great CEO, he replied, “I love looking at past founders and CEOs who have succeeded for decades.”

A few books Ayman recommends:

• Good to Great
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things
• The Ultimate Sales Machine
• Exploring Life (Thomas Edison)
• Wells Fargo
• My Life And Work (Henry Ford)

“Books were my original coaches. I remember buying business books at 13-14 years old for my used car business at the library.”

Ayman’s story is a testament to the power of resilience and constant learning.

• He realized he wasn’t where he wanted to be long-term at Microsoft
• He identified his weaknesses (and sought out those who were great at those skills)
• He didn’t make excuses and got creative when he hired a college intern

It’s been amazing watching him grow into the incredible leader he is today.

Rooting for you,

Noah

Ps. Ayman shares more entrepreneurship nuggets on Twitter. Follow him to learn how you can build a multi-million-dollar company!

The post From employee to 9-figure CEO whisperer appeared first on Noah Kagan.

Listen to this email instead – Spotify – iTunes

When I walked into the first floor of the Facebook building on University Avenue, in Palo Alto, I wasn’t sure if I was in a frat house or a startup.

There were cables falling from the ceilings, people running around and I was told to sit on a corner of someone else’s desk.

My new boss walked by me and said he’d find me after lunch. Cool! Then someone gave me a laptop and I just started playing on the web until I was later told to prepare for an impromptu meeting with Mark Zuckerberg in 30 minutes.

Mark comes into the meeting and says:

“I just fired your boss, welcome to Facebook. You’ll be fine here if you don’t try to sell my company behind my back.”

And this is when the fun really began…

Working at Facebook was the best (and worst thing) to ever happen to me.

I was employee #30. Then I got fired 9 months later.

For a long time, I was bitter that they let me go.

But the lessons I learned from Mark and Facebook ended up helping me build AppSumo into a $100 million per year company.

10 non-obvious lessons I learned from working directly under Mark Zuckerberg:

1) Focus on ONE goal

“Mark, we’re not profitable. Let’s try selling tickets inside Facebook events,” I pleaded.

He said no.

Then he took a dry-erase marker and wrote on the board: GROWTH.

Mark’s goal was 1 billion users.

Every idea we’d bring, he’d ask, “Does this help growth or not?”

If it wasn’t driving toward that goal, we didn’t do it.

You don’t grow fast by doing many things, but by doing ONE thing extremely well.

2) Move fast

At Facebook, it was normal to work 12+ hours a day.

A long night.

Mark constantly pushed us to have a sense of urgency. One of his internal mantras was “Move fast and break things”.

“Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” he’d say.

The idea was that we would tolerate some amount of bugs and flaws in the service of moving faster and learning what our community wanted faster.

We shipped several updates to the site every day. In comparison, companies like Microsoft would take months to write out product details, discuss them in a lot of meetings, and finally build them.

As a startup, your biggest advantage against giant companies is speed.

3) Only hire A PLUS players

Mark would only hire people he would be happy to work for.

Even our customer support team was filled with Harvard PhD’s.

The people from Facebook have gone on to help found Asana, Quora, AppSumo , OpenAI, and more.

When you’re in a startup, the first ten people you hire are the most critical. Each makes up 10% of the company. If three are not great, that’s 30% of your company!

A startup depends on great people much more than a big company.

4) Treat your employees well

Mark recognized that having a work environment you want to work in would appeal to potential employees and make the existing ones proud to be there (and stay later at night).

Facebook did a lot of things that are the norm now:

1. A fancy office in one of the most expensive neighborhoods of Silicon Valley
2. Hyper competitive salaries
3. $1000 office chairs for everyone
4. Comped PowerBook and BlackBerry
5. Delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner catered
6. Fridge stocked with any drink you can imagine
7. All expenses paid company trips to Las Vegas
8. Free happy hours every Friday
9. Free laundry/dry cleaning service
10. Subsidized housing. $600/month if you lived within 1 mile of the office.
11. Summer housing/Winter Cabin that anyone could use

People want to feel acknowledged. Treating your employees well improves work and boosts morale.

Early Facebook party

5) Scratch your own itch

Many people start businesses in a category they don’t know much about or have an interest in because they’re told it’s “hot” or “trending”.

They have a job as an accountant but try to start a business making software for Content Creators.

At the start, Mark never intended to build a company. He was just trying to help connect people at college.

I started AppSumo because I loved tech products and deals.

Many of the top companies didn’t set out to become companies. The founders solved a problem they faced themselves, and then shared the solution with others.

Build selfishly, share selflessly.

6) Pay attention to details

I remember Mark sent me an email at 3 am telling me that I missed a period in one of our documents. A period (!!)

Mark didn’t accept anything less than perfect. If he thought something was shit he would tell you and you’d have to start over.

He was meticulous about capitalizing the “F” in Facebook. Mark even gifted me the book Elements of Style (a grammar book) for Hanukkah

Mark set a high standard of excellence for us. It was challenging, but also super rewarding.

7) Give ownership to the team

Surprisingly, Mark wasn’t super involved in the day-to-day operations. He coded some of the time, but mostly was focused on the macro vision.

He was great about giving people a goal, some boundaries, and coaching them from the sidelines. 

Engineers and product managers could come up with features and build them out without needing anyone’s approval. 

Mark said he wanted Facebook mobile, and he let us figure out the details to make the very first version. 

When your team feels like an owner, they will act as an owner.

8) “People” not “Users”

Mark would yell at us if we said “users”. Like literally yell.

“They’re human beings”, he’d scream.

Humanizing the people who use your products allows you to serve them better. You’re able to better relate to the problems they’re facing vs just looking at numbers.

On the other side of that username or email address is a fellow human!

9) Keep the right people on the bus

My boss was fired the day I started. My next boss was fired a month later. I got fired in 9 months. 

Mark was intense about keeping the right people on the bus.

He removed the people that were holding Facebook back immediately and he quickly promoted the ones that were helping Facebook achieve its goals

At AppSumo, we run paid trials with potential teammates before bringing them on full-time to ensure they’re the right fit.

10) Have a big-ass vision

We were all in our 20s when Mark was offered $1B to sell Facebook.

When he said no, he sent a message to all of us and the world.

His goal was to connect the ENTIRE world. That inspired the shit out of us.

When I was at Facebook all I did was think/talk/dream about Facebook. Facebook was my girlfriend. It didn’t feel like a job, so I put in all my hours.

A big vision is what motivates people to get up and come give their best at the office. It gives employees a sense of purpose beyond money.

Rooting for you,

Noah

The post What I Learned Working For Mark Zuckerberg appeared first on Noah Kagan.