How to Launch a Million-Dollar Business this Weekend w/Noah Kagan

[noahkagan]

Hola FLF amigos

I’m Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo (aka, CEO) at AppSumo ($80M+/year in revenue) the #1 software deals site online.

I also run a YouTube Channel with 1M+ subscribers helping inspire underdogs on their business journey.

Before AppSumo, I was employee #30 at Facebook (invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform and worked on the first version of Facebook's mobile app) & fired by Mark Zuckerberg.

Made my first million dollars at age 29 before I ever started a successful business by sleeping on friend’s couches and putting all my money into savings or the stock market.

My new book Million Dollar Weekend is dropping Jan 30/2024 sharing everything I’ve learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).

Happy to answer any questions on entrepreneurship, launching a biz, marketing or running a company

Ps. Episode on Tim Ferriss just dropped if anyone wants to check it out!

 

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[TippedBull]

Hola FLF amigos

I’m Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo (aka, CEO) at AppSumo ($80M+/year in revenue) the #1 software deals site online.

I also run a YouTube Channel with 1M+ subscribers helping inspire underdogs on their business journey.

Before AppSumo, I was employee #30 at Facebook (invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform and worked on the first version of Facebook's mobile app) & fired by Mark Zuckerberg.

Made my first million dollars at age 29 before I ever started a successful business by sleeping on friend’s couches and putting all my money into savings or the stock market.

My new book Million Dollar Weekend is dropping Jan 30/2024 sharing everything I’ve learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).

Happy to answer any questions on entrepreneurship, launching a biz, marketing or running a company

Ps. Episode on Tim Ferriss just dropped if anyone wants to check it out!

Hey Noah,

These questions are purely out of curiosity - At what time do you usually wake up? And what does your morning routine look like? How, if at all, has this changed overtime?

Thanks.

 

[AFMKelvin]

What's a good technology business to get in right now starting with almost $0 money? I want to start one this weekend. What do you see in the future of tech? I've been thinking about a smart home business for senior citizens. Turn their home into smart homes. Also why did Zuck fire you? Did he do it personally?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

AMA and dude is legit!

Also, so is the book, I pre-read it and it echoes a lot of what we try to practice around here... namely, just STOP action-faking and take the shortest path to your first customer.

@Andy Black would approve.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

I ordered his book in August.

 

[Bounce Back]

Noah, been coding websites for ~20 years now - so cool to see you post here. I am not sure if people here realize how crazy it is to have your ear. Definitely going to check out the book.

In your opinion what is the #1 way to sift through the pile of ideas we all come up with when it comes to SAAS products and identify the one you really should move forward with? On this forum we see time and time again it come up that they can be harder to validate without sinking a ton of time into.

I quit my job and went traditional service company a few years ago and now back in biggish tech myself to get some debt squared away but about to go hard at some SAAS products of my own finally so I'd appreciate your thoughts/perspective. Thank you for doing this!

 

[chazwazzer]

Hi Noah,

As a one-person team behind a software product, what are the key milestones I should aim for?

 

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[100k]

Welcome to the forum.
Long term listener, first time caller. Though, I'm one of your "friends" on facebook.

 

[Fox]

Hola FLF amigos

I’m Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo (aka, CEO) at AppSumo ($80M+/year in revenue) the #1 software deals site online.

I also run a YouTube Channel with 1M+ subscribers helping inspire underdogs on their business journey.

Before AppSumo, I was employee #30 at Facebook (invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform and worked on the first version of Facebook's mobile app) & fired by Mark Zuckerberg.

Made my first million dollars at age 29 before I ever started a successful business by sleeping on friend’s couches and putting all my money into savings or the stock market.

My new book Million Dollar Weekend is dropping Jan 30/2024 sharing everything I’ve learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).

Happy to answer any questions on entrepreneurship, launching a biz, marketing or running a company

Ps. Episode on Tim Ferriss just dropped if anyone wants to check it out!

Hey Noah, welcome to the forum and been following your stuff for a long time.

I am curious on what drove you to invest so much in having a strong personal brand?

You have the skills, connections, and know how to build out of the public eye and stack some serious wealth.

What personal branding advantages do you see and how have you felt about your progress so far?

Thank you - and already have that pre-order in...

 

[Andy Black]

I'll get the book too, and likely copies for people who stare at me dumbly when I tell them to just start, today.

My new favourite quote is "Start small, start fast, start now." (Noah Kagan)

Also loved this rapid fire AMA you did Noah:

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[BlackMagician]

Hola FLF amigos

I’m Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo (aka, CEO) at AppSumo ($80M+/year in revenue) the #1 software deals site online.

I also run a YouTube Channel with 1M+ subscribers helping inspire underdogs on their business journey.

Before AppSumo, I was employee #30 at Facebook (invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform and worked on the first version of Facebook's mobile app) & fired by Mark Zuckerberg.

Made my first million dollars at age 29 before I ever started a successful business by sleeping on friend’s couches and putting all my money into savings or the stock market.

My new book Million Dollar Weekend is dropping Jan 30/2024 sharing everything I’ve learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).

Happy to answer any questions on entrepreneurship, launching a biz, marketing or running a company

Ps. Episode on Tim Ferriss just dropped if anyone wants to check it out!

I have been following Noah and appsumo since 3 years now.

Great success and great guy.
Loved all the content he shares online.
Happy to have you here.

 

[harumi]

This is so awesome! I'd love to use this opportunity:

What/How do you prioritise actions?
Especially in the early stages.

My short term plan -

1. Finish the initial product so its ready for market:
- stripe subscriptions flow needs cleaning, especially account deletion flow.
- add branding elements which I outsourced
2. Have it tested by beta testers (I have 5 people already who are happy to test, however I could get more?)
- action critical feedback
3. Release my APK to Google PlayStore.
- I already paid for the Google Developer Account, will do more self learning in the Beta Testing Stage.
4. Advertise on Reddit / Google / Blogs (what do you recommend I learn/do to nail this, how many hours would you allocate for this?)

Longer term plan -
Release to Apple App Store

I chose to use AWS and Stripe as external providers for my app, I also have an empty company set up in UK.

I've been recently getting worried over the financial structure of the company, and what I need to do.
Right now I just have a dormant company, at what stage would you recommend I start looking for financial advisors/accountants/lawyers?

 

[noahkagan]

Hey Noah,

These questions are purely out of curiosity - At what time do you usually wake up? And what does your morning routine look like? How, if at all, has this changed overtime?

Thanks.

Weirdly - once I turned 40 my body wakes up naturally around 7:30am. My morning routine turned from rigid to more fluid over the years.

Main things:

• Leave bottle of water out on the table
• Have physical book out on table
• Drink Cometeer coffee or make Chinese tea
• Journal (only on Mondays) - found daily overwhelming
• Leave phone outside bedroom
• Write out 3x5 note card top things of the day.

Over time I focus on less guilt from following optimal morning routine and more just acknowledging what I want / need in that morning. If I want to check my phone right away (book launch!) that's okay or if I feel for a workout do that. If I keep aimlessly scrolling stupid shit, unfollow more people and or change the book on my kitchen table.

 

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[noahkagan]

I have been following Noah and appsumo since 3 years now.

Great success and great guy.
Loved all the content he shares online.
Happy to have you here.

Love you back. Thank you so much. It's been a fun journey - a bit surprised reflecting I've been doing it for 24 years

 

[noahkagan]

I'll get the book too, and likely copies for people who stare at me dumbly when I tell them to just start, today.

My new favourite quote is "Start small, start fast, start now." (Noah Kagan)

Also loved this rapid fire AMA you did Noah:

Google Podcasts

With Google Podcasts, you can find and listen to the world's podcasts for free.

podcasts.google.com

Thank you Andy.

The #1 major takeaway from the book surprisingly is NOW, not how.

Realizing you can do things much quicker, get results, get confidence and get going was holding so many people back from their dreams.

 

[noahkagan]

Hey Noah, welcome to the forum and been following your stuff for a long time.

I am curious on what drove you to invest so much in having a strong personal brand?

You have the skills, connections, and know how to build out of the public eye and stack some serious wealth.

What personal branding advantages do you see and how have you felt about your progress so far?

Thank you - and already have that pre-order in...

View attachment 53706

Fox - you legendary guy you

I never really think of myself as a brand and after I turned 40 realized there's never enough brand for some of the egomaniacs out there : )

Ultimately I like it. Getting recognized at an airport, someone saying I read / bought that thing I worked on and it helped them and I like the attention it provides. I am WAY more concerned with my security given my wealth and attention has increased but still feel like I'm more than enough recognized to never get recognized at Taco Bell : )

Personal brand is INSANELY advantageous and you nowadays don't even have to use your real face.

Biggest gains:

• Meet other cool people - guys like Jordan Belfort or famous cyclist like George Hencapie have reached out
• Cool activities - not always but get invited to events
• AppSumo benefits - HUGE brand awareness having me out there
• There are more...

I talk in therapy how much attention is enough. And enough is enough. Lately I'm focusing more if I am proud of the work vs solely how well the work does and how can I sustain it for 10 years.

 

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[noahkagan]

Noah, been coding websites for ~20 years now - so cool to see you post here. I am not sure if people here realize how crazy it is to have your ear. Definitely going to check out the book.

In your opinion what is the #1 way to sift through the pile of ideas we all come up with when it comes to SAAS products and identify the one you really should move forward with? On this forum we see time and time again it come up that they can be harder to validate without sinking a ton of time into.

I quit my job and went traditional service company a few years ago and now back in biggish tech myself to get some debt squared away but about to go hard at some SAAS products of my own finally so I'd appreciate your thoughts/perspective. Thank you for doing this!

Bounce - thanks so much ME and you STARTED the internet. Thank you Front Page!!

The first idea is the best one.

I know, I know but but but. That's literally why ALL of my 8 figure companies were started quickly and they are also simply explainable.

And all the ones that took LONG to build and complicated to explain didn't.

The reason - you can find out in 48 hours or less if it's something people want.

Okay now for the how - DONT DO SAAS. Do the service with free or basic tools - validate the problem and build the SaaS later.

Most people sift through ideas or say they have too many or too little as avoidance of doing the "hard" work of talking to customers or validating which through practice I personally find is the fun and easy work that will lead you on a great path.

What is 1 thing you can actively do today?

I thank myself that I started 14 years ago and stuck with it. What will you thank yourself for by the end of this year....

 

[noahkagan]

What's a good technology business to get in right now starting with almost $0 money? I want to start one this weekend. What do you see in the future of tech? I've been thinking about a smart home business for senior citizens. Turn their home into smart homes. Also why did Zuck fire you? Did he do it personally?

I LOVE the idea of smart homes for senior citizens. How many grandparents do you have (see what I did there) or friends that have them. See if you can call them and sell at least 3 of them in the next 48 hours. That's the sweet spot. If they say, listen to what other problems they are facing.

Also for technology business - I'm personally interested in big large tech companies without lock-in and monthly subscriptions. Think docusign and google analytics for example are ripe for disruption.

Why I got fired. Zuck did not fire me, Matt Cohler did.

 

[noahkagan]

AMA and dude is legit!

Also, so is the book, I pre-read it and it echoes a lot of what we try to practice around here... namely, just STOP action-faking and take the shortest path to your first customer.

@Andy Black would approve.

Thank you Legend ‍

 

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[noahkagan]

Hi Noah,

As a one-person team behind a software product, what are the key milestones I should aim for?

Congrats on the product!

First is always customers. Where are you at with them and revenue?

 

[noahkagan]

Welcome to the forum.

Long term listener, first time caller. Though, I'm one of your "friends" on facebook.

Yay - thought you were my BEST friend!!

 

[Epynok]

Hola FLF amigos

I’m Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo (aka, CEO) at AppSumo ($80M+/year in revenue) the #1 software deals site online.

I also run a YouTube Channel with 1M+ subscribers helping inspire underdogs on their business journey.

Before AppSumo, I was employee #30 at Facebook (invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform and worked on the first version of Facebook's mobile app) & fired by Mark Zuckerberg.

Made my first million dollars at age 29 before I ever started a successful business by sleeping on friend’s couches and putting all my money into savings or the stock market.

My new book Million Dollar Weekend is dropping Jan 30/2024 sharing everything I’ve learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).

Happy to answer any questions on entrepreneurship, launching a biz, marketing or running a company

Ps. Episode on Tim Ferriss just dropped if anyone wants to check it out!

How did you discover this forum?

 

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[theazizmoh_]

Hola FLF amigos

I’m Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo (aka, CEO) at AppSumo ($80M+/year in revenue) the #1 software deals site online.

I also run a YouTube Channel with 1M+ subscribers helping inspire underdogs on their business journey.

Before AppSumo, I was employee #30 at Facebook (invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform and worked on the first version of Facebook's mobile app) & fired by Mark Zuckerberg.

Made my first million dollars at age 29 before I ever started a successful business by sleeping on friend’s couches and putting all my money into savings or the stock market.

My new book Million Dollar Weekend is dropping Jan 30/2024 sharing everything I’ve learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).

Happy to answer any questions on entrepreneurship, launching a biz, marketing or running a company

Ps. Episode on Tim Ferriss just dropped if anyone wants to check it out!

Welcome to the forum Noah!! Been following your content for a while and one of my "mini" software is on appsumo as well.

What are your opinion about shiny object syndrome? or "the tekel syndrome" as the book refers

 

[SnowLava]

Hola FLF amigos

I’m Noah Kagan, the Chief Sumo (aka, CEO) at AppSumo ($80M+/year in revenue) the #1 software deals site online.

I also run a YouTube Channel with 1M+ subscribers helping inspire underdogs on their business journey.

Before AppSumo, I was employee #30 at Facebook (invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform and worked on the first version of Facebook's mobile app) & fired by Mark Zuckerberg.

Made my first million dollars at age 29 before I ever started a successful business by sleeping on friend’s couches and putting all my money into savings or the stock market.

My new book Million Dollar Weekend is dropping Jan 30/2024 sharing everything I’ve learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).

Happy to answer any questions on entrepreneurship, launching a biz, marketing or running a company

Ps. Episode on Tim Ferriss just dropped if anyone wants to check it out!

Maybe a personal question but who were your role models/inspiration/source of knowledge when you were trying to make your business succesful ?

And uhm uhm. Any chance of you and Alex Hormozi in a podcast ?

 

[Paul David]

When doing cold email to find potential companies to use my software I procrastinate too much by second guessing, for example just today I've got some email content ready to go then someone I spoke to said its going to be difficult to speak to the right person if I just email generic (support@ sales@ customerservice@) addresses so I've sent 0 cold emails today.

Did you have any luck with this method when starting up?

 

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[Tiago]

Loved the interview you made with Michael Hudner and the one you did where you flew with the guy on the jet. Made me focus a lot more on my stretching

Appreciate your work!

 

[Spenny]

It's fantastic to have such a heavy hitter like you on the forum, Noah.

Did you always want to do entrepreneurship & saw Facebook as the way to do it? Or did you just like working at an innovative startup?

 

[luminis_]

Love your videos Noah and congrats on the new book!

My question is, what was the biggest "shocker" moment for you when it comes to someone's revenue or income relative to their business? (Larry Janesky's $700M basement repair company was insane to hear about). I'm sure you've met a ton of lesser-known and blue collar CEOs outside of the videos who are absolutely crushing it!

 

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[Andy Black]

DONT DO SAAS. Do the service with free or basic tools - validate the problem and build the SaaS later.

Stop building stuff in your batcave guys. Go talk to people, help 'em, and get paid. Divorce your time from your income later.

"Do things that don't scale."
(Paul Graham)

 

[ZackerySprague]

Loved the interview you made with Michael Hudner and the one you did where you flew with the guy on the jet. Made me focus a lot more on my stretching

Appreciate your work!

That was a good video!