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Your First 100 Million by Dan Pena

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FxInvestor

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I will give my two bits here since I have his book.

I am not sure I totally buy into his business philosophy, but that may be because simply put, there is no one way to make the millions.

His way is one way, similar to the million of other titles on Amazon. There is someone who has sold over 400million USD worth of goods and he has written a simple short book covering his methods.

So who is right and who is wrong, the answer is neither. Both are right and wrong.

Yes, you definitely need a different mind set and way of doing things, but Dan Pena is only one way, not the only way.
 
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superleggera

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Dan Pena in six steps:-

1. The only way to rapid growth is to acquire another company
2. Your job is to get capital, and nothing else. LBO is his preferred method
3. Focus on revenue, not profits
4. Revenue is strategic, profits is operational
5. Hire a "doofus" (his choice of word) to make your company profitable
6. Sell your company to a "bigger fool", repeat

Would this method work in the present financial climate? The jury's still out for that one
 

Krazeeh

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Dan Pena in six steps:-

1. The only way to rapid growth is to acquire another company
2. Your job is to get capital, and nothing else. LBO is his preferred method
3. Focus on revenue, not profits
4. Revenue is strategic, profits is operational
5. Hire a "doofus" (his choice of word) to make your company profitable
6. Sell your company to a "bigger fool", repeat

Would this method work in the present financial climate? The jury's still out for that one

I don't think his method of raising capital via underloaned banks may be as plausible in this environment with the Fed interest rates as low as they are now in the U.S.
 
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unpinkpanther

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Thanks for this summary

Dan Pena in six steps:-

1. The only way to rapid growth is to acquire another company
2. Your job is to get capital, and nothing else. LBO is his preferred method
3. Focus on revenue, not profits
4. Revenue is strategic, profits is operational
5. Hire a "doofus" (his choice of word) to make your company profitable
6. Sell your company to a "bigger fool", repeat

Would this method work in the present financial climate? The jury's still out for that one

@superleggera:

Great summary; thanks.
 

barbarian

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where can we buy this book for a reasonable price? a book around 400 $ ..is the first time in my life I've seen something like that..
 

CEBenz

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Why would I want to buy a book, on building a successful business, written by some guy that was on the board at Bear Stearns?
 
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awkwardgenius

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The post shoud be deleted - stealing copyrighted material is against the law, bad business and you are reinforcing within yourself that you are a loser who can't afford to pay for things of value.

On the other hand, I pirated TMF , got halfway through, and bought a legit copy for Kindle. Then I bought 3 hard copies to give away.

It's a double edged sword.
 

InMotion

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Well, I actually bought MJ's book once in kindle then in print because...I knew enough to know he knew what he was talking about. Having said that, can anyone send me a reputable file/link to download Dan's book :D. I will buy it if its solid and worth the money, if not, well I will trash the free version even lol. Content is king and.....bullsh*t is well you know.
 

Tom.V

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Bump for good measure. I'm just wrapping up Chapter 3, and I gotta say I love the guy's attitude. It resonates with me and the Fastlane ideology.
 

Mrs. BRKb

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It reminds me of something Steve Blank said in one of his talks, I'm paraphrasing from memory: "Take a bunch of normal people and tell them that 90% of them are gonna fail and most of them will quit right there. Now take a bunch of entrepreneurs and tell them that 90% of them are gonna fail and they look to each other and say 'Oh, I really feel sorry for you guys'".

Ha. Good one. :)
 
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Tlcalis

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Dan Pena has become one of my few top inspirations out there.

The cool thing is he focuses not only on untraditional business practices, but on high performance living, hardcore self-development, super success, never following conventional wisdom.

I read a bit of his book

but seriously his free youtube seminar videos if you search "dan pena 2012" "dan pena 2013" (from his 7 day castle seminar)
and his old seminar videos from the late 90's (he's 68 now) are the best there you can hear him, see him. Way more real than just reading his book.

I agree with 99,99 % of his opinion on various topics.
 
D

Deleted14762

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Once you've amassed a few million bucks, what's getting ten million more gonna do for you? Or hundred?
G650, 70 meter superyacht, Long Island mansion, Monaco penthouse etc.
After $1.5 billion there is a limited choice of actually useful stuff you can buy, to me a gold-plated $3.5b yacht isn't a wise decision, but everyone spends their own money how they want. :D
 

QLADisciple

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Hello.

I just wanted to chime in, as I was in touch with Mr. Pena and we talked about the various issues raised in this thread.

In regards to Lucinda Burke, the woman who attempted the trailer park roll-up, Mr. Pena said that she got ill and could no longer work on the business. She had a mental breakdown, because of the workload and her stress levels. This just reinforces what he always says, "it's not everyone". You have to applaud her for taking it so far, but this is proof that the strategy is simple but not easy.

In regards to the criminal allegations, all charges against him (as well as "Sally" and "Smith") were dropped after years of legal battle. The police chief who falsely took the charges was the uncle of a disgruntled former employee. Mr. Pena is currently in his fifth year of a slander suit against The Times of India who wrote the initial article.

Mr. Pena also says he has never posted a false testimonial in his life. If you can get hold of his tapes and/or the people he has worked with in the past, you can track down the people who left the testimonials. All of these people are real.

Really, all you need to know is Dan is for real and his strategies work. The methodology behind him works. But as someone else said in this thread, it's not easy. But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
 
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MyronGainz

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I don't know what exactly went wrong but in last consequence, the companies she had acquired could not meet the interest payments.

Making a leveraged buyout is inherently risky. And risk includes default and bankruptcy.

If you are interested in this kind of business, start reading up on how the really successful ones did it. Read the book about KKR he recommends ('mortgaging American business'). Check out what companies like Blackstone, TPG, Carlyle or Cerberus did. What businesses did they buy - which ones where successful investments and which ones turned sour? Another one would be Platinum Equity. The guy came out of nowhere and built an empire within 15 years. Stunning success as of today.

Shoot me a PM if you want to discuss in detail:smxB:

For a good book on leveraged buyouts, check out Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
 

MyronGainz

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Dan Pena in six steps:-

1. The only way to rapid growth is to acquire another company
2. Your job is to get capital, and nothing else. LBO is his preferred method
3. Focus on revenue, not profits
4. Revenue is strategic, profits is operational
5. Hire a "doofus" (his choice of word) to make your company profitable
6. Sell your company to a "bigger fool", repeat

Would this method work in the present financial climate? The jury's still out for that one

So essentially create no value for anyone. This is like Jordan Belfort, but on a larger scale.

No thanks.
 

MattCour

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So essentially create no value for anyone. This is like Jordan Belfort, but on a larger scale.

No thanks.


I disagree with this statement, sorry bro.. Pena's talking about acquiring a legit company building it up(adding value) then selling it... That's Fastlane 101. Belfort was nothing more than a con artist and a world class salesman. He was raising money for bullshit companies that didn't exist. He owned the majority of the shares in those IPO's and unloaded them to unsuspecting clients. Look up pump and dump... Big Difference!!
 
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MyronGainz

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I disagree with this statement, sorry bro.. Pena's talking about acquiring a legit company building it up(adding value) then selling it... That's Fastlane 101. Belfort was nothing more than a con artist and a world class salesman. He was raising money for bullshit companies that didn't exist. He owned the majority of the shares in those IPO's and unloaded them to unsuspecting clients. Look up pump and dump... Big Difference!!

"building it up" Pena didn't add value, merely made it more marketable (go back and read through this thread again), things such as increasing the top line, making senseless acquisitions, leveraging to the teeth. What Pena did was a grander version of what Belfort did, took a position in a company, marketed the hell out of it (pumped), and sold it as soon as he could (dumped).

There is a reason why most LBOs fail, it is a very tricky thing to pull off and only works on a select number of businesses. Only few people have been able to pull it off consistently (Pickens, KKR, Icahn etc.) for a very good reason, it is hard to do. I would recommend reading Barbarians at the Gate: Fall of RJR Nabisco, it will give you the best insight into the world of LBOs
 

MattCour

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Yea except one was an illegal scheme and the other is done all the time. Belfort was robbing people bottom line. No way its the same thing.
 

MyronGainz

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Yea except one was an illegal scheme and the other is done all the time. Belfort was robbing people bottom line. No way its the same thing.

I realize that one is illegal and one is done all the time, but in essence it is the same thing. Pena is robbing the acquirers (obviously caveat empour with any purchase), whether it would be another company, shareholders or investors...but in essence, it is the same thing.
 
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MattCour

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I realize that one is illegal and one is done all the time, but in essence it is the same thing. Pena is robbing the acquirers (obviously caveat empour with any purchase), whether it would be another company, shareholders or investors...but in essence, it is the same thing.

I guess we'll agree to disagree, but look at Wayne Huizenga. He used the roll up method very successfully several times to become a billionaire. Belfort went to jail and lost it all..
 

MyronGainz

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I guess we'll agree to disagree, but look at Wayne Huizenga. He used the roll up method very successfully several times to become a billionaire. Belfort went to jail and lost it all..

Right, and like I mentioned, there are a people that have succeeded with LBOs. But Pena was a glorified pump-and-dumper
 

Tregan

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Guys, since Pena advocates getting this book via torrent, can someone possibly guide me to a site that's most reliable and virus/malware free? Or better yet, a pdf file through the browser?

Thanks
 
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Deon

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Guys, since Pena advocates getting this book via torrent, can someone possibly guide me to a site that's most reliable and virus/malware free? Or better yet, a pdf file through the browser?

Thanks
I don't know if we are allowed to post links to torrents here... but if you go to that most famous torrent website and type "Dan Pena"... you'll find the book
 

Tregan

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Deon,

I appreciate your feedback. I've gotten several viruses using those sites but will continue to look.

Thanks
 

CashFlowDepot

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I met Dan Pena about 10 years ago and heard him talk at a seminar.
The biggest ego jerk I've ever met in my life.

He sincerely thinks all women are put on this earth for one thing.. to please their man
and stay barefoot and pregnant. He thinks there's no room for women in any kind of business.

Marked him off the list.
 
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Tregan

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I met Dan Pena about 10 years ago and heard him talk at a seminar.
The biggest ego jerk I've ever met in my life.

He sincerely thinks all women are put on this earth for one thing.. to please their man
and stay barefoot and pregnant. He thinks there's no room for women in any kind of business.

Marked him off the list.

The man has made in excess of $50 billion, the way I see it is he knows how to create wealth. His personal views on women are irrelevant. I care more about his business knowledge. I thought he was rude and crude the first time I saw him but the man knows business like few do.
 

CashFlowDepot

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The man has made in excess of $50 billion, the way I see it is he knows how to create wealth. His personal views on women are irrelevant. I care more about his business knowledge. I thought he was rude and crude the first time I saw him but the man knows business like few do.

What some of these gurus say they've done and what he's actually done are sometimes two completely different things.

Smoke and mirrors.
 

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