Personal Holding Companies (PHC) are great because each one is so different.

It's the opposite of what they'll tell you to do in YC.

Here are all the different flavors: - Buy, Build or Invest

- Real Estate, Software, Boring Biz, CPG, DTC, Digital, Physical, etc

- Cashflow, Equity

- Lifestyle, Startup Unicorns

- Projects, Companie

Burnout is no joke.

I remember feeling exhausted, detached, negative, always tired, and meh about everything.

But I overcame burnout by prioritizing myself.

It was easy to fall into a negative cycle: - Skip the gym to go to an investor meeting.
- Eat that unhealthy meal after working a late night.
- Deal with a work fire instead of seeing a friend.

"Success" was all about sacrifices.

And taking care of me was the last priority.

This was a limiting belief I had about work.

I like this new trend of tech companies raising one round of capital.

• No A, B, C, D, Z rounds.
• No growth at all costs.
• No one in a million shot of a unicorn.

Just build a sustainable and profitable business with a lot of optionality: Calm Fund (@calmfund) created a new financing vehicle.

Similar to a SAFE, it's called a Shared Earnings Agreement (SEAL).

Gives optionality to either outcome:

• Profitable: pays out dividends
• Unicorn: has equity upside

It's a win/win for everyone.

If I had $0 and wanted to start a Personal Holding Company (PHC), here's how I would do it:

(IMO, this will be the most straightforward way for anyone to become a millionaire) MACRO

• $30 *trillion* of SMBs
• 10,000 boomers retire every day
• 2.4M businesses for sale
• 70% are expected to be sold in the next 10-15 years

https://twitter.com/jwmares/status/1557412459287154689

One of my favorite examples of a Personal Holding Company (PHC): @Marshal and Need/Want.

Multiple businesses that generates 8-figures in revenue. All self-funded and bootstrapped.

Here's a breakdown and my take on his PHC: Companies within Need/Want (his personal HoldCo) include:

• Shepherd - headhunter agency (8-figure biz)
• Peel - physical product brand (7-figure biz)
• Ludwig - hotel in downtown St. Louis (6-figure annual cashflow)

All three businesses generate cashflow.

As I take some time off and think through what I'll be doing next, I'm leaning towards building a Personal Holding Company (PHC).

Multiple businesses. No outside capital. Build and buy companies. Cashflow reinvested. Me plus a very small team.

Here's how I'm thinking about it: #1: Will start off creating content on Twitter, YouTube, Podcast, etc.

It'll be fun to build an audience.

Any revenue generated from content will be reinvested into creating more content.

Will help with dealflow and recruiting.

Do aliens exist?

Extraterrestrial life has never been discovered, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Here are some UFOs that have been "spotted" in ancient paintings: The Baptism of Christ (1710)

• The painting shows 4 columns of light being emitted from a disc like object onto the baptism happening below.

I mean... come on! This is totally a UFO.

One of my biggest regrets: going against my gut.

I know I should do X but I do Y or Z instead.

Over my career, I've learned how to both trust my gut and act on it.

Anytime I need to make a big decision and I'm wavering, I go back to this simple framework: First, I seek as much advice and knowledge.

I'll ask others that have gone through something similar.

I'll read books or articles that share best practices.

I am *not* asking for advice to get validation on what I want to do.

Then, I ask myself these three questions:

Why MrBeast will be the next Walt Disney:

(And how he'll fall short) MrBeast is the world's biggest YouTuber with over 100M subscribers.

Similar to Walt Disney, he invests into high production content and creates magical experiences for younger audiences.

But the similarities end here.

Random Sunday morning thought...

Is it possible to bootstrap/self-fund and build a $100M+ revenue business?

I think so.

Here's how I would do it: - Digital, no DTC/IRL product
- SaaS, ideally subscription
- Team would be small FT w/ bigger PT team of contractors
- Marketing would be 80% media/content and 20% paid, boosted by referrals /WOM
- Niche down and expand to new niches to grow
- Dead simple engineering, low code

Ever wonder what it’s like to have a net worth of $100M+?

I read through the “Confessions of a Hectomillionaire” on the FATFire Reddit.

Here’s what that life is like:

(It's not what you think) BACKGROUND

• Not sure if the writer was a male/female but I will call this person "Hector".

• Hector made $30M from an IPO windfall at a tech startup.

• Attributes most of his success to luck and timing.

Today is my 40th birthday! 🎉

In the past decade, I stepped down from one company and sold another. I got married, started a family, and bought my first house.

Some life lessons: 1. Don’t give unsolicited advice! 😆

(I know, I know. I'm doing this right now.)

🎂 My daughter turns three today.

My only goal is to raise her where she won't need therapy due to my parenting 😂

Some lessons I've learned as a first-time parent: 1. Quality *and* Quantity

Typically you hear that it's about the quality of time you spend.

It never sat right with me to spend a few hours of quality time and be absent the rest of the week.

Instead I do both: frequent + quality.

Some small moments. Some big experiences.

New trend I'm excited about: PHCs.

Personal Holding Companies.

One entrepreneur. Multiple businesses.

Mix between cashflow and equity. From startups to laundromats to real estate.

Uses profits to buy or build projects and businesses.

All under one company. Some good examples:

@marshal @nicholaspardon @girdley @jwmares

I don't stay in Airbnb's anymore.

Cleaning Fee: $200

Instructions: Clean the dishes, take out the trash, and wash all the sheets before you leave.

😂 Lol

I'll be going on a Dopamine Fast for the next 30 days.

Here's why and how I'm doing it: My brain has been trained to check my phone when I want to escape from boredom, stress, and anxiety.

Twitter, Coinbase, WSJ, Instagram, Youtube, Podcasts, etc.

My focus will be on reducing my impulsive and addictive behavior.

Not on reducing dopamine.

Over the next 18 months, we will see an unprecedented number of startups that will shutdown, conduct layoffs, and close down rounds.

Here is an overly simplified deep dive: Before I dive deep into my observations, here are my disclaimers:

• Market cycles are normal.
• Market corrections are healthy.
• I have no idea what will happen.

Here are three simple frameworks to communicate more concisely: Pyramid Principle

Most make a recommendation and build up to the "big reveal" at the end.

Instead, communicate backwards:

• Start with the answer first.
• Group arguments and summarize main points.
• Present supporting details in order.

It gets to the conclusion quicker.

Here's my go-to career advice for when people ask about joining a startup:

1. Vet the company like a VC
- Ask for the recent deck & valuation
- Vet the track record of the leadership team
- Trajectory of meeting this year's goals

Would you invest $10K or $100K w/ conviction? 2. Ask these questions for yourself:

- Is it a role fit?
- Is it a culture fit?
- Is it a mission fit?

If it aligns across all three, it's most likely a good decision. Cut all opportunities that don't fit all three.

Unpopular opinion: A/B tests are just a way to delay decision-making. It is the best way to build mediocre products. You should still be data-informed and not data-driven.

One of our investors asked me about what I learned from Skillshare that I’ll apply to Otis. Here’s what I wrote:

1. Build an experienced team as early as possible
2. Get feedback on big strategic decisions early
3. Play to my strengths and hire around my weaknesses (back to #1) If I could pick one, it would be around hiring amazing people and getting the f*ck out of their way. Our COO at Skillshare did such a great job that I realized he would be a far better CEO than me at scaling the company. I got the f*ck out of his way and the company has grown 4x.