Culture is how people behave when no one is looking.

I’m the CEO of a $100 million company.

Here’s the exact internal culture handbook we use (bookmark this for later): 1) This is your company

We hire adults that we trust to embrace this mindset.

After working at Intel, Facebook, and Mint, I wanted to work with adults who took ownership of their work, could get stuff done, and were a joy to work with.

Kids make excuses. Adults take ownership.

A few months ago, a high schooler sent me a 19-page slide deck on how I could improve my content.

Now he runs all our social and email marketing.

Here's how he landed a $150k job with me (and how you can use the same "Pre-Work Method" to create opportunities): It’s 2006.

My buddy Dave McClure introduced me to a guy named Aaron who was building a product called (at the time it was called MyMint).

I was super impressed. “This is the best product I’ve ever seen,” I told him.mint.com

I was employee #30 at Facebook. Then I got fired.

Now I’m the CEO of a $100 million company.

10 non-obvious lessons I learned from working directly under Mark Zuckerberg: 10) Focus on ONE goal

Mark’s goal was 1 billion users.

Every idea we’d bring, he’d ask, “Does this help user 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.

Kids these days impress me.

Last Friday, I spoke with a class of high school entrepreneurs.

And I was amazed at how smart and mature they were. A few of them had already made thousands in revenue (!!)

7 things new entrepreneurs need to know: 1/ Get ultra-specific

When I asked them what they wanted for their businesses, many replied with vague answers.

“Gain traction. Go viral. Get rich.”

That’s a good start. But the more specific you get about what you’re trying to achieve - the easier it is to get there.

My #1 regret in life:

I wish I had taken myself and dating more seriously in my 20s.

8 pieces of Brutally Honest relationship advice that I’d give to my younger self (so you can avoid my mistakes): 1/ Improve yourself

You have to love yourself before you can expect someone else to.

And if you don’t, it’s a BIG ask to imagine a person will love and fix you.

The best way I’ve found is to focus on the things under your control:

I’m the CEO of a $100 million business.

But I’ve tried (and failed) to build 20+ startups before.

Here are 10 pieces of brutally honest advice after two decades of entrepreneurship: 1/ Leverage your Zone of Influence

When I was at UC Berkeley, I noticed many freshmen couldn’t get summer jobs.

So I started HFG Consulting, a local consulting company, and hired them to help. I figured we could sell to local restaurants how to market to our college. It worked.

AppSumo is about to do $100 million in revenue this year.

But the first 10 years:

• Rejected by Google (2x)
• Fired by FB after 9 months
• Built 20+ startups that didn’t work out

Here are 9 pieces of brutally honest BUSINESS advice (I wish I knew earlier): 1/ Spend more time picking your partners

In my previous business, Gambit - each partner thought we were most important and had our own idea of the best direction.

It didn’t work well.

A lot of entrepreneurs tell me they need a co-founder, and my response is always...

I’ve met 25 billionaires during my career as a tech entrepreneur and YouTuber.

Collectively, they’ve created over $1 trillion of value for the world.

Here are the 6 biggest lessons they shared with me: 1- There are no employee billionaires

Every billionaire I’ve met became a billionaire through entrepreneurship.

Why?

Because as an employee, there’s a cap on your salary. The average annual raise is 3%.

But as an entrepreneur? Your only limit is YOU.

Please don't quit your job and "go all in".

It’s much simpler to build a side hustle alongside your day job, hit your freedom number, and then jump ship if you want.

Here’s how you can do it: Step 1: Write out your Dream Year

One of the biggest things I notice when I speak with people is they DON’T BELIEVE they can live their dream life.

The more you write it out, look at it, and think about it - I promise you - you deserve and can have that life!

9 images that will make you a better entrepreneur:

1. Think NOW, not HOW

Many struggle to make their first dollar because they focus too much on making their first million.

Sure, plan ahead.

But don’t get so caught up in the future that you forget to act in the present. 2. Test, then invest

Instead of spending a lot on something unknown, find out if it’s working quickly for a low cost:

• Hiring a new teammate? Start with 1 month paid trial.
• Buying new software? Start with 1 month, not a full year.
• New marketing idea? Start with a small group of customers.

Once you validate your idea on a small scale, then invest big time.

I’m the CEO of a $100 million business.

But the first 10 years of my career:

• Rejected by Google (2x)
• Fired by FB after 9 months
• Built 10+ startups that didn’t work out

Here are 18 pieces of brutally honest career advice (I wish I knew earlier): 1/ It’s okay to feel lost

When you’re in your 20s, you’re not supposed to know exactly what you want to do with your career.

Instead of trying to predict your career path, focus on taking daily action.

Being an introvert is NOT a disadvantage.

How to get rich (even if you're an introvert): Many people believe introversion is about being shy, awkward, or unconfident.

But that’s not the case at all.

Introversion is about where you get your energy from.

I’m the CEO of a $100 million business.

But I’ve tried (and failed) to build 10+ startups before.

Here are 14 pieces of non-obvious advice after two decades of entrepreneurship: 1) If everyone’s doing it, you’re late

When we started AppSumo, I paid Tim Ferriss $5,000 a month to sponsor his website.

We did that for 2+ years and made millions from it.

Fast forward to today - Tim charges a MINIMUM of $50,000 (!!) per podcast.

If you don’t know what your priorities are, everything seems urgent.

A thread on how I plan my week (as the CEO of a $100M/year company): A question from a Million Dollar Weekend reader:
==
“Hey Noah - How do you manage running a successful business, writing a book, and having a long-distance relationship?

What are your life hacks for getting it all done?”
==
The short answer? Not well :)

The long answer? 👇

I’m the CEO of an $80 million business.

But the first 10 years of my career:

• Rejected by Google (2x)
• Fired by FB after 9 months
• Built 10+ startups that didn’t work out

Here are 7 pieces of career advice (I wish I knew earlier): 1. Geography matters

If you want to play in the major leagues, you’ve got to BE in the major leagues.

• Aspiring country singer? Go to Nashville.
• Want to be in tech? Go to the Bay Area.
• Trying to get into acting? Go to LA.

Go where it’s happening. And if you can’t be there physically, figure out how to connect online first.

I interviewed 70-year-old billionaires.

I asked each of them what they wish they could tell their 20-year-old self.

Here's the 10 pieces of life advice everyone needs to hear: 1. Learn to sell.

Everything you do is sales.

You need to be able to sell your product to customers, sell your ideas to team members or investors, and sell your skill set to employers.

Imagine growing up with nothing, making $60M in 3 weeks, then losing it all overnight.

Then picture making back $180M in 6 months.

This is the wild story of Rafa Martinez: Rafa grew up in war-torn El Salvador, where he experienced regular bombings and kidnappings.

So, one day, he left.

His family was luckily enough to immigrate to the U.S. but they were still extremely poor and barely survived off minimum wage.

A couple years ago, I had dinner with Peter Thiel, one of the richest people on earth.

Here are 6 lessons I learned in that hour: Lesson 1: Your Path is Unique

People will tell you, “If you want to make a lot of money, you have to have WILLPOWER.”

If you focus on results from the start, you’re doomed to fail.

What do I do instead?

I follow The Law of 100: A quick backstory.

A photography class was split into two groups:

1. Quantity
2. Quality

The quantity group had to take 100 photos. The quality group just had to take ONE perfect photo.

The results?

The quantity group CRUSHED it. Their quality was WAY better.

Here's why:

The earthquake in Turkey saddens me. Let's do something about it.

For every like I'm going to donate $1! Okay. Donating $5000. Much love and support for Turkey 🇹🇷

In 2006, I was fired by Facebook because I couldn’t grow with the business.

Four years later, I founded AppSumo. Today, it’s a $100 million business.

Here are my 4 tips for success.

🧵 1) Double down on what’s working and CUT the losers.

Too many people keep doing things that don’t work.

We found ads, email marketing, affiliates, giveaways and promoting great deals, so we focused 10x on that.

Today, they make up a big portion of the business.