Small Giants: Book Review of Bo Burlingham's Bestseller

A few months ago, I picked up the book Small Giants by Bo Burlingham. The book is the best I've read this year and is a fascinating read for anyone with a side business, a start-up, or a small business. For many companies, the only priority is the near-constant pressure to grow bigger, make more money, and crush...

From Idea Validation to Product Launch: A Story

About two months ago, one of my ideas was rejected. Not by customers, investors, or even strangers. This idea was rejected by some of my closest friends. So here was my idea… There’s a limited edition movie poster company called MondoTees. They get local artists to redesign movie posters in a really clean way and...

Weird Business Lessons: What Waffles Can Teach Us About Business

Breakfast (including tacos) is my favorite meal of the day. So I decided to make my own protein waffles for breakfast so I bought a waffle maker to get the party started. I googled a few different protein waffle recipes and started with a simple combination: 1/2 cup oatmeal 1/2 cup egg whites 2 T...

Starting a Small Business: How I Made $50,000 in College

It all started out when I saw many freshmen at UC Berkeley unable to get summer jobs. I asked: How can I take advantage of people who are super smart but can’t get an internship? I decided to create a local business consulting company. Why? Because: I was around college kids all the time (I was...

How One Survey Created Insane Results

When we started promoting Monthly1k, we sent out a super targeted email to 30,000 people. (That’s a lot btw.) I was waiting for the dollars, accolades and success stories to roll in…drum roll please... And only 30 people bought 🙁 That’s a .1% conversion rate which is SUPER disappointing. I’m Noah Kagan, things always work...

How to Earn More Money: By Asking

In 2013 I was graciously invited to speak in Australia. They offered to cover flights and hotels. I generally don’t ask for speakers fees cause I love sharing my stories and working with people. And I have and know how to organize conferences so I know there are always more costs than expected. …But traveling costs...