Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

#738 Under the Hood of an 8-Figure Business + Million Dollar Weekend with Noah Kagan

Jan 18, 2024

Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo, shares insights on operating an 8-figure business and offers guidance on leadership, goal-setting, and personal growth. The importance of core documents in a business, giving employees autonomy, and continuous improvement are also discussed.

35:19

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Episode guests

Noah Kagan

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Setting clear priorities and achievable goals is essential for business growth.

Consistency in leadership, emotional stability, and trust are crucial for team motivation and growth.

Deep dives

Setting Goals and Priorities for Business Growth

The podcast episode discusses the importance of setting goals and priorities for business growth. It emphasizes the need to have a clear vision and direction for the company. The speaker recommends starting with core goals and determining the one goal that leads all other goals. He also emphasizes the value of achievable goals and the importance of having buy-in from the team. The episode suggests using clear metrics and KPIs to track progress and regularly reviewing and adjusting goals to ensure continued improvement.

Introduction

2min

Setting and Achieving Goals

17min

Leadership and Autonomy

11min

The Importance of Core Documents for a Business

2min

Continuous Improvement and Team Feedback

2min

Improving Systems and Sharing Your Processes

2min

“Noah’s new book Million Dollar Weekend has so many nuggets for aspiring and mature entrepreneurs alike. Specifically, if you’re launching a new product, starting a new business, or you want to keep things simple for your team, you’ll find tangible guidance in this book.” - Dan

In this episode, TMBA host Dan Andrews sits down with Noah Kagan to talk about operating an 8-figure company at scale, something Noah does every day as the CEO of AppSumo.

Noah dives into specific processes around leadership, managing team members, setting achievable goals, making room for creativity, personal growth habits, and a whole lot more.

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Show Notes

(00:00:33) Intro
(00:02:47) Setting goals and managing expectations for a successful business.
(00:07:43) Setting and achieving business goals with room for experimentation.
(00:08:51) Tracking progress on goals and regularly reviewing progress to avoid anxiety and stay motivated
(00:13:46) The importance of personal inputs relative to the company's top priorities, with each leader in the company having their own top three priorities to focus on.
(00:15:02) Everybody can see everybody’s scorecards
(00:17:34) Leadership means setting clear priorities and empowering others to choose their own destinations.
(00:20:09) Motivating employees through optimism, rather than demotivating them with criticism.
(00:22:03) The importance of consistency in personal and professional settings
(00:25:15) Monthly leadership survey to gather feedback and improve as a leader, with a focus on providing solutions rather than complaining.
(00:28:31) Core operational documents and processes needed to run a business
(00:30:11) Find your own “AppSumo” way

Links:

Million Dollar Weekend

Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Tommy Griffith, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Travis Jamison, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Tynan, Lucy Bella Simkins, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

Business Basics: Revenue Durability, “Small” Goals, & High-Leverage Meetings

Non-Obvious Ways to Grow Your Business + Favorite Moments of 2023

End-of-Year Brainstorming, Goal-Setting, and a Mexico Meltdown