The Russell Brunson Show Sam Parr Reveals How He Grew The Hustle And Why You Shouldn’t Take Outside Funding | #Marketing - Ep. 58
9 snips
Aug 4, 2025 
In this chat, Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle and My First Million, shares his insights on building media companies. He reveals how he skyrocketed The Hustle using viral blog posts on Reddit to amass a massive email subscriber base, focusing on newsletters over social media. Sam discusses his simple yet effective revenue model centered on sponsorships and why avoiding early outside funding was crucial. Now, he’s scaling Hampton, a community for entrepreneurs, emphasizing that success is rooted in a great product and smart distribution.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Sam's Airbnb Startup Beginning
- Sam Parr cold-emailed Airbnb's CEO with improvement ideas and was hired despite initial skepticism.
- His start in tech ended abruptly due to a lie on his record, pushing him to start and eventually sell a roommate-matching app.
Email Outlasts Social Media Reach
- Social media reach is fleeting and declining, so email is a more reliable channel to build lasting audience and business.
- Email acts like a "pirate ship" where every subscriber is a stable source of momentum toward your success.
Newsletter Ad Revenue Model
- Monetize newsletters by selling ads based on cost per thousand opens to high-value sponsors.
- Build a large, engaged subscriber base with high open rates to command premium ad prices.
