My First Million

Kevin Ryan: How This Billionaire Founder Finds +$20B Business Ideas

Sep 14, 2023

Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO of AlleyCorp, shares his journey in building some of the most successful tech companies like Business Insider and MongoDB. He discusses the reasons behind Buzzfeed's struggles while highlighting his unique approach to launching eight companies a year. Ryan reflects on the impact of AI on business strategies and emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities and strong team dynamics. He also explores innovative sectors he's excited about, from psychedelics to semiconductors, making for a fascinating conversation on entrepreneurship.

01:02:04

Episode guests

Kevin Ryan

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Having a good idea, a strong team, and a willingness to invest in growth are key factors for success in starting and running multiple companies.

The success of Business Insider was attributed to strategies such as continuous updates, opinionated content, effective search engine optimization, and adapting to changing consumer habits.

While recognizing the potential of AI, it is more beneficial to use AI as a tool within existing businesses rather than making direct investments in AI companies, and automation will become more prevalent as technology costs decrease and labor costs increase.

Deep dives

Various Companies Started and Lessons Learned

The podcast episode explores Kevin Ryan's experience of starting multiple companies, including Business Insider and MongoDB. Ryan emphasizes the importance of having a good idea and a strong team as key factors for success. He also highlights the significance of being willing to invest in growth and hiring the right people. Ryan shares insights into the challenges he faced and the lessons he learned throughout his entrepreneurial journey.

Investing in Growth

02:29

The Importance of Diverse Sources for Spotting Trends

01:04

Building Successful Ventures

03:18

Problem-Solving and Business Opportunities

02:18

Intro

3min

From Corporate to Tech Success

8min

Innovating Media: The Birth of Business Insider

8min

Innovative Business Strategies and Team Dynamics

22min

Reflections on Business Success and Intellectual Curiosity

2min

Navigating AI and Business Ventures

15min

Networking and Predictive Insights in Business

2min

Episode 495: Shaan Puri (https://twitter.com/ShaanVP) and Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) talk with Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO of AlleyCorp, an incubator and venture capital fund behind Business Insider, MongoDB, GILT and Zola among others. Kevin shares how he runs his +$20B venture studio AlleyCorp, why Buzzfeed ultimately failed, how he launches 8 companies a year and much more.

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Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/

• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/

• Copy That - https://copythat.com/

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Try Shepherd Out - https://www.supportshepherd.com/

• Shaan's Personal Assistant System - http://shaanpuri.com/remoteassistant

• Power Writing Course - https://maven.com/generalist/writing

• Small Boy Newsletter - https://smallboy.co/

• Daily Newsletter - https://www.shaanpuri.com/

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Show Notes:

(0:00) Intro

(3:15) Selling DoubleClick to Google for ~$3B

(5:20) Starting Business Insider, MongoDB and Gilt

(11:00) What led Kevin to start Business Insider

(15:00) Why Kevin hired Henry Blodget to run Business Insider

(16:45) What did Buzzfeed get wrong?

(18:45) Why has AlleyCorp been such a success compared to other venture studios?

(29:20) What businesses Kevin’s excited about right now

(39:00) Thoughts on buy vs. build vs. bootstrap

(41:00) What business has been the easiest and most profitable?

(42:50) Thoughts on AI

(44:50) Launching 8 companies a year

(47:40) Why Kevin isn’t on social media

(50:20) Starting companies in the recruiting space

(54:20) The benefit of being emotionally stable

(56:20) Kevin’s investment portfolio

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Links:

• Kevin’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinryan3/

• AlleyCorp - https://alleycorp.com/

• Business Insider - https://www.businessinsider.com/

• Henry Blodget - https://twitter.com/hblodget

• MongoDB - https://www.mongodb.com/

• Gilt - https://www.gilt.com/

• The Ladders - https://www.theladders.com/

• RippleMatch - https://ripplematch.com/

• Do you love MFM and want to see Sam and Shaan's smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.

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Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more.

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