Tom Bilyeu: From His Kitchen To A Billion Dollar Food Company ("From Scratch") #BrandBuilderPodcast

In today’s episode, Max Kerwick shares a keynote from the Capitalism Conference by Tom Bilyeu — the man behind Quest Nutrition and Impact Theory — a 60 minute compilation of all of his most valuable business secrets.

Tune in to hear what he learned on the path he took from hand-making protein bars in his garage to a multi-billion dollar brand.

Key Takeaways

[03:00] Tom introduces himself and explains how he was not a born entrepreneur: he even went so far as to deliver papers for free because he was afraid to ring the doorbells to collect!

[05:30] The two childhood goals Tom had zero idea how to achieve.

1. 1. Become rich
2. 2. Have 6 pack abs
3. [06:20] The king of menial jobs… So much so that everyone expected him to fail.
4. [08:10] Who is your white rabbit. Tom talks about his two very muscular rabbits.
5. [09:23] Tom’s superpower — Nietzsche said it best to the people he cared for — suffering.
6. [13:40] After Tom endured his work and his riches without meaning, he quit, so he could start asking different questions. Failure and sadness are the only guarantee.
7. Know the odds, while you’re striving for success and happiness, and do something you love.
8. [19:36] A unicorn company is a formula, the before and after pictures are there. But there ares difficult parts: being afraid, feeling stupid, lost and hopeless.
9. [20:49] To build your own unicorn company you have 2 jobs. Job 1:

• - Develop your mindset and understand that what you believe is a choice: the Matrix has you, it’s time to lift the limiting veil.
• - Keep listening for job 2!
• [30:00] From a decidedly utilitarian perspective Tom shares his method to develop usable new skills.

• - Be an eternal student — you are not yet the person you need to be to accomplish everything you want to accomplish
• - Meditate
• - Be open to change, don't just talk about it
• - Execute
• - Develop grit
• [34:00] Have an ego, everyone does, but have it about the right things. Make certain you pride yourself on things that will drive your goals, don’t pride yourself on being right.
• [36:45] Grit is sustained effort over time, persisting through your boredom and suffering, develop this faculty and learn to tell the difference between lack of grit and disinterest.
• [38:24] One of the questions Tom hears most frequently is how do you find your passion? Like for building a Unicorn company there is a formula: Interest + Mastery = Passion.
• [41:41] We said keep listening and here it is: Job 2, build your business, Tom breaks down the how to’s:

• - Find your why and make it blindingly clear
• - Be transparent
• - Focus on value, it’s the only sustainable thing
• - Be authentic
• - Connect with your audience — Tom’s tricks, get the green light from thought leaders and engage influencers to access their 1 000 screaming fans
• - Add value (customers hate your content)
• - Finally, execute and grind baby grind because it starts with a willingness to persist long after it’s boring.
• [1:01:30] The central mantra of Tom’s life is “Just because you’re incapable of something today, it doesn’t mean that you’re not capable of learning that thing. It’s about who you want to become and what price you are willing to pay to become it”.
• Mentioned in this episode
• Quest Nutrition
• Impact Theory
• Book: The Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche
• Book: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink
• Book: Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Incerto) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Book: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
• Book: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
• Joy Remetta Super Fan Award
• Jenna Marbles