My 2024 Year in Review

224 snips

Dec 25, 2024

The year brought personal milestones, including the joy of parenthood and fitness gains. A fascinating portfolio breakdown revealed a strong focus on stocks and strategic investments in tech and AI. Social media growth surged dramatically, showcasing the power of personal branding. Challenges included learning from costly distractions and navigating profitability hurdles. The importance of building sustainable ventures through community-driven strategies was emphasized, alongside a commitment to long-term partnerships.

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ANECDOTE

First Child

Speaker 0 and his wife welcomed their first child.
This experience profoundly shifted his perspective on life.

ANECDOTE

Weightlifting Journey

Speaker 0 started lifting weights consistently, gaining 15-20 pounds of muscle.
While unsure about the aesthetic changes, he emphasizes the unmatched mental clarity gained.

ANECDOTE

Podcast Growth

Speaker 0 rebranded and refocused his podcast, leading to significant growth.
He prioritized providing valuable content, which resonated with listeners and fueled organic growth.

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My comprehensive year in review covering personal achievements, business developments, and investment strategies in 2024. I share a detailed breakdowns of my wealth allocation, business portfolio performance, and social media growth. The review emphasizes a shift toward business simplification, increased focus on AI and technology integration, and the importance of building sustainable, scalable ventures.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:38 Biggest wins
05:54 Biggest losses and lessons
11:47 - Q&A from social media
18:00 - Growth across social platforms
25:00 - Wealth breakdown and investments
33:03 - Business updates
48:16 - Productivity gains
50:48 - New insights and learnings

Key Points:
• Personal milestone of having first child and significant net worth achievement
• Business portfolio performance across Late Checkout Agency, Boring Marketing, and other ventures
• Portfolio breakdown: 75% stocks, 16% private equity, 7% real estate, 2% crypto
• Platform growth across YouTube (11K to 146K subscribers), X/Twitter (361K to 420K followers)
• Strategic shift toward simplification and focus on building "skyscrapers, not strip malls"

1) BIG WINS 2024:

• Had a baby
• Started lifting consistently (+15-20 lbs muscle)
• Grew podcast into major platform
• Hit personal net worth milestone

2) Portfolio breakdown (fascinating):

• 75% stocks
• 16% private equity
• 7% real estate
• 2% crypto

Top holdings:
• 10% Berkshire
• 10% SPY
• 8% Apple
• 7% Amazon

3) Business Updates:

Late Checkout Agency (LCA):
• Found their niche: AI interfaces + community products
• Booked solid with major brands
• Started taking equity deals with billion-dollar companies

Boring Marketing & Boring Ads:

• Both crushing it
• $100M+ in ad spend managed
• 76 meetings booked in next few weeks
• Unbundling tools for DIY customers
• Created Boring Holdings umbrella company

5) Key productivity unlocks:

• Switched to Yerba Mate for afternoon energy
• Simplified from Notion to Apple Notes
• Using Things app for to-do lists
• Less tools, more focus

6) Platform Growth 2024:

YouTube: 11K → 146K subs
X: 361K → 420K followers
LinkedIn: 82K → 149K
Newsletter: 72K → 120K subs
Podcast: 360K → 575K downloads

7) Best decision framework:

"Friday Afternoon Test"

- Only make big decisions Friday PM when tired
- If it still feels right then, it's probably right
- Prevents caffeine-fueled impulse choices

8/ MAJOR hiring insight:

"Day Zero Integrity Test"
• Give unclear instructions for small task
• See if they ask questions or just guess
• Reveals everything about future behavior

9/ Key lessons:

• Trust but verify (especially with remote teams)
• Simple over Complex
• Double down on what's working
• Build skyscrapers, not strip malls
• Tech investment over immediate profits

10) 2025 Focus:

• Finding long-term business partners
• Building more proprietary tech
• Simplifying business structure
• Going harder on current opportunities
• Scaling what works

Notable Quotes:
"If this scales, do I want to be in that business? If not, what is the business that I want to be in?"
"My main mission is to build skyscrapers, not strip malls."

Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)

Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas

LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/

BoringAds — ads agency that will build you profitable ad campaigns http://boringads.com/

BoringMarketing — SEO agency and tools to get your organic customers http://boringmarketing.com/

Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses [https://www.startupempire.co](https://www.startupempire.co/)

FIND ME ON SOCIAL

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg