Dillan interviews Daniel Vassallo—an ex-Amazon engineer who quit the 9-5 grind to pursue building his own projects online.Daniel runs the Small Bets community, with thousands of creators and entrepreneurs who want to make low-risk, low-pressure experiments when it comes to building online businesses.They discuss: why Daniel hates Y-Combinator, what a "small bet" actually is, Daniel's biggest business mistakes, why Daniel quit his cushy job at Amazon, why most entrepreneurs fail, what woodworking taught Daniel about building businesses, how to structure your workflows, how Daniel accidentally started a profitable online community, tips for building a strong online community, how Daniel sold access to his calendar, and much more.Daniel's links:Twitter / X: https://x.com/dvassalloSmall Bets: https://smallbets.com/••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs:Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylorNewsletter: https://newsletter.grindstone.work/•••0:00 Intro1:07 Daniel hates YC7:03 Why he quit Amazon21:18 Worst-case scenario28:28 Dose & frequency40:31 High vs low motivation tasks48:22 Burning the boats52:58 Your "why" doesn't matter58:04 How Small Bets started1:15:06 Online community tips1:31:32 Daniel's latest small bet

Dillan interviews Bryan Ng (@boomerrbryan).Bryan runs Viral Bangers—a YouTube scriptwriting agency. They work with educational YouTube channels with over 100,000 subscribers. Bryan's videos and courses help creators of all levels write scripts that actually get views, tell captivating stories, and keep the viewer's attention from beginning to end.They discuss: how Bryan got into the scriptwriting business, how he got good at writing scripts, the worst scripting mistakes creators make, whether new creators should use bullets or word-for-word scripts, how to improve your speaking and camera skills, Bryan's complete scripting checklist, the difference between scripting educational vs entertainment videos, the #1 storytelling lesson from South Park, and much more.Bryan Ng's links:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@boomerrbryanTwitter / X: https://x.com/boomerrbryanAgency website: https://www.viralbangers.com/Scriptwriting course: https://www.freelancescriptwriter.com/•••Follow Dillan on the interwebs:Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylorNewsletter: https://newsletter.grindstone.work/•••0:00 Intro0:41 Bryan's $50 client3:46 How Bryan got good8:23 Mistake 1: Title & thumbnail10:12 Mistake 2: Research16:55 Mistake 3: The hook23:41 Bullets vs Word-for-word script27:39 Speaking skills35:36 Act 1: The perfect hook40:09 Act 2: The body46:53 Act 3: A killer outro52:07 Education vs entertainment54:54 South Park storytelling58:47 Bye bye bye

Dillan interviews Jake Julius from RattlesnakeTV.Jake is a conservative analyst who breaks down clips, interviews, and debates from prominent thought leaders like Jordan Peterson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Charlie Kirk, and many more. His channel helps viewers stay "armed and dangerous" with sharper debating tools and techniques.They discuss: how RattlesnakeTV creates content while traveling the world, the systems that help Jake and his brother post almost daily, how Jake handles getting demonetized, RattlesnakeTV's revenue streams, how Jake negotiates sponsors and brand deals, how to improve your debating skills as a creator, Jake's biggest business mistakes, the importance of making the most out of big opportunities, Jake's regrets on interviewing Vivek Ramaswamy, Jake's #1 piece of advice to aspiring creators, and much more.RattlesnakeTV's links:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rattlesnaketvTwitter / X: https://x.com/jakerattlesnkInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/rattlesnake.tv•••Are you a monetized creator who wants to go full-time?Join the Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/aboutFollow Dillan on the interwebs:Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylorNewsletter: https://newsletter.dillantaylor.com/•••0:00 Jake's growth2:41 RattlesnakeTV content12:41 3 Types of audience15:54 Getting demonetized20:47 The price of success26:23 Audience capture31:33 RattlesnakeTV monetization33:01 Why Jake blocks people37:33 Negotiating w/ sponsors41:22 Jake's business mistakes44:51 How to improve at debate51:40 Messing up big opportunities1:04:41 Jake's #1 advice

Dillan interviews Aprilynne Alter (@AprilynneAlter), a beginner-friendly YouTube educator. Aprilynne made a viral video in a niche she wasn't passionate about. It almost ended her YouTube career. But since then, she's taken off in a new niche she loves: helping others grow on YouTube.They discuss how to avoid creator burnout, why Aprilynne quit her successful channel, how to choose the right niche, how to deal with online trolls and haters, how to make great thumbnails, how to be patient and persistent, and much more.Aprilynne Alter's links:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AprilynneAlterTwitter / X: https://x.com/AprilynneAlterwebsite: https://www.aprilynnealter.com/••• Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3500+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who are way cooler than he is...to help you make better stuff, grow an audience, and make more money online.Are you a monetized YouTuber who wants to go full-time?Join the free Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/aboutFollow Dillan Taylor on the interwebs:Twitter / X | newsletter

Dillan interviews Mario Joos (@mariojooss)—a YouTube retention expert and YouTube educator. He helps YouTubers go from 1 million to 100 million subscribers. His past and present clients include: MrBeast, Brave Wilderness, Jose Zuniga, The Stokes Twins, and many more.They discuss: the danger of obsessing over numbers, why creators shouldn't copy Alex Hormozi, the power of giving bad advice, the #1 video killer, how to give proper calls to action, why the viewer matters more than your artistic vision, the science of viewer interest, why anyone can get 1 million subscribers, and much more.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3500+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who are way cooler than he is...to help you make better stuff, grow an audience, and make more money online.Are you a monetized YouTuber who wants to go full-time?Join the free Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/aboutFollow Dillan Taylor on the interwebs:Twitter / X | newsletter•••0:00 Intro0:50 Obsessing over numbers9:06 Alex Hormozi18:00 Give bad advice29:48 Confusion35:21 CTAs51:01 Viewer vs creator53:54 Creator levels59:11 Interest decay1:02:05 Why not?1:05:55 Bye bye bye

Dillan interviews Michelle Varghese (@mvarghoose).She's a writer, podcaster, and community manager. She co-hosts the Build a Wealthy Spirit podcast with her sister—a show helping people get more financial stability, fulfillment, and joy out of work and life. She also writes articles on Substack and manages the Small Bets community, among other projects.They discuss: how Michelle left her job to pursue her creative career, how to take long periods of time off work, how to navigate seasons of rest and seasons of intensity, how to avoid burnout, how she's never missed an upload for 3+ years, the keys to consistency, how to grow on Twitter fast, and much more.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3500+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who are way cooler than he is...to help you make better stuff, grow an audience, and make more money online.Want to become a full-time creator with a tribe of others doing the same?Apply to join the Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/about•••Follow Dillan Taylor on the interwebs:Twitter / X | newsletterTheme song by: myboyscoochy

The Grindstone community does a Q&A with Mario Joos (@mariojooss)—the #1 YouTube Retention Director in the world. He's worked with massive creators like MrBeast, Brave Wilderness, Jose Zuniga, and more.They discuss: how often YouTubers should post, quantity vs quality, what Mario thinks about creator burnout, best times to check video analytics, the #1 way to save time as a busy creator, how Mario uses his own advice in his videos, how to find endless motivation, the importance of niching down, how to experiment with new ideas, which metrics to look out for, how to give CTAs, and much more.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3500+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who are way cooler than he is...to help you make better stuff, grow an audience, and make more money online.Want to become a full-time creator with a tribe of others doing the same?Join the Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/about•••Follow Dillan Taylor on the interwebs:Twitter / X | newsletterTheme song by: myboyscoochy

Dillan interviews Joe Previte (@jsjoeio). He's a full-stack software engineer who has created tons of projects that live on the internet—including: courses for programmers, Spanish language programs, and most recently Cowork With Friends. He started his online career by sharing his travel lessons on his first blog, and has since grown a hefty Twitter audience.We discuss: how Joe got 42,000 Twitter followers on accident, the power of sharing "How I" content instead of "How To" content, how Twitter has changed over the last decade, why people follow you, how Dillan and Joe met, Joe's biggest opportunities from having an audience, how Joe began monetizing his audience, the balance between creating for fun and creating for your audience, the best ways to use the internet to win, and much more.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3500+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who are way cooler than he is...to help you make better stuff, grow an audience, and make more money online.Want to become a full-time creator with a tribe of others doing the same?Join the Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/about•••Follow Dillan Taylor on the interwebs:Twitter / X | newsletterTheme song by: myboyscoochy

Dillan interviews Steph Smith (@stephsmithio)—a serial online creator. She's the author of books & courses like Doing Content Right, Doing SEO Right, and Doing Time Right. She’s the host of the a16z podcast and the Shit You Don’t Learn in School podcast. She has a massive Twitter audience. And her latest project, "Internet Pipes," teaches all of us how to make sense of the chaotic mountain of online data.We discuss: not having a niche, how to be one of one, how she accidentally grew a community of 1600+ people, how to use ChatGPT as a thought partner, doing free work when starting out, whether or not you should ask people to "subscribe," how to start and finish lots of projects without burning out, how to balance being productive with taking time off, how to take advantage of the most productive hours of your day, and much more.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3500+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who are way cooler than he is...to help you make better stuff, grow an audience, and make more money online.Want to become a full-time creator with a tribe of others doing the same?Join the Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/about•••Follow Dillan Taylor on the interwebs:Twitter / X | newsletterTheme song by: myboyscoochy

Dillan interviews Mario Joos (@mariojooss)—the #1 YouTube Retention Director in the world. He's worked with massive creators like MrBeast, Brave Wilderness, Jose Zuniga, and more. They discuss: what retention actually is, how Mario got introduced to the YouTube world, Mario's 5 steps to doing research, why Average View Duration and Click-Thru Rate are useless metrics, the first 3 things Mario notices when watching a video, the differences between big and small creators, huge mistakes newer creators make, and much more.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3500+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who are way cooler than he is...to help you make better stuff, grow an audience, and make more money online.Want to become a full-time creator with a tribe of others doing the same?Join the Grindstone community:https://www.skool.com/grindstonecreators/about•••Follow Dillan Taylor on the interwebs:Twitter / X | newsletterTheme song by: myboyscoochy