Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

Ian and Dan discuss the highs and lows of business partnerships, exploring whether they are a net positive or negative for successful businesses. They also highlight the importance of business coaches in every partnership and share a free business idea.

Exploring the early days and future of digital nomadism. Introducing a new AI feature for connecting founders. Comparing TikTok to Amazon in 2014. Discussing compound startup theory and the problem with limiting definitions. Reflecting on childhood lessons in business. Excitement for an upcoming event in Bangkok. Tracing the evolution of digital nomadism. Optimism about the future and the benefits of being on the edge of a trend.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, discusses the changing nature of the American Dream, the business lessons he learned from his biography, and the advantages of the digital nomad lifestyle. The hosts also explore the internationality of the American Dream and the significance of attending prestigious colleges. The podcast highlights the importance of community and connection, particularly in the entrepreneurial journey.

Join Dan for a conversation with Brian Balfour, former VP of Growth at Hubspot, as they discuss critical points in his journey, factors contributing to growth, product-market fit, and building a durable business. They also address challenges faced by bootstrapers in scaling revenue. Brian's insights are essential for business founders seeking growth.

In this podcast episode, Dan and Ian discuss the 'nomad's dilemma' and the benefits of settling versus living a nomadic lifestyle. They also explore the importance of implementing systems and processes for business efficiency, highlight a podcast episode featuring Jeremy Giffon, and delve into the story behind Kirkland's in-house brand. Additionally, they share a thrilling tale of sailors obtaining breadfruit trees from Tahiti and discuss upcoming events and meetups for listeners.

Lucy Bella Simkins, YouTube creator, English teacher, and CEO, shares the challenges and strategies of building a language learning YouTube channel with 10,000,000 subscribers and a thriving 7-figure+ business. She discusses nurturing the audience, growing a course business, the turning point, and the challenges of managing a team.

Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo, plays a game of Would You Rather on topics such as distributing equity, investing in 'boring' businesses, and owning versus renting a primary residence. The hosts also discuss the length of summer vacations and the benefits of cycling.

The podcast covers topics such as aging and sports, recognizing personality disorders in business relationships, leadership lessons from Alan Malale's efforts to save Ford Motor Company, the value of choices and finding a middle ground between chasing wealth and embracing a minimalist lifestyle.

Dan raises the question: if you only had to implement one simple framework to improve your business, what would it be? In other words, what’s your minimum effective dose of operational practices? Sometimes–most of the time–one simple change can make a huge difference. Today’s guest represents this line of thinking to a T. Lydia Machova talks about the ROI of spending a month implementing one simple idea, developing an integrator/visionary relationship, and the minimum effective dose of operational practices that improved her business. Lastly, Dan & Lydia talk about how founders often confuse assistance with delegation and how Lydia built an operating system that empowers her team to take ownership, solve problems, and send fewer Slack messages. Dan & Ian’s Stuff: The Newsletter “The DC” DC Black Global events Hire remote talent Find a remote job Listen on YouTube Follow on Instagram @TropicalMBA @AnythingIan Show Notes: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:02) Systems are too complicated (00:04:23) Scorecards, scorecards, scorecards (00:07:20) Delegation vs assistance (00:08:32) DCBKK updates (00:13:42) Becoming an entrepreneur (00:21:48) Perfect integrator (00:27:07) ROI of process (00:37:25) Meeting tempos (00:39:09) Accountability chart (00:42:46) The issues list (00:48:05) Get out from under Links: DC Events DC Black Language Mentoring Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz The Checklist Manifesto Scorecards Traction Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Tommy Griffith, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Travis Jamison, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Tynan Additional episodes you might enjoy: TMBA 688: Mailbag: What Can Scorecards Do For You? And Equity Split Dilemmas TMBA 695: The Money Theory of Location And Why Employee Scorecards Are So Helpful TMBA 707: Deceptively simple ways to have a better business TMBA 702: Millions for Podcasts and Jay Clouse on Memberships TMBA 689: Re-visiting Our Conversation with Seth Godin

Dan and Ian give the inside scoop about their upcoming events strategy and the realization that prompted them to relaunch their hiring search not for an events planner but a business-minded community organizer. In light of resetting the event strategy for 2024, Dan also chats with the DCx London hosts Seonaid Beckwith, Noel Andrews, and John Ainsworth about how they pulled off one of the best all-time DC events in London last month. They also give their thoughts in response to a listener's email: should you optimize for revenue growth, profit growth, or both? Dan and Ian share frameworks for thinking about this and how they think about revenue and profit in their business. Plus, stick around til the end for a first-timer's guide on how to max out your DCBKK experience if you're going (or thinking about going) for the first time. Dan & Ian’s Stuff: The Newsletter “The DC” DC Black Global events Hire remote talent Find a remote job Listen on YouTube Follow on Instagram @TropicalMBA @AnythingIan Show Notes: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:40) Profit vs revenue (00:06:05) Revenue growth to exit (00:06:35) Conflating profit with personal income (00:07:21) The Bezos strategy (00:08:19) Profit first (00:12:35) Classic systems (00:14:00) Superhero profitable (00:15:50) ROI framework (00:21:44) Our 2024 event strategy (00:24:18) Join our team (00:30:05) How to throw a great event (01:05:53) First-timer’s guide to DCBKK Links: Join our team DC Events DC Black 7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer Profit First by Mike Michalowicz The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Tommy Griffith, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Travis Jamison, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Tynan Additional episodes you might enjoy: TMBA 688: Mailbag: What Can Scorecards Do For You? And Equity Split Dilemmas TMBA 702: Millions for Podcasts and Jay Clouse on Memberships TMBA 689: Re-visiting Our Conversation with Seth Godin TMBA 711: “Money is Your Responsibility” + News Updates TMBA 707: Deceptively simple ways to have a better business