My First Million
Free course: Build a profitable AI side hustle in 7 days https://clickhubspot.com/dki
Episode 802: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to 19-year-old Zach Yadegari ( https://x.com/zach_yadegari ) about selling his $50M/yr app to MyFitnessPal.
—
Show Notes:
(0:00) How much?
(1:57) getting rejected from Stanford
(5:45) 60-second origin story
(7:27) “your biggest skill is your audacity”
(12:50) the truth about selling a company
(23:24) dos and don’ts
(27:04) Zach’s douchebag arc
(29:44) first dumb purchase
(33:08) decisions that made the app worth $100M
(43:51) Idea 1: Semantic search on IG
(45:10) Idea: apps
(48:00) filter for good ideas
(54:27) Dinner w/ Steve Cohen
(1:03:39) Where Zach is putting his money
(1:05:58) What Zach sucks at
—
Links:
• Cal AI – https://www.calai.app/
• MyFitnessPal – https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
—
Check Out Shaan’s Stuff:
• Shaan’s weekly email – https://www.shaanpuri.com
• Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire worldwide talent like Shaan and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than US equivalents.
• Mercury – Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies!
Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC
• I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we’re giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out:
beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge
—
Check Out Sam’s Stuff:
• Hampton – https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp – https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That – https://copythat.com
• Hampton Wealth Survey – https://joinhampton.com/wealth
• Sam’s List – http://samslist.co/
My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

#216 – Why Today Is the Day to Ask For a Raise
In this episode Shaan (@ShaanVP) shares why you should ask for that raise and Sam (@theSamParr) pokes holes in the $75K happiness study. They also debate whether it is better to own the entirety of…
#215 – What Venture Capital Will Look Like in the Future
In this episode Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@theSamParr) predict what venture capital will look like in the future. Shaan breaks down the different ways someone can win as a VC and also explains how SPACs…
SPECIAL: The Tools in the Solo Creator Toolbox
This special episode is a crosspost from the Indie Hackers Podcast with Courtland Allen. Sam and Shaan were interviewed by Courtland a few months ago and they gave a behind-the-scenes look at how they think…
#214 with Ramit Sethi – Why You Should Have a Diversified Investment Portfolio
In this episode Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) are joined by Ramit Sethi (@ramit), the founder of I Will Teach You To Be Rich. They start off talking about course businesses and Ramit shares what…
#213 – How to Build a Community
In this episode Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@theSamParr) break down community businesses and different ways you can build a community. They also talk about the law of reciprocity, the ad Sam wrote that competitors have…
#212 – Why You Shouldn’t Be A Slave to a 40 Hour Work Week
In this episode Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) discuss alternatives to a 40 Hour Workweek. They start off with Tim Ferriss & his ideas around mini retirements followed by the work ethic & career drive…
#211 with Julian Shapiro – The 3 Cheat Codes Startups Use to Print Cash
In this episode Shaan (@ShaanVP) is joined by startup growth expert Julian Shapiro (@julian). Julian shares the 3 growth trends he noticed successful startups were implementing to grow at astonishing rates. The pair also discuss…
#210 – How Celebrities Have Made Billions off Their Names
In this episode Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@theSamParr) dive into a few industries and talk about the players behind them. They start off talking about car dealerships and the handful of politicians who make major…
#209 with Gary Vaynerchuk – Why NFTS Are the Future
In this episode Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) joins Sam (@theSamParr) and Shaan (@ShaanVP) to give a master class on NFTs. Gary shares his predictions on the future of NFTs and how they’ll be (eventually) used by…
#208 with Steph Smith – Why You Need a Chief Automation Officer
In this episode Shaan (@ShaanVP) is joined by Steph Smith (@stephsmithio) for an idea packed episode. They start off talking about opportunities around spending your FSA dollars and on swag packs. They transition to talk…
