Sam Parr

Started/sold some startups. Founder + president of Hampton @hamptonfounders. Host My First Million podcast on the side.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@Isit_AI_or_BS Huh? They've given out loans on your sp500 position since like the 1920s. Its called margin loan (and line of credit. If you have a Robin Hood account, you can click a button and get it. It's literally easier than a mortgage.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

This is interesting.

A real estate influencer posted how a $58,000 home in 1982 is now for sale for $900,000.

$58,000 invested into SP500 would be worth $9 million today!

This isn’t about whether or not you should buy a house. Do what makes you happy!

But I do think, if you can afford it, investing even small sums into SP500 really adds up over decades.

I’m very bullish on America over a multi decade period (though I’d argue SP500 is global).

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@NotGoKGreen i love her stuff

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

I think most YouTube content is overly optimized and lacks soul.

Huckberry isn't one of them. They have a show called DIRT, which I LOVE. Its sorta Anthony Bourdain-esque. Travel + food.

Business wise, it makes a ton of sense too. Huckberry is an outdoors + workwear clothing brand/retailer.

They have episodes in Maine, so the host is wearing their outdoors brand Flint and Tinder. Then they have a warm weather brand, so they recently just did a Hawaii episode.

They only have 500k subs, but the engagement is deep.

"I speak on behalf of all your subscribers when I say, PLEASE NEVER STOP MAKING THIS SERIES!" -- the top comment on their most recent episode.

In a world of slop and speed, its they're refreshing. I'm guilty of this stuff too as a creator, so I find them inspiring.

It makes me love the brand.

I'm looking for more examples like them in the content space. In particular, the business media space. I really like Starter Story's most recent "day in the life" series.

What else yall got?

https://t.co/UkNE3wTQL3

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@theficouple Well its not great that the source of that link is kalsee, which makes its money giving our mortgages

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@SpiceP0dcast that media is mostly not a vc game!

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

I actually had a great time pitching VCs.

Everyone was super polite when they said no.

One guy in NYC did fall alseep.

But everyone was super polite when they were like "you want to raise money for a media company"?

(They were right)

[GREG ISENBERG @gregisenberg]

I was once pitching in a board room at a top 3 VC firm for a $15M Series A.

12 people in the meeting. One of the GPs fully fell asleep. Out cold for 30+ minutes. Nobody acknowledged it. Everyone just kept going.

I kept presenting my Series A slides to an unconscious man in a Herman Miller chair and somehow that was considered normal. That's venture capital.

You might fly across the country to perform for people who may or may not be conscious.

It's a dance.

And sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow and sometimes your partner is unconscious.

If you're raising right now, just know: every founder has a story like this. The process is weird. The power dynamic is weird. You're not crazy for thinking it's weird.

No one talks about it because they want to continue raising. But I'm happy to stick my neck out there.

It is weird.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@theficouple i did. you've made 2x renting + investing into sp500. $12k became nearly $2m.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@DavidTaggart agreed. love public markets. so much easier

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@MeetMattL i enjoyed it

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

A lot of top bankers in 1929 made the equivalent of $100M a year working 6 hours a day.

I just read this in Andrew Ross Sorkin's new book, 1929.

- One guy's routine was wake up at 6, workout, get to the office by 10, and home by 5.
- Another took the whole summer off in Europe. The boat ride was 3 weeks each way.

I’ve read about other examples of super successful people like this. Andrew Carnegie barely worked, Ted Turner (who built CNN) would disappear 3 months at a time to race sailboats professionally.

But then today we see a lot of people talking about how hard work is necessary to do great things.

They likely grinded to get there. But it's important to know what season you’re in.

Don’t compare your spring to someone else’s summer.

There are seasons to grind, and then there are seasons to rest.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@chickenfeast 18k into spy in 1982 is worth nearly $3m today!

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@EthanDriskill but you can live off all the money it makes you

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@DivCultivator no. 12k in 1982 worth 1.8mil today.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@SoloSideHustle 12k in 1982 worth 1.8mil today.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

I didn't read it that they're "gods" -- more so that people who go off and do their own thing as an entrepreneur vs. working at a big established company -- generally speaking people find the 1st one more exciting.

I always find it fun reading about people going independent. Its very exciting, brave, etc (even if it fails).

And I actually found parts of the article to not be positive about them. So I don't think they were described as gods.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@thedogfather @TheSalonDon he was wearing a swatch actually

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@TheSalonDon eating a 7/11 taquito is for sure a noble act.

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@njc_masithela the oasis

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

Books that I've read recently:

The Stranger Beside Me: story of serial killer Ted Bundy. He killed ~30 people. But suspected of way more. Hard to read because of how much detail it went into and how evil he was. 7/10.

Hunting Eichmann: Adolph Eichmann was a Nazi who helped set up the worst concentration camps. He escapes to Argentina. After ~10 years, Isreali's Mossad hunts him down and brings him to justice. 9/10

The Chief: the life of William Randolph Hearst: The founder of America's most influential media corporation. I learned a lot from him, but found him to be quite unlikeable. 7/10

Ask Not: A book on the women within the family Kennedy and how the Kennedy's did a lot of very, very bad things. But they're still a massive part of America's story, which I love. 9/10

The Spider: Inside the Tangled Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell: This story can't go away. Epstein + his crew are horrible and justice still hasn't been served. 9/10

Streetwise: Lloyd Blankfein's memoir, former Goldman CEO. I enjoyed it. 8/10

Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu: Memoir of Tom Freston, the founder of MTV. He's cool as hell. Went from being a borderline criminal to running Viacom. 8/10.

I'm not finished with Hunting Eichmann. But once that's done -- gotta get away from sad stuff. Wearing me out!

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

@Afzal_Hussein_ @_jacksmith by having a large audience who trusts me!

[Sam Parr @thesamparr]

Yesterday Lloyd Blankfein came to my office to record My First Million. Lloyd used to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

It'll be out soon - you have to listen to it.

I've met loads of billionaires and powerful people through the podcast.

But Lloyd was the first person I've done a podcast with, I think, who was 1) powerful because he ran powerful organization that he didn't start 2) a big shot on a very global scale that's beyond just business.

A few notes:

1. Being poor early in life impacts you forever: His father worked for the post office. He grew up in the projects. He became "successful" in his 30s (young) but growing up poor impacts you for life.

2. He has a cheap Netflix account: for example he still used the cheap Netflix subscription that has ads.

3. He wore a Suit Supply jacket: And he was wearing a cheap(ish) Suit Supply sports jacket. He's a multi-billionaire (I assume) and has a fancy life, but its funny to see minor ways where he's still cheap due to his upbringing.

4. He's a day trader: Lloyd's been retired for 10+ years. His passion and hobby now is day trading. He made a joke that he had to put in a bunch of orders right before we started because he'd normally spend that time trading. He said he can't stop checking his phone because he loves it.

5. Only ~25% of his net worth is in an index: And ~75% is him buying individual equities. He likes big tech. The big players + some of the secondary smaller ones. (He gave ball park numbers, so make sure you see my "~" sign).

6. Climbing a power ladder vs. being a business owner: Most people I meet with are entrepreneurs. I prefer the term "small business owner" because even if a business is $10b+, most still act like small business owners in some ways. Lloyd wasn't that. Goldman was already one of the best when he started there as an entry level guy. I prefer being an entrepreneur. Suits my personality. But there was for sure something intoxicating hearing about joining a storied, powerful institution and being the CEO and steward of it. Prestige isn't something I typically think about - but I get why its cool.

7. He was intoxicatingly relatable: This guy is a power player. Not just in business, but in the world. US presidents, Putin, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk...the most powerful people on earth - he works with and they influence one another. And yet, when he talked to a peon like me...he was locked in, kind, charming, and very, very relatable. I can see why he became CEO.

8. He's a history nerd: Like me. He said the number one thing to study, if you want to be a great investor, is history. History goes in cycles, so it helps to know what happened in the past. He's passionate about the founding fathers, medieval era, and Robert Caro's books.

9. He didn't have work life balance: And that didn't bother him. He was high energy and seems like he enjoyed the grind. His career...he was go go go.

10. He had thick skin: during the Occupy Wall Street and mortgage crisis era, Lloyd was enemy #1 as he represented big banks (which is sort of odd given you can't even get a mortgage from Goldman). Protestors were outside his apartment building. I asked if it worried him. "No, that's what doormen help with," he joked. Numerous times, he gave me a sense of being quite tough skinned. I think he did a great job of internalizing that in order to achieve greatness, you'll have a lot of critics and that's just part of it.

11. He walked home (2 miles): What are you doing now, I asked at the end of the episode. "I'm gonna walk home," he said, "I've gotten nothing else going on." Ballers...they're just like us!

--

I liked meeting Lloyd Blankfein. Found him to be sharp, charming, and very likeable. Its very clear why he's super successful. I hope to record with him again!