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September 11, 2024 • 1hr 8min
The $70M/yr Sports Bar + Sleepy Industries Worth $100M
My First Million
In this episode of My First Million, hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss several business trends and opportunities, including immersive entertainment venues, potential for innovation in home appliances, the struggles of Weight Watchers, decision-making frameworks, and strategies for identifying high-potential companies to work for. They analyze these topics through the lens of entrepreneurship and investing, offering insights on market trends, business models, and decision-making processes.
The $70M/yr Sports Bar + Sleepy Industries Worth $100M
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Key Takeaways
- Cosm is a new immersive entertainment venue that combines sports bar atmosphere with IMAX-like dome screens for watching live events
- The washer/dryer industry may be ripe for disruption and innovation, similar to how Tesla disrupted the automotive industry
- Weight Watchers stock has plummeted recently, potentially due to competition from weight loss drugs like Ozempic
- When analyzing data, it's important to ask "What story is the data telling me?" rather than trying to fit data to a preconceived narrative
- For important business decisions, it can be helpful to "turn over another card" to gather more information before committing fully
- Doing a monthly review of the 1-3 most impactful things accomplished can provide perspective on what really matters
Introduction
In this episode of My First Million, hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss several business trends and opportunities, including immersive entertainment venues, potential for innovation in home appliances, the struggles of Weight Watchers, decision-making frameworks, and strategies for identifying high-potential companies to work for. They analyze these topics through the lens of entrepreneurship and investing, offering insights on market trends, business models, and decision-making processes.
Topics Discussed
Cosm: The Mini Sphere Entertainment Venue (00:00)
Sam introduces Cosm, a new immersive entertainment venue concept that has been going viral on social media. Key points include:
- Cosm is like a sports bar meets IMAX, with a giant dome screen above viewers
- It offers a more immersive way to watch live events compared to traditional venues or home viewing
- The company has raised $250 million in funding
- They have exclusive partnerships with leagues like UFC for custom content
- Revenue potential looks strong, with estimates of $3-6 million per month per venue from tickets and concessions
"I think it rides on a bunch of big trends. So it's out of home entertainment, I think is a big deal. I think people are looking for places to congregate, to drink, to eat, and to enjoy themselves." - Sam Parr
Innovation Potential in Home Appliances (13:51)
Shaan discusses the potential for innovation and disruption in the washer/dryer industry:
- The washer/dryer market is similar in size to the car market (13-15 million units sold annually)
- There has been little innovation compared to other industries like electric vehicles
- LG recently released a 2-in-1 washer/dryer combo that is generating excitement
- Whirlpool had $22 billion in sales last year, with about half from washers/dryers
- Other appliance areas like stovetops also have room for innovation (e.g. Impulse Labs' new electric stovetop technology)
"I'm making a prediction that in the next ten years, maybe 15, we're gonna see a lot of movement in this space. And I think the appetite is big." - Shaan Puri
Weight Watchers Stock Plunge (26:38)
The hosts discuss the recent plunge in Weight Watchers stock and potential opportunities:
- Weight Watchers stock has dropped to a $58 million market cap
- The company lost $110 million last year on $900 million in revenue
- Factors in the decline may include Oprah's departure and competition from weight loss drugs like Ozempic
- Weight Watchers is pivoting to offer "clinical" weight loss solutions, likely including prescription medications
- There may be an opportunity to dramatically increase revenue per customer by offering higher-priced medical solutions
"If I'm Weight Watchers, I think I'm just gonna start selling Ozempic. That's what I'm ready to become." - Shaan Puri
Data-Driven Decision Making (44:19)
Sam shares insights on data-driven decision making from a successful tech executive:
- Many people look at data to confirm pre-existing narratives rather than letting the data tell the story
- A better approach is to ask "What story is the data telling me?"
- This can lead to more accurate insights and better decisions
- It's important to look at the full dataset, not just cherry-picked data points
"What story is the data telling me is a much better question." - Sam Parr
Decision Making and Certainty (52:18)
The hosts discuss approaches to decision making with uncertainty:
- There's a difference between confidence in a decision and certainty of the outcome
- Using phrases like "Let's turn over another card" can help communicate the level of commitment to a decision
- It's important to be specific about what additional information is needed to increase certainty
- Sometimes decisions need to be made with incomplete information to move forward
"I can be confident that this is the right decision to make, but I can agree that, hey, there's low certainty here that this is going to work or that this is correct." - Sam Parr
Monthly Impact Review (57:22)
Sam shares a monthly review exercise he uses:
- Create a 12-box grid representing the past year's months
- For each month, identify the 1-3 most impactful things accomplished
- This helps provide perspective on what really matters vs. day-to-day busywork
- Over time, it becomes easier to identify potential high-impact activities in the moment
"Every month has, like, an embarrassingly low number of things that actually mattered, like one to three. And everything else was just the cost of doing business." - Sam Parr
Sarah's List: Identifying High-Potential Companies (1:03:37)
The hosts preview an upcoming segment called "Sarah's List":
- Inspired by Sam's wife Sarah's success joining high-growth tech companies
- Aims to identify 10 companies per year that are past the risky startup phase but still have high growth potential
- Joining these companies as an employee can lead to significant wealth creation through stock options
- Less risky than entrepreneurship but still offers high upside
"There is a set of companies that are, like, they're past the point of, like, they're out of going out of business... These are great businesses that will just keep growing, keep compounding." - Sam Parr
Conclusion
This episode of My First Million covered a wide range of business topics and opportunities, from emerging entertainment concepts to potential disruption in home appliances. The hosts also shared valuable insights on decision-making processes, data analysis, and strategies for identifying high-potential companies to work for. Key themes included the importance of letting data tell its own story, balancing confidence with uncertainty in decision-making, and focusing on high-impact activities. The discussion showcased the hosts' entrepreneurial mindset and ability to spot potential opportunities across various industries.