📌 The $2.8B digital pinboard

+ $800k a year with newsletters ✍️

Hi, Guy & Farzan here,

This week we have founders selling beer, building newsletters, running an Inn, and three founders that created a $2.8B digital pinboard. Let's go!

Read time: 9 mins
Video watch time: 30mins

In the mail:

  1. Founder story: From Silicon Valley to Inn ownership 🚀

  2. Founder playbook: The digital pinboard doing $2.8 Billion revenue 📌

  3. Video playbook: Alex makes $800K/yr writing 5 newsletters ✍️

  4. Video playbook: See how James turned $9K in $2.4B selling beer 🍺

  5. Video short: See how Codie owns 26 businesses ⚡️

  6. A quote: A quote about success 📚

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1. Founder story

🚀 From Silicon Valley to Inn ownership: The inspiring story of a Software Engineer's entrepreneurial leap into real estate and hospitality.


🚀 From coding in Silicon Valley to crafting memorable hospitality experiences in Ontario, Minna Hu's journey is nothing short of extraordinary!

🇨🇳 Born and raised in a town in China, Minna's initial path was one of stability, far from the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. Yet, fate had different plans. A career leap across the Pacific landed her in Silicon Valley, where she met her future husband and discovered the fascinating world of property management. 🏡

😱 Fast forward a few years, they stumbled upon a quaint inn for sale. Viewing it as just another rental property, Minna took the entrepreneurial plunge headfirst. Little did she know, she was diving into the deep end of running a full-fledged hospitality business.

💡 The transformation from software engineer to inn owner taught her a crucial lesson in business: Always be ready to adapt, learn, and grow.

💪 Minna's journey paints a vibrant portrait of dedication, perseverance, and the determination to succeed, even amidst a global pandemic.

🛎️ At the Inn at the Falls, every room unlocked has been a stepping stone towards their vision, creating not just jobs but an entire community of warmth and hospitality.

📣 Shoutout to Minna Hu, an inspiring founder who took the road less travelled and turned it into a path of success, all while retaining her unique identity and values.

2. Founder playbook

📌 Pinterest's visual revolution: From a digital pinboard to a $2.8 Billion powerhouse

📌 The Pinterest Revolution
This social media maverick, born in San Francisco and co-founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp in 2013, has redefined the digital landscape. Touting an impressive $2.8 billion revenue in 2022, Pinterest transformed from a simple digital pinboard to a multi-billion dollar behemoth.

💡 Concept and Operation
Unlike other platforms, Pinterest focuses on visual exploration and personal discovery. Users curate Pins on thematic boards, serving as a go-to hub for inspiration spanning fashion, food, travel, and more. User privacy is prioritized, with options for private and secret boards.

💡 Monumental Growth
Starting with a modest 10,000 users in 2010, Pinterest saw an explosion in growth, boasting 50 million global users by 2013. Its unique model and focus on personal discovery set it apart in the crowded social media landscape.

💰 Monetization Strategy
Pinterest monetizes through Promoted Pins and e-commerce integration with platforms like Shopify. This combination, along with its unique user-focused model, propelled the platform to $2.8 billion in revenue by 2022.

🛡️ The Future: Innovation & Privacy
Looking forward, Pinterest continues to innovate with data-driven advertising while upholding user privacy. Through a partnership with LiveRamp, Pinterest uses "clean rooms" to ensure personalized ads don't infringe on user data privacy.

3. Video playbook

✍️ See how Alex makes $800K a year writing 5 newsletters

In this playbook, watch how Alex from Marketing Examined delves into his methods for earning $800,000 annually through his online writing. Alex shows us the strategies to accumulate your initial 1,000 newsletter subscribers, ways to secure high-profile sponsors, and the four fundamental components for creating a $1M newsletter business from the ground up. This playbook should motivate some of you to take the plunge and begin!

4. Video playbook

🍺 See how James turned $9K in $2.4B selling beer

Discover the captivating founder story of James Watt, who transformed a small garage operation with his friend into the multi-billion-dollar company, Brewdog. From humble beginnings of filling bottles by hand to a beer industry revolution, James shares his 7 secrets for entrepreneurial success. Watch this playbook as James reveals his steps to building an empire.

5. Video short

⚡️ How Codie Sanchez owns 26 businesses without going crazy

6. Quote

📚 A quote about success

“All of us, in a sense, struggle continuously all the time, because we never get
what we want. The important thing which I’ve really learned is how do you not give up, because you never succeed in the first attempt.”

Mukesh Ambani

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See you next Sunday
Guy + Farzan 👋

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