Dan welcomes back Jay Clouse, founder of Creator Science, for his third appearance on the podcast. Jay has grown Creator Science into a thriving media company, including a YouTube channel with over 100,000 subscribers. In this episode, they discuss recurring vs. one-time products, effective marketing funnels, channel viability, and the difference between discovery and nurture content. Jay’s transparent approach to building his business is truly inspiring. Catch the second part of this conversation on the Creator Science podcast.

Links:

Part 2 of our convo on the Creator Science podcast

Connect with other entrepreneurs

Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Matt Gartland, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Brian Balfour, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

https://tropicalmba.com/episodes/million-from-linkedin

https://tropicalmba.com/episodes/easier-10x-than-2x

https://tropicalmba.com/episodes/brick-by-brick

Dan talks to Matthew Newton, CEO of Leatherback Travel, about his radically unconventional approach to scaling an 8-figure business. They dive into why it’s crucial to ruthlessly select your opportunities, along with key lessons learned—including when to pivot, balancing flexibility with structure, and ensuring that running a business is always engaging and fun. Lean into some of these insights as you work on your goals for 2025.

Want to get in the company of other entrepreneurs to help you kickstart your 2025 goals? Submit your application to join Dynamite Circle at https://dynamitecircle.com/

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Chapters

(00:00:30) Introduction to Leatherback Travel

Useful links:

Connect with other entrepreneurs

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, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

“$1.5 Million from LinkedIn: Strategies for Building Influence and Consistent Revenue”

“It’s easier to 10X than to 2X” + 8 Lessons from CEO Bootcamp

Building ‘Brick by Brick’: Goals, Plans, Scorecards, Cadence

If you’re sleeping on LinkedIn, let this episode be your wake up call. Dan sits down with Dr. Alex Barker, a pharmacist-turned-entrepreneur who 10X’d his business using LinkedIn. A real LinkedIn success story, proving how this often-overlooked platform can be a game-changer for B2B businesses. If you’ve ever doubted LinkedIn’s potential, this conversation might just change your mind.

Become a TMBA Insider and join thousands of entrepreneurs who’ve started, grown, and exited their businesses for life-changing sums. It all starts here. tropicalmba.com/subscribe

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Chapters

Useful links:

Connect with other entrepreneurs

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, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

How do you grow from 7 to 8 figures?

The 4 Most Eye-Opening Lessons I’ve Learned From My Coaching Clients

Only 3 Ways to Grow…What Would Plato Do

Dan and Ian traveled to Barcelona with 12 other CEOs and founders to spend the week with Scaling Up author Verne Harnish. These are the 8 biggest takeaways from the week that you can apply to your own business.

Chapters:

(00:00:21) Introduction

Useful links:

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, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

How do you grow from 7 to 8 figures?

The 4 Most Eye-Opening Lessons I’ve Learned From My Coaching Clients

Only 3 Ways to Grow…What Would Plato Do

Does your business feel stuck in 'idea mode,' constantly jumping from project to project? If you’re ready to get on track and build a more focused, scalable strategy for 2025, this episode is for you.

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Chapters

Useful links:

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, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

How do you grow from 7 to 8 figures?

The 4 Most Eye-Opening Lessons I’ve Learned From My Coaching Clients

Only 3 Ways to Grow…What Would Plato Do

Dan revives his Re-Readables series with a discussion inspired by Frank Slootman's business book Amp It Up. He delves into the book's core arguments, such as the idea that execution trumps strategy, faster execution can drive better decision-making and growth, and the importance of building for investability.

Plus, how exactly to improve your execution and boost your business’s performance.

Amp It Up by Frank Slootman

Want to get in the company of other entrepreneurs to help you kickstart your 2025 goals? Submit your application to join Dynamite Circle at https://dynamitecircle.com/

Connect with us:

Chapters

Useful links:

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, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

How do you grow from 7 to 8 figures?

The 4 Most Eye-Opening Lessons I’ve Learned From My Coaching Clients

Only 3 Ways to Grow…What Would Plato Do

Dan & Ian talk to Lucas Peters, founder of Journey Beyond Travel, about his plans to get to $10M in 5 years.

They break down the business and shift thinking from a project-oriented mindset to an approach rooted in financial analysis: What are your gross margins? What does it take to aquire a customer? What is your rebuy rate and LTV?

They consider the highest leverage paths to growth.

Want to get in the company of other entrepreneurs to help you kickstart your 2025 goals? Submit your application to join Dynamite Circle at https://dynamitecircle.com/

Chapters

Useful links:

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, Lucy Bella Simkins, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

“The 4 Most Eye-Opening Lessons I’ve Learned From My Coaching Clients”

“You’re Gonna Mess It Up The Way Everybody Messes It Up”

“When is my LTV good enough?” + Founder Mode for Bootstrappers

Dan and Ian discuss the importance of three key executive roles—CEO, COO, and CFO—within bootstrapped businesses, emphasizing the need for founders to embrace responsibilities beyond visionary tasks.

(00:00:22) Welcome and Introduction

Useful links:

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, Lucy Bella Simkins, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

$30K a Month on Upwork in Less Than 2 Years

“You’re Gonna Mess It Up The Way Everybody Messes It Up”

“When is my LTV good enough?” + Founder Mode for Bootstrappers

$100K MRR in 12 Months… Can They Do It?

This week’s episode is for the business finance and idea nerds.

We’re joined this week in a business breakdown session with Alexej Pikovsky of Alphawellbrands.com. Alexej raised 4MIL to build a CBD marketplace. They were forced to pivot and have currently acquired an Amazon FBA brand and started up a success agency in the process, the combined revenue of both is on track to be over 4MIL this year.

We’ll dig into the Peter Paul problem– how to choose where to focus your energy when you have multiple businesses?

We’ll also cover his perspective on what happened in the Amazon aggregator space. How did so much capital implode so quickly? (Thrasio raised 3 Billion dollars and provided exits to many TMBA listeners). Is there room for smaller roll-ups that work in 2024?

Takeaways

Useful links:

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, Lucy Bella Simkins, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

“The 4 Most Eye-Opening Lessons I’ve Learned From My Coaching Clients”

“You’re Gonna Mess It Up The Way Everybody Messes It Up”

“When is my LTV good enough?” + Founder Mode for Bootstrappers

$100K MRR in 12 Months… Can They Do It?

Selling your product or service requires using words to convey what you offer. But words alone don’t convert on-the-fence prospects into paying customers. Great conversion copy is a mix of persuasion, UX, and decision-making psychology. Sound hard? We promise it isn’t.

Chris, the founder of Conversion Alchemy, takes us for a deep dive into all things copywriting and how the power of your messaging can impact your business growth, for better or worse.

Plus, he shares a simple five-step copy audit process that transforms agency websites into lead generation machines, with principles you can apply to improve your own marketing collateral.

Tune in for writing tips, principles, and examples you can copy. Newsletter subscribers will get the 5-step worksheet to help you create your own offer in 30 minutes.

Takeaways

Useful links:

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, Lucy Bella Simkins, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Crabtree, Jordan Gal

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

“The 4 Most Eye-Opening Lessons I’ve Learned From My Coaching Clients”

“You’re Gonna Mess It Up The Way Everybody Messes It Up”

“When is my LTV good enough?” + Founder Mode for Bootstrappers

$100K MRR in 12 Months… Can They Do It?