Episode Summary
Executive Summary: The conversation centers on Justin Mares’ playbook for building profitable side hustles and brands by exploiting platform demand, buying undervalued assets, and using operational leverage. He shares the origin stories and economics behind Kettle & Fire, Perfect Keto, Shirley, and a glucose-monitoring challenge, while also discussing health optimization, privacy-focused DuckDuckGo, and automation via virtual assistants. The throughline is pragmatic entrepreneurship: cash-flow first, equity later.
Main Topics: Side Hustles as a Path to Financial Freedom (Priority: 5/5): Justin argues entrepreneurship should often be treated as a means to create cashflow and optionality, not necessarily the next giant VC-backed startup. He outlines a framework for side hustles that can be run profitably while preserving lifestyle flexibility. Four Categories of Side Hustles (Priority: 5/5): He breaks side businesses into: buying existing assets and improving them; leveraging marketplace platforms with existing demand; launching unique products into paid traffic; and building systems/tools that solve recurring operational problems. Kettle & Fire and Perfect Keto as Brand-Building Case Studies (Priority: 5/5): The discussion details how Kettle & Fire grew from a bone broth idea into a major consumer brand, and how Perfect Keto was started as a side project that hit early revenue goals quickly. These examples illustrate niche identification, branding, and scale. Health, Nutrition, and Behavioral Incentives (Priority: 4/5): Justin discusses his health habits, skepticism about low-value biohacking, and a wearables-based glucose challenge that used financial incentives to change behavior. He also ties broader trends to non-alcoholic products and better wellness outcomes. DuckDuckGo and Long-Term Product Compounding (Priority: 3/5): The hosts discuss DuckDuckGo’s rise as a privacy-first alternative to Google, emphasizing how slow compounding, user trust, and macro privacy trends can turn a long-shot project into a meaningful company. Operational Leverage Through Virtual Assistants (Priority: 4/5): Justin highlights a company-wide system of using VAs to remove repetitive work and proposes an automation-officer role that could help companies become materially more productive by systematizing these gains. New Venture Ideas: Camping, Non-Alcoholic Wine, and Matching by Spending (Priority: 3/5): The conversation surfaces several startup concepts, including Airbnb-style camping, Shirley non-alcoholic wine, and a dating/matching system based on spending patterns. These are framed as niche, testable, cashflow-oriented opportunities.
Key Arguments: Side hustles are best approached as cash-flow businesses, not as attempts to build the next Facebook. Buying existing assets can be one of the fastest paths to upside because the buyer can improve value using known playbooks. Platform-based businesses work well when they serve existing demand rather than requiring expensive customer acquisition from scratch. Search data can reveal underserved demand; if people are searching and results are weak, a focused product or content strategy can win. A small, disciplined product can become a meaningful business if it addresses a niche with clear intent and strong conversion economics. Raising money can be beneficial if it unlocks strong hiring, secondary liquidity, and faster growth, even if it reduces control. Behavior change is often more effective when paired with immediate financial incentives and accountability. Operational leverage, especially through virtual assistants and automation, can make a company significantly more efficient without adding many full-time employees.
Data Points: Kettle & Fire + Perfect Keto combined revenue (2019): North of $100 million - Justin said the two businesses combined did over $100M in 2019. Kettle & Fire raise: $16 million - Raised in 2018 after initially bootstrapping. Initial bootstrap period for Kettle & Fire: 18 months - He bootstrapped before raising outside money. Tiny initial raise for Kettle & Fire: Less than $1 million - A small early round before the larger raise. Perfect Keto early target: $20,000 per month - The side-project goal was to reach this revenue level before a celebratory trip. Perfect Keto time to target: About 45 days - They reached the $20K/month threshold far faster than expected. FOMO purchase price: Less than $400,000 - Justin and his partner bought the Shopify app for under this amount. FOMO revenue at acquisition: $14,000/month - Monthly revenue when they acquired the app. FOMO current revenue: About $95,000/month - The business grew substantially after acquisition. Airbnb revenue from San Francisco unit: $15,000–$18,000/month - Seasonal earnings from renting out their SF place. Apartment building deal: 14 units - Justin mentioned buying a 14-unit building in Vegas and converting it to Airbnb. Apartment building return: 70% more than purchase price - He said it was sold 18 months later for 70% more. Airbnb ranking: Third-ranked Airbnb in San Francisco - He said they briefly had the third-ranked Airbnb listing in the city. Glucose challenge cohort size: 50 people - Current cohort size for the wearables accountability experiment. Challenge pricing/incentive: $25 per day - Participants got money back for staying in range. Challenge duration: 30 days - The glucose experiment ran as a 30-day challenge. Challenge payment amount: $950 - Described as paying $950 for 30 days and earning back $25/day for compliance. Glucose challenge user outcome: 7 completed cohorts; ~50 pounds lost - One participant reportedly did the challenge seven times and lost about 50 pounds. Company team size: 33 people - Justin said Kettle & Fire has a small team. Virtual assistant budget: About $10,000/month - He estimated total VA spend across the company. Potential non-alcoholic wine business startup capital: About $100,000 - He said Shirley cost roughly this amount to spin up. Estimated annual personal income from challenge: $20,000–$30,000 - He expects to make this from the wearable challenge in a year. Seller-financed acquisition term: 20 months - For FOMO, they paid the seller in monthly chunks over 20 months. Kettle & Fire live launch performance: Over $20,000 in first month - Once product was ready, the business passed this figure immediately.
Pivotal Quotes: "this is very clearly a $10 million a year thing that makes 2 million in profit" — Sam Parr: Discussing the Shirley non-alcoholic wine venture and its likely economics. "I just think for most people, entrepreneurship is a means to an end. And that end is like a lifestyle that people are trying to create." — Justin Mares: Justin explaining why side hustles should prioritize personal freedom and cashflow. "I think that the average company and we do this at my company, could just be 30% more productive." — Justin Mares: On the value of virtual assistants and automation in improving operational efficiency.
Implications: Listeners get a practical framework for evaluating side businesses: look for existing demand, low-friction acquisition, and clear economics. The episode suggests the next wave of opportunities is in niche consumer brands, health/accountability products, and operational automation.
About My First Million
Sam Parr and Shaan Puri brainstorm new business ideas based on trends & opportunities they see in the market. Sometimes they bring on famous guests to brainstorm with them.