He Built A $27M/yr Business From A PLANT Blog?!

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Intro (00:00:00)

The YouTuber quit his job and made $5,000 a month in his first year, surpassing his one-year goal.
His business continued to grow, reaching $60k in the first year, $250k in the third year, $7 million in the fourth year, and over $30 million a year today.
The YouTuber dedicates the podcast to two groups of people: non-native English speakers who start businesses and people who start businesses while having newborns or little kids.
The YouTuber has two interesting things to share.

27M ARR gardening influencer (00:02:00)

Kevin Espiritu, known as the Plant Daddy, started a gardening blog as a hobby to overcome his online addiction to video games and poker.
His blog gained popularity due to his relatable experiences as a gardening beginner, leading him to quit his job when it started earning around $167,000 annually.
Espiritu rebranded his blog to "Epic Gardening," expanding his focus from hydroponic gardening to a broader gardening niche, resulting in a successful online gardening business with a massive social media following.
Another YouTuber built a $27 million per year business from a gardening blog, starting with a $10 domain and $5 hosting, aiming to earn $3,000 per month from blog revenue.
His business grew steadily, reaching $60k in the first year, $250k in the third year, and $7 million in the fourth year.
The COVID-19 pandemic became a turning point, with his YouTube channel gaining 15,000 subscribers per day as people turned to gardening as an outdoor activity.
He transitioned from relying solely on ads and affiliate links to launching his own successful gardening product.
Unlike mass creators who sell branded commodity products, he created a niche, higher-ticket product that resonated with his audience, resulting in negative CAC (customer acquisition cost).
The business grew from $1 million to $7 million and then to over $20 million, eventually reaching $30 million in annual revenue.
The entrepreneur created a community called Hampton for founders with revenues between $2M and $250M, using HubSpot's landing page tool to collect valuable data while tracking traffic sources and revenue generated.
He acquired a seed company called Botanical Seeds and a houseplant business website called yourhouseplant.com for $1,000, quickly generating revenue within the first month due to the website's existing good content and SEO.
The YouTuber, considered the most trusted influencer in the gardening niche, has successfully implemented this strategy multiple times and raised money from Chan to expand his acquisitions.

Fruit Marketing: How Hass avocados became #1 (00:14:30)

Rudolph Hass, a mailman from Milwaukee, accidentally grew a superior avocado tree in California, resulting in the creation of the Hass avocado.
The Hass avocado, named after Rudolph Hass, became the dominant avocado variety worldwide, accounting for 80% of global sales due to its superior taste and texture.
Despite its success, Rudolph Hass did not make significant money from his invention, earning only $4,800 in royalties over his lifetime.
The California Fruit Association successfully rebranded an unappetizing-looking avocado variety by naming it "avocado" and adding "ripe tonight" stickers, leading to a significant increase in sales.
Building a successful business from a plant blog requires a long-term commitment of 10 to 15 years due to the slow growth and experimentation process.
Plant patents have specific rules, such as requiring asexual reproduction, creation through breeding or grafting, and excluding discoveries of existing wild plants.
Henry, the creator of the climbing ever-blooming rose, obtained the first plant patent and benefited from it.
Twitter can be a valuable platform for learning and gaining business insights, even for individuals with a large following on YouTube.

New Movement: Man Camps (00:23:30)

Sam and MrBeast host an annual retreat called Camp MFM, which features activities like basketball, poker, and a cold plunge.
Sam's video about Camp MFM highlights these activities and asks his co-host questions about the event and content creation trends.
Sam believes he may have started a movement with his unique content style.
"Active conferences" are emerging as a popular trend, combining physical activities like running, tennis, or poker with networking opportunities.
These active conferences are seen as more engaging and enjoyable than traditional conferences or lectures.
The rise of non-alcoholic beverages, such as Athletic Brewing Company's beer, reflects changing social habits.

Search Engines - Best Business In The World (00:31:00)

Google's search engine has become increasingly ad-driven, prioritizing advertising over providing quality search results.
Google's business model is highly profitable, with 95% of its revenue coming from search, and it has a dominant market position with over 100,000 employees.
OpenAI is emerging as a potential alternative to Google, with predictions that it could reduce Google's search market share by 25% by 2026.
Kagi, founded by Vladimir, is a subscription-based search engine with no ads that offers a more humane and friendly web experience.
Kagi has around 30,000 paying members and recently raised $880,000 in funding.
Kagi's business model is sustainable, with a revenue of approximately $1.5 million and a break-even or profitable operation.
Kagi's target market is a small but dedicated group of users who value privacy and an ad-free experience.
Chat GPT has significantly reduced the speaker's reliance on Google, highlighting the potential threat of AI-driven search engines.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page Stories You've Never Heard (00:44:00)

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, fostered a culture of brutal honesty and encouraged employees to engage in debates to generate innovative ideas.
Google's current CEO's performance is not as effective as previous leaders, resulting in a decline in the company's overall performance.
Successful companies face the risk of becoming irrelevant due to emerging technologies and trends, as exemplified by Microsoft's decline and the rise of internet-based companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency (crypto) are emerging frontiers of technology with the potential to surpass established companies.
The future of search engines may be replaced by AI agents that provide direct answers and perform tasks, diminishing the relevance of traditional search engines.
Innovative breakthroughs can disrupt established industries, as seen with electric cars surpassing traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.
Setting ambitious goals is essential for success, as achieving 90% of a goal often requires the same effort as reaching 100%.
Adopting a mindset of aiming for the highest possible outcome, even if it seems challenging, can lead to greater achievements.