Jack Smith (@_jacksmith) is the most clever entrepreneur I know. He’s cofounded multiple startups: Vungle, Coin, Shyp. With Vungle recently selling for $750M, we talk about his early businesses as a kid, selling prank itching powder on the playground - all the way to his infamous “LinkedIn Hack” that got him his first $120k investment check. --------- * Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/ * Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million * Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas. --------- Show notes: * (1:05) Episode Intro by Sam * (4:10) Who is Jack Smith? * (9:30) How Jack hustled as a 12-year-old * (13:55) Jack on productivity and procrastination * (21:26) How Jack raised for Vungle * (31:13) How Shaan got his in at Monkey Inferno * (35:16) The early iterations of Vungle * (41:37) How Jack leveraged his beginner's mindset * (45:19) Jack on VC norms & selling his stock * (49:44) What Jack would do if he was 20 again
Learn about Jack's unique perspective on business ideas and growth in the HubSpot Podcast Network. However, an ad for HubSpot is also included in the transcript.
Despite raising only $25 million, Vungle has become a successful ad network generating more than $300 million in revenue.
The speaker shares how she had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age, bidding on projects at the age of 12 and negotiating business deals.
The speaker discusses the issue of over-glorified productivity in modern society, where there is an excessive focus on hacks and tools rather than genuine creativity and problem-solving skills.
The hosts discuss the challenges of starting a company without a proven track record, and the importance of networking and pitching to potential clients. They compare the process to a bobsled team running in unison and hopping in at the right time.
Jack Altman talks about how he found a loophole in LinkedIn's ad targeting system by expanding the targeting enough to make the number of people in his audience only two, allowing him to manually review his ads and target specific connections.
An email from a stranger changed the course of her career when she ended up working for Thomas, owner of an idea lab.
The speaker shares their experience investing in foreign companies and discusses their approach with Mars, focusing on the company's background and potential for success.
The founders describe the process of how they came up with the idea for having movie trailer-like ads for apps and how they encountered their first invasive video ad while recording a meeting.
The speaker discusses a practice investor pitch that involves an advertising model that charges based on the number of users obtained, rather than the number of people that see the ad.
The speaker discusses selling stock in a startup and how it works, including agreeing on a valuation and selling a small amount for a reasonable price.
Ryan Hoover, founder of Product Hunt, discusses how he became the number one user on the site, the early days of the platform and his vision to make it more than just a side project.
Jack Smith is giving the listeners an opportunity to reach out to him and learn more about his work. He encourages people to look for windows instead of doors and provides options for people to get in touch with him.