In my interview with AppSumo’s Mitchell Landon, I laid out how I went from dropping out of college to building a publishing business that has generated roughly $75 million over the last decade and about $10 million in the most recent year. This is the exact roadmap I used — the frameworks, the mindset, and the validation tactics — written from my perspective so you can apply them to your business, book, course, or side hustle.
📈 From College Dropout to a $75M Publishing Business
I left college because I realized I was learning business theory from people who had never actually run businesses. I published a few books, people asked how I did it, I taught them on calls, and that eventually became a real company. First launch: 44 people in 2014. Over 60% finished their books in under six months. That early cohort proved the model.
Numbers matter, but the timeline wasn’t instant. Year one we barely filed taxes. Year two we did a seven-figure top line but ended up buying out a co-founder and going six figures into debt. Year three we turned a profit. By year four or five we were doing a million in bottom line. If I could compress that timeline knowing what I know now, I would have focused on profit and cash earlier — revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is king.
💡 Sell Then Build: The Core Principle
Most people make the mistake of building first and selling later. I learned the hard way: build-first failed for me. The strategy that changed everything was simple — sell then build. Pre-sell the idea, lock in buyers, and then co-create the product with early customers.
- Pre-sell the offer — create a compelling price and access promise (best price, most access ever).
- Use affiliates to borrow audiences and get momentum fast.
- Build alongside customers so the final product solves the problems they actually have.
We pre-sold about $86k on our first real launch and then built the exact product alongside those students. That validation turned a risky idea into a scalable business model.
🧪 How to Validate Any Idea in 30 Days
Here’s a practical 30-day validation playbook I use and teach:
- Create a clear offer. Define the person, pain, promise, and price (more on this below).
- Pre-sell a cohort or product. Use webinars, launch funnels, or direct outreach to get commitments.
- Recruit affiliates. Partner with people who already have the audience you want.
- Run “why didn’t you buy?” calls. Schedule 15-minute feedback calls with applicants who didn’t purchase. Ask how they found you, what they liked, what held them back, and what they’d pay.
- Collect quotes & objections in a spreadsheet. Use direct language from prospects in your marketing copy next time — it feels like you’re reading their mail.
- If you can pre-sell enough to justify the build, go build and deliver. If not, iterate or kill the idea fast.
Do this and you either get revenue or learn fast. Either way you win.
✍️ The MORE Writing Method (for books, courses, talks)
I developed a simple framework for getting content out of your head and into a finished product. MORE stands for:
- Mindmap — 15 minutes. Dump every idea onto paper. I prefer a pen and paper to avoid getting bogged in tools.
- Outline — Turn the mindmap into a chapter-by-chapter or section-by-section structure.
- Rough Draft — Write fast. One chapter at a time or use the outline as a teleprompter for video content.
- Editing — Refine, cut, and polish. Get feedback from the people you’re building for.
Whether you’re creating a book, a course, a talk, or a workshop, MORE is universally applicable. Start with the mindmap and commit to shipping.
🧭 The Four P’s: Person, Pain, Promise, Price
Every high-converting offer or bestselling book I’ve launched follows the Four P’s:
- Person — Pick one real person you know who needs this. Not an abstract avatar.
- Pain — Describe the problem they know they have in their words.
- Promise — Make a clear, compelling promise you can deliver.
- Price — Set the price consistent with the value and the promise.
One of the big mistakes experts make is selling the problem they think customers have (the broccoli) instead of the problem customers actually feel (the chocolate). Lead with the chocolate they want — the pain they already recognize — and hide the broccoli inside.
🔁 Finding Product-Market Fit: R&D and Iteration
There are two business phases: pre–product-market-fit and post–product-market-fit. Before PMF it’s a grind — you test, iterate, and collect direct feedback. My favorite tactic is the “why didn’t you buy?” call. Record customer language and use it in your next launch. If your messaging matches their words and you articulate their problem more eloquently than they can, they’ll assume you have the solution.
Marketing is like baseball — a 300 batting average is Hall of Fame. If three out of ten marketing ideas work, you’re doing well. Accept that most things will fail; focus on having more swings and learning each time.
🔥 Lessons from Failure, Debt, and Going All In
I’ve had plenty of moments where I thought it wouldn’t work. There was the first year of minimal revenue, then a year we hit seven figures top line — and I discovered a partner was trying to push me out. I negotiated a buyout, borrowed money, went multiple six figures into debt, and then had to make it work. That “all chips in” moment focused me. Failure was not an option.
“Most people give up three feet from gold.”
Persistence, consistent work ethic, discipline, and tenacity are what separate the long-term winners from the rest. Entrepreneurship isn’t glamorous every day. If you want the easy life with the flashy stuff, being an employee might be a better path.
🤝 The Power of Getting in the Room
If you want a seat at the table, be willing to stack the chairs. Early on, I couldn’t afford conference tickets, so I volunteered — stacked chairs, ran mics, picked up speakers. Serving gets you into rooms with people you otherwise wouldn’t meet. Those rooms turned into friendships, affiliates, mentors, and customers. Be the best street sweeper — show up and maximize the opportunity.
🧠 Books as $15 Mentors — Solve Your Biggest Bottleneck
I call a book a $15 mentor. When I hit a bottleneck I pick the best book on that topic, read it, implement it, and move to the next. For example, when I realized I was a good manager but a poor leader, I read a stack of leadership books until I got better. Learning this way filled the gap I left when I dropped out of school.
❓FAQ — Quick Answers to Common Questions
Do I need a book to start a business?
No. But a book is an extremely effective vehicle to create credibility and leads. You can start with a book or a business — either way, follow the sell-then-build principle.
How long does validation take?
You can validate an offer in 30 days if you pre-sell and collect real buyer commitments. Run a short launch, recruit affiliates, and use “why didn’t you buy?” calls to iterate fast.
What exactly is pre-selling?
Pre-selling means offering the product before it exists (often at a special price or with extra access) and securing commitments. Only build once you have enough real buyers to make the economics work.
What if I can’t afford conferences to get in the room?
Volunteer. Offer to help organizers — run mics, stack chairs, or pick up speakers. Serve to get access, then maximize the relationships you build there.
Is AI a threat to this model?
AI is an accelerator if you focus on high-quality work with a purpose beyond low-cost content. Commoditized, low-margin products will suffer. If your product delivers outsized returns for your customers, AI helps you scale.
What’s the single toughest truth about entrepreneurship?
It ain’t easy. If you aren’t prepared for the grind, sacrifices, and boring days, don’t start. If you are willing to persist, most people give up before the payoff.
🏁 Final Thoughts
I didn’t get here because I was the smartest in the room. I got here because I was persistent, I read deliberately, I copied and refined proven models, and I sold before I built. The frameworks I use — MORE, the Four P’s, pre-sell validation, and relentless customer feedback — are repeatable in almost any industry. If you’re solving a problem people already feel, and you can describe that problem more clearly than they can, you’ll have leverage.
Start by mindmapping for 15 minutes. Pick one person who needs what you have. Pre-sell the offer. If people buy, build and deliver. Repeat.
