The Multipreneur: He’s Building A $10M Portfolio of Income Streams

Summary

In this insightful interview, Alex Lieberman, the founder of Morning Brew, shares his journey from selling a successful newsletter to becoming a multipreneur. He discusses his vision of launching multiple businesses and overseeing them as a CEO, without directly managing them. Alex reveals how he identified a gap in the market for a ghostwriting agency for B2B executives, leading to the creation of Story ARB, which is already generating a million-dollar revenue. He also delves into his strategies for finding new business ideas, achieving product-market fit, and hiring top-tier CEOs, offering valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Alex Lieberman started a newsletter in college, which he later sold for millions and then embarked on a journey to find his next big idea, leading to the creation of a personal holding company.
• 🌟 After selling Morning Brew, Alex spent a year exploring his purpose and eventually decided to become a multipreneur, aiming to launch and oversee multiple businesses without being the CEO of any single one.
• 💡 Alex's vision for his personal holding company is to have over a dozen companies under it within the next 5 to 10 years, where he acts as a co-founder and chairman, but not the CEO, allowing him to focus on the early stages of business development.
• 📈 One of Alex's businesses, Story ARB, is already a million-dollar business with 12 clients paying $7,000 a month, demonstrating the success of his personal holding company model.
• 🛠 Alex emphasizes the importance of finding and solving real problems as a foundation for new business ideas, rather than just brainstorming in isolation.
• 🔑 He believes in the concept of 'unteachables' when hiring CEOs for his businesses, looking for qualities like an obsessive brain, critical thinking, high integrity, strong communication, and a great work ethic.
• 💰 Alex discusses the compensation structure for CEOs in his companies, which includes a salary and equity, with profits distributed to equity holders once product-market fit is achieved.
• 🤔 He acknowledges the risks of personal holding companies, such as dilution of focus and the need to continually offer value to the businesses and CEOs within the holding company.
• 📊 Alex defines product-market fit in terms of customer recommendation rates and retention periods, aiming for a high percentage of clients recommending Story ARB and a longer average customer retention period.
• 💡 For those interested in starting a personal holding company, Alex advises to build on one's strengths and interests, and to start with a low-risk approach by testing ideas incrementally.
• 🚀 Lastly, Alex suggests that entrepreneurship doesn't require a leap of faith but rather a series of careful steps, using social media and other platforms to test ideas before fully committing to a business.

Q & A

What was Alex Lieberman's initial business venture?

Alex Lieberman started a newsletter in his dorm room called Morning Brew, which he later sold for millions.

How did Alex feel after selling his first business?

After selling his business, Alex felt lost and spent months trying to figure out what idea he would pursue next.

What is a multipreneur according to Alex Lieberman?

A multipreneur is an entrepreneur who launches multiple different tiny businesses and then hires CEOs to run them, with the goal of having a portfolio of companies under their control as co-founder and chairman.

What is the current status of one of Alex's new businesses?

One of Alex's new businesses, a ghostwriting agency for B2B executives, already has 12 clients paying $7,000 a month, making it a million-dollar business.

What is Alex's framework for finding new business ideas worth pursuing?

Alex suggests being a magnet for problems, finding and hoarding people's problems, and then thinking about novel solutions to those problems.

How did Alex validate the demand for his ghostwriting agency before creating the product?

Alex posted a tweet asking executives if they would be interested in a service that helps build their audience on social media platforms for a yearly fee, and received 25 DMs expressing interest.

What is the profit margin for Alex's ghostwriting agency business?

The profit margin for this type of business is roughly 30 to 35%.

How does Alex define product-market fit for his businesses?

Alex defines product-market fit in two ways: as a percentage of current clients who would recommend the service and the retention rate of those clients, aiming for an average of 10 months.

What qualities does Alex look for in a CEO for his businesses?

Alex looks for CEOs with an obsessive brain, great critical thinking, high integrity, strong communication skills, and a great work ethic.

How does Alex approach compensation for CEOs in his businesses?

Alex offers CEOs a salary between $100,000 to $200,000 a year, plus equity in the business ranging from 10 to 50%, with profits distributed to equity holders every quarter after the business hits product-market fit.

What are the potential downfalls of a personal holding company model?

The potential downfalls include dilution of focus and lack of value proposition, which can lead to not being able to command enough equity or attract talented employees.

What advice would Alex give to his early self based on his entrepreneurial journey?

Alex advises finding great problems to solve, being a magnet for problems, and taking small, intentional steps to test ideas rather than taking a leap of faith.