Thistle was founded by Sheel Mohnot and his roommate in San Francisco to address unhealthy eating habits by providing pre-prepared healthy meals. The idea was to offer a subscription service where customers would order meals by Friday for the upcoming week, ensuring minimal food waste and optimized delivery routes. Thistle has grown to $100M in revenue and operates along the West Coast and Northeast, catering to structured individuals who prefer meal planning.
The affinity-based retirement home idea involves creating communities centered around specific interests or cultural affinities, rather than traditional golf-centric retirement communities. For example, an Indian retirement community offers Indian food, movie nights, and cultural events. The idea is to cater to retirees who share common interests, providing a sense of community and belonging while addressing the growing demand for diverse senior living options.
The 'Pearly Whites' idea is inspired by the Dry Bar concept, focusing solely on teeth cleaning. Customers can get their teeth cleaned in 20 minutes for around $100-$120, without additional services like X-rays. The idea is to offer a quick, convenient, and affordable dental service that people can use more frequently than the typical twice-a-year dental visits covered by insurance.
The 'Outsourced Pizza' idea, implemented by Pizzeria DeLuna, involves providing high-quality pizza to mid-range hotels, which often default to chains like Domino's. The model includes supplying hotels with Italian-made pizza, ovens, and marketing materials. The goal is to offer a premium pizza option that hotels can serve to their guests, differentiating themselves from typical fast-food pizza offerings.
The 'School for AI Tools' concept involves creating a franchise or in-person school where adults and kids can learn how to use AI tools and software effectively. For example, classes could teach iPhone photography, video editing, or meme creation using AI tools. The idea is to provide hands-on training in practical, everyday applications of AI and software, making it accessible and useful for a broad audience.
Episode 667: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr) ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP) ) talk to Sheel Mohnot ( https://x.com/pitdesi) ) about the biggest opportunities he sees right now.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) Intro
(2:33) iPod mini hustle
(10:40) Being a dot collector
(20:30) The $100M story of Thistle
(24:30) IDEA: Affinity-based retirement home
(34:30) IDEA: Yelp for professional services
(38:48) IDEA: Pearly whites
(42:10) IDEA: Outsourced pizza
(44:40) The story of Grey Goose
(48:00) IDEA: School for AI Tools
(52:00) Sheel's credit card stack
(59:00) Sheel's position on crypto
(1:03:00) Learning to sell
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Links:
• Thistle - https://www.thistle.co/)
• Sam’s List - https://samslist.co/)
• Pizzeria DeLuna - https://pizzeriadeluna.com/
• U.S. Bank Smartly Visa - https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/bank-smartly-visa-signature-credit-card.html)
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Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
Need to hire? You should use the same service Shaan uses to hire developers, designers, & Virtual Assistants → it’s called Shepherd (tell ‘em Shaan sent you): https://bit.ly/SupportShepherd)
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Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/)
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/)
• Copy That - https://copythat.com)
• Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth)
• Sam’s List - http://samslist.co/)
My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano