Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle
Episodes
#751 “The Death of the Follower” + How I’d Make $250K in 3 Days a Week
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is it possible to bootstrap a high-level business if you’re broke? Listen to Dan & Ian’s take on what kinds of businesses are best to start when y...
#750 What is the Most Simple OS for <$5M?
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The hard part shouldn’t be how to implement an OS in your organization. The hard part is answering the question: Are the right people in the right r...
#749 Do Things That Don’t Scale
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Ian and Dan discuss the concept of doing things that don't scale, inspired by Paul Graham's influential article 'Do Things That Don't...
#748 Three Phases to 1 Million
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and Ian discuss the different phases of bootstrapping a business and the common challenges that arise at each stage. They walk through three phase...
#747 Quiet Crypto, The Demand Question, and Difficult Decisions ft. Jordan Gal
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan talks to Jordan Gal, founder of Rally and co-host of the Bootsrapped Web podcast about challenges in the ecommerce space, product-market fit and d...
#746 “Full-Service Agencies Are Out” & Other Productized-Service Ideas
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan & Ian talk to John Doherty, the founder of Editor Ninja, former owner of Credo, and cohost of the Working Sessions podcast about three major trend...
#745 “3 Million in Revenue is a Death Zone" - Financial Strategy with Greg Crabtree
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Transitioning through the death zone requires careful execution and a focus on profitability. The $3 million dollar mark is a critical milestone for b...
#744 How Transparent Should You Be? Thoughts on Queen Bee Roles & a Ticket Giveaway
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week Dan & Ian share a few thought experiments you can do to improve your business and reach your next breakthrough. They cover the value of a w...
#743 Spotting Taboo Business Ideas Through the Overton Window
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Going deeper on shiny object syndrome, Dan & Ian open the mailbag to read responses to last week’s episode. A listener shares his success story with...
#742 A Podcast About Shiny Object Syndrome
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan & Ian delve into the complexities of combating shiny object syndrome, a challenge that plagues all entrepreneurs at one time or another (or all th...
#741 The Roadmap for Turning a Skill Into a 1M+ Productized Service
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Dan uncovers The Ultimate TMBA Business: a productized service business built on a skill set. Tom Kent started his business based on ...
#740 The Anti-Agency Agency + High ROI Customer Acquisition
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vince Nguyen joins Dan to share how he resurrected his agency from semi-retirement and in the first month resumed making 5+ figures per client. He run...
#739 The Three Horsemen Holding Your Business Back from Breakthrough with Mike Michalowicz
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan interviews business author and entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz, delving into the transformative concepts from Mike's books — "Profit First," "The ...
#738 Under the Hood of an 8-Figure Business + Million Dollar Weekend with Noah Kagan
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Noah’s new book Million Dollar Weekend has so many nuggets for aspiring and mature entrepreneurs alike. Specifically, if you’re launching a new...
#737 Business Basics: Revenue Durability, “Small” Goals, & High-Leverage Meetings
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today Dan & Ian challenge you to consider: How durable is your revenue? They’ll explore the concepts of profit now vs profit later, investing profit...
#736 How to Have Your Best Year $$$Wise Ever
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Dan reveals a strategic approach to decision-making intervals for achieving top-line revenue and personal income goals. Join him as he expl...
#735 An 8-figure exit and revisiting the 1,000-day principle
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can you make a life-changing decision based on assumptions you pulled off the internet? This question and many others are answered in today’s fascin...
#734 Non-Obvious Ways to Grow Your Business + Favorite Moments of 2023
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As 2023 comes to a close, Dan & Ian reflect on how their business did in 2023 and share some of their favorite moments from the year. They’ll also...
#733 End-of-Year Brainstorming, Goal-Setting, and a Mexico Meltdown
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan & Ian offer up some end-of-year thought experiments for founders, including how to re-visualize your business, capitalize on strategy, and ensure ...
#732 Can Org Charts Be Sexy? + NYC Drinking Stories
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan & Ian unravel the complexities of job titles and organizational frustrations post-DC Black event, offering solutions through org chart brainstormi...
#731 Special Edition Pod: Meet us in Mexico
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this special Tuesday edition of the pod, Dan & Ian make the hard sell for listeners to meet them in Mexico. If you’re into five-star resorts, goo...
#730 Cash Flowing Your Early Retirement (10K/mo+)
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Dan continues delving into the world of coaching with a story about one company that provides highly paid professionals with a low-stress w...
#729 What is the Michael Jordan of Business Models?
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All we can say is that it’s extremely powerful and extremely profitable. Dan and Ian nerd out on what might be the GOAT business model of all time. ...
#728 Mailbag: Hang-ups, Power-ups, and Cheat Codes for Entrepreneurs
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan & Ian open up the metaphorical mailbag to answer some listener questions. They reveal cheat codes for bootstrappers and how to activate them, the ...
#727 The Freedom Line, 7+ Figure Founders, and Extended DCBKK Recap
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week Dan & Ian talk about a topic that came up countless times at this year’s DCBKK: Whether to exit or stay in your business. They’ll revi...
#726 Insights from DCBKK 2023: The UI vs API of a Location, How Bootstrappers Are Getting Wealthy, 2024 Business Strategy, and More
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan & Ian are back in Austin and have fully recovered from what was the biggest event in DC history: DCBKK 2023. Over 400 entrepreneurs gathered in t...
#725 How One Entrepreneur Built a 7-Figure Brand Around a Very Niche Audience
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Dan is joined by a listener who wrote in with some compelling insights on community, camaraderie, and what it takes to be a successful entr...
#724 Hyper Niche Business Ideas with Big End Game Potential
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week Dan invites Dana Lindahl, founder of Legendary Podcasts, as a special guest on the pod. They’ll discuss how you can generate cash flow an...
#723 4 types of business coaches for 7+ figure founders and reflecting on our 15-year partnership
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ian and Dan agree that partnerships can create polarized outcomes, either leading to a successful collaboration or a complete failure, depending on a ...
#722 Revisiting the History of Digital Nomadism, AI For Connecting Founders, and the Big Focus Problem
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Dan & Ian talk about the early days of digital nomadism, what it says about the future, and how to spot new opportunities in life and busin...
#721 Dissecting the American Dream & Business Lessons from the Elon Musk Bio
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan & Ian react to a viral article that asks the question: Does the American Dream still make sense in 2023? They point to the internationality of the...
#720 Brian Balfour’s $33M Growth Insights: Product-Market Fit, Durability, & Knowing Your Natural Limits
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join Dan for a wide-ranging conversation with Brian, the Founder and CEO of Reforge, as they dive into critical points in his remarkable journey and g...
#719 The Nomads Dilemma, Anti-Traction Debate, and Summer Highlights
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and Ian host a dynamic summer roundup episode, sharing business highlights, dissecting the "nomad's dilemma," and offering their top picks for boo...
#718 Lucy Bella Simkins Built a YouTube Channel with 10,000,000 Subscribers
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
YouTube creator, English teacher, and CEO Lucy Bella Simkins joins Dan on the pod to share some of the behind-the-scenes challenges, strategies, and r...
#717 A Game of Would You Rather ft. Noah Kagan
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Summer in Barcelona comes to a close with a game of Would You Rather featuring the CEO of AppSumo, Noah Kagan. Dan challenges him to choose between di...
#716 Too Old for Basketball, Business Books, & Personality Disorders in Action
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan flies solo this week in a 3-part episode where he circles back to a few hot topics that caught some listener’s attention over the last few month...
#715 3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Business
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan raises the question: if you only had to implement one simple framework to improve your business, what would it be? In other words, what’s your m...
#714 Profit vs. Revenue and the Inside Scoop on Events for Founders
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan (https://twitter.com/TropicalMBA) and Ian (https://twitter.com/AnythingIan) give the inside scoop about their upcoming events strategy and the rea...
#713 How to Build an AI Startup with Jodie Cook
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Andrews (https://twitter.com/TropicalMBA) talks to Coachvox.ai founder Jodie Cook (https://twitter.com/jodie_cook) about her methods for building ...
#712 Business Partnerships and 6-Figure Launches: A Conversation with Mark Webster
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Andrews (https://twitter.com/TropicalMBA) talks to Authority Hacker co-founder Mark Webster (https://twitter.com/markwebster1) about successfully ...
#711 “Money is Your Responsibility” + News Updates
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two months ago, Dan & Ian were limited by their lack of visibility into their business finances. They fired their bookkeepers, hired a financial profe...
#710 The Wheel of Despair and the Paradox of Growth
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and Ian have had hundreds of conversations with founders in 2023 so far. In today’s episode, they share two major challenges that are coming up ...
#709 How (Not) to Lose Money with Taylor Pearson
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest is a TMBA all-timer. Taylor Pearson is an entrepreneur, writer, and co-founder of Mutify Funds. He joins Dan to catch up on what h...
#708 The Path to 7-Figure Passive Ownership + We’re Hiring
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is one of Dan’s favorite people to talk business with. Justin Tan grew his productized video-editing agency to 7 figures in 2 years ...
#707 Deceptively simple ways to have a better business
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Dan talks with agency owner John Ainsworth about how implementing seemingly small, simple changes allowed him to take most of la...
#706 5 Things Founders Often Misunderstand about Exiting Their Business
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Some bootstrapped entrepreneurs are fortunate enough to exit their businesses for life-changing money, but that’s not always the case. Today Dan tal...
#705 6 things we’ve learned about having good (and bad) business ideas
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today Dan and Ian analyze different frameworks for developing a good business idea, and reflect on how they didn’t always follow their own advice. ...
#704 Moving Back to America… Was it Worth It?
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In what could be a polarizing conversation for the pod, Dan and Ian discuss one of the most popular threads in the TMBA community this year: Is living...
#703 Counting Money Is Making Money + High-Conflict Personalities
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and Ian deep dive into the high-conflict personalities that could derail your business and how the role of finance changes as you grow out of one ...
#702 Millions for Podcasts and Jay Clouse on Memberships
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Andrews (@TropicalMBA) talks with Jay Clouse (@jayclouse) about his $400K membership site, becoming a professional creator, and winning CEX Conten...
#701 Your 5 Closest Friends
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s show Dan tests out the theory that the most important factor in your business success might be choosing the 5 key friends you put yoursel...
TMBA 700: Biz Model Mock Draft + Once Upon a Time in Mexico
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s show Dan shares some of the highlights of bringing together 200 entrepreneurs in Mexico City for this year’s DCMEX. And he also invites...
TMBA 699: Secrets of a 7 Figure Brand
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Design is often, strangely, one of those things that bootstrappers tend to think about either too early or too late. Today’s show offers the case fo...
TMBA 698: Investing and The Price of Time
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s an evolving economic landscape out there: interest rates are up, high paying tech jobs are down. One bank has collapsed and crypto doesn’t se...
TMBA 697: This Founder Created a 45 Person Multi-7 Figure Business From a Podcast
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The story of how Property Hub, now a multi-7 figure online community and real estate acquisition and management business, was built from a podcast, a ...
TMBA 696: The Current Landscape for Bootstrapped Businesses with Rob Walling
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The first quarter of the year has been volatile for many large US-based tech companies, with thousands of staff layoffs. Inflation and the collapse of...
TMBA 695: The Money Theory of Location And Why Employee Scorecards Are So Helpful
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The ‘Money Theory of Location’ argues that calculating 4x the average salary in the place you choose to live, whether that’s Mexico City, or Ban...
TMBA 694: A 6-Year Journey to 7 Figures by Not Productizing
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How one entrepreneur has achieved huge growth in his business by ditching the low-cost ‘productized service’ model and pursuing upmarket enterpris...
TMBA 693: 5 Things We’ve Learnt From Speaking With 50 Business Owners
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today Dan and Ian reflect on some of the key observations they’ve taken away from calls with over 50 business owners during the launch of their impl...
TMBA 692: The Rewards and Sacrifices of Going Big
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The story of Going touches on so many themes we’ve been following on this show for over a decade. Going’s original incarnation, ’Scott’s Cheap...
TMBA 691: Making Things Incredibly Difficult and Pointlessly Complicated
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
TMBA has followed Tommy Griffith’s story for nearly a decade, watching his ‘dorky’ side-hustle teaching weekend SEO classes evolve into ClickMin...
TMBA 690: Talking Content, Data Driven Decisions and Growth with Steph Smith
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When starting a business or advancing your career, or even just seeking to increase your public profile, it’s a savvy move to build momentum through...
TMBA 689: Re-visiting Our Conversation with Seth Godin
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest has been massively influential on Dan and Ian from the very start of their journey. Seth Godin is something of a legend in entrepreneuri...
TMBA 688: Mailbag: What Can Scorecards Do For You? And Equity Split Dilemmas
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“This is an exciting podcast about traveling to tropical islands. And we're talking about employee scorecards.Why?” On this week’s show Dan and ...
TMBA 687: 5 Strategies To Double Your Business in 2023
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Dan recently reflected in the annual TMBA review, he and the Bossman saw their business almost double its revenue last year. On this week’s show ...
TMBA 686: Preparing To Take Time Away From Your Business
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Dan prepares to leave Barcelona after a month-long stay, this week’s show is all about being able to take time away from your business. Because t...
TMBA 685: From Agency to COO to CEO - A Case Study From SPI
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Agencies: creating them, the opportunities they offer, and some of the issues running them can create has been a long running theme on this show. Tod...
TMBA 684: Personal Productivity vs. Business Productivity
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Business processes and systems have been an emerging theme on this show recently, and today Dan reflects on why, and where they fit into the entrepren...
TMBA 683: The Successful Business That Grew Out Of A Family Emergency
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy 2023 to all our listeners. The focus of this show has always been freedom, whatever that means to you. This pod is a judgement-free zone. It mig...
TMBA 682: Revisiting Some of Our Favorite Moments from 2022
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2022 has been the year that we all got on the road again. Dan and Ian spent the summer in Barcelona, Spain and hundreds of members of the Dynamite Cir...
TMBA 681: Our Take On The Parable Of The Mexican Fisherman And Year End Thoughts
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As 2022 draws to a close Dan and Ian are in a reflective mood. In this week’s show they ponder the ‘lifestyle business take’ on ‘The Parable o...
TMBA 680: Mailbag: Permission vs Forgiveness, B2B vs B2C, And ‘The SOP Question’
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s show Dan and Ian respond to some listener comments and questions including non-competes and potential conflicts of interest with your...
TMBA 679: News Updates + “The Number”
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On a recent show Dan and Ian touched on ‘the lifestyle ladder’, and what different levels of personal wealth can mean in your life. Following that...
TMBA 678: Evolving An Agency, With SaaS Mistakes Along The Way
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Johnathan Solorzano, founder of Solo Media Group, joined us on the podcast just over two years ago his agency focused on broad ‘white label wor...
TMBA 677: Digital Nomad Cities for 2023 and Choosing Between ‘Scaling Up’ And ‘Traction’
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some call it ‘revenge travel’, others just call it ‘getting back to normal’ but people in the location independent community are, for sure, hi...
TMBA 676: Let’s Talk About DCBKK2022
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been three long years since DC members were able to gather in Bangkok to share great food, experiences and talk business. And DCBKK2022, our te...
TMBA 675: The Art of Personal Blogging Redux
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are big changes in the wind at Twitter, with Elon Musk suggesting he might further open the platform to longer form pieces, and also paid conten...
TMBA 674: Going Viral For Saying ‘I Live Better In Thailand Than I Did In The U.S.’
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Jesse Schoberg, Co-founder of DropIn Blog, shared his thoughts about the huge benefits of living in Bangkok with CNBC, as part of their ‘Make I...
TMBA 673: Side-Hustle to Multi-million Inc500 #98 Business
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Side-Hustles, which - with a lot of hard work - evolve into full-time businesses are a theme of many entrepreneurial journeys. We’ve covered a fair ...
TMBA 672: Marketing by Building In Public: From Hobby to Major Business Opportunity
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It started as a hobby at college, and was also the way he met his wife but now ‘Dumpster Diving’ has become a major business opportunity for Dave ...
TMBA 671: The Rewards Of Finding Your Niche
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week Dan is speaking to Andy Morgan, creator of RippedBody, a blog and coaching program targeted at committed but frustrated fitness trainees who...
TMBA 670: Business Updates: Remote First Recruiting, How Much Is Enough, And a Return To ‘The Europe Question’
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s show Dan and Ian share their Q4 business updates, including the reasons why they have decided to launch an agency - Remote First Recr...
TMBA 669: Working Backwards And The ‘Write First’ Culture
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Books: seeking out good ones, talking about them, and implementing some of the things we discover in their pages has long been a theme of this show. H...
TMBA 668: 5 Small Ways To Go Big
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The summer of cycling and tapas in Barcelona, Spain has come to an end. Dan and Ian are back in Austin, Texas inspired by the conversations and feedba...
TMBA 667: Catching The Right Wave At The Right Moment
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s show started, as so many of them do, as an in-person conversation in a dark bar in a cool city. That’s where Dan met Brent Zahradnik, foun...
TMBA 666: Following The Signs In Your Business
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The ‘Stair Step’ approach to entrepreneurship is a recurring theme on the TMBA. Coined of course by Startups For The Rest Of Us host Rob Walling. ...
TMBA 665: Reaching A $4M Run Rate In Less Than A Year
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What began as a window cleaning service he started at college has now spun into a multi-million business for today’s guest Johnny Robinson. In Janua...
TMBA 664: Pivoting From 'In Person' To A Software Business
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID pandemic saw many online businesses boom, especially those centered on E-commerce. But entrepreneurs running in-person events really took a ...
TMBA 663: Overrated and Underrated Business Concepts with Noah Kagan
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This show is a ‘drop in’ to the kind of conversations Dan and Ian have been having all summer long in their co-working space in Barcelona, as fell...
TMBA 662: Expanding Education Options For Nomadic Families
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One growing theme in the TMBA community has been the search for increased options for location independent families to provide education for their chi...
TMBA 661: The Rewards Of Challenging Assumptions
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
‘Rip, pivot and jam’ is a recurring theme on this show. It’s a way of overcoming the pressure of needing ‘the best business idea ever’ by ta...
TMBA 660: Five Easy Ways to Work Smarter (Not Harder)
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who doesn’t want to maximize results, and spend less time - or just make better use of it - in their business? On this week’s show Dan and Ian dis...
TMBA 659: The Power of Diversification and The Welcome End of DeFi Summer
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The TMBA ‘summer in Barcelona’ continues with a long-standing guest visiting the city, and hanging with Dan and Ian. His name is Travis Jamison, ...
TMBA 658: Let’s Talk Fish And Ponds
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve received some great email responses prompted by last week’s episode ‘The Europe Question’. So on today’s show Dan and Ian will be refl...
TMBA 657: The Europe Question
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Recently Peer Richelsen tweeted ‘Ok, serious question: what keeps the average American (that can afford it) from moving to Europe?’. By the next m...
TMBA 656: The Problems Of Being Both An Arsonist And A Firefighter As A Business Owner
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last time Dustin Overbeck came on the show he talked about why he chose to live in Transylvania, Romania with his family whilst growing an agency and ...
TMBA 655: Deciding How To ‘Buy This, Not That’
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today Dan talks to one of our favorite writers Sam Dogan, the man behind ‘Financial Samurai’. And Sam has recently written a book called ‘Buy Th...
TMBA 654: Mailbag: Digital Nomad Dilemmas, DJ Updates, and Memories of Having a J-O-B
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Do you remember when you had to pretend that you had a dental appointment just to be able to attend a job interview? Dan and Ian do. With so many more...
TMBA 653: Bangkok, Thailand and DCBKK. We’re Excited.
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The ‘post-COVID’ location independent summer is beginning. We’re seeing more and more posts in the DC forum that begin: ‘Who’s in Medellin t...
TMBA 652: Mailbag: The Elephant in The Room with the 4HWW, and Can Solopreneurship Ever Make You Rich?
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The 4-Hour Workweek was, and continues to be, a life changing inspiration to many seeking more freedom in their lives through the path of entreprenuer...