Google AdWords

Know one channel cold and buy businesses that have never used it

Shaan's edge for acquirers: master a single growth channel (e.g. Facebook ads) and the product traits that win there (scroll-stopping, value clear in under 3 seconds), then buy profitable businesses that have never run that channel and flip the switch.

“So like there's a lot of these that they're just not doing one channel. And if you know that that channel works, if you have experience in that channel, let's call it Facebook ads or Google AdWords or influencers or whatever, whatever's your, your, your growth thing. And you, you know, the characteristics of the type of business that works there, right? So let's say it's Facebook.”

Steal thisMaster one acquisition channel, then buy profitable businesses that have never run it and apply your unfair advantage.

Tai's first money: a $300 course, Google AdWords, and 15-cent life insurance clicks

Sleeping on a couch with under $50, Tai bought Corey Rudl's $300 internet-marketing course, learned about Google AdWords, and built a 'life insurance' landing page buying clicks at 15 cents. His commissions rocketed to $60k-$80k a week, prompting GE's CEO to ask if he was doing something illegal.

“I see an ad of a picture of a guy laying on a couch, on a chair in Hawaii, and he said, I made $28,000 click here and I'll tell you how I did that laying on the beach in Hawaii. And I clicked it and there was a guy named Corey Rudl and he sold courses. He died tragically. I always wanted to thank the guy. He died in like 2008 in a car crash.”

Buying Uber rides for 20 cents on the dollar via AdWords

Sheel and Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen bonded over a growth hack: they advertised their Uber referral codes on Google AdWords, pocketing the $10 referral credit and effectively buying Uber rides for 20 cents on the dollar.

“So you were just advertising. We were just advertising our referral code on Google. And so we were buying Uber for 20 cents on the dollar.”