#138 - David Hauser on Why You Shouldn't Be Friends With Your Cofounder, How To Make 100 K During High School And Sell A Company Twice

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David Hauser is a serial entrepreneur, founder of Repeat Capital, a massive firm that buys SaaS and ecommerce companies. He has bootstrapped the company Grasshopper to $30 M in annual recurring revenue and sold it to Citrix for $175 M. He also built another company, Chargify, which he sold not once, but twice. David has made over 100 angel investments, and most recently purchased the incredible brand, Perfect Keto, housed under Airbag Ventures.

Bullet points

(00:49) Intro

(03:03) The start as an entrepreneur

(05:26) Buying the first computer and the early projects

(07:27) Making 100 K during high school

(10:17) The next project: Choosing between going to college and building startups

(12:00) Going to college and learning to mature in a safe environment

(16:10) Why you shouldn't be friends with your cofounder going in

(19:13) How to find the right cofounder for you

(20:51) Why you should tell everyone your ideas

(22:18) Aligning core values and having complementary skills

(24:43) Selling Chargify twice

(31:16) Making over 100 angel investments: SaaS, ecommerce and others

(33:58) Switching industries: Making an impact with physical products

(36:10) Combining SaaS and physical products

(40:44) How to choose what to invest in

(43:09) The biggest opportunities for ecommerce brand owners today

(46:40) The problem with Amazon

(52:29) Rapid fire question round

(52:56) If you ever had to start again, how would you make your money?

(53:19) What is the most common or biggest mistake that leaders make?

(53:47) Who is a great leader (alive or dead) and why?

(54:27) What is one of your proudest moments?

(55:12) What is one interesting fact about you that not many people would know?

(55:52) What daily routines do you have (morning or evening) that have helped make you successful?

(56:31) The newsletter

(56:57) What book (or books) changed your mindset or life?

(58:38) What is the most exciting question you spend your time thinking about?

(01:01:36) What unusual or underrated food or drink should more people try out?

(01:03:38) What makes you happiest?

(01:06:00) Any asks or requests for the audience?