Content Mistakes Build Trust

Shaan Puri and Sam Parr discuss Scott Galloway, a prominent tech commentator who, despite being frequently wrong with his predictions, maintains significant influence and generates substantial income through speaking engagements. This leads to insights about content creation and credibility in the tech space.

Key Points:

• Success Despite Inaccuracy:

  • Scott Galloway makes $5M/year from speaking engagements
  • Charges $50K for virtual events, $250K for international events
  • Often wrong with tech predictions but maintains influence

• Content Creation Strategy:

  • Entertainment value trumps accuracy
  • Combines humor with analysis
  • Uses self-deprecating jokes about being "old and bald"
  • Maintains consistent content output through:
    • Regular podcast appearances
    • Blog posts
    • Speaking engagements

• Market Response:

  • Someone created "Anti-Galloway Index" showing inverse correlation with his predictions
  • Companies he predicted would fail outperformed S&P by 61%
  • Despite poor predictions, maintains credibility through:
    • Prior business success (L2 sold for ~$200M)
    • Entertainment value
    • Consistent presence in tech media

• Business Model:

  • Speaking engagements form primary revenue
  • Podcast reaches ~250K listeners per episode
  • Created Section 4 for courses
  • Demonstrates value of building personal brand despite criticism

• Key Takeaway:

  • Being entertaining and consistent can be more valuable than being right
  • Market values personality and entertainment over prediction accuracy
  • Regular content creation builds audience despite controversial takes