Selective All-In Commitment

Sam Parr shares his perspective on how to approach opportunities, particularly during new market waves or trends. He advocates for a selective but committed approach to business opportunities.

• Core Strategy for Opportunities:

  • Say no to most things
  • When you identify something truly promising, go "100% all in"
  • High risk, but high reward approach

• Identifying Promising Waves:

  • Focus on engagement metrics over user numbers
  • Look for cult-like behavior among early adopters
  • Key indicator: How intensely are people using it, not how many

• Examples of Successful Wave-Riding:

  • Buzzfeed capitalizing on Facebook's growth
  • Cheddar building on Facebook Live ($200M exit)
  • Bitcoin (mentioned as a retrospective example)

• Risk Assessment:

  • More failures than successes in wave-riding
  • But risk-reward ratio favors going all-in when waves are identified
  • Success cases can be extremely profitable

• Warning Signs of a Good Wave:

  • Early adopters seem "crazy" about it
  • Small but highly engaged user base
  • Intense user dedication, even if mainstream doesn't understand it

• Strategy Implementation:

  • Must be able to recognize genuine waves vs distractions
  • Timing matters - early identification is crucial
  • Full commitment required when opportunity is identified

This perspective emphasizes the importance of being highly selective but fully committed when the right opportunity presents itself, rather than spreading resources across multiple ventures.