Snapshot · My First Million
Unusually, Oaktree made their next fund smaller after a great-performing fund, because strong results meant assets had appreciated and future opportunities were less attractive.
Where this was said
At 30:18 · chapter starts 27:37
Sam Parr poses the fundamental life question: how should a young person figure out what they actually want to do? Marks opens with a disarming confession: he was unconscious for roughly his first 49 years. He stumbled into Citibank because he'd had a good summer there. He moved into bonds because he was told to get out of equity research. He moved to California for the sunshine and palm trees. He says he's embarrassed at how terrible his decision-making process was — 'it's a misnomer to apply that term.' His saving grace was pure luck: being idle when a call came in about Michael Milken and high-yield bonds, at the right time, in the right place. The advice he gives to students at Wharton and Harvard is Christopher Morley's quote: 'There's only one success, to live your life your own way.' That means not letting friends, society, or parents decide for you. The hard part isn't the aspiration — it's that it requires knowing yourself, and you'll be a different person in twenty years. [1] — Howard Marks "Howard Marks admits he stumbled into every major career decision — Citibank, bonds, California — through luck and haphazard drift, not inte…" 31:58
Howard Marks admitted he made major life decisions haphazardly and without intention for his first 49 years, only beginning to live consciously when he co-founded Oaktree around 1995.
Howard Marks admits he stumbled into every major career decision — Citibank, bonds, California — through luck and haphazard drift, not intention. He only began living deliberately at roughly 49 when he co-founded Oaktree. The lesson: it's never too late to start.
Howard Marks quoted Mark Twain: 'It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for certain that just ain't true.'
Bhanu grew SiteGPT to $13,000 monthly recurring revenue entirely through organic channels, spending nothing on paid marketing.
More than 1 million people have visited SiteGPT's website since launch in March 2023, all through organic channels.
Approximately 90% of SiteGPT's Google search traffic comes from the free tools Bhanu built, not the main product pages.
Bhanu sold his first SaaS product, Feather, for $250,000 so he could focus fully on the faster-growing SiteGPT.
SiteGPT has generated approximately $500,000 in total revenue since its launch in March 2023.
The average customer lifetime value for SiteGPT is approximately $1,700 to $1,800, which Bhanu considers unusually high.
SiteGPT receives around 50,000 visitors per month, of which about 200 convert to leads and 60 start free trials.
SiteGPT hit $10,000 MRR within its very first month of launch, driven largely by early traction in the AI chatbot space.
Despite strong download numbers, PropGPT could not push past $1,000–$2,000 MRR due to poor product retention.
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