E097 - The New Way to Make Your First $100,000 Online (Whop)

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Cameron Zoub and Steven Zhang, co-founders of Whop join the show to discuss the mechanics of building a high-growth startup from the ground up. Whop has quietly become one of the most efficient digital marketplaces online, doing over $100M in GMV without relying on paid ads or loud marketing.

We talk about the early days of building out of hacker houses, the decision to focus deeply on product before anything else, and the operational challenges that came with rapid scale. They also reflect on leadership, team dynamics, and what most founders underestimate when trying to build in public.

00:00 Introduction 02:00 Meeting at age 13 and bonding over sneaker reselling 04:05 Building their first sneaker bot app and selling it on Facebook 06:40 Dropping out of school and going all-in on internet startups 07:55 Pivoting into websites for Twitch streamers during COVID 10:29 Early experiments, failed apps, and lessons in product-market fit 14:20 How WAP solved problems they faced as software sellers 18:18 Expanding from software to Discord access and digital memberships 20:17 Payments infrastructure and why it’s central to their platform 25:28 Chasing shiny objects like NFTs and learning to refocus 30:42 Co-founder dynamic, intense pressure, and emotional moments 36:01 Competitors, cyberattacks, and the cost of success 39:31 Staying out of the spotlight despite massive revenue 44:30 Taking investment from figures like Peter Thiel and Tinder’s founder 49:11 Making WAP the internet’s go-to for work and income 54:25 Rethinking creator monetisation beyond courses or content

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