Framework
Richard Barton's one thesis: 'information wants to be free'
Shaan reverse-engineers how Richard Barton started Zillow, Expedia, and Glassdoor off a single thesis: bring transparency to opaque industries. Zillow freed the MLS listings that agents had gatekept.
“And when I looked at this guy, the one thing that stood out to me was he had a very simple thesis that he used to start all these companies, which was information wants to be free. So, okay, what does information wants to be free mean? So he was basically like, I'm going to bring transparency to industries that are not transparent.”
Steal thisFind an industry where one party hoards the data customers want, then build the tool that sets that information free.
Tactic
Reverse-engineer a business via Reddit and Glassdoor reviews
Sam's playbook for understanding any company: search the name plus Reddit and read its highest and lowest Glassdoor reviews. Doing this for Cintas revealed the secret sauce is hiring huge numbers of door-to-door salespeople and churning through them.
“and I want to learn about the business, the first thing I do is I go to Reddit. I'll type in the name, like, Cintas and Reddit, or I'll look at their Glassdoor. I like to look at the highest reviews and lowest reviews”
Steal thisTo decode any company's model, search '[name] Reddit' and read its top and bottom Glassdoor reviews.
Idea
Consumer Reports for workplaces: a curated, editorial job board
Sam pitches a curated job board (he ran a beta called Sam's Jobs / samsjobs.co) where a trusted editorial group profiles companies and roles honestly, sourcing truth beyond LinkedIn/Glassdoor's biased company-vs-disgruntled-employee framing, telling seekers exactly which culture fits them.
“why don't you have an editorial group of people give their opinions and what they can say is if you're young and hungry and want to work yourself to death but have huge opportunity, this place is an interesting.”
Steal thisBuild an editorial, opinionated job board that interviews real employees and matches seekers to culture (family-builder vs alpha hustle), charging the seeker so the truth stays unbiased.