Introducing our new, limited, mini-series founded by alumni talktank member Ksenia Kutuzova...
Founder Friday - Samuel Poirier
Hosted by Ksenia Kutuzova
The guest is Sam Poirier, Forbes 30 Under 30, serial entrepreneur (founding his first business at 14!) and founder of Mercantile, a credit card startup that offers rewards to small medical practitioners. đź’ł
Mercantile recently raised Series A funding at a $75 million valuation.
He was the recipient of the Peter Thiel’s scholarship which is a scholarship granted to people to build a startup instead of going to university.
https://www.forbes.com/profile/samuel-f-poirier/
Timestamps:
0:50 - Who is Samuel Poirier?
2:10 - Sam Poirier in his own words
2:41 - Courage built vs naturally-born
3:45 - Being taken seriously as a young entrepreneur
5:06 - The death of crypto?
6:30 - Sam’s innovation framework
7:59 - Strategic fit: the key to successful entrepreneurship
9:40 - The 70% margin rule
10:33 - Trend-following vs relevancy
11:03 - All about pricing power
12:09 - How does Mercantile help small businesses?
15:00 - The major perks of co-branding
16:51 - How does Mercantile make money?
17:50 - From funeral homes and medical to beyond…
19:28 - Sam’s cold email and coffee chat quota
21:04 - Startup tunnel vision
22:36 - Where to find business ideas
23:00 - If Sam could change one thing about society, what would it be?
24:33 - Sam’s book recommendations for entrepreneurs
26:47 - Napoleon: an underrated thinker
28:41 - “The best entrepreneurs are not by choice”
Credit to Ksenia for self-producing this episode! đź‘Ź