Million Dollar Weekend

About the Author

Noah Kagan is a serial entrepreneur, business advisor, and writer known for his dynamic approach to starting and scaling businesses. With a career marked by numerous successful ventures, Kagan’s expertise lies in creating actionable strategies that yield quick and substantial results. He is also a prolific content creator, sharing his insights through blogs, podcasts, and now, his book Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours, co-written with Tahl Raz.

Kagan’s journey to success wasn’t linear. After facing setbacks like being rejected by Microsoft and Google, and even being fired from Facebook, he channeled his experiences into forging his own path in entrepreneurship. His notable achievements include helping My Mint acquire a million users in its first six months, and founding the successful venture Gambit. His story is one of resilience, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of entrepreneurial freedom.

Main Idea

The core idea of Million Dollar Weekend is to empower aspiring entrepreneurs to launch a seven-figure business within a weekend. Kagan emphasizes the importance of immediate action over extensive planning. By focusing on rapid idea generation, validation, and execution, he believes that anyone can overcome the common hurdles that prevent business success. His book is a practical guide filled with actionable steps, real-world examples, and motivational insights aimed at helping readers achieve substantial results quickly.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Start It
• Build It
• Grow It
• Conclusion

Introduction

The introduction sets the stage by highlighting the urgency and feasibility of launching a business within a weekend. Kagan draws on his own experiences and the failures that led him to develop a streamlined approach to entrepreneurship. He quotes Buddha: "There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting." This serves as a guiding principle throughout the book.

Start It

In the first section, “Start It,” Kagan encourages readers to dive right into their entrepreneurial journey. He emphasizes the importance of starting immediately and avoiding overthinking. He introduces the concept of the “NOW, Not How” habit, which encourages action without being bogged down by details. This section also discusses the idea of a “freedom number”—a specific, attainable monthly revenue goal that motivates new entrepreneurs.

Kagan shares personal anecdotes, such as his early career failures and how they led to his eventual success. He highlights the necessity of becoming comfortable with rejection, a lesson he learned from his father, a salesman. Kagan states, "The upside of asking is unlimited and the downside is minimal." He believes that most people fail because they avoid asking for what they want.

"The upside of asking is unlimited and the downside is minimal." - Noah Kagan

Kagan dives into the practical steps of starting a business by sharing his own experiences and those of others. He emphasizes the importance of overcoming the fear of rejection, which he learned from his father's sales career. His father set a goal of getting 100 rejections each week, knowing that this would also result in some people saying yes. This mindset, Kagan explains, is crucial for any entrepreneur to succeed.

"The upside of asking is unlimited and the downside is minimal." - Noah Kagan