He Quit College at 19! This Is What Happened Next ft. Shamus Madan

At 19, he quit college with no safety net. Four months later, he built a $1M business. This isn’t a motivational story. It’s a step-by-step breakdown of what actually happened, the mistakes, near-bankruptcy moments, brutal trade-offs, and the decisions most people are too scared to make. In this episode, we go deep into: - Why starting young gives you an unfair advantage (if you use it right) - How a podcast with no listeners turned into real leverage - The exact moment everything almost fell apart - Why virality doesn’t equal revenue - How LinkedIn content quietly became a growth engine - What scaling a team really feels like when cash is tight - The uncomfortable truth about work-life balance early in your career If you’re a founder, creator, or someone thinking about betting on yourself, this conversation will either push you forward or make you uncomfortable. No hype. No overnight success myths. Just the real game behind building something from nothing. 🔗 Connect with Shamus Madan Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@shamusmadan Website: https://dealroompodcast.com/ Twitter: https://x.com/mbitpodcast --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About the host: I’m Abhinav Sinha, host of “Funds & Founders”, a podcast for Austin entrepreneurs navigating early-stage startups. I explore the highs, lows, and breakthrough moments of local founders through candid conversations. I also sit down with VCs to uncover how they evaluate early-stage companies and share practical insights. I create an intimate space for guests to share authentic stories, inspiring aspiring founders along their journey. Contact me here, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinavbsinha/ Newsletter: https://newsletter.fundsandfounder.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time stamps: 00:00 – Trailer 01:02 – Intro & quick guest background 02:38 – Starting a business before content (phone repair story) 04:22 – Launching the podcast during COVID 06:53 – First pivot: why business news didn’t work 08:41 – Cold emailing guests with zero credibility 10:28 – Landing big names using social proof 12:53 – How Mark Cuban said yes 15:01 – Why most podcasts fail early 17:36 – Leveraging short-form over long-form 19:10 – Being data-driven with content retention 21:21 – Why cross-posting usually fails 23:06 – Turning a podcast into a business 24:17 – Nearly running out of money 26:35 – Discovering LinkedIn as a growth channel 29:02 – Dropping out of college to go all in 31:36 – First real revenue breakthrough 33:42 – The role of community in rapid growth 36:12 – Scaling from solo founder to a team 38:53 – Avoiding churn as an agency 41:02 – What actually drives LinkedIn pipeline 43:37 – Virality vs revenue (why small posts win) 46:01 – Hiring mistakes & team-building lessons 48:50 – Onshore vs offshore hiring (controversial take) 50:13 – Why most founders are “too soft” 52:06 – Networking vs real partnerships 54:03 – Rapid-fire lessons & closing thoughts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #Entrepreneurship #YoungFounder #BetOnYourself 19 year old entrepreneur college dropout success betting on yourself entrepreneur mindset