In case you have no idea who Alex Hormozi is, he:

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• Is likely the first creator billionaire

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• Scaled and exited seven companies

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• Founded 3 others that surpassed $120M in cumulative sales

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• Made $10M+ last year from content alone

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This podcast episode was jam-packed with value—it’s a must listen.

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Here’s a highlight of just some of what he shared:

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5 Paths to Monetization (on a Spectrum of Control)

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Alex believes creator monetization exists on a spectrum of control, with five distinct paths:

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1. Sponsorships (Lowest Control)

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• Brands pay you to mention their products.

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• You’re basically an advertiser reading their copy.

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• Easiest to implement, but limited upside.

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2. Affiliate/Performance Deals (More Control)

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• Instead of flat fees, you earn based on performance.

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• Requires more tracking but offers higher potential returns.

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• Alex says “winners always work on performance” — you should know your audience’s value better than the brand.

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3. Strategic Partnerships (Middle Ground)

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• Example: Alex’s deal with Skool

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• You invest time, reputation, AND capital.

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• The sweet spot is where you marry an established company with product-market fit and your distribution.

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https://x.com/AlexHormozi/status/1745159777087283539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1745159777087283539%7Ctwgr%5Eb45b70f74d540b6e7c627726f58b399eb740b013%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.trykarat.com%2Fp%2Fwe-interviewed-alex-hormozi

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4. White Label/Drop Shipping (Higher Control)

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• You don’t manufacture but put your branding on existing products.

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• More control over customer experience.

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• Still limited by the quality of the underlying product.

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5. Building Products from Scratch (Highest Control)

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• Creating your own products/services entirely.

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• Maximum enterprise value potential.

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• Requires the most work and expertise.

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Alex’s Take: The further you move up this, the more enterprise value you create. Most creators stay in paths 1-2, but the biggest wealth creation happens in paths 3-5.

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Why Most Creators Choose the Wrong Products

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For creators who decide to launch products—why does it often go awry? Alex says creators make one of three critical errors.

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The Audience-Product Mismatch

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• Example: Frugality-focused creators trying to sell premium products to an audience trained not to spend.

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•Alex used Graham Stephan as an example. He built an audience of people who don’t want to spend money—he can’t be surprised when people don’t want to spend money.

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The Retention Problem

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• Most creators try to invent new products rather than improving established ones with strong retention.

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• Alex said, “Don’t try to solve churn (the % of customers who stop doing business with a company). Find products people already don’t churn out of, then make your own.”

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• Examples of high-retention businesses include banking, insurance, internet service, and cell phones (of course, these aren’t creator-focused, but it gives you an idea of what this means).

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The Commodity Trap

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• Many creators choose commoditized products (like coffee) where it’s nearly impossible to create lasting differentiation.

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• Alex says its “very hard to have Alpha from a brand perspective” on products that are traded as a commodity. You need a strong way to stand out.

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Creator to Entrepreneur Evolution

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For creators wanting to build real business value, Alex gave 3 big pieces of advice:

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Know Your True Constraints

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• "If your goal is to make money, then learn the money game."

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• Many successful content creators hit a ceiling because they focus on improving content (going from 97/100 to 98/100) rather than monetization (going from 0/100 to 50/100).

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Choose on of Three Ways to Build a Business

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1. Do what’s already working (underrated approach)

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2. Have a strong advantage in customer acquisition OR delivery

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3. Have such a strong advantage in one area that it overcomes deficits in others

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Partner with Established Companies

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• "The perfect nirvana situation is an unbelievable product compounding on its own from word of mouth for 12-24 months in a market similar to your audience that can 10x in a year."

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- Alex’s partnership with Skool is a great example of this.

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• You're essentially "pulling the future forward" by 4 years by adding your distribution.

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The Business Structure That Makes Sense for You

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Alex says not every creator should build the same type of business.

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Here are the 3 types he identified and his insights on when to choose each one:

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For Media Businesses:

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Study Dave Ramsey's model. His show has multiple hosts and a call-in format, creating "endless variety."

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• Alex says all existing media businesses are simply taking an old business model and doing it in a new media.

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• The key elements that make shows last: rotating hosts, new subjects, and format variety. (Caleb Hammer is another example of this.)

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For Product Businesses:

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• Focus on solving for "revenue retention." You need customers that stay.

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• Choose products that naturally have low churn rather than fighting to reduce churn.

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• Find products that align with your audience values (Example: Graham Stephan’s audience would have responded better to money-saving tools than his premium coffee company.)

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For Strategic Partnerships:

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• Look for businesses that "could grow without you, but with you grow much faster."

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• Don't try to learn an entire industry. Partner with experts who already have the operational knowledge.

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• Prime (Logan Paul's drink) is a perfect example. They didn't build the product from scratch but invested in and promoted an existing company.

😬 Meta could be forced to sell Instagram.

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🍃 Supplement company looking for UGC creator at $10k/mo.

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👀 How IG trial Reels actually work.

This week in Creator Studio (our free Discord community) we’re interviewing Katie Xu.

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She’s an expert at turning average people into the world’s favorite creators through strategic personal branding.

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Join us Thursday at 1 PM PST (4 PM EST) to learn all things building a creator brand, finding your niche, and more.