00:23:06 · Guillaume Moubeche, Steven Schwartz
[00:23:06] S1: Nice. Yeah. I think the the platform play is literally, like, the best because you want to have the the whole ecosystem. Building up on that, one of the challenges we faced at some point for us whenever we want to kind of, like, build our platform was either we build it ourselves or we acquire companies. So we've acquired, like, a few companies. Is that something you look at also? Like, do you ask yourself, should we buy or build it? Because I'm assuming, like, you're... We're in New York. Company is working really well, but talent is also like a scarce asset, and someone who's built something in a great way can be a great addition. So is it something you've already considered, or you want to keep everything in house? [00:23:48] S0: Yeah. 70% of our team had former businesses before they joined Whop. So we make a lot of acquisitions, and we don't always announce them. But... And the last one we announced was a fraud fighting company that had raised venture money, and the people behind it are very smart, and they've done the same thing before. They're very high agency. They're they're former founders. You know? So that's the the most talented people. So we we do make acquisitions, and it's a great way for, like you said, first and foremost, talent. I mean, the most talented people are high agency. They're obsessed with what they do. They're super curious. And oftentimes, not always, but but you're you're gonna find this in in teams that have built zero one products, especially on the engineering and and design front.
00:23:48 · Steven Schwartz, Guillaume Moubeche
[00:23:48] S0: Yeah. 70% of our team had former businesses before they joined Whop. So we make a lot of acquisitions, and we don't always announce them. But... And the last one we announced was a fraud fighting company that had raised venture money, and the people behind it are very smart, and they've done the same thing before. They're very high agency. They're they're former founders. You know? So that's the the most talented people. So we we do make acquisitions, and it's a great way for, like you said, first and foremost, talent. I mean, the most talented people are high agency. They're obsessed with what they do. They're super curious. And oftentimes, not always, but but you're you're gonna find this in in teams that have built zero one products, especially on the engineering and and design front. [00:24:37] S1: How do you make sure they stay for the long run?
00:24:40 · Steven Schwartz
[00:24:40] S0: I think you gotta make sure that they're having a... I think, like, people don't wanna waste their time. And when people feel like they're working on things that are impactful, and they're learning, and they don't wanna completely hurt themselves when they're spending all the time with people on the team, then why would somebody wanna leave? I think it's like if if that... If those are all true, then why would... I mean, what's... Like, what else can you do? I mean, that's kind of what I saw about. It's like, what's... Let's... We have a shirt that says build building cool... He's building cool show with your friends, and it's like, what more can you can you want? So... And I think monetarily, I mean, everyone on our team, I'd say, is is compensated very well, has equity in the business for the long run. And I think any any outcome that we want to go for is going to make everybody very wealthy too. So I I I... I'd say whether or not people on our team are looking for... To make a lot of money, to learn a lot of things, to work with awesome people that are funny and cool and culturally tapped in, or... Yeah. I don't know how well other people... What else can you want. Then I think that there's something here... For them. Some people on our team have have already made probably a $100,000,000 liquid cash, and they still love it. And I think I think that's good to say, it's like, it's definitely not about the money purely, and you gotta you gotta make sure you're keeping things interesting for everyone.
00:26:07 · Guillaume Moubeche, Steven Schwartz
[00:26:07] S1: Nice. I like I like that idea. I think it's it's always a struggle to find, like, the the right the right upside with with people, but as you said, like, if the project is interesting and people are learning, I think they... [00:26:19] S0: Yeah. And I think I think also a lot of it is, like, if I'm... If if me and... If if people on our team that were here from the beginning are kinda like checked out, and we're going on long vacations, and kinda just chilling, kickback, not in the office ever, don't really respond to messages, then why would anybody care? And I think the more that we're in the fight, and I I believe that the the early team is very... Still extremely excited, if not more excited than ever, and thinks that we're actually feel smaller for some reason now than we did four four years ago, I think that's a very good sign that the the rest of the group is going to get... Have that energy rub off on them, and and it's very important to not check out. [00:27:08] S1: I agree. You you mentioned, like, the word, like, fighting. Yeah. Who are you fighting against?
00:27:08 · Guillaume Moubeche, Steven Schwartz
[00:27:08] S1: I agree. You you mentioned, like, the word, like, fighting. Yeah. Who are you fighting against? [00:27:17] S0: There's... We're... There's battles fought every single day with each other, with other companies who are fighting with the same customers, with partners who who want different terms. I mean, there's there's regulatory bodies that we have to explain things to and make sure that they're on the same page. I I wouldn't say it's fight... Fighting, I think, is a is a probably like a more extreme word. It's much more in spirit of trying to find the truth and make sure that we're building the best thing for the world. And I think there's a lot of passion that has to be there if you wanna fight. So I used the word fight probably a little bit... A little loosely, but it's it's more out of passion and love to try to find the truth and find the best outcome than anything else. [00:28:13] S1: And you don't need a a villain to to find motivation?
00:28:13 · Guillaume Moubeche, Steven Schwartz
[00:28:13] S1: And you don't need a a villain to to find motivation? [00:28:17] S0: You don't need a villain? Yeah. I've tried to... I I don't like to look at... Like, I try to be very focused on ourselves and what we can control, and when there's other people, other platforms, other other anybody, it's like, let's do the best we can and focus on our own product and focus on our own customers and focus on our own way we build the business. And it's a lot more... If you have a high bar for all of that, it is a lot more impactful to to not get caught up in things you don't control. Because what are we gonna sit here and complain about a competitor all day? Like, that's just such a waste of time, and there's way more things to be done. It's like, let's go build a thing that we're selling to people. How about that? And how about we stop talking about this other random project that what we gonna... What do you wanna do with them? We're not gonna... This has nothing to do. I think I think if there's like a... You know, there's like some people that I think have will go online and and and they're seeing people, like, pay people to say bad things about other platforms. And that... That's just... That's that's, like, kinda crazy. So, yeah, I I just don't think there's much value in focusing on things that are out of your control.