$1M By 19, $100M+ By 35 -- Here's How He Did It

Meet Val Katayev: An Unconventional Entrepreneur

Hailing from Uzbekistan, he got a computer at like 16 or 17, which he used to kickstart his affiliate marketing, and by the age of 22–23, he made approximately $30 million in profit from one little business.

He didn’t stop there
Val ventured into the world of lyric websites, which might not sound impressive at first, but most people don’t realize that lyrics websites are among the biggest sites globally, and this made him Eight Figures in Profit.🤑

He again jumped into an ad network business that is now huge.

What’s next?
He launched a jewelry business, which is apparently said to be bigger than all his other companies.

Throughout all this, he’d acquired, sold, and developed more than 100 million dollars of real estate.

His 1^st business?

According to him, his first business was a Playstation Video Game Website while going to high school and making about 5,000 bucks a month, and this business actually taught him a lot of lessons.

The site is called PSX Extreme, which he launched in 1999, right before the dot-com bubble burst. The site was all about anything related to Playstation; you could get cheat codes, reviews, screenshots, etc.

Dot-com bubble tragedy💥
His revenues disappeared by 90%. His traffic was still high, but there were no revenues. He had like ten thousand unique traffics a day, sometimes twenty.

The entrepreneur who sleeps late.

In the world of entrepreneurship, it's often implicitly said that there's a strong correlation between waking up early and achieving success. But if you've believed this, prepare to be shocked.

Odd thing about Val.
He sleeps at 4-5 a.m. and wakes up at 11 a.m., and he even slept through half of his classes to catch up on sleep, a schedule and lifestyle that would leave most entrepreneurs baffled.

Going with the flow.
While many people obsess over meticulously planning and organizing, he’s the opposite; he's not one to set rigid goals, lay everything out on paper, or seek constant feedback.

Instead, he likes to test things, is very curious, is intensely focused, but also easily gets distracted, which is both a blessing and a curse, but mostly blessings.

Perfectionist?
Are you the type of person inclined toward perfection? Well, Val is not.

While many people spend their time trying to perfect one thing, Val prefers to test multiple things within the same time period.

He believes that this approach gives him a better chance of success.

His son bought a computer at 7 - 8?

Val's parenting style is just as intriguing as his career. He doesn't hand everything to his kids on a silver platter.

In fact, Val systematically ensures that they’re not given all the resources so that they can naturally learn how to become resourceful by themselves.

He made his son save up money (Val doesn’t care how he does it).
At the age of 7 or 8, his son took the initiative to research and acquire all the computer parts. He even built the computer from scratch, an impressive feat for a child.

Is he driven by money?

Yes & No, Val's motivation is not solely driven by money; it's about winning. He views money as a scorecard in his pursuit of success.

My Thoughts💭

🌙 Sleep Patterns 🌞

I used to get stressed out from sleeping and waking up late, but this podcast changed my perspective.

After listening to Val’s story and sleeping patterns, I've come to realize that success isn't determined by when you sleep but by what you do when you're awake.

There is no substitute for a good night's sleep and waking up early…
… but if you’re having trouble sleeping / waking early, instead of punishing yourself and stressing out, focus on the quality and productivity of your waking hours.

🚀Massive action and Intensity🏃‍♂️

Val's success could be attributed to his focus on taking action and working hard. While many, including myself, spend time deliberately perfecting one thing, Val prefers to test 10 things within the same timeframe.

This approach shows that success can come from taking bold action and working hard, rather than slowly and carefully working on one thing at a time.

The video I summarized is by Sam Parr. You can check the full video on their YouTube channel.

For this particular video, Click here or the thumbnail.