The Trap of Turning Into a Course Seller

10 Sept 2025 · 1 min

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In this commentary, the speaker examines a case involving App Mafia, a company whose young SaaS founder (around 18 years old) has built Cal AI to generate $3.6 million in monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Despite this success, the founder is also selling a $5,000 course, prompting criticism from observers who question why a high‑earning SaaS would need to market a lifestyle‑oriented course. The founder defends the decision by stating that any viable money‑making opportunity should be pursued. The speaker reflects that while the founder’s achievements are impressive, the focus on course sales and personal branding (e.g., Lambos, watches) may distract from the core product. The overarching lesson presented is that long‑term wisdom comes from experience, and concentrating on the primary app rather than ancillary courses would likely yield greater financial results.

Chapters

This is a company called App Mafia. I don't know if you heard about this, but one of their leaders, he's a founder of a SaaS. I think he's only like 18 years old and they're doing $3.6 million in monthly recurring revenue. The software's called Cal AI. They're selling a course. I think the course is like $5,000 and then they have all these testimonials here. My whole thing here is I think it's great. I think these guys know how to get distribution. There's people that are throwing shade at, especially the guy doing $3.6 million a month, saying that, look, if you're doing $3.6 million a month, why do you need to be selling a course right now? And why do you need to be selling this lifestyle and move into this course world? So his justification was like, look, if there's a way to make money, we're going to make money. 18 years old, I was still in college, and I think you had just started working for 4 years or so. So I think he was way more successful than either of us at 18 years old. And I think you'll learn. I think this entire group will learn eventually that it's not about the Lambos, it's not about showing off your watch. You'll eventually learn that it is about the focus later. Wisdom comes from experience, and you have to kind of go through it a little bit. And I think once these guys learned that, hey, this course collab thing was probably— your time was probably better spent focusing on whatever it is your main app was, you probably would have made a lot more money that way.