In this on‑the‑street interview, two interviewers (Speakers A and C) approach a car entrepreneur (Speaker B) while he is driving his Bugatti. They ask how he afforded the car, leading to a discussion about referrals, his entrepreneurial background, and his business achievements. The entrepreneur reveals he has owned several businesses over decades and claims to have made $80 million in a single day in the car business. He shares personal history, describing himself as a poor student with ADD, and emphasizes the value of street‑smart knowledge over traditional schooling. When asked for unconventional business advice, he contrasts Elon Musk’s rapid, risk‑taking approach—learning from failures and iterating quickly—with Boeing’s slow, committee‑driven decision making, urging entrepreneurs to take bold chances. The interviewers echo his points, highlighting the importance of referrals and the need for decisive, risk‑embracing leadership in business.
Chapters
Excuse me, sir. Sir, is this your Bugatti? And what did you do to be able to afford a Bugatti? Yeah, one second. We have one of the biggest media channels in the entire world. We grew a channel to 10 million followers. Could we get one quick minute with you?
What's that? We interviewed one of your friends?
Yes.
This gentleman here is driving around his fancy car. The interviewer is trying to get an interview with him. He says, oh, I know you from a friend of mine who told me about you. Referrals is really one of the most important parts of anybody's success. And if you can get a referral from a client, it takes years off of trying to build a relationship with somebody because it's instant qualification, and the reputation is sort of handed to somebody on a silver platter. So if you can get somebody to refer you to somebody, unsolicited even, it's gold mine.
I'm an entrepreneur. You're an entrepreneur? I am. How many businesses do you own?
I've owned several over the past few decades.
Yeah, do you think we could interview you for one minute real quick?
Sure.
So what business has made you the most money? The car business. You're in the car business? I am in the car business. What was the most amount of money that you made in a single year?
Well, I did $80 million in one day.
You did $80 million in one day?
$80 million one day. This guy is way above my pay grade. Hats off to this guy.
Were you a good student in school? I was a horrible student in school. I had ADD. They didn't know what it was back then.
I was too. Really, it's talking about street smart rather than book smart, and they're both great ways, but I know the street smart way.
What's a lesson about business you'd give to somebody that they will not be taught in school?
The world will teach you if you listen. You see, the difference between Elon Musk launching rockets all the time that blow up and he learns from everyone, or Boeing waiting 5 years to put up one perfect that then doesn't work— the difference is don't be afraid to take a chance. If you don't swing, you'll never hit a home home run.
There's no question he's right, but comparing Boeing with Elon are two different things. Elon is a public company. He runs a company like a dictatorship, which most businesses should actually to be successful. Boeing is just such a gigantic juggernaut. It's so big, it's so huge. Really, the chairman doesn't have the ability to make a decision and say, just go do this. There's so many committees and boards, it's not really possible to do something like that. But I take his advice.
