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Hala Taha: Young and profit. Get ready for an episode packed with entrepreneurial gold. Today we're joined by Kim pll. She's a powerhouse serial entrepreneur who turned a $10,000 loan from her grandma and a kitchen table idea into a hundred million dollars Empire. Kim is a nine time founder. She's now an angel investor that is invested in more than 150 startups, and she's a three time bestselling author.

Today she's here to talk about her latest book, mistakes that Made Me a Millionaire, where she shares the tough lessons every entrepreneur needs to know. In this SEP episode, you'll hear how Kim bounced back after getting laid off in her twenties and how she became a self-made millionaire by 30 years old.

We'll also talk about turning failure into fuel, the execution habits that separates doers from dreamers, and how you can embrace risk before you feel 100% ready. Gap [00:02:00] fam, If you're an entrepreneur, you won't wanna miss this one. Kim, welcome to Young and Profiting podcast.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here.

I know, I'm so excited. I can't believe that you've never been on Young and Profiting Podcast, even though I've known you I think for like three or four years now, and I'm just so excited that I finally have you on.

Kim Perell: Uh, me too, me too. Thank you so much. I'm really excited to be here.

Hala Taha: Before we dive into your new book and everything that you got going on with entrepreneurship, I did wanna get a little bit of background from my listeners because it's the first time that you've been on. So I know that you started a company called xDrive.

When you were in your twenties, you actually got laid off from your dream job and you were broke 23 years old. And you had this idea to start a company and you actually got a loan from your grandmother. So talk to us about what your vision was and how you got the confidence to start a business at such a young age [00:03:00] and what that process was like for you.

Kim Perell: I honestly never wanted to be an entrepreneur. So both my parents are entrepreneurs and I thought, I'm gonna get a real job.and I'm just gonna work the corporate ladder. And I went and I got that. That was at xDrive and we raised a hundred million dollars in funding. It was [email protected] boom. And I was so excited.

I'm like, this is it. Job security is gonna be amazing. And then I learned there is no such thing as job security. And the company spent the a hundred million dollars and then I was fired and I had no savings. I was broke. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I did learn the lesson that. You know, the best bet you can make is the bet on yourself.

And I had this idea for an internet company that wanted to create. I didn't have any money, so I had to ask my 82-year-old grandma for a loan. 'cause everyone else told me, Kim, you're crazy. The Internet's a fad. You have no experience starting a company and you should just get a normal job. And I was like, I just had a normal job and that didn't work out, so I might as well bet on myself [00:04:00] and my grandma had no idea what the internet was at that time.

I told her it's gonna be really, really big someday, grandma. And she's gave me the $10,000 loan, which is amazing. And that's how I started. And I think looking back, you know, I didn't choose to do it, but sometimes things happen. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me, became the best thing that ever happened to me.

Hala Taha: So you scaled that company from what I read, to a hundred million dollars. By the time you were 30, was that a hundred million dollars in annual revenue?

Kim Perell: Annual revenue, yeah. Wow.

It started at my kitchen table. So anyone out there that's got a kitchen table or garage or a basement, doesn't matter.

You can start anywhere. And that was 20 years ago. So I started at my kitchen table and I worked at there for three years alone. But I had this vision, like so many people out there, they wanted to create something and I think. Eventually after enough time and enough determination, you know, I maxed out all my credit cards and at some point you think this is not gonna work.

And then [00:05:00] you have a turning point. And the company, you know, it grew when the internet started to rise because this was before TikTok and Instagram and LinkedIn. This is before everything. I mean, it was basically Yahoo search engine.

Hala Taha: What did the company do exactly?

Kim Perell: Internet advertising. It was basic buying and selling internet media.

So I would contract with an advertising company and put their ads on the internet. It was really displacing traditional forms of media, but really early on. So you're trying to convince someone that the yellow pages weren't gonna work anymore and that it was much more efficient to do online advertising.

Hala Taha: Yeah. That's so amazing.

Kim Perell: People know that now, but at that time it, it wasn't as easy to convince someone.

Hala Taha: Yeah, it was groundbreaking technology that you were working on because people weren't familiar with it and you got in really early and became one of the biggest companies to do it. So did you spoil your grandma for believing in you? How did Grandma make out out of all of this?

Kim Perell: I sold that company in [00:06:00] 2008, so that was the first company I sold. So yes, I went and knocked on her door and I was like, grandma got something I had to tell you. And she's like, what is going on? You know, why are you here? Is everything okay? And I was like, we just sold the company for, at that point, $20 million plus like another 20 on the back end and she just couldn't believe it. I'm like, 10,000 goes to, you know, 20 million. She couldn't even believe it.

Hala Taha: So that's amazing. I love that.

Kim Perell: But grandma, best angel investor there is, right?

Hala Taha: I know. Everybody just knock on grandma's door if you've got that business idea. So for all the 30 somethings out there tuning in, I think. It's quite an ambitious goal to get a company that's a hundred million dollars in revenue by the time you're 30 years old.

I don't even know if that's really a possibility for most people out there, but if we were trying to get a company to scale to a hundred million, whether we're 20 years old, 30 years old, 40 years old, what is your best insight in terms of how to actually do [00:07:00] that?

Kim Perell: I think it's two things I invest. So I've invested in probably 150 different companies now, co-founded nine.

I definitely understand the entrepreneur and what it takes to scale, and I've scaled all the way to a billion dollars. So I, I really know on an analyze basis what it takes to scale. I think number one is you need a great team. You will not be successful alone. So really looking at. Who you can get to join your team to make sure and to compliment your weaknesses.

Right. And for me, and that's in any business that I start, that I scale really looking for that team that can scale because. I tried at my kitchen table, and then eventually I had to make room at the kitchen table for a CTO and a head of sales and the finance, you have to be able to have a really great team.

The second thing I think people need is really great partnerships. You can't scale to a hundred million or a billion or even 10,000,001 by one by one. So I love a sales channel strategy. That's just partnering with someone else who has already built [00:08:00] in the sales infrastructure that you can put your product through or partner with.

So really trying to figure out where there's leverage with other companies that are complimentary that can give you the opportunity to sell through their sales channel, especially when you're bootstrapping it. You can't afford to hire a huge sales team is so expensive.

Hala Taha: Could you give us some examples of companies that you've invested in and maybe how they've leveraged somebody else's sales channel so that we can kind of put that together?

Kim Perell: Oh my goodness. even just something I'm doing right now, I have a beauty company and right now we sell through Sephora. So obviously if I wanted to sell D two C, that's one way, but I could also partner with a retailer who has doors all over the country. Mm-hmm. And then I can use their infrastructure to sell my product for me, obviously I have to give them a cut.

But it makes more sense than me trying to do it myself. So that's in a retail example of how do you find a partner to bring your product to market If you're, you know, I'm a beverage company, we also partner with all of the [00:09:00] retailers to bring our product to market, whether it be Sprouts or Costco or Target, doesn't matter.

But trying to figure out who else can bring your product to market. You know, it's interesting if you look at any. Because I get approached all the time for mentorship and entrepreneurship and trying to look at any business that you can think of, they could find someone that's complimentary to them that could help offer their products and services.

It's usually the first thing I say. Uh, I talked to an entrepreneur the other day that's launching an AI consulting business, and I was like, okay, well who can you partner with that can offer that to their community and give 'em a cut? Because you can't go one by one again. The sales team is so expensive to build, so trying to find ways to help. Sell. You know, you have to sell once, but it's one to one to many.

Hala Taha: That makes a lot of sense because then you can actually focus on creating the best product rather than worrying about the tech to sell it, the team to sell it, and so on. So you can just focus on the actual product. So let's talk about your general entrepreneurship advice.

I know you've written a book on execution, so [00:10:00] what are some of the things that entrepreneurs get wrong about execution?

Kim Perell: I look back at all of the companies that I have invested in and started, and I honestly believe that execution separates the best from all the rest. And what that means is everyone can have a good idea.

I get pitched ideas all the time, idea, idea, but taking that idea and making it a reality is so difficult. So really understanding how do I actually bring that to life and. I've found that there's five key traits in order to master execution. If you master these five traits, I guarantee your success by tenfold.

And the first one is vision. Really understanding, have the crystal clear vision of what you want to achieve, because if you don't know where you're going, how do you expect to get there? And so, so many people are like, oh, I have kind of an idea. When I'm building, I know exactly where I'm going. I know exactly the revenue I'm trying to hit.

I know exactly the KPIs, the key performance indicators of what I want to achieve. So really having that very clear vision. Second is [00:11:00] passion. Passion is not what you love. It's the Latin root word for pain or suffering. So what are you willing to suffer for in order to achieve your dreams? Right? And that might be.

Long nights, early mornings, taking the weekend, doing things you don't wanna do because you love it so much. And I think it's a different mindset of what makes successful companies and successful entrepreneurs than other people. It's like, what are you actually willing to give up? You know? Like what do you love more than anything else?

And the third is action. So it's taking that first step because we can get so overwhelmed and not do anything. I've experienced this before and I mean, I don't know about you Hall, but just. Analysis paralysis. You just keep overthinking things and never move forward. So learning to take that first step, taking that first action, it's about having those relationships, whether that's your clients, your team, your peers, and making sure you have great relationships and a solid foundation.[00:12:00]

And then it's about resilience because. Everything's gonna go wrong all the time. And so how do you make sure that you have enough tenacity and grit to keep moving forward after you hit setbacks and roadblocks and dead ends? Because it's gonna happen, it's inevitable. And if you can master these five traits, you will be able to achieve success.

Hala Taha: I love that. And I think the fifth one is relationships, right?

Kim Perell: Yes. Oh my gosh. And relationships for sure. I mean, you cannot do anything alone. I tried, and I remember really early on in my career, I was at my kitchen table and obviously my grandma had funded me and I had this lone wolf mentality, which meant I'm gonna do it on my own because I'm gonna prove to everyone that I can do this.

And I'm sure people can relate to that. I'm just prove to everyone that telling me I can't do it, that I can do it. But the reality is you're not gonna get very far very fast. And so until. I came to that realization because I was overworked and I was sick, and I didn't know what I was going to do. You know, you at some point you're gonna hit a breaking point of burnout.

Well, you have to ask for help. [00:13:00] And at that point, hiring the team and getting the mentor and finding the peers was like a game changer in my business. So those relationships are foundational.

Hala Taha: Yeah, execution is just so important. To your point, it's what makes or breaks entrepreneurs, people who just can't take consistent action and don't have the resilience to just keep going when things are tough.

I feel like that's what really makes or breaks it, because entrepreneurship is a long game. It's not gonna happen overnight. It's gonna take a couple years, two, three years until things really get off the ground for most startups. So I totally agree there.

Kim Perell: Oh my gosh. And I hear so many ideas. But the thing is, I'll hear an idea and then they'll pitch me and then a year later I still, they'll pitch me the same idea.

I'm like, well, what have you done? Have you gone to, oh, you get to market? Listen, I'm not saying like dream big, start small, go to the farmer's market, go anywhere. Mm-hmm. Go. Just tell me you've done something. But usually people just get stuck in the idea. 'cause it's easy. I get it. That's the fun part to ideate.

But to actually do it [00:14:00] is hard.

Hala Taha: So you said that you've actually invested in 150 companies now, and you've probably gotten pitched like thousands of ideas over the years. So what do you actually look for? Like are there key things that you look for when you decide I'm gonna invest in this company or not?

Kim Perell: I mean, number one, I a startup investor, so I like to invest early. And so I always invest in the founder, like I'm investing in people, right? Just like my grandma made a bet on me. I wanna make a bet on individuals that I think. Can execute and they're gonna have to, and I know whatever they pitch me today, likely is going to change.

There's probably one out of 150 companies that has pitched me the exact same thing that they actually built.

Hala Taha: Mm.

Kim Perell: And that's okay. I just wanna know that you are gonna be able to adapt when the market changes. So the ability to adapt, especially in, let's just say today with AI and everything's changing.

The only thing we know is change is the only constant. And the only thing I need to know as an investor is that when it changes, you will [00:15:00] change too. The challenge is a lot of people are like, no, I'm so I will not change. And that is a huge mistake because the world's gonna pass you by.

Hala Taha: Yeah, you've gotta be adaptable. I noticed that you also invest in a lot of influencers. So you've partnered with Jay Shetty, you've got, I think Willow, her name is the model. So what is it about influencers that make you excited?

Kim Perell: I love their huge microphone, and I think they've got their own media channel, which has been really amazing.

Obviously, I love investing in women founders, underrepresented founders, and people that are authentic. It's really important, especially in like a celebrity type partnership, making sure the authenticity of the founders truly why they wanted to create it. So in my partnership with Jay, we created a t. It makes sense.

He doesn't drink. He grew up drinking tea. He associate tea with love. Okay, well that's awesome. Can we disrupt? Because I always look for opportunities where I can disrupt. Can we disrupt the tea [00:16:00] market? Right? And so yeah, the tea market hasn't been disrupted in hundreds of years. Why don't we make a cool, fun functional tea that's not your grandma's tea. Right? And that's what we created. And I think it's really authentic to him, which is really important because authenticity matters.

Hala Taha: I read that you started doing AI product launches, and so I'm curious what does that even mean and what's the difference between an AI product launch and a regular product launch?

Kim Perell: Well, it's a predictive intelligence, so we're using data to decide, like in the case of a tea or in the case of a beauty product, we can see what's trending. We can use data to make informed decisions on what will be a success in market, So using data and intelligence and analytics to make decisions, and I think making sure you're making data-driven decisions is so important.

I mean, I come from a tech background, so it makes sense for me to wanna prove it with data and making data-driven decisions is [00:17:00] so much easier for me as a investor to invest in because you're showing me the data. For me, I love a good idea, but again, substantiate it with the actual data and then I'm much more likely to invest.

Hala Taha: So you've got a new book and it's called Mistakes that Made Me a Millionaire, and there's 10 mistakes that you highlight. Is there a mistake that you wanna cover with us in terms of what we need to know as entrepreneurs tuning in?

Kim Perell: Well, I think the biggest mistake. If you make this mistake, you won't even get to the other nine. So the mistake goes through 10 mistakes, and the biggest mistake that I think people make is waiting to feel a hundred percent ready, and I think you'll never gonna feel ready. And early on, I learned this rule by Marine Corps General and it was called the 70% rule. So in battle, you have to make decisions without a hundred percent of the information.

And so they use the 70% rule. And I was like, Hey, if you guys are using that, I can use that too, which gave me a great opportunity to be able to [00:18:00] balance analysis and action. So if I get to 70%, I go right. And I think using that in my website, my product, my marketing, my social media, whatever it was at 70%, anything over that, you're just perfecting it and you don't actually know if it's gonna work till you get to market anyway.

So the sooner you can get to. See and meet the customer, the better you'll be. And so it gave me a great framework that allowed me to take action with uncertain information.

Hala Taha: It's funny that you mentioned that 70% rule. I actually had a revamp of our team's core values, and my company is about to hit 10 million in annual revenue this year, and I've noticed I needed to do something different in terms of our culture because we were really scrappy in the beginning and flying by the state of our pants building this ship while we ride it.

And now I really needed to make it clear that we needed to make better decisions and do things more perfectly. And scrappy doesn't mean [00:19:00] sloppy and things like that to just button the team up. And one of the things that I put out was this 70% decision making framework basically, in order to keep the team still moving, even though I'm putting all this quality criteria on everything.

If you think you're 70% right, just go for it. We can still make some mistakes. If you feel like you know 70% for sure you should do this, then just move forward. But if you're not sure, that's when you gotta check in with your manager and so on and get to that 70%. So it's really, really good guidance even for teams in terms of their decision making.

Kim Perell: Right. I love that you implemented because it still gives autonomy to people to move as opposed to just waiting for someone to come tell you you're. Again, it's never gonna be a hundred percent right? Mm-hmm. And as a startup, and just, I mean, to be honest, in any company, no matter size, you have to have the courage to move and make mistakes.

If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough.

Hala Taha: As I build my company, something that seems to be one of the hardest things to do is just to [00:20:00] get the right talent. It's kind of like you go through the interview process and sometimes you feel like somebody's gonna be so great and then they're terrible, and the opposite can happen.

Somebody has like a mediocre interview, but then they end up being like a great, great hire. So are there any interview questions that you like to ask or frameworks that you have for new hires to make sure that we're not wasting time in terms of this hiring and we're hiring the best people possible for our teams.

Kim Perell: Yes. Honestly, I've hired thousands of people probably in my career and managed over a thousand people in my last company, so I definitely have hired a lot of people and I write in the book about picking the wrong people to exactly your point, I picked a lot of bad people, like a lot. Right? So trying to make sure I don't, number one, the reason I picked it, because you know the people that look perfect on paper, I call 'em the POP.

Mm-hmm. Perfect. On paper, they look so good, right? Their resume looks great. They came from the right jobs, they have everything. And then you get 'em in and they're terrible. I'm like, what [00:21:00] happened? and I talk about in the book, I come up with different frameworks of how to make a better hiring decisions.

So I don't get bias towards either the resume that looks good, but number one, and I think we overlooked this so many times because you think the paper looks good, I, in the past, like I've neglected to really do. Thorough reference checks. Now I do that religiously. 'cause usually I'd have someone that says, oh, my boss left.

You can't really do a reference check anymore. Red flag, obviously. But I'm like, oh, it's okay now. No, I actually want a reference of someone that's worked for you and someone you've worked with. 'cause relationships are key, right? So if you don't have someone that actually liked working with you, probably not good for me to hire you.

And the second, in terms of interview questions. I actually list out 10 in the book, but one of them is, what would I learn about you in three months from now that I will not learn about you in this interview process? Something that I couldn't learn there. And then [00:22:00] the second one I like is, what would your last manager say they wanted to change about you?

And it takes people a second, like what would change? And then what would your teammates wanna change about you? You are really trying to get to. Things I didn't like about 'em because that's the same thing you're not gonna like about 'em. The thoughtful questions that you really have to start asking to try to double click on understanding if they're gonna be the right person for you.

So I've done it so many times terribly, and it's, you know, I'm still trying, but I definitely have come up with a process that I talk about because hiring the wrong person costs you millions of dollars. I mean, in time and productivity and rehiring. There's so many challenges as you know. But if you get the right people, game changer. Right.

Hala Taha: I know. It's like basically sometimes two or three employees and one person in terms of their output. If you get a really great talent in the door, are there any like red flags where if somebody does this in the interview process, that's it. No more interviews.

Kim Perell: You know, [00:23:00] I definitely could tell you for investing, so if I put my investor hat on, mm-hmm.

That's how hiring, investing, if you come in and you say in year five, it's a hockey stick and we're gonna make a ton of EBITDA and wild growth. I know you have no idea what you're talking about. I don't why people do that all the time. They wanna show, oh, eventually you're gonna like,

Hala Taha: it's like this perfect plan that's just gonna happen.

Kim Perell: Yeah, we're gonna be hugely profitable and tons of growth within your five, but you're investing in one. It's like, I wanna see what is the actual plan. So when someone shows me their pitch deck and that's the hockey stick, I actually pass.

Hala Taha: What about personality? Is there something about somebody's personality that you look for?

Kim Perell: Ego. If you have a huge ego, I definitely do not hire you. I want a team player. I need an all-star team. I don't need an all star player. And I think it reflects the values, what you were saying, Holland, every one of my companies, I very clear values. And if your behaviors, even in an interview process, don't match my values or my company's values, I won't hire [00:24:00] you.

For example, if my value is collaborative and you're just. You wanna play it by yourself, that is not gonna work in my organization. And so I think really being clear from a company perspective on your values and then ensuring every hire reflects those behaviors of your values and you're doing the same thing, which is great, right?

I think every company has to have those values, and I think it's really important.

Hala Taha: So we've implemented a new hiring process because we're trying to just get the best talent in the door possible. And one of the things that we've done, which is like a sneaky way to try to see if we got the right hire, is we give these really detailed directions for a cover letter, just very specific.

In terms of how you have to actually write and submit your cover letter. And if they can't follow those directions, they don't even get an interview. So it's like a way for us to just check to see if people are detail oriented, if they can follow directions and if they can't even do that or they're too lazy or we're like, you either don't want this bad enough or you don't know how to follow [00:25:00] directions.

Kim Perell: Yeah, that's a great idea. Usually now to your point, I make people do a project, some project so I can really evaluate the work before I get you in the door 'cause else. Once you're in the door, I have to train you. Then if it doesn't work out to try to help you, then you know, there's so much chaos. So if you can try to find upfront, to your point, the cover letter, that's great.

If they can't follow the details, probably not the person you want. I mean, it's interesting just thinking about it because you get so many resumes. We make it so you actually have the email in. If you actually want the job, like if you click on the button, like I'm not even interviewing it, literally No, because there's so many people, right?

Hala Taha: Mm-hmm. Who's gonna go the extra mile and actually do it? Yeah. Yeah. So we do the cover letter, we do a cultural interview, a project, and a technical interview, and then the final interview. So like, we've got like a really, really, really strict process these days. So you've got this awesome metaphor in the book, and it's be the buffalo. Tell us about that.

Kim Perell: Well, when there's a storm coming, right, usually [00:26:00] everyone's running away from the storm. Right? And I think that is true in nature. People are running away it from the storm, but the buffalo runs through the storm and it actually gets through the storm faster because it's not running with it.

And I think the metaphor. For people is to take action that probably you're scared to take. You know, it might look bad or hard, or it might scare you, but that's actually where the opportunity and the success and the growth really happens. So encouraging you to be that buffalo, let's go into the storm as opposed to running from it.

But I'd love that actually, and it's a really good. Way to think about life. Like am I the buffalo or not?

Hala Taha: Yeah. And especially with new things like AI coming out, a lot of people can shy away, but really it's all about leaning into these new [00:27:00] changes and being adaptable, like you were saying before, rather than being like a cow and running away from the storm.

Kim Perell: Right. But the water, you're just gonna keep getting wet. Right. But you have to take that initiative, and I think it's really important because. To your point on ai, everything is going to change, especially if you're looking at people in within inside companies. You know, the only thing I know is that I have to adapt and my ability to adapt is going to be what makes me successful.

Hala Taha: I wanna play a game called Buffalo Wisdom. I made it just for you. So I'm gonna throw out some common business sayings and I want you to say, do you align to it? Why do you think it's right or wrong? And quick fire your 2 cents on the saying. Okay. Alright. First prompt, follow your passion and the money will follow.

Kim Perell: Oh, well. I think you have to be passionate, but that doesn't mean you're gonna make money. So I would say it's good if you're passionate about it, but it could still be a hobby. The only way it [00:28:00] makes money is actually making money.

Hala Taha: You've gotta have the demand. It's gotta solve a problem that people actually wanna pay for.

Okay. The customer is always right.

Kim Perell: Yes. I actually think the customer. Is always right. Again, we're selling so they might not be your customer, but they are always right.

Hala Taha: If it ain't broke in my business, I don't fix it.

Kim Perell: No, it depends. If you're firefighting, I would say let's focus on actually what needs the most improvement. But there's always opportunities to improve. Like I'm constantly trying to level up every area of my business, every area of my product, packaging. So constant improvement before you need to is really important.

Hala Taha: Or else you could get disrupted because you were just sitting on your laurels. Okay. Fake it till you make it.

Kim Perell: Oh, love that. Yes. Fake it till you make it. A hundred percent. Why? I mean, I, I did that my whole life. I dunno. I mean, I was 23, I had no idea what I was doing, [00:29:00] but you know, I showed up with tenacity and like confidence and I think. Listen, your confidence in yourself has to be greater than anyone else's doubt in you. And if you don't believe in yourself, who else is going to? So fake it till you make it.

Hala Taha: Timing is everything. Wait till the perfect moment.

Kim Perell: I think timing matters a lot, but I also would not wait. Timing does matter in terms of the grand outcome and success, but I think you should not wait to the perfect moment.

You should wait till you're 70% and then go.

Hala Taha: Okay, last one. Business is not personal.

Kim Perell: Oh, chapter 10. Chapter 10. Business is always personal. That is the number 10 biggest mistake. Business is personal and I think after 20 years in business and having a lot of company, it's always personal. And if anyone tells you otherwise, that's a lie.

Hala Taha: I know that. Related to that, you've got this I Care framework. Can you tell us about that? [00:30:00]

Kim Perell: Yeah, it's really about how when you're looking at businesses and relationships and how to build relationships on a very personal level, because based on my experience, and I've had companies I talk about in the book that I've acquired in Tel Aviv, and I've had companies in Tokyo and Australia, there's cultural differences.

There's a lot of change across all these companies. At the end of the day, we're all people. And I think that's the biggest thing that I learned. And so the ability to really iCare, which is invest in those relationships, right? And I talk about a story when I acquired a company in Tel Aviv and it took me literally flying to Tel Aviv and meeting with these individuals, great leaders in person.

Developing that personal connection, that changed everything. And I think going that extra mile, investing in the relationships that really matter, will pay off dividends in the long run because it takes time to build trust. And so you're [00:31:00] always looking for in business, how do I speed up that time? How do I make it so we can develop that foundation of trust faster?

So when I leave and I go back to. California and you're still here. You trust I will look out in your best interest. And so in the book I talk about this framework, the iCare framework, that starts with investing, investing time, and then really understanding how can I deepen these relationships because most of my companies and the people I invested. I'm investing in people that work for me. I mean, it's amazing, right? So people that work me over time are like, if you leave and you work for me, you should go and start your own company and I will be the first one to fund it. I love the entrepreneur, like I'm here to help other people rise, but it's about relationships.

It's about trust. It's about knowing that you trust me, I trust you. We will be a great team. I, I cannot underemphasize that. I'm sure. Holla you've seen that as well, those relationships. Are key to success and every deal that I've ever done, I've done a lot

Hala Taha: back to all these companies that you invest in. You do so many different [00:32:00] industries, right? So I think that's just so awesome. 'cause I feel like a lot of investors, they might focus on one specific industry, but you really do a lot of different products and things like that. So are there similarities when you first invest in terms of what is kind of wrong with everyone's business or like the mistake that everybody kind of makes?

Can you go over some of those things that you see across industry?

Kim Perell: Failing to pivot is one thing that everyone makes failing to pivot. If you look at YouTube started as a dating site. Twitter started as a podcast platform. Shopify started by selling snowboards online. You know, Netflix. DVD by mail. Every company I look for, if your growth is slowing or you're not successful, you need to pivot.

And that's so important in embracing that pivot. And so when I look at companies, I look at, and again, it goes back to the founder. Are you okay with making that change? Are you okay with adapting and adopting new technology? And that's really important. You can adopt technology in any business. It doesn't matter if you're in consumer [00:33:00] packaged goods, it doesn't matter.

If you're in beauty, it doesn't matter what type of industry you're in. How are you using AI right now? Like if I came in and you told me you're not, that well obviously would not, I would not invest in you because we're trying to leverage it to make us smarter and more efficient, right? And the more efficient we are, the more time we have to create and use our true talent.

So, 'cause I invest across so many categories, which is so fun, but at the end of the day, business is business. And that's why I wrote the book because I mean, listen, business is all based on people at the end of the day. People are still running the show. They're still making those decisions on deals.

They're still making decisions on investment on hiring. It's still a people business, which is why business is still personal, right?

Hala Taha: Yeah, totally. When it comes to these businesses that you're investing in, my boyfriend is also an entrepreneur and we're very different. I bootstrap my company. I've been profitable since year one.

I've been profitable since month one. Right. I've never not been profitable. He has investors and. [00:34:00] His goal is not to be profitable, his goal is to grow. How do you think of profit when you invest in companies? Do you care if the company's profitable or is it more just about three xing your growth every year, whatever it is?

Kim Perell: I think it depends. So I've had both, right? And I raise a lot of money actually too. So I'm on like every side, right? I invest, I raise capital. I've started, you know, with the $10,000 loan and I focused on profitability. Me as an investor. Listen on most of the digital companies I have, the technology companies,

They're not profitable at all. And that's okay. 'cause I'm an investor and I know there is a path to profitability. So as long as you can show me your path to profitability, regardless of industry, regardless of company, I am okay with that. And I think it's also a choice because with fundraising also comes dilution.

We're giving up equity, right? So. As the owner, you have to decide how much equity am I willing to give up in order to grow. There's so many different choices you have to make, but as long as there is a path to [00:35:00] profitability, I'm good with that. If there's no path to profitability ever, I'm definitely out.

If you say profit, I love it. You showed up and you're like, Hey, I have a profitable business. Great. I'd love to see it because not a lot of 'em, to be honest.

Hala Taha: As we close out this interview, I wanna talk to you about family 'cause you are one of the most successful business women that I know.

And you also have a big family. We've got four kids. And I remember hearing a story, we used to do your social media back in the day and I know that one of the questions your dad used to ask you at the dinner table was like, what's the worst thing that happened to you today? And it kind of got you used to like talking about failure and things like that.

What are some of the things that you do with your kids now to prepare them for the real world, to prepare them for entrepreneurship if you want them to take that path and so on?

Kim Perell: growing up, obviously my parents were entrepreneur. Honestly. Now I think he asked us at the dinner table, we never talked about school or sports.

We only talked about. Failure and the worst thing that had happened to us each day, and I now, I think it was like his own [00:36:00] therapy and we were just having therapy at dinner. I guess my kids now we've come up with a new practice, so I have four kids, two, six, and two and 11 now, and. We use this, which is called Pow Wow Bow pow, which is the worst thing that happened to me today.

So they tell us, okay, this is the worst thing. Wow. Which is the best thing that happened to me. So mom, this is the best thing that happened. And bow one thing that you're grateful for. So it gives a balance to my dad's, which is only the worst thing. It balances it out for my kids, which is really nice, and I think really important and something that's really fun to do.

And it's a consultant named Abby Ziv had came up with this, and so we. Implemented that in such a great dinnertime ritual with my kids. Also, they know, I mean, they were there. We took them to New York for the book launch and they were there and they know that it's okay to make mistakes and that's why, to be honest, I wanted to write the book.

I want them not to strive for perfection, but to strive for. Growth and learning and knowing that [00:37:00] you don't have to be perfect. I know that, and I think it's hard. Today's world in a picture perfect world, we want them to be okay with that messy middle, the challenges and the struggles, and being okay to talk about them because.

We, and I mean, me too, and that's why I wrote a book. It's like, usually we're like, we're just gonna tell you when I make $235 million on my sale of my company, I don't tell you the struggle that happened in order me for me to get there, right? Mm-hmm. You're usually just talking about the annual, like, oh, you killed it.

I'm like, no, you don't understand. It was hard, right? Mm-hmm. Like it was struggling. So I really try to make it okay to talk about mistakes and to have those conversations with my kids. So. That when they do make mistake and I know it's okay, and I love them regardless of what happens.

Hala Taha: It's funny, I don't have kids yet, but as you say this, I'm like, I wanna do this with my team.

I wanna start every meeting with pow wow bow, because we do like one word opens and what are you grateful for? For the start of our daily [00:38:00] meetings that I have, but I like this framework too, because it lets them. Say like what actually went bad so that we can acknowledge it, talk about it, and not just what only is good.

And so I think that's also a really great team activity, honestly.

Kim Perell: Yeah, I like that. I like, yeah. And you wanna know, actually, in my team meetings, we talk about the, like the biggest road, like what was the biggest challenge. So to your point, I wanna know, because my job as a leaders to help you solve for that.

And if you don't tell me what's your challenge, I can't help you solve for it. And usually we only talk about the highlight, but as a leader, actually. It's nice and you can share the highlights, but I actually wanna know the lowlights. Like what Actually, yeah. Are you facing challenges? Because my best skill will be in helping you overcome them.

Hala Taha: So Kim, I end my show with two questions that I ask all my guests. The first question is, what is one actionable thing our young and profits can do today to become more profitable tomorrow?

Kim Perell: listen, 93% of self-made millionaires have mentors.

And even if you have a job, you're five times more likely to be [00:39:00] promoted. If you have a mentor, it's the easiest thing to do to increase the chances of your success. So get a mentor.

Hala Taha: And what's your advice to actually getting a mentor? How can somebody get in touch with somebody who they think they should be their mentee, and how do you actually pick the right mentor?

Kim Perell: First, again, it's having clarity of what you're trying to achieve. So in, I have mentors in each of my business, so if I have a beverage business, I have a mentor. I call him OB one Kenobi. I'm like Luke Skywalker over here, and he's 20 years ahead of me. He doesn't have to be, he could have been two years ahead of me, but he has experience in the vertical that I want to learn about.

And so the easiest way to get a mentor, so first, know who you want to mentor you and why? Because if you call me and you say, Kim. I want you to be my mentor. And I said, why? And you can't tell me exactly why you think I can help you. I'm not gonna obviously take the meeting or your mentor. The second is, how do you get the mentor?

I say three special words, so easy. Let's have coffee because it's so [00:40:00] easy to ask me. And I do this all the time with everyone. So if you're listening, I mean I have like three meetings every week, at least me asking people, do you wanna go to coffee? So easy. And you can do this with mentors. 15 minutes, they could reach out.

Can I have a 15 minute coffee, virtual coffee, and then show up prepared? When you show up for my 15 minutes, I want you to know what are the questions that you want me to answer for you? Because I'm trying to judge if I actually want to have another coffee, right? Like this is a conversation that goes two ways.

So if you show up prepared, you show up with your questions, and I actually feel as a mentor that I can add value to you. I'm stoked. I'm happy to have another coffee. That's how you start building that relationship, but you have to invest the time and the person has to want to invest back. I also think if they don't answer, don't take it personally because just assume it's not you.

People are busy, and so making sure that you know that it's not you and that just keep going, like you're gonna get rejected. [00:41:00] Find a mentor that has the time and the space to give you what you need.

Hala Taha: I also think it's important to be realistic. If you're just starting, Gary V is not gonna be your mentor.

Like, you know what I mean? Like you need to be realistic in terms of where you are and then as you level up in your career, you might need to actually level up your mentors over time.

Kim Perell: I've so many, I mean, it's amazing and I feel so blessed, but that was the game changer for me because then I have someone that I can call that has experience and to your point, it doesn't need to be someone with 20 years experience.

One, your experience more than you have will get you far. Mm-hmm. Right? You don't need someone with so much experience that they're actually too far away from where you are today, actually. You could have too much experience.

Hala Taha: Yeah, that's a really good point. Okay, Kim, last question. What is your secret to profiting in life?

And this can go beyond just business and financials, like what is your secret to having a really successful life?

Kim Perell: I think consistency, the day-to-day consistency of [00:42:00] relationships. Um. Prioritization of my family, of loving what I do, of making sure I'm not doing things I don't wanna do. I'm quite consistent, and I think that others would say that, and I think that it leads to a lot of joy and happiness.

You know, I'm very clear on what I want and what I don't want.

Hala Taha: Are you the breadwinner in your family? Like how's your family dynamic set up and does that matter with your ability to be this awesome female entrepreneur?

Kim Perell: Oh my gosh. Well, at this point, well. I sold in 2008, so basically retired. So I don't think there's a, we have so many companies now, to be honest,

Hala Taha: that that's so amazing. Yeah. Do you guys like basically work together?

Kim Perell: Well, yeah. I mean now we're, we do a lot of investment. Like I'm so operational 'cause it's fun and I sit on a lot of boards, but we're not doing it for the money, which is an amazing place to be at. Mm. We're doing it for the love of the game and I think that's a different place to be, but my husband is incredible and I think I could not have done this without him, I mean now we have four kids, but now it's like a balance of mm-hmm.

It's like a team [00:43:00] effort. Life's a team sport. You can find amazing person to do it with. You will be so much more successful. So that is the one thing I do know. And our 22 anniversary actually is next this weekend.

Hala Taha: So you guys are the cutest family.

Kim Perell: Ah, thank you. But I think knowing that and knowing you can't do it alone and having the the right partner makes such a difference in happiness and success.

And it's hard to find it, but if you do like, hold on. Right. I also think really being really grateful for what you have.

Hala Taha: Well, Kim, this was such an awesome interview. I feel like people are gonna learn so much from your entrepreneurship wisdom and advice. Thank you so much for joining us on Young and Profiting Podcast.

Kim Perell: Oh, thank you so much for having me. I loved it.

Hala Taha: You know, I have to say, I had such a great conversation with Kim. This conversation was long overdue and I learned so much from her. Kim is one of those female entrepreneurs that I greatly look up to, and she had so much [00:44:00] wisdom to give about entrepreneurship. And one thing that really stood out to me is Kim's clear belief that execution is a real secret of success.

It's what separates dreamers from doers, and she broke execution down into five traits, vision, passion, action, resilience, and relationships. I want you to think about which one comes most. Naturally to you, and which one of these traits do you need to really work on that you still need more growth?

Because Kim made it clear, when you master these five traits, you massively increased your odds of winning in business and in life. So how are you going to execute better? Another powerful insight was mistake number one from her book, waiting until you feel a hundred percent ready. Kim reminded us that if you wait for perfection, you're just gonna wait forever.

Instead, apply the 70% rule when you're about 70% confident. Take that leap. That's how you avoid analysis paralysis and actually get into the market where real learning happens. I also loved Kim's metaphor of being the buffalo. When the storm rolls in, [00:45:00] most people just run away. Buffaloes charge straight into the storm and get through it faster.

That's such a powerful way to reframe any challenges that you encounter, whether it's AI disrupting your industry, market changes, or any personal setbacks that you have. The people who succeed are the ones who are willing to face the storm head on. You've gotta charge into the storm and be the buffalo.

If you wanna dive even deeper into Kim's hard one lessons, make sure you grab her new book, mistakes That Made me a Millionaire. It's packed with the kind of insights we cover today and so much more. Thanks for listening to this episode of Young and Profiting. If you listen, learned and profited from this conversation and you feel like somebody else needs to hear this entrepreneurship advice, then share it with somebody who you think will find it valuable.

And if you did enjoy this show and you learned something new, then take a couple minutes to drop us a review on Apple Podcast, cast Box Spotify, or wherever you listen to this show. We love a good review. I read my reviews. Every single day, and he keeps us motivated to keep putting out great content like this every single week.

If [00:46:00] you wanna watch this podcast on video, you can of course find us on YouTube. All of our episodes are published on there. Just look up young and profiting. If you wanna connect with me personally, you can find me on LinkedIn. Just search for my name, it's Hala Taha. You can also find me on Instagram at Yap with Holla.

And of course, I've always got a shout out. My production team at the end of the show, I've got an amazing team at Yap Media. They're all such rock stars. Thank you guys so much for all your hard work, Jarre, thank you for all the amazing scripting that you've been doing lately and the research. Paul, thank you for coordinating our growth programs, Hashan Han Joshua, thank you for all the guest bookings, Nina, for leading the team, Maxie for editing.

Ravi, for your awesome videos, Jaden, for publishing on social media. It takes a village to put on this show. So thank you guys so much for all that you do. This is your host Holla, AKA, the podcast princess signing off. [00:47:00]