Andrew Wilkinson, Tiny // Building The Internet's Berkshire Hathaway, Going Public & Munger's Mental Models

Creator Lab - interviews with entrepreneurs and startup founders

Andrew Wilkinson is the co-founder of Tiny. He owns 30+ companies, including Dribbble, Metalab, Girlboss & Castro. Collectively, these businesses bring in $100mil+ in annual revenue.

Andrew took WeCommerce public the week of this interview, with the most recent market cap hitting $800mil Canadian dollars (Jan 2021)

He's a leading expert in buying, starting & growing online businesses.

Let us know what you think on Twitter: @bzaidi & @awilkinson

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QRIl2aGmzMc

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• why Warren Buffet + Charlie Munger's approach inspired Andrew to create the Berkshire Hathaway of the internet
• how mental models like "inversion" can help you think more effectively
• the 4 types of entrepreneurs + understanding which type you are
• how to hire key employees + a CEO to replace you
• the importance of incentives + how to align employees around a shared vision

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Snippet
• 00:03:32 Who is Andrew? Buying, Building + Growing Companies
• 00:07:41 Mental Models: Studying Warren Buffett + Charlie Munger
• 00:10:22 Inversion
• 00:12:12 Make A Few Good Decisions A Year
• 00:13:54 The New Zealand Approach
• 00:15:30 Fishing Where The Fish Are
• 00:22:11 Controlling Emotions
• 00:24:50 When Deals Don't Go To Plan
• 00:26:07 How 2020 Changed Andrew's Strategy
• 00:27:40 The Value Of Service Businesses
• 00:32:08 Incentives
• 00:34:09 4 Types of Entrepreneurs
• 00:37:13 How to Hire a CEO
• 00:40:21 Working With Recruiters
• 00:41:42 Lessons on Firing
• 00:43:35 Incentivizing CEOs
• 00:46:20 Creating A Shared Vision
• 00:50:39 The Art of Delegation
• 00:53:33 "Twitter should be milking money"
• 00:56:38 Lessons From Shareholder Letters
• 00:58:49 The Future of Local News
• 01:00:39 Wrap-Up