Barnacle on a Whale

You can find this week’s TL;DR here.

Key Lessons:

• Partner with someone opposite of you.

• Learn from someone ahead of you.

• Chances are you got lucky.

• Be a barnacle on a whale.

• Sell digital products.

Methods of Prosperity newsletter is intended to share ideas and build relationships. To become a billionaire, one must first be conditioned to think like a billionaire. To that agenda, this newsletter studies remarkable people in history who demonstrated what to do (and what not to do). Let me know how I can help you out. For more information about the author, please visit seanallenfenn.com/faq.

Last week on Methods of Prosperity

Shiny object syndrome. It distracts entrepreneurs with new ideas. It causes them to stray from their main pursuits. Andrew Wilkinson’s main venture, MetaLab, was thriving. But he got sidetracked by unsuccessful ventures like cat furniture. He learned the wisdom of focusing on core strengths and delegation.

Charlie Munger’s investment philosophy advocates for focusing on a few high-confidence ventures. Do this instead of over-diversifying.

Andrew’s foray into cat furniture helped him realize MetaLab’s potential. MetaLab thrived in his absence when he decided to take a vacation.

That’s when it hit him. A concept he calls “lazy leadership”. Delegating and designing processes. Which allowed him to focus on strategic growth. Working ON the business instead of working IN the business. Ownership from above.

He built the machine. Now what?

Do you know about my livestream podcast? It’s called Hidden Secrets Revealed Live (HSRL), and I record it live on 𝕏 every Wednesday. 

Part 92. Andrew Wilkinson (continued).

Now there’s a collectible version of this newsletter! Methods of Prosperity newsletter number 55 is available to collect as of March 14, 2025. If you’re so inclined you can permanently own it!

You don’t have a business until you can step away from it without everything falling apart. Up until that point, all you have is a job. Andrew Wilkinson’s company was now a business. It was a machine that made money without him needing to be there. Andrew hired his brothers, which put more pressure on him. Now he supported them. The problem with making money is that you can lose it.

The life of an entrepreneur can be lonely. You take on all the risk of a business and exert all your energy to make it happen. Very few people can do that. Therapy is not normal. Andrew joined a network of entrepreneurs called Forum. It was a confidential environment where entrepreneurs could avoid therapy together. That’s where he met a guy named Steve, who was several steps ahead. He was older and more knowledgeable, which exposed Andrew’s limitations.

Andrew started MetaLab with no formal training or experience. Yet he was able to charge hundreds of dollars per hour. He went from barista to owner of the top interface design agency in North America. It was only a few years. Now MetaLab earned half a million dollars. Did he get lucky or what?

He became aware that he needed a numbers guy. Someone who paid attention to financial details. MetaLab needed a CFO. Where can you find a person like that? The local bank. That’s where Andrew met Chris Sparling. He worked at the bank. One day, Andrew convinced him to join MetaLab as CFO. The regularity and calm of the bank was in sharp contrast with the operations at MetaLab. On his first day, he showed up on time wearing a suit and tie. Andrew showed up late and shoved 3 overflowing bankers boxes at him. “Nobody here wears suits,” Andrew advised him.

During his foray into cat furniture, Andrew discovered Shopify, a multinational e-commerce company. At the time, Shopify was a small, Canadian startup. Harley Finkelstein was the COO of Shopify. Andrew met Harley at a tech conference in Vancouver. Shopify needed someone to create templates for online stores. They wanted to offer well designed themes for merchants to use on their platform. Prices would range from $49 – $249. Shopify would sell the themes on their market place, which was like an app store. Harley liked MetaLab’s work.

Andrew started this project for $20,000. It would be a partnership with Shopify. He appointed an intern to lead the project. His name is Liam Sarsfield. They named the new subsidiary Pixel Union. They built out 5 themes and then several more. When Shopify launched their new market place, Pixel Union took off. It was like a barnacle on a whale. Merchants across the globe were buying Pixel Union’s themes 24/7. Before long it generated $30,000 per month. They built a theme once, and sold it an infinite number of times. That’s the beauty of a digital product with automated sales that’s in demand. Money streams in non-stop. Clients including Tesla and the LA Lakers were using their themes. Liam stepped up as CEO.

Chris revamped MetaLab’s finances so that they could keep more of what they earned. His personality complemented Andrew’s. He was meticulous and diligent where Andrew was a fire starter. Over time, he transitioned from CFO to partner, using his own cash to buy into the business. Andrew and Chris developed a successful business partnership. They became a dynamic duo. Business was going well. That’s when the villain of the story was about to ruin it all.

To be continued…

I like you,

– Sean Allen Fenn