Business Idea for Hasan Minhaj
The My First Million podcast, hosted by Shaan Puri and Sam Parr, recently interviewed standup comic Hasan Minhaj.
During the interview Hasan asked Shaan how he should allocate his money, and if it’s possible to find 10–100x returns in business. (I’m paraphrasing)
I was hoping for Shaan to do his thing and list-off ideas/opportunities for Hasan to explore, but Shaan took a slightly different path of talking about asset allocation.
While listening, I thought of an idea for Hasan that he could execute quickly and easily with his talent, access, and distribution.
Here it is…
A satirical world-news newsletter, similar to The Colbert Report, but in the form of a snappy newsletter — like Morning Brew and The Hustle.
Why this works?
Hasan can take his TV experience with John Stewart — of coming up with ‘takes’ and turning them into segments — and convert it into newsletter form.
This newsletter would make people laugh while being informative, and give people material to use throughout the week with their co-workers & friends. No different than the Daily Show.
How?
Hasan would oversee a small team of comedic writers, an editor, and a sales person — responsible for finding advertisers. Similar to how I imagine SNL and late-night news satire shows work, each comedian/writer would be responsible for coming up with takes and submitting them to Hasan and the editor.
Value to Hasan:
This idea allows Hasan to scale his experience and talent through junior writers by teaching them how to formulate and structure takes.
Once established, a media business like this provides Hasan with a passive income that gives him the opportunity to remain creative, support up-coming comedians, and creates a sellable asset with a relatively high multiple.
Expanding on this idea, the newsletter could evolve into videos for social media — particularly TikTok, Insta Reels, and Youtube Shorts.
The team of writers/creators would use the same takes, but deliver them on camera.
In either scenario, the business makes money through advertising and affiliate revenue.
I have lots of thoughts on how to market this business, but I’m curious to know what you think! Write me or DM me on Twitter @WillBNelson
