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In this Thanksgiving-week Mostly Growth episode, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar ditch the serious finance talk for a looser, drinks-in-hand conversation with Ben Hillman, bouncing between CJ’s nostalgic emo-punk concert adventure, the curse of vanity license plates, and the epidemic of “Y-axis crimes” in founder charts. They riff on Spotify Wrapped copycats, YouTube becoming living-room TV, kids’ YouTube empires, and the game theory behind The Traitors and the Monty Hall problem before shifting into real-world pricing: newsletter perk economics, the pitfalls of hourly consulting, and why value-based packaging always wins. The episode stays playful but still sneaks in sharp insights on growth, psychology, and how weird the business world can be when you actually pay attention.
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SPONSORS:
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LINKS:
Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/
Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/
Brian Balfour: brianbalfour.com
Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/
Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/
Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/
https://x.com/parikpatelcfa/status/1992706757073023191?s=46
https://www.wired.com/story/null-license-plate-landed-one-hacker-ticket-hell/
https://x.com/im_roy_lee/status/1992692253257855261/photo/1
https://nyulangone.org/news/one-third-americans-are-trying-avoid-gluten-it-villain-we-think-it-is
https://x.com/techsalesguy3/status/1991585201601016161?s=46
https://cityfeedandsupply.com/
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018731-buttermilk-brined-roast-chicken
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026610-porcini-ragu
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Special Message
00:00:35 Preview and Intro
00:01:41 Sponsors – Pulley & Metronome
00:04:01 Mostly Drinks Episode
00:05:14 Concert Stories & Pop-Punk Nostalgia
00:08:05 Concert Parenting & Full-Circle Moment
00:08:36 Business Blunders Begin
00:10:26 License Plate Fails & Accounting Humor
00:12:08 Y-Axis Crime Chart Review
00:14:21 Global Podcast “Success” & Listener Jokes
00:16:00 Spotify Wrapped: Retention vs. Acquisition
00:17:04 YouTube as the Future of Podcasts
00:17:56 Kids’ Shows, Blippi & Creator Economics
00:18:55 The Traitors Show Overview
00:20:30 Game Theory & Winning as a Traitor
00:22:46 Monty Hall Problem Setup
00:24:27 Game Show Logic & Gambler’s Fallacies
00:26:09 Pricing in the Real World
00:27:03 Community Discount Card Business Model
00:29:09 Newsletter Perks & Subscriber Value
00:30:34 Marketplace Discount Math
00:32:01 Negotiating Like a CFO
00:33:00 Gluten-Free Nights & Pricing Strategy
00:35:24 Outbound Pizza as a Go-to-Market Play
00:37:03 Outbound Pizza Tuesdays to Gluten-Free Tuesdays
00:37:37 Pricing Services: Value vs. Hourly
00:40:47 The Picasso Pricing Story
00:42:55 Harvard Business School Case Study & Kim K Photo
00:44:02 Thanksgiving Cooking: Roast Chicken & Porcini Ragu
00:44:56 Wrap & Credits
#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaSOperators #BusinessStrategyPod #CreatorEconomyTalks #FinanceNerds
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com
