Jonathan Gillon, the founder of Roost. His unique business costs almost nothing to run, and is taking over the nation. Though he has experienced failures along with success in his business endeavors, Jon is a self-proclaimed optimist. He sees the potential growth of his business and wants to be the one to take it to its full potential. Famous 5: Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing about Hard Things What CEO do you follow? — Andy Dunn Favorite online tool? — Geckoboard Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes If you could let your 20-year-old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don’t get kicked out of college. Stop getting in trouble. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:10 – Nathan’s introduction 01:25 – Jonathan explains Roost 01:45 – Profits come from a percentage of transaction fees 02:55 – They focus on storage and parking spaces 03:15 – Mostly garages 03:45 – His first-year revenue was zero 04:10 – He found an opportunity with a storage unit that was closing 05:45 – Numbers of buyers and sellers 06:55 – He has a team of 17 people in San Francisco 07:30 – His rent in San Francisco 08:25 – $4.9 million in capital 09:35 – Roost uses a “targeted approach” working with car-share companies 10:55 – Total revenue 2015 - $80000 11:25 – Revenue is now 25k/month 12:10 – Reasoning behind the company’s evaluation 12:50 – Potential of the company 13:30 – Jonathan sees great value in Roost 14:00 – They are still in “beta mode” 15:00 – They have virtually no competitors 16:10 – Jonathan prefers to “build something big and fail” than build something small 17:05 – His experience with Droperty Tax 17:40 – He lost everything he earned from that company 18:30 – He wants to grow revenue and get Roost to its potential 19:25 –Jon’s blog about his experiences as an entrepreneur 21:20 – Average revenue per buyer – about $41 22:20 – “We’ve got almost no churn.” 23:10 – Cost to find a new space is almost nothing 23:30 – Money is spent on marketing 24:35 – He pays himself $64k 25:30 – The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Look for a business opportunity that requires low upfront costs. Don’t be afraid to stand behind your business and be optimistic about its potential. If your company gets bought, don’t go on a spending spree. Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Geckoboard – Jonathan’s favorite online tool Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives