Money, Wealth, and Personal Holding Companies with Michael Karnjanaprakorn
December 8, 2022
AI Summary
5 min readMichael Karnjanaprakorn, the founder of Skillshare and Otis, has spent the last year thinking about what comes next after a career of building venture-backed startups. The result is a personal philosophy that redefines the relationship between money, wealth, and work—and a practical framework for how entrepreneurs and creators should think about building their careers.
The Diminishing Returns of Money
Karnjanaprakorn argues that most people misunderstand the purpose of accumulating wealth. After reaching a certain threshold—roughly $5 million in a small town, $10 million in a medium city, or $20 million in a major metro like New York—additional money provides sharply diminishing returns. At $10 million, for example, current treasury bill rates yield about $500,000 a year in passive income, which covers most reasonable expenses. Beyond that point, the marginal utility of each extra dollar drops dramatically.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:01) **Guest Introduction & Why Money Matters** - Greg introduces Michael Karnjanaprakorn (founder of Skillshare, Otis, Hot Potato) and frames the episode around money, a topic rarely discussed on the show.
- 2 (01:22) **Michael's Personal Relationship with Money** - Michael explains his shift from seeing money as a motivator to questioning its value after reaching a certain level.
- 3 (04:11) **Finding Your "Number" and the F.I.W.O.O.T. Concept** - Michael argues everyone should define a financial independence number, not just chase infinite wealth.
- 4 (10:13) **Money vs. Wealth** - Michael defines a personal distinction between money as a tool and wealth as intangible life quality.
- 5 (11:13) **Location Arbitrage & The Push vs. Pull Strategy** - Michael discusses his move from NYC to North Carolina and advises on the best path to wealth.
- 6 (17:43) **The Business of Creators & Michael's 2023 Strategy** - Michael explains why he's pivoting to content creation and his current approach.
- 7 (23:06) **Finding Your Niche: The "X Guy" Strategy** - Greg and Michael discuss the importance of being known for one thing (major) with secondary interests (minors).
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Today, Greg is joined by Michael Karnjanaprakorn, the founder of Skillshare and Otis. He's now taking time off to think and write about life, money and personal holding companies. In this episode, Greg and Mike talk about the thing Mike is *most* uncomfortable talking about: money.
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LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Production Team: https://www.bigoceanpodcasting.com
Michael Karnjanaprakorn: https://twitter.com/mikekarnj
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro
1:12 - How much money does it take to be wealthy?
17:43 - The business of being a content creator
19:51 - How to choose a niche
31:00 - An argument for Personal Holding Companies
45:38 - Michael Karnjanaprakorn peers into the crystal ball
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