How Noah Kagan’s 3 Videos Outshined 449 Others

PLUS: Some people will never figure it out...

How Noah Kagan’s 3 Videos Outshined 449 Others

Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo, created 449 videos for his YouTube channel in the year 2021. But only 3 generated the majority of the revenue.

The top-performing videos were:

Noah Kagan - Pareto (80/20) Videos

These videos shared a pattern: direct interviews with high-earners about actionable investment strategies. Their titles tapped into trending topics (NFTs, crypto) and framed wealth-building as accessible.

Crypto was on its bull-run so its no wonder why 2 of those videos focused on Crypto popped off by the YouTube Algorithm.

"The three videos that made all of the money... those three videos made us the year."

~ Noah Kagan

The Pareto Principle, often called the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of outcomes come from 20% of efforts.

This example underscores the importance of identifying high-impact efforts. Instead of spreading resources thin across many projects, focus on the few activities that deliver the most value.

Scaling output does not guarantee success. Identifying high-impact opportunities—like aligning content with audience interests and market trends—creates leverage. For creators and businesses, this means analyzing what works, trimming low-performing efforts, and reallocating resources to replicate wins.

Shaan Puri calls it the One Big Thing (OBT).

Shaan Puri - One Big Thing #1

Shaan Puri - One Big Thing #2

Focus on the 1-2 specific activities that give you the maximum returns and ignore the rest.

Top Tweets of the day

1/

Facts.

Building a product and getting distribution has never been easy in the history of mankind.

Getting distracted has also never been so easy.

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Send more emails.

More emails = more money

Some people don’t prefer daily frequency so you can segment those into bi-weekly, weekly, or monthly segments.

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Speed is the #1 indicator to close leads.

Once a buyer is set on making a purchase, they choose whoever is available.

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