From $75 to a $1.2B Public Company: How Payam Zamani Built His Business Empire | Entrepreneurship | How We Profit | E10

Hala Taha (0:00)

Hey, Young and Profiters, let's talk about that moment when your business starts growing beyond your wildest dreams. You go from working solo to managing a team, serving clients and balancing the systems that keep your lights on. I really felt that shift as Young and Profiting grew from side hustle to the media company that it is today, YAP Media. Suddenly, reliable connectivity is no longer just a nice to have. It's become essential to keeping everything moving smoothly. That's why I want to put you guys on to AT&T Business. Think of AT&T Business as your go-to for reliable business connectivity. They help your team, devices, systems and day-to-day operations stay connected, so you can focus on the important stuff, serving your clients and growing your company. You work way too hard to let a shaky signal slow down your momentum. Give your business the rock-solid foundation it needs with AT&T Business, so you can step into your CEO energy. Powered by AT&T Business. Built to work. Get AT&T Business at business.att.com.

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Payam Zamani (2:23)

Profitability to me is not optional. If you talk to my executives, they will tell you that I often don't know the revenue of their businesses, but I know their margins.

Hala Taha (2:32)

Because you don't care about the top line revenue.

Payam Zamani (2:34)

I don't care about top line. I'm not running a publicly traded company. If you give me a business that has revenue, I'm able to make it profitable.

Hala Taha (2:42)

Payam Zamani is the founder and CEO of One Planet Group. He previously co-founded AutoWeb and took it public at a $1.2 billion valuation before turning 30

Payam Zamani (2:53)

Our biggest company is called BuyerLink. BuyerLink is $130 million a year business. 10 percent of all new cars sold in the US are sold through BuyerLink.

Hala Taha (3:03)

What is your guidance on customer acquisition costs?

Payam Zamani (3:07)

In my business, I don't want to spend more than 50 percent on acquiring a customer. Often people come to me and they say that, you know what, if-

Hala Taha (3:15)

So how did you first start One Planet?

Payam Zamani (3:18)

I got a call from my company, reply.com. They said that, can you come back? We're dealing with a disaster and our bank loan is being called and the company will go away.

I decided I'm going to buy the company. So I made an offer to the board that was bigger than anyone else's offer. It should be told I did not have the cash at that moment in time, but-

Hala Taha (3:41)

Payam, welcome to How We Profit.

Payam Zamani (3:44)

Thank you for having me, Hala.

Hala Taha (3:45)

I'm so excited for this interview and actually, I'm thinking about this interview as like a hybrid regular YAP episode and a How We Profit episode because you are just so accomplished, and you've actually achieved things that many entrepreneurs don't achieve in their whole lives. At 28, you had a company go public. It was valued at $1.2 billion, which is absolutely incredible. Now, you've got a company, One Planet, which essentially buys and sells and invests in companies, which is just so cool. A lot of us entrepreneurs, we're newbies.

Many of us listening haven't even exited a company yet, and maybe we want to have a holding company or a private equity company in the future. I want to start with the basics. Does that sound good?

Payam Zamani (4:29)

Absolutely. Let's do it.

Hala Taha (4:31)

Let's start with private equity. What is private equity exactly?

Payam Zamani (4:36)

I've got my own definition of it, and frankly, I don't even know what I'm running. If it is private equity, it's my company. I don't have any LPs, I don't have any outside investors. I manage my own money.