As many of you know, Han and I held an entrepreneur’s retreat here in Valle de Bravo from May 10th to May 16th 2014. 9 people came down (7 of them previous interns) for a week. We did it because we wanted to test whether we could provide value to those that came, whether we would enjoy it ourselves, and whether people would enjoy Valle. We did provide value, we really enjoyed it, and people liked it so much that 2 people actually stayed here afterward.
The whole process made me realize how much better work is when you have the option to talk shit with peers over a beer. One of the people that stayed was Scott Davis, and we have talked a lot of shit, over a lot of beer. I asked him to put together a post to explain the mission behind this new project, titled “Sweet, Profitable Justice”. Take it away, Scott.
NoHatDigital is expanding……
I’m sure you all know Hayden the niche site guy, but you may not know Hayden the entrepreneur. His passion for creating real businesses that not only make money but also disrupt industries and benefit society far outweighs his passion for SEO. He is a forward thinker and an incredibly creative guy.
What was lacking util recently was peers, but that’s changed over the past few month and now you can be a part of the team down here in Valle.
Over the next few months we will be starting a program to bring people down here to Valle de Bravo, Mexico where as a team we will build a number of startup businesses from the ground up.
The Details…
The idea is to have a team of people down here working on their own businesses in partnership with No Hat Digital and also helping us out with the blog for a few hours each day. In exchange for being down here you will receive constant mentoring and guidance to help you identify your unfair advantage and then start and grow your very own online business.
The Requirements…
To be invited down here there are only 2 things that we require:
1 – You must be able to come to Valle de Bravo for at least 1 month.
2 – You must be willing to donate an hour or so each day helping us with No Hat Digital.
What Types of Businesses are we talking about?
The businesses will vary but there is no shortage of ideas going around. Once you see Hayden and Han in action doing a two man mastermind you will understand.
Almost all of the businesses that we bring to life will be web based businesses. We will essentially be identifying a problem in an industry and creating a solution. The reason why the project is called “Sweet, Profitable Justice” is that we have a soft spot for disrupting industries that are in desperate need of change and innovation. Usually, these industries have some pre-existing limitation that can be overcome by technology. Uber is a good example – previously, taxi drivers needed to have medallions in order to drive a cab. Uber replaces medallions with technology to allow anyone to become a taxi driver using their own car and to do it on their own schedule. In this example, medallion owners were earning a ton of money for providing very little value – that’s an obviously unfair system, and replacing it with a more just technological solution is better for the world (except for medallion owners).
What Will You Learn
Every business has 3 basic components which must be understood and implemented well to achieve success. These are tech, sales / marketing and operations. Each role in a business falls into one of these categories so expect to develop skills and be responsible for the implementation of at least one of those roles.
Each person can also expect to develop skills in outsourcing and scaling, which includes hiring great staff, training them and defining clear roles for them.
One thing that can’t be discounted is the networking benefits that will come from your time here. Most of us struggle early on with our entrepreneurial journey because we simply don’t know any like minded or successful people.
What a Day In Life May Look Like…
In the morning we’ll be taking care of the No Hat work which means we’ll all be hustling away to get our tasks done. Each person will have different roles depending on their skills, experience and learning desires.
We eat breakfast at 11am after which the afternoon will be spent working on a your own business and bouncing ideas of the team down here if required.
An hours or two each day will be spent playing sports. Right now we have teams that play in local soccer & basketball competitions down here in Valle. We also plan to start a band which will probably be called “Los Gringos Mariachi”, and we have a number of gamer down here (lead by Hayden) that love to grind the night away staring psychotically at their computer screens whist trying to virtually kill each other (lead by Hayden).
We will all have plenty of time to work on our own projects and bounce ideas around, learn some Spanish, or just enjoy being in Valle. We’ve recently stopped working weekends and started hanging out much more which has been great for everyone on a personal level and productivity level during the week.
We’ve recetnly started implementing a productivity strategy that involves setting a 25 minute timer and focusing on being super efficient in that time in order to get more done in less time (I’m actually doing one right now). I think this productivity was invented by a man called Paul Morrow because it’s referred to as the Paul Morrow technique in Hayden’s productivity podcast.
So a day in the life will essentially be working hard, learning new skills and enjoying life.
Our end goal for this is to create a community of like minded entrepreneurs and peers here in Valle and launch a series of new and innovative businesses while allowing people that complete our internships to go to the next level.
And Lastly, The Cost….
There is no cost for any of the training and coaching while your down here, the only cost is for your room and food (2 home cooked meals per day) is $950 per month. We do have limited spaces in the mansion but we expect people to come and go so the wait shouldn’t be too long.
If you’re interested in joining the crew down here please register your interest below and ask any questions :)
Dave says:
Such a beautiful crew.
Just one questions: will there be mangos?
Hayden says:
Our MPD (mangos per day) is high. Scott drinks 1 litre of mango/banana/orange a day, minimum.
We miss you Dave!
Amit Kheterpal says:
Great opportunity especially the scaling up bit.
I am not sure I can make it there however is there a way to imbibe the learnings from that and then working/partnering with you for the same.
GregNunan says:
Hey Amit, at this stage the focus is on building the team to be located on the ground in Valle.
Tung Tran says:
Wow an amazing opportunity for those who want to learn from the real pros.
I’m focusing pretty intensively on my own niche sites otherwise I’d definitely be applying to this.
Matt says:
I want in. I sent an email earlier tonight. This seems like an awesome opportunity.
Josh says:
Sounds/ looks like awesome place and a great experience!!
Thomas says:
Hey guys. Cool opportunity, looks like a lot of fun. Last mexico trip I know you were looking more for people who already have an online gig with some income also some programming skills. Is this still the case?
Hayden says:
Nope, this one is about niche sites, so that’s the experience we’re looking for.
Rich says:
Great idea! I wish I could participate but have too many obligations locally to be gone that long. So here’s another idea for you to consider (maybe for internship grads only?): a 7-10 day mini version that the intern him/herself pays for, gets the experience working with the team, then heads home to finish up. Hard work would be expected, and some volunteer work too, during the 10 days. I’d do that and even sleep on a cot during the session, or find a local hostel to bunk in. And bring the Mangoes!
Hayden says:
Nice idea Rich, I’ll give it some thought.
Ehsan says:
I second what Rich says, a mini 7-10 day intense version of the above would be awesome! I would absolutely love to come along for the full 3 months, but obligations over here in the UK such as looking after family and elderly parents would not allow me, but 7-10 days would be doable :-)
Jeff says:
I’m in agreement here. would be nice to work a way in for those of us with obligations that prevent large scale travel.
Ugur says:
Hello guys,
As being one of the internship students, I really enjoyed the journey we had during the last two months. I would love to come and join you in Valle, but ı have a family to take care of here. So I hope maybe in the near future, when I have a decent amount of passive income to support my family, I may knock your door in Valle. who know :)
But I am very happy to meet such a community and I hope we keep in touch, always.
Hayden says:
We hope to see you soon Ugur!
Ugur says:
Thanks so much Hayden for your kind hospitality. I hope that too. :)
as soon as I see the results of my investment to my money sites, I will certainly do that.
Jorge says:
Hi Hayden, I sent you guys an email, let me know how I can help or what the next step in the process is.
thanks
GregNunan says:
Hi Jorge, we had some issues with the application form not working. Just go to this page > http://www.nohatseo.com/blog/2014-nohatseo-internships/, enter your name and email and hit “Send me more info!”. If your email is in the system already, a message will come up saying that you’re already subscribed and in that case, hit “sign up again” and you will be taken through to the page to read the full Internship and PTC outline and to complete your application. Look forward to working with you!
Anuj Agarwal says:
Hey – Really a great opportunity that will help fulfill the mission of firing ones boss !!
I have enrolled for the PTC course that is due to start in September – Hope to get on board soon after…
GregNunan says:
Look forward to working with you Anuj!
Jeffrey Vilcinskas says:
This looks like an incredible opportunity! I am scheduled for the August 25th internship and I am prepared to work my proverbial butt off. In fact I am just chomping at bit waiting to get started. In fact I have been doing free writing on forums just to get my writing a little better. Really would love to have the chance to experience this, just started a bit too late. Hope to do it have it as one end goal.
Adam Finan says:
This looks like a great opportunity and I hope to bump into you guys in Mexico next year :)
Santiago says:
This sounds super interesting.
I’m about to go 5 months to SE Asia, I have started working on some niche projects myself, but hopefully you will still be having this program next year so I can join you guys!
Khim says:
Hi Hayden,
I am part of the current batch of interns that should be completing the intern by this week. I have also signed up for your basic level up course via the PTC Alumni link.
I want in.
I am really keen to be part of your ground team(as per described in this article) in Mexico and I do have 3 months to spare.
Kindly let me know how to proceed.
Thanks.
Paul Jordan says:
Not sure if i over looked this but what date will you be running these bootcamps?
Love the idea btw… i have the spare time :) be great for my business…
Hayden says:
Hey Paul, we’re actually having a bootcamp Dec 1-7. More details here:
https://www.nohatdigital.com/2014-mexico-retreat/
Thanks!
Hayden