Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1362IR // #c1362Synthesis

"We want to create superstars, and if they leave for more money or better opportunities, that just proves our business model works and helps us find the next star."

— In our words · Source: Cancel Me If You Can (Dave Portnoy)

[Use when]

Your best people keep getting poached and you're deciding whether to fight it or build around it.

[Why it matters]

Pat McAfee, Alex Cooper and others built their brands on Barstool and left. Portnoy treats departures as proof of the system. Treating them as betrayals would push the company to hoard talent it can't hold.

Filed under situations:When the team is looking to you to leadWhen a rival’s move changes your game

More from Cancel Me If You Can

#c1344"At this point the business model was pretty simple: if I could sell $3,400 worth of ads in the newspaper, I would break even."You're running a new venture on thin cash and the finances feel vague. #c1345"How do you sell ads for a newspaper that doesn’t exist? On promises."You need paying customers before you have a finished product. #c1346"I’d sift through all my competitors’ publications in Boston and call every single one of their advertisers every single week to poach them…You're looking for your first customers and your competitors publish who theirs are.

Same situation, different book

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