#016 Kevin Espiritu: Bootstrapping Epic Gardening to 8 figures by mixing Media + D2C Biz models. Oh and Poker, Pink Pineapples, and Male Models

This week’s guest is my friend, Kevin Espiritu. Kevin is the founder of Epic Gardening, the world’s biggest gardening education platform. We became good friends over the internet--Kevin and I talked about the trend of parasocial relationships and how you can get to know someone despite having little to no in-person interaction. We talked about how Kevin transitioned from making a living out of playing poker, to building websites, to marketing and blogging, and finally, working full-time on Epic Gardening. This project went on to garner the biggest gardening audiences on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram and has branched into direct-to-consumer business without any ad spend. Kevin relates his mistake in scaling the company revenue faster than he built the team, saying he likely left growth on the table. Leveraging people was a challenge at first. He says he thinks of himself more as a content creator and not really as a writer or YouTuber or podcaster, which eventually helped ease the process of trusting new team members to take on such responsibilities as he grew the company. Kevin is now raising PE money and making an acquisition as an independent entrepreneur. We’ve had such a wonderful conversation that goes beyond Epic Gardening and into fun stuff like how creators can implement web3 tools, Kevin's short career as a male model, pink pineapple piracy, and so much more.   Additional Resources Epic Gardening - https://www.epicgardening.com/ Epic Gardening on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/EpicGardening Epic Gardening on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/epicgardening Epic Gardening on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/epicgardening/ Epic Gardening on Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@epicgardening The Epic Gardening Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epic-gardening-daily-growing-tips-and-advice/id1221085548 Scribe Media - https://scribemedia.com/ Missouri Star Quilt Company - https://www.missouriquiltco.com/ The Fish that Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen - https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/1250033314   Additional Episodes If You Enjoyed: Jason Hitchcock: Your Guide to Web3 (DeFi, NFTs, and The Metaverse) Nick Huber: How to Build Leverage, Buy Businesses, and Go Viral on Twitter   If you want to support the podcast, here are a few ways you can:  >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanak: www.navalmanack.com/  >> Share the podcast with your friends and on social media  >> Give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners  >> Make a weekly, monthly, or one-time donation: https://app.omella.com/o/9Bufa  >> Follow me on Twitter: @ericjorgenson >> Follow @FirstsFamous on Twitter  >> Learn more and sign up for the “Building a Mountain of Levers” course and community: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage  I appreciate your support!