Podcast Summary: My First Million
Episode: 5 AI Tools I’d Use to Make $1M (w/o employees, capital, or time)
Date: October 21, 2025
Host(s): Sam Parr
Guest: Greg (AI/early adopter entrepreneur, technical expert)
Overview
This episode dives into five (plus) underrated, actionable AI apps and tools that can help anyone—from non-technical entrepreneurs to seasoned founders—go from zero to making their first million dollars. Greg, an early AI adopter, brings hidden-gem software recommendations, outlining how each tool can save time, automate tasks, and create new business opportunities—regardless of technical skill, capital, or connections. The conversation is candid, practical, and peppered with ethics debates, productivity hacks, and banter about the trade-offs of the new AI-powered world.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Power and Peril of AI-Generated Deepfakes
Timestamps: 00:16–05:33
- Greg introduces open-source deepfake video tools, like Juan 2.2 (from Alibaba), which can convincingly replicate celebrities and public figures, highlighting both the creative marketing potential and the abuse risk.
- Notable applications include ads, content creation, or personal branding, but with caveats about legal and ethical concerns.
- User-friendly SaaS platforms like Enhancer AI and Freepik lower the technical barrier for adoption.
- Sam shares a real-world scam story: a deepfake call used to facilitate a robbery (03:00).
- Greg:
“Question what you see, verify what you believe. Sounds just like Taylor. And it looks pretty much just like Taylor.” (02:11)
Use Case Highlight
- Create ads using historic or public domain figures (like JFK) without legal issues.
- Write your script in ChatGPT, create assets in Enhancer AI, and animate in standard video editors—accessible to anyone.
2. AI-First Browsers: Perplexity and Comet
Timestamps: 07:08–16:42
- AI browsers radically streamline workflow:
- Comet and Perplexity are “game changers” over Chrome, enabling inline research, real-time form-filling, content summarization, and automation.
- Example: Automatically finding and entering working discount codes at checkout, live on the site (09:35).
- Sam:
“You just made $60 shopping.” (10:26)
- Greg:
“It’s basically free.” (10:35)
- Sam:
- Extract precise video moments and synthesize summaries on YouTube with a single prompt—enabling deep, targeted learning and rapid content repurposing (11:16).
- Recruiting capabilities: The browser can find LinkedIn profiles, summarize backgrounds, and even draft and send custom recruiting emails via Gmail using only prompts (14:07–16:23).
- Sam marvels:
“This just kind of like...LinkedIn Recruiter has value, but this would have helped as well. And maybe in lieu of. And for free.” (14:53)
- Sam marvels:
3. Voice-to-Text Productivity: Whisper Flow
Timestamps: 16:42–18:47
- Whisper Flow enables seamless, hands-free productivity.
- Talk to your computer or phone; it captures, formats, and revises your speech contextually, far surpassing what typing allows—up to “220 words per minute” (17:19).
- Supports complex inputs, corrections, and template responses for teams.
- Sam:
“Literally my fingers hurt sometimes...and so I will just...have conversations with my computer.” (16:52)
- Greg:
“Once you do it, you can’t go back.” (17:19)
4. Next-Gen AI Spreadsheet: Shortcut AI (TryShortcut.com)
Timestamps: 19:32–24:13
- AI-powered cloud Excel alternative built by top researchers:
- Analyze financial data, generate DCFs, create income statements, and extract insights with simple prompts.
- Can operate as a plugin for Excel for privacy-conscious users.
- Workflow Demo: Import balance sheets and ask high-level questions, e.g., “What stock would Warren Buffett pick based on this data?” (21:01)
- Greg:
“This is basically a financial analyst in a box you can use.” (23:13)
- Sam:
“I want to be number 37. That's great.” (22:19), reacting to how new this tool is.
- Greg:
5. AI Content Automation for TikTok and Social Growth
Timestamps: 24:18–32:48
- Tools like Real Farm automate TikTok and meme content:
- Create viral slideshows, memes, and user-generated content (UGC) with a few prompts. Real Farm targets “slideshows” trending on TikTok for rapid growth and affiliate marketing.
- Example: “Top protein sources” or “six mistakes we made during pool planning”—all AI-generated, indistinguishable from human content (27:02).
- Not just for TikTok; can cross-upload to other networks.
- Sam wrestles with the ethics and vibe of “AI content slop,” but admits its addictive appeal and commercial potential.
- Sam:
“If it's something like, you know, the top 10 strangest disappear — like, missing person cases — like, I watch all of them.” (30:13)
- Sam:
Bonus: Real Farm UGC Ad Avatars
- AI-generated spokespeople for product videos—fooling average viewers, opening possibilities for “review” channels or influencer marketing with almost no effort (31:28–32:00).
6. “AI Apply” — Mass Job Applications via AI
Timestamps: 32:48–34:31
- AI Apply allows mass, automated job applications, and even interview prep:
- Autogenerates resumes, cover letters, and applies to thousands of jobs in bulk.
- Loved by millions; already highlights the “arms race” between AI-powered applicants and filtering companies.
- Greg:
“...any way that you can find an unfair advantage to get in the room, I support.” (33:18)
- Sam, half-joking:
“This is like if Nestlé owned the hospital...We're gonna fatten you up and then give you a bunch of medicine to make you escape skinny and then we're gonna fatten [you] up again.” (34:31)
7. Philosophical/Ethical Reflections on AI’s Double-Edged Sword
Timestamps: 34:54–39:03
- A frank, reflective exchange on the soul of business and AI’s impacts:
- Benefits: Leveling the playing field, empowering underdogs, providing “lightbulb” moments for the hungry and unconnected.
- Downsides: Banal, low-effort content (“AI slop”), job market flooding, risk of societal malaise and addiction.
- Generational shift: The hosts see themselves now at a “join or resist” tech crossroads, much like older generations did with the internet (36:45–37:28).
- Greg:
“I'm in the light bulb business, helping people have light bulbs so they can actually...change the trajectory of life.” (35:29, 39:03)
Notable Quotes & Moments
- On Deepfakes & Trust:
- Greg:
"We are crossing a line in human history where the boundary between reality and fiction is vanishing." (01:52)
- Greg:
- On AI Automation:
- Greg:
“Having an AI-first browser is an absolute game changer. I can't go back...my eyes would bleed.” (08:13)
- Greg:
- On Productivity Edge:
- Greg:
"How am I able to run five companies that are successful? Because I have a lot of tricks like this that help me save time." (12:07)
- Greg:
- AI in Content Creation:
- Greg:
“There’s an arbitrage right now to use AI to create these [TikTok] accounts...and then sell your software through them.” (27:09)
- Greg:
- On AI’s Social Impact:
- Greg:
“There’s no capital restrictions, and you don’t need to be in Silicon Valley to win.” (35:29)
- Sam:
“This is the first time in my life that I’m old enough where I’m potentially like, okay, are you getting on or are you getting off?” (36:54)
- Greg:
Important Segments by Timestamp
- 00:16–05:33: Deepfake AI video tools—risks, use cases, accessibility
- 07:08–16:42: AI browsers (Comet, Perplexity), live demos, recruiting hacks
- 16:42–18:47: Whisper Flow—voice-to-text and productivity boosts
- 19:32–24:13: Shortcut AI for Excel/Sheets-level data analysis and insight
- 24:18–32:48: TikTok/IG content automation and meme arbitrage
- 32:48–34:31: AI Apply for bulk job applications
- 34:54–39:03: Philosophical debate—progress, ethics, and generational shifts
Takeaways
- Anyone with internet access, regardless of capital or technical skill, can now tap into powerful AI tools to build businesses, automate tedious tasks, and pursue arbitrage opportunities.
- Ethics and quality matter: While the temptation for “AI slop” content is high, there is vast upside for those who use these tools with creativity, strategy, and self-awareness.
- Adopt early, adapt fast: The hosts agree—once you go AI-first, it’s hard to go back.
For a deeper dive, downloadable PDF notes are available via the episode description.