Next Level Pros Podcast – Episode #160

How Alex Hormozi Cheats the System
Host: Chris Lee
Guest: Alex Hormozi, CEO of Acquisition.com
Date: August 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this special throwback episode, Chris Lee sits down with business juggernaut Alex Hormozi to unpack enduring principles of success, risk-taking, value creation, and the real inside game of entrepreneurship. The conversation is honest, direct, and rich with granular tactics and philosophies for building compound success—whether you’re just starting out or leveling up into investing and dealmaking.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Alex’s Motivation and Love of the Game

• Alex describes business as an obsession, likening it to an artist or musician who “can’t stop.”
• Quote:

  “I just enjoy playing the game. When I’m not writing books or making content about business, I’m doing business. I just like it a lot and it happens to have a monetary outcome, but I know I’d do it even if it didn’t make money.” (02:54)

2. On Outgrowing Your ‘Pond’

• Alex reflects on an inflection point: realizing he was limited by focusing exclusively on gym owners and needed to expand to a larger “ocean” (i.e., general business).
• Recognizes that “niching down” is valuable early, but ultimately market size matters for exponential growth and compounding returns.
• Quote:

  “Everyone else was going after an ocean. I was just playing in a pond.” (06:13)

3. Journey from Corporate to Entrepreneur

• Dropped out of a promising consulting career (after Vanderbilt), left without telling anyone, and transitioned first to blue-collar gym work, prioritizing learning over salary.
• Struggled deeply with disappointing his father and spent six months agonizing before finally quitting at 22.
• Memorable Moment: Called his dad from halfway across the country to say he’d already left.
• Quote:

  “The happiest time in my father’s life was the saddest in mine. I had done everything he wanted but was living his life, not mine.” (12:46)
  “I realized that if I’m afraid to take a risk now, I’ll never be able to. Still, the hardest decision I’ve ever made was quitting my job.” (11:50)

4. The Power of Working for Free (with Caveats!)

• Chris & Alex extol the value of working for someone for free to get close to success, but Alex gives two key caveats:
  • Target people one or two steps ahead, not celebrities or mega-entrepreneurs.
  • Actually deliver value without expectation; don’t “create work” by asking someone to find your fit.
• Quote:

  “If you’re going to do this approach, you want to go to someone just ahead of you. And you want to make them an offer so good they feel stupid saying no. My life is not better off because you’re in it, but yours will be because I am.” (21:03)
  “Don’t offer to give first, just give first—period.” (23:07)

• Chris echoes:

  “The people that actually create and give value to me, you can’t deny that. (24:30)”

5. How to Actually Get Noticed by Successful People

• Do more of what they’re already doing or add to something they’re neglecting.
• Alex shares he doesn’t use certain platforms (email, Pinterest), so if someone started providing value there, he’d notice.
• Quote:

  “Show, don’t tell. Start making Pinterest posts for me. How much time is that for me? Zero. How much value is it? More than zero.” (28:48)

6. Acquisition.com: The Ideal Company & Founder

• Looks for businesses with $2–10M EBITDA and founders who:
  • Truly want to scale (not just triple and relax),
  • Are coachable,
  • Are honest,
  • Are focused and not distracted by shiny objects.
• “Five flags” for immediate deal killers: eg. dishonesty, micromanagement, lack of focus, unrealistic valuation expectations.
• Quote:

  “We had a company that we tripled the profit for. Then the CEO was golfing every day and I was like, bro, I’m not in for the triple, I’m in for a 20x or 50x. We want people with big eyes.” (33:14)

7. Evaluating Businesses & Overcoming Self-Deception

• Many founders are “self-deceived” about the real enterprise value of their companies, especially if the business is small, dependent on them, or lacks scalable systems.
• Chris and Alex both stress: Know where your “bodies are buried” (business weaknesses) and don’t lie to yourself.
• Quote:

  “If I hear that everything is ‘great’ and they don’t know where the bodies are buried, that’s a red flag.” (39:58)

8. Disciplined Focus: Saying ‘No’ to Shiny Objects

• Boredom and patience are necessary endurance trials; the ability to stay focused on the compounding vehicle is the key separator.
• Alex uses the “10-year test”—if what he’s doing could achieve his big vision over ten years, he tunes out fast, easy wins (like “selling courses”).
• Quote:

  “If there’s one trait that separates successful entrepreneurs, it’s mastering the ability to say no—even to good opportunities.” (45:54)

9. The Reality of Compound Growth (Business and Investing)

• Big things aren’t built overnight. Most have a “five to seven years of eating sh*t” period before real progress appears.
• Chris refers to being “aggressively patient”—act with urgency, but accept long feedback loops.
• Entrepreneurs should shift to thinking in percentages (relative progress) as new endeavors will rarely match past peak years instantly.
• Quote (Alex):

  “Your company’s growth in the last year is probably more than in the first five years. You have to shift from comparing absolutes to thinking in percentages.” (52:50)

10. Should You Start Your Own Business or Partner Up?

• Chris cites Grant Cardone's advice: Don’t start from scratch—find someone years ahead, add value, and share in their compounding.
• Alex expands: That works if you already have value to offer—but if you lack experience, you need to either fail forward yourself (entrepreneur) or commit as an “intrapreneur” (employee with ownership mindset).
• All big businesses eventually become investment firms—capital allocation is the final game.
• Quote:

  “If you don’t have business experience it’s tough to get an owner to say, ‘You’re a huge value add’. You need the baseline—and there are only two ways: Fail your way forward, or grind as an intrapreneur.” (60:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Defining Moments:

  “The happiest time in my father’s life was the saddest in mine... I was living his life, not mine.” — Alex (12:46)

• On Adding Value:

  “Don’t offer to give first, just give first—period, without expectation of something back.” — Alex (23:00)

• On Unrealistic Founder Expectations:

  “You’re not worth the multiple of a real exit because if you die, your business dies.” — Alex (43:50)

• On Enduring ‘The Dip’:

  “Whenever I have the thoughts, ‘Why even bother?’, I remind myself—this is the point where most people quit. And that’s why they don’t win.” — Alex (64:49)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:38 – 02:54 | Alex’s intro and business obsession
• 04:48 – 09:08 | Outgrowing the gym niche, market selection
• 09:25 – 14:20 | Transition from corporate; leaving family expectations
• 17:20 – 20:35 | Valuing paid experience vs. learning, working for free
• 21:03 – 26:57 | How to work for someone “for free” the right way; caveats; value creation
• 27:36 – 30:00 | How to actually get noticed by successful people
• 33:14 – 39:58 | What makes an ideal company/founder for acquisition; red/green flags
• 44:34 – 51:13 | Valuations, self-deception, transition business to investing
• 57:08 – 63:14 | Should you start your own business or partner?
• 64:49 – End | Last advice: keep going when it’s hardest

Closing Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in both the psychology and tactics of sustainable entrepreneurial success. Alex and Chris challenge listeners—whether founders, future founders, or intrapreneurs—to outlast boredom, invest where you have compound edge, and create such undeniable value that the “system” can’t help but let you in.

Final advice:

“Whenever you wonder if it’s worth it, remember most people quit here—that’s why they don’t win.” — Alex Hormozi (64:49)

For more tactical insights, follow Alex Hormozi [@hormozi] and Next Level Pros with Chris Lee.