High School Dropout to Multi-Billionaire: The Relentless Drive of Rafael Vivas
David Senra talks with AppLovin's Rafael Vivas, a high school dropout who lived in the company office and became a multi-billionaire, about relentless work, hands-on leadership, frugality and why he came back after stepping away.
The gist
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Vivas started media buying at 14 and left school after seeing marketers earn $20,000 to $30,000 a day while his teacher made $25,000 a year.
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Vivas argues against heavy delegation and says persistence only works when every outreach offers value; he spent 2 years sending one founder revenue ideas.
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Vivas says Lion Studios grew from zero to over $250 million in revenue in 2 years, then he stepped away at 28.
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With hobbies like a $15 a month World of Warcraft subscription, Vivas says he wasn't stressed when AppLovin's stock crashed after its IPO.
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Mentor Mark Rosner taught Vivas to obsess over contract details, and his brother's best advice was to stay in the game when it hurts.
"You're talking to a guy whose hobbies are like 15 dollars a month. I play a game of World of Warcraft, right? It's like a subscription."
▶ Play at 46:544 creators recommend it, including Albert Brotherton, Ali Abdaal, and Emad Mostaque.
See all on the World of Warcraft pageWhat they recommend · 3 picks
"I remember 'cause one of my favorite pizza spots is Lucali in Sunset Harbor. And at the time, first of all, there would never be a wait, and then there started being a wait duri..."
"I found one of my all-time favorite quotes when I was reading the book Zero to One. The quote says, 'The single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people fi..."
"You're talking to a guy whose hobbies are like 15 dollars a month. I play a game of World of Warcraft, right? It's like a subscription."
David Senra
2 picks · host
"I remember 'cause one of my favorite pizza spots is Lucali in Sunset Harbor. And at the time, first of all, there would never be a wait, and then there started being a wait duri..."
"I found one of my all-time favorite quotes when I was reading the book Zero to One. The quote says, 'The single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people fi..."
Rafael Vivas
1 pick · guest
"You're talking to a guy whose hobbies are like 15 dollars a month. I play a game of World of Warcraft, right? It's like a subscription."
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