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The Ed Mylett Show · June 9, 2026 · 59m

James Dumoulin: Authority Hacking & Growing Your Platform

James Dumoulin

James Dumoulin, the 23-year-old co-founder of School of Hard Knocks, joins Ed Mylett to share how he built a media platform of 21 million followers and 200 million monthly views starting from a Chick-fil-A job. He breaks down the 'authority hack' he used to get into rooms with billionaires, including cold-approaching Mark Cuban at SXSW. The conversation covers the long-term thinking common to every billionaire James has interviewed, why starting with nothing isn't a disadvantage, and how he recovered from a revenue crash that nearly wiped out his business. Practical, candid, and full of actionable strategies for anyone building from zero.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Canon

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Billionaires Think in Decades
Every billionaire James has interviewed shares a long-term orientation, thinking in decades rather than quarters.
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Highlights

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The Authority Hack
James explains how he 'borrowed credibility' by cold-approaching Mark Cuban at South by Southwest with a borrowed title, using that initial meeting to open doors.
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Your Starting Point Is Not an Obstacle
James argues that age, background, and lack of connections are not real barriers — he built his platform from a Chick-fil-A job with no industry contacts.
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Rebuilding from a $30K to $5K Revenue Drop
James shares how his monthly revenue plummeted from $30,000 to under $5,000 overnight, and the steps he took to recover and rebuild stronger.
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Misc

✧Posted 400 times on Instagram when he only had 50 followers.
✧Cold-approached Mark Cuban at South by Southwest with a borrowed title to get into the room.
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