The Dept. w/ Omar El-Takrori The New Way To Build An Online Business in 2026 ft. Sean Cannell | The Dept. #119
May 13, 2026
Sean Cannell, entrepreneur and founder of Think Media who coaches creators on media-first businesses. He discusses building a company around content, when CEOs should appear on video, using affiliate paths and courses to scale, hiring early and leadership shifts, why YouTube remains a top platform, pricing and positioning, and how to prepare for trends without chasing novelty.
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Prepare Before The Wave Hits
- Consistent content builds preparedness for future shifts you can't predict.
- Sean compares learning to swim for a decade before the pandemic that suddenly increased demand for video content and views dramatically.
Hire Early Using Performance Terms
- Hire before you're fully ready and structure risk-sharing deals early.
- Sean brought Heather on with revenue-share terms (20% then salary+%) and she built systems and launched their first course despite no initial cash payroll.
Think Of Hires As Monthly Experiments
- Pay for talent monthly and view the salary as buying new capabilities, not a sunk cost.
- Sean advises 1099 part-time hires as affordable steps and experiments to discover what staff can truly accomplish.
