Why all gurus end up in SaaS (and sell you “info”)

SUMMARY

Thomas Gonnett, a content creator, exposes how online gurus amass fortunes through SaaS affiliate commissions rather than the info products or business models they promote, illustrating with real-world examples like Shopify and GoHighLevel.

STATEMENTS

• Online business narratives are dominated by gurus promoting models that funnel users into SaaS subscriptions via affiliate links, generating passive recurring income for the promoters.
• Dropshipping became popular because influencers shared success stories tied to Shopify affiliate commissions, making the e-commerce platform the true beneficiary.
• Info products thrive due to tools like ClickFunnels offering 40% lifetime recurring commissions, incentivizing gurus to teach courses that drive software adoption.
• Agency models and challenges are pushed by gurus earning from affiliate links to platforms like GoHighLevel, which funds their content creation.
• Communities gain traction through promotions like Alex Hormozi's endorsement of Skool, where he holds equity and receives 40% lifetime commissions.
• Personal branding surges because it requires billing software like Stripe, providing gurus with 30% recurring affiliate revenue.
• AI agents follow the same pattern, with platforms like Naden offering 30% commissions for the first 12 months to drive hype.
• Gurus' transformation stories mirror advertising tactics, using before-and-after narratives to sell dreams while profiting from the underlying software "shovels."
• Selling information alone leads to poor outcomes like jail, ruined reputation, or cult leadership, as it's freely available online.
• True wealth comes from assets generating recurring revenue without tying time to income, distinguishing businesses from high-paying jobs.

IDEAS

• Gurus' promotion of business models like dropshipping or info products is essentially affiliate marketing disguised as success advice, with software companies capturing the bulk of long-term value.
• The online economy functions like a pyramid scheme repackaged as legitimate entrepreneurship, where viewers buy into models that enrich the software overlords at the top.
• Content creators act as "attractive characters" in persuasion, leveraging personal transformation stories to drive subscriptions, much like Subway's Jared campaign but scaled digitally.
• Recurring affiliate income from SaaS allows creators to earn passively even after stopping promotion, turning one-time efforts into lifelong revenue streams.
• The for-you-page algorithm amplifies SaaS-tied narratives because only affiliated models get promoted, skewing perceptions of viable online businesses.
• Building a business without recurring revenue equates to a job, as it can't survive without constant input or be sold independently.
• Gurus evolve into SaaS owners or heavy promoters because info products provide quick cash but lack scalability, while software offers equity and higher multiples.
• Following the money trail reveals that consumer dollars almost always end up as SaaS subscriptions, orchestrated through influencer funnels.
• High-ticket info sales generate 2-10K per client, but the promoted software earns 100K in lifetime value per user, highlighting the real profit center.
• Leverage in business means creating assets like affiliate videos that compound earnings over time, far outpacing active hustles like product testing.

INSIGHTS

• The guru ecosystem reveals a hidden economy where software platforms subsidize content creation, ensuring only SaaS-aligned models dominate public discourse.
• True entrepreneurial freedom demands shifting from gold-digging (volatile models) to shovel-selling (recurring tools), enabling financial independence without perpetual labor.
• Digital persuasion exploits human psychology through relatable stories, but discerning audiences must trace incentives to uncover who truly profits from the hype.
• Recurring revenue isn't optional for scalable wealth; it's the foundation that allows borrowing against assets, compounding growth, and escaping paycheck dependency.
• Online business patterns across niches—from dropshipping to AI—follow a universal playbook: hype via affiliates to bootstrap software adoption and lock in users.
• Recognizing info products as transient cash flows exposes their role in seeding demand for durable SaaS infrastructure, guiding smarter pivots for creators.

QUOTES

• "When the [ __ ] are you going to open your eyes to the fact that it's been a software game all along?"
• "All these content creators you see in persuasion are called attractive characters because there's nothing more powerful in the human mind than using a story using a before and after transformation."
• "If you were to follow a money bill around, you would see that it would almost always end up as a subscription for a software."
• "The definition of wealth is owning an asset that makes you money with your time not being tied to how that money is made."
• "If you can't exit your business or you can't stop working, you don't actually have a business. You have a highpaying job."

HABITS

• Upload targeted videos promoting SaaS tools to generate passive affiliate income, as demonstrated by earning $68,000 per video over time.
• Focus on creating one-time content that compounds into recurring revenue, avoiding constant service delivery or product iteration.
• Build leverage by tying promotions to equity or high-commission platforms, ensuring income persists even during breaks from content creation.
• Trace business models back to underlying software incentives before investing time, fostering a habit of incentive analysis over blind following.
• Prioritize asset-building over hustle, regularly assessing if revenue streams allow freedom from daily operations like community management.

FACTS

• Shopify has grown to a quarter-trillion-dollar company largely through affiliate-driven dropshipping hype, with influencers earning 20% lifetime recurring commissions.
• ClickFunnels popularized info products by offering 40% lifetime commissions, enabling gurus to profit from every subscriber they refer.
• The speaker earned nearly $2 million passively over two years from just 28 videos promoting GoHighLevel, averaging $68,000 per video in recurring income.
• Skool's promotion by Alex Hormozi stems from his equity stake and 40% lifetime commissions, turning it into a key community infrastructure tool.
• GoHighLevel affiliates receive 30% recurring commissions for life, funding creators' lifestyles without ongoing effort after initial promotion.

REFERENCES

• Shopify: E-commerce platform central to dropshipping success stories and affiliate earnings.
• ClickFunnels: Sales funnel software that birthed the info product boom via 40% commissions.
• GoHighLevel: Agency automation tool from which the speaker earned $2M through passive affiliates.
• Skool: Community platform backed by Sam Ovens and promoted by Alex Hormozi for equity and commissions.

HOW TO APPLY

• Audit your current business model by tracing revenue sources to identify any SaaS dependencies or affiliate opportunities for passive income.
• Create and upload a single high-value video promoting a relevant software tool with strong commissions, then track its long-term earnings without further promotion.
• Shift from one-time sales like courses or products to recurring models by partnering with platforms offering lifetime affiliates, starting with your niche's essential tools.
• Evaluate exit potential: Test if your business generates income without your daily involvement by taking a short break and monitoring cash flow.
• Build compounding assets by reinvesting initial affiliate earnings into multiple promotions across niches, ensuring predictable revenue to support loans or expansions.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Gurus profit from SaaS affiliates, not taught models—build recurring revenue assets to achieve true wealth.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Prioritize SaaS affiliate partnerships over volatile hustles to secure passive, compounding income streams.
• Dismantle illusions of easy riches in promoted models by focusing on the software infrastructure that sustains them.
• Develop content around transformation stories tied to tools you can monetize long-term, maximizing leverage per effort.
• Transition any active business to include recurring elements, ensuring it functions as an asset rather than a job.
• Borrow against predictable revenue from affiliates to scale, avoiding the trap of one-time fees that limit growth.

MEMO

In the glittering world of online entrepreneurship, where gurus promise overnight fortunes through dropshipping empires or life-changing info products, a stark truth lurks beneath the surface: the real winners are the software companies pulling the strings. Thomas Gonnett, a seasoned content creator who has navigated this ecosystem firsthand, lays bare the mechanics in a candid video exposé. Far from the rags-to-riches tales splashed across social feeds, Gonnett argues that these narratives serve a singular purpose—to funnel aspiring moguls into subscription-based platforms like Shopify and ClickFunnels, where affiliate commissions quietly amass empires. "It's been a software game all along," he declares, urging viewers to follow the money trail that inevitably leads to recurring SaaS revenue.

Gonnett's revelation stems from personal experience, a confession that adds gritty authenticity to his critique. Having earned nearly $2 million passively from just 28 videos promoting the agency tool GoHighLevel, he breaks down the math: $68,000 per video, accruing even during months of silence. This isn't luck, he explains, but the power of leverage—crafting content once and letting lifetime commissions (often 20-40%) compound indefinitely. Dropshipping, for instance, exploded not because of ingenious store setups but due to influencers incentivized by Shopify's cut of every referral. Similarly, the info product craze owes its existence to ClickFunnels' generous payouts, transforming teachers into unwitting salespeople for the very tools enabling their courses. Gonnett likens these creators to "attractive characters" in marketing lore, spinning before-and-after stories akin to Subway's Jared, but digitized and scaled to billions.

The pattern repeats across niches, from Alex Hormozi's fervent backing of Skool—fueled by equity and 40% commissions—to Iman Gadzhi's push for Whop as the "Shopify of info products." Gonnett warns that without recurring revenue, what passes for a business is merely a high-paying job, vulnerable to burnout or obsolescence. Info peddlers, he notes, often end up in reputational ruins or accidental cults, as freely available knowledge can't sustain high-ticket illusions. True wealth, he posits, lies in assets untethered from time: software that runs autonomously, generating income whether you're working, sleeping, or pivoting to new ventures.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Gonnett's counsel cuts through the hype. Ditch the gold rush mentality of chasing trendy models like AI freelancing or endless product testing; instead, sell the shovels—the indispensable tools others need. This shift not only stabilizes finances, allowing predictable payments for rent or loans against business value, but also liberates time for innovation. As algorithms amplify only the affiliated, the for-you-page becomes a echo chamber of SaaS propaganda, skewing perceptions of success. Gonnett's video, raw and unfiltered, serves as a wake-up call in an industry built on dreams sold for subscriptions.

Ultimately, understanding this dynamic redefines modern internet business. Gurus may flaunt Ferraris from course sales, but software giants jet in private planes, backed by armies of digital Jareds. By recognizing the rigged game, creators can rewrite their scripts: build once, earn forever, and escape the cycle of hustle that keeps most digging while a few supply the tools.