Episoder

  • Acquired

    Key Takeaways The trick of entrepreneurship is convincing yourself that it is not that hard, even when it is “Your organization should be the architecture of the machinery of building the product.” – Jensen Huang Pave the way to future opportunities; you cannot wait until the opportunity is in front of you to reach out for it Many of the great all-time tech companies began by building products and services for developers You don’t have to be that perfect if you can position yourself near opportunities Every person should learn how to use an AI to augment their productivityNvidia tries to position itself in a way that serves a need that is yet to emergePush your chips in when you know it is going to work Don’t do everything; prioritize your time, and make sacrifices, but realize that there is plenty of time in life

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    We finally sit down with the man himself: Nvidia Cofounder & CEO Jensen Huang. After three parts and seven+ hours of covering the company, we thought we knew everything but — unsurprisingly — Jensen knows more. A couple teasers: we learned that the company’s initial motivation to enter the datacenter business came from perhaps not where you’d think, and the roots of Nvidia’s platform strategy stretch back beyond CUDA all the way to the origin of the company.

    We also got a peek into Jensen’s mindset and calculus behind “betting the company” multiple times, and his surprising feelings about whether he’d go on the founder journey again if he could rewind time. We can’t think of any better way to tie a bow on our Nvidia series (for now). Tune in!

    Editorial Note: We originally recorded this episode before the horrific terrorist attacks in Israel. It feels wrong to release this episode — where the nation of Israel and the Mellanox team are discussed — without sharing our profound sadness for all the families who had innocent loved ones or friends killed, injured, or taken hostage. Our hearts go out to everyone coping through this dark moment in history.

    Sponsors:

    Thanks to our fantastic partners, any member of the Acquired community can now get:

    Your product growth powered by StatsigScalable, clean and low-cost cloud AI compute from Crusoe (and listen to our recent ACQ2 interview with CEO Chase Lochmiller)Free access to Jensen’s favorite business books on Blinkist, plus our favorites on Ben & David’s Bookshelf

    More Acquired!:

    Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Become an LP and support the show. Help us pick episodes, Zoom calls and moreMerch Store!

    ‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

  • Deep Questions with Cal Newport✓Claim

    One of the most common strategies for achieving a powerful ideal lifestyle vision is to leverage entrepreneurial activities to find a stable source of income that allows autonomy and flexibility. To help understand how to succeed in such ventures, Cal interviews the entrepreneur and author Noah Kagan about his new book, "The Million Dollar Weekend." Recording on the road as part of his book tour for "Slow Productivity," Cal also shares some lessons about what he's been observing.

    Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

    Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

    INTERVIEW: Marketing guru Noah Kagan [11:06]

    Links:
    Use this link to preorder a signed copy of “Slow Productivity”:
    peoplesbooktakoma.com/preorder-slow-productivity/
    FREE download excerpt and 2 Bonuses for “Slow Productivity”:
    calnewport.com/slow

    Thanks to our Sponsors:

    This show is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at
    betterhelp.com/deepquestions
    mauinuivenison.com/deepquestions
    zocdoc.com/deep
    expressvpn.com/deep

    Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

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    Klik her for at forny feed.

  • LaBossiere Podcast

    Delian Asparouhov is the co-founder, President and Chairman of Varda Space Industries, a company building spacecraft to manufacture materials in microgravity that are difficult or impossible to produce on Earth— starting with pharmaceuticals. He’s also a Partner at Founders Fund.

    Previously, he was a principal at Khosla Ventures, head of growth at Teespring, and founder of a healthcare company called Nightingale. Delian is Bulgarian, attended MIT, and likes to ski and play soccer.

    0:00 - Intro3:14 - How Does Innovation Happen?6:23 - Varda and the No Science Allowed Rule7:52 - A Primer on Solid State Microgravity Manufacturing18:25 - Space Industrialization, Trading Posts, and the Chinese and Portuguese Navies21:13 - Economic Incentives and Future Business Models in Space24:24 - SpaceX and The Costs of Mass to Orbit27:45 - Demand for Space Manufacturing and Varda at Scale33:44 - Manufacturing, Servicing, Machining, and Future Markets for Space36:42 - Incubating Companies40:33 - When Would Varda Have Been Started Otherwise?42:19 - The Hollywood Model of Startups45:20 - Future of Incubations47:47 - Media’s Role in Technology50:39 - What Media Inspired Varda’s Founding?52:38 - Talent, Culture, and Cementing Company Trajectory53:57 - Narratives and Talent Recruitment55:28 - Traits Delian Looks for in Founders57:38 - The ‘Why Now’ When Investing1:00:08 - Bring Non-Consensus and Right1:02:53 - Is Varda Consensus Yet?1:03:24 - Identifying Non-Consensus Opportunities1:05:12 - Lessons from Founding and Investing1:07:40 - What Skill Do You Wish You’d Developed Earlier?1:10:11 - Immigrant Mentality1:11:24 - Less Obvious Reasons for Success1:12:55 - On Speed1:14:23 - What Should More People Be Thinking About?

    đŸŽ™ïžMore EpisodesđŸŽ™ïžYouTube: https://bit.ly/3QDLQFtApple: https://apple.co/478Be6MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3sfiFiE

    đŸ“ČSocialsđŸ“Č

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/adlabossiere

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexlabossiere/

  • The Network State Podcast✓Claim

    Key Takeaways The United States of America is the greatest startup in world history As an entrepreneur, your social role is to make profits, but you also need to ensure that socialists do not take over your country “Every founder starts as lead engineer and ends up as Chief Psychologist.” – Balaji There is light in the world and there is darkness; accelerationism want light and the decels want darkness A world of degrowth is a world that is full of war; when the pie is forced to be shrunk, the people are forced to fight because there are less resources availableAcademics do not understand that what matters is how systems and incentives work We must take the frameworks that work in the entrepreneurial world and apply them to other things Make America States Again The darkest of times reveal who is on the side of darkness and who is on the side of the light

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Joe Lonsdale is one of the most prominent investors in technology. He's the co-founder of Palantir, 8VC, Addepar, and the Cicero Institute — and one of Balaji's longtime friends. We have fun talking about education, longevity, space, and the little matter of completely reforming all governments with the internet.OUTLINE:00:00 - How Silicon Valley got expensive09:18 - Tech founders as philosophers17:39 - 100% Democracy and .01% Democracy28:51 - Internet Values vs Western Values36:05 - How Academics Become Capitalists46:40 - Red States, Purple States, Foreign States for AI58:11 - Thoughts on Space, Robotics, Longevity

    VIDEO

    YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ny93ZjlR93gSOCIALhttps://ciceroinstitute.orghttps://www.8vc.comhttps://thenetworkstate.com/podcasthttps://twitter.com/JTLonsdalehttps://twitter.com/balajis

  • The Network State Podcast✓Claim

    Key Takeaways Blockchains provide the societal benefits of protocol networks but with the competitive advantages of corporate networks“Come for the tool, stay for the network.” – Chris Dixon If every command line tool becomes an app, does every protocol become a blockchain? Distribution was so scarce in the early days of the internet that Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) killed for it The Web3 version of a given Web2 app adds balances and the ability to cryptographically sign messages and transactions Many tech companies suffer from Stockholm Syndrome; they have become accustomed to the App Store taking a significant portion of their revenueWeb3 combines the best of both worlds of Web1 and Web2 Web3 is as structured as the Web2-style databases but as open as a Web1-style webCrypto is a counter-force to many of the things that AI is doingBlockchains enable property rights in the digital space “Technology changes microeconomic leverage.” – Balaji

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Read Write Own (readwriteown.com) is a new book by Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and founder of the largest crypto fund in the world. It's an important work that is simultaneously the best crypto tutorial for newcomers and an accessible reference for experts. Balaji and Chris are long-time friends and worked together at a16z for years. Here they discuss Read Write Own and the state of crypto in 2024.OUTLINE00:20 - Chris Introduces Read Write Own 05:04 - Why Books Are Harder than Essays11:40 - Overview of Read Write Own18:01 - The 2000s: Open RSS vs Proprietary Social25:32 - Every Protocol Now Gets Global State31:42 - Web3 Versions of Web2 Apps35:27 - Proprietary Networks Are Locking Down38:47 - Crypto Subsidizes Creatives42:53 - Virtual Goods and Online Status44:13 - Own Usernames Like Domain Names47:55 - What Digital Ownership Means48:52 - Tech Giants' Power and User Leverage.58:28 - Collaborative Storytelling01:02:06 - Digital Identity with Web301:09:36 - Conclusion

    VIDEO

    YouTube: https://youtu.be/_nIQztk5KWYSOCIALhttps://readwriteown.comhttps://thenetworkstate.com/podcasthttps://twitter.com/cdixonhttps://twitter.com/balajis

  • A16z Podcast

    Key Takeaways Universities still matter, especially the really good ones; the decisions made at elite universities end up influencing the future of the country The bundling of the university is evidence that it has evolved; however, it is important for university leaders to continually evaluate that bundle to ensure that it makes senseThe main credentialing of the college degree is in two parts: the fact that you were admitted and the fact that you graduated The admissions process is an IQ test and the graduation process is a conscientiousness test For many degrees, the degree is worth less than the wage that it will command in the free market University tuition rates have increased 2-3x more than the general inflation rate; if current trends continue, the cost of a four-year education at an elite university will cost $1MIncreasingly, the policy recommendations that come out of the think tank component of universities are sharply partisan and extremeStanford and Yale have more administrative staff than they have students! Universities are highly dependent on their current model continuing indefinitely; they are not as fiscally stable as they may seem from the outside perspective In 2015, 57% of American voters had a positive view of American universities; in 2023, that number fell to 36% Entrepreneurial opportunities tend to emerge when an industry experiences systemic shifts

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    In this one-on-one conversation, Marc and Ben tackle the university system – what has certainly been a hot topic that’s been dominating the news over the past few months. As Marc states at the top of the episode, universities matter tremendously to our world, but they’re currently in a state of crisis.

    Together, Ben and Marc take a “structural” look at higher education, delving deep into the twelve functions of the modern university. They also unpack the numerous challenges that universities face today – student debt and the replication crisis, among them.

    They also discuss topics including DEI, student athlete admissions, accreditation, inflation, and much more.

    As colleges face an existential threat that could have long lasting repercussions, how can we find ways to improve these institutions, while being open to new entrepreneurial opportunities in education?

    Check out the Ben and Marc show: https://link.chtbl.com/benandmarc

    Stay Updated:

    Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

    Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

    Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/

    Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio

    Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

  • Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin✓Claim

    Key Takeaways The more technology and capitalism we get, the better things are going to get Fundamentally, whether or not a startup succeeds depends on whether it is building a product that people want Great people want to be around other great people; most companies are too tolerant of mediocrity In the long run, even the most innovative companies eventually become boringTall Poppy Syndrome: Due to humanity’s tribal inclinations, the Tall Poppy – the person trying to do something new – tends to get cut When something in tech is successful, it tends to change the status structures and hierarchies of societyThe Law of Crappy People: The quality of any level in the company will degrade to the worst person at that level “More companies die of indigestion than of starvation.” – Marc Andreessen The best companies can think in the long term despite the pressures to prioritize the short-term New things in the world are not going to show up predictably By 2030 or 2035, you will be able to have the equivalent of 1,000 AI programmers writing code for you Most people who are opposed to technological change are not opposed to the given technology but are opposed to how that technology may diminish their status and power

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Marc Andreessen is a prominent entrepreneur, investor, and software engineer best known for his key role in the development of the early internet. In the early 90s, Marc co-created Mosaic, a pioneering web browser, while a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. In 1994, he founded Netscape, launching the popular Netscape Navigator browser. After selling Netscape to AOL in 1999 for $4.3 billion, Marc founded Opsware, selling it later for $1.6 billion. In 2009, he co-founded Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm that has backed, among others, Airbnb, Facebook, Instagram, and SpaceX. Known for his insights into technology, Marc's early work with Mosaic and Netscape significantly shaped the internet's growth, and his ongoing contributions continue to influence the tech industry.

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  • Artificial Intelligence Podcast

    Key Takeaways The universe is biased towards certain futures; there is a natural direction where the whole system wants to go If you believe the future will be better, and that you have the agency to make it happen, then you are increasing the likelihood of that better future happenings “Technically, e/acc was started in a basement. I quit big tech, moved back in with my parents, sold my car, let go of my apartment, bought about $100K of GPUs, and I just started building.” – Guillaume VerdonThe goal of the e/acc movement is for the human techno-capital mimetic machine to become self-aware and to superstitiously engineer its growthThe core thesis of e/acc: The adaptation of the system is what has gotten us to this point in time; this process is good, and we should keep it going The market is more efficient at achieving optimums than are heavy-handed regulations, which tend to be subversive and written by the incumbents Any centralized power structure becomes a target for those who want to co-opt it A system that maintains dynamism and adaptability avoids tyranny The way to a good future is to shape adversarial equilibria between the various AI players Whatever configuration of matter or information leads to maximal growth is where humans and AI will converge; we can either align ourselves with this trajectory or get left behind by trying to decelerateContinuing to climb up the Kardashev scale is the great challenge of our time

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Guillaume Verdon (aka Beff Jezos on Twitter) is a physicist, quantum computing researcher, and founder of e/acc (effective accelerationism) movement. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
    - LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack
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    - AG1: https://drinkag1.com/lex to get 1 month supply of fish oil

    Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/guillaume-verdon-transcript

    EPISODE LINKS:
    Guillaume Verdon Twitter: https://twitter.com/GillVerd
    Beff Jezos Twitter: https://twitter.com/BasedBeffJezos
    Extropic: https://extropic.ai/
    E/acc Blog: https://effectiveaccelerationism.substack.com/

    PODCAST INFO:
    Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
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    SUPPORT & CONNECT:
    - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast
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    - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
    - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

    OUTLINE:
    Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
    (00:00) - Introduction
    (09:18) - Beff Jezos
    (19:16) - Thermodynamics
    (25:31) - Doxxing
    (35:25) - Anonymous bots
    (42:53) - Power
    (45:24) - AI dangers
    (48:56) - Building AGI
    (57:09) - Merging with AI
    (1:04:51) - p(doom)
    (1:20:18) - Quantum machine learning
    (1:33:36) - Quantum computer
    (1:42:10) - Aliens
    (1:46:59) - Quantum gravity
    (1:52:20) - Kardashev scale
    (1:54:12) - Effective accelerationism (e/acc)
    (2:04:42) - Humor and memes
    (2:07:48) - Jeff Bezos
    (2:14:20) - Elon Musk
    (2:20:50) - Extropic
    (2:29:26) - Singularity and AGI
    (2:33:24) - AI doomers
    (2:34:49) - Effective altruism
    (2:41:18) - Day in the life
    (2:47:45) - Identity
    (2:50:35) - Advice for young people
    (2:52:37) - Mortality
    (2:56:20) - Meaning of life

  • My First Million

    Key Takeaways We are in a new era of marketing; entertainment is being built around the product Focus is a superpower Having the optimal mix of optimism and pessimism is key to business success “You can’t tell kids to follow their dreams when their dreams suck.” – Palmer Luckey Do not wait for your current thing to get bad before choosing to work on something elsePeople who do one thing and take it very seriously win over the long-term

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Episode 531: Shaan Puri (https://twitter.com/ShaanVP) and Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) bring you
..The 2023 Milly Awards. Actors have the Oscars, musicians have the Grammy’s and what do business people have? They have The Milly Awards.

    No more small boy spreadsheets, build your business on the free HubSpot CRM: https://mfmpod.link/hrd
    —
    Show Notes:
    (0:00) Intro
    (2:30) Favorite MFM Guests of the Year
    (10:30) Billies of the Year
    (18:00) Biggest Change for 2024
    (34:00) Person You'd Bet It All On
    (40:30) Best Business for Someone Else to Do

    —
    Links:
    ‱ Kevin Ryan’s episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cLWUCE02KE
    ‱ Sarah Moore’s episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF6zvTXimxY
    ‱ Connor Price’s episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4KFqL3z2fg
    ‱ Palmer Luckey’s episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBeosjr7PyY
    ‱ Jesse Itzler episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff1z3GUcfO8

    —
    Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
    ‱ Try Shepherd Out - https://www.supportshepherd.com/
    ‱ Shaan's Personal Assistant System - http://shaanpuri.com/remoteassistant
    ‱ Power Writing Course - https://maven.com/generalist/writing
    ‱ Small Boy Newsletter - https://smallboy.co/
    ‱ Daily Newsletter - https://www.shaanpuri.com/

    Check Out Sam's Stuff:
    ‱ Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
    ‱ Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
    ‱ Copy That - https://copythat.com

    Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more.
    —
    Other episodes you might enjoy:
    ‱ #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits

    ‱ #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future

    ‱ #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto

    ‱ #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett

    ‱ ​​​​#218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates

    ‱ Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More

    ‱ How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More

  • The Daily Stoic

    Key Takeaways Ask yourself, “What is the thing that I uniquely enjoy?” Since there is so much noise in sales, you must do something to stand out; using humor and satire are two ways to do that To make the niche content funny, you need to know the terminology of the niche There are no rules on X/Twitter; the owner of the site sells cars
 we are on Twitter to have fun and laugh!Criteria for identifying problems to solve: market size, excitement, time-to-first-dollar, and product viability Having passion for the space and users you are serving is probably more important than passion for the individual idea Don’t get married to your original idea; be open to pivoting throughout your journey Question to consider: “Am I working on something valuable to the world?”

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    So it goes for ego. To the untrained eye, it can be mistaken for confidence. The person’s self-centeredness, their certainty, their entitlement—this seems like the way that only the most important and gifted person in the world could get away with acting. In reality, the person doesn’t feel that way inside at all. On the contrary, they feel very small. Nero, for instance, demanded that enormous audiences celebrate his greatness. This was also the same emperor who banished a poet from Rome for being too talented, and thus a threat.

    -

    And with today's meditation on the day's Daily Journal excerpt, Ryan reminds us that as we get older we should get better at not taking it taking it for granted, living each day as a representation as the person you aspire to be. For the last five years, we have been doing what we call the Daily Stoic New Year New You Challenge—a set of 21 actionable challenges, presented one per day, built around the best, most timeless wisdom in Stoic philosophy. 21 challenges designed to set you up to be able to say, whatever happens in 2024 and beyond, this is precisely what I trained for.. Demand more of yourself in 2024. Prepare for whatever is ahead. Head over todailystoic.com/challengeand sign up NOW!

    ✉ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

    🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

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  • Founders✓Claim

    Key Takeaways Life is hard for the man who thinks he can take a shortcut Once you become complacent, it is all over You might not be smarter than everyone else, but youcan know more about something than everyone else Get out of your office and help the customersAppeal to interest, not to reasonEmployees are inherently self-interested; ensure that the company’s incentive structure aligns with this reality Never take advantage of a customer or employee, but take every advantage you can over the competition “Whatever you do, you must do it with gusto. You must do it in volume – it is a case of repeat, repeat, repeat.” – Les Schwab

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    What I learned from rereading Les Schwab Pride In Performance: Keep It Going! by Les Schwab.

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    Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes

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    (8:00) I didn't know how to ride a bike. We never had one. All the other young kids delivered newspapers on a bike.

    He's got no money. He doesn't have a bike. So he ran his routes for two months in order to get enough money to buy his first bike. He’d run nine or 10 miles a day.

    (8:00) I was too proud to complain.

    (10:00) For a poor boy, money was much more important than pride.

    (10:00) Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel by Sam Zell. (Founders #269)

    (13:00) I was young. I was cocky. But the same cockiness helped me a lot in going through life.

    (15:00) The very first sentence describing his very first day in business is mind blowing: I had never fixed a flat tire in my life.

    (15:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger (Founders #329)

    (29:00) Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man by Vance H. Trimble (Founders #150)

    (35:00) I always knew that if we fixed all the flat tires in town, we'd have all the tire business in town.

    (40:00) If we become complacent, then brother, it's all over with.

    (52:00) Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's by Ray Kroc (Founders #293)

    (56:00) If you’re not serving the customer, or supporting the folks who do, we don’t need you. —Sam Walton

    (1:00:00) The company paid low wages and had a lower overhead. The flaw was they didn’t get —with the low pay— near the quality of employees we had.

    (1:01:00) Life is hard for the man who thinks he can take a shortcut.

    (1:06:00) Decision making should always be made at the lowest possible level.

    (1:08:00) Whatever you do, you must do it with gusto, you must do it in volume. It is a case of repeat, repeat, repeat.

    (1:08:00) Charlie Munger analyzes why Les Schwab was successful.

    (1:11:00) Extreme success is likely to be caused by some combination of the following factors:

    1 Extreme maximization or minimization of one or two variables. Think Costco.

    2 Adding success factors so that a bigger combination drives success, often in nonlinear fashion, as one is reminded by the concept of breakpoint and the concept of critical mass in physics. Often, results are not linear. You get a little bit more mass and you get a lollapalooza result. And, of course, I've been searching for lollapalooza results all my life, so I'm very interested in models that explain their occurrence.

    3 An extreme of good performance over many factors. Example, Toyota or Les Schwab.

    4 Catching and riding some sort of big wave. Example, Oracle.

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    Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes

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    “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth

    Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

  • Founders✓Claim

    Key Takeaways “Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth.” – Charlie Munger Genius has the fewest moving parts “Good ideas are rare. Bet heavily when you find them.” – Charlie Munger Understand the power of inversion; get what you want by avoiding what you do not want Wisdom is prevention: wise people don’t solve problems, they avoid them If you play games in which other people have an edge, and you do not, you are going to lose Do not silo your educational pursuits; study different disciplines and make connections between them Learn how to ignore the examples of others when they are wrongLife will have terrible blows; you must not engage in self-pity and be able to pick yourself back up “The best thing a human being can do is help another human being know more.” – Charlie Munger

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    What I learned from reading the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger.

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    Listen to this incredible conversation between Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best.

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    Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes

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    (2:00) The practical wisdom of Poor Charlie's Almanack, this ode to curiosity, generosity, and virtue will similarly compound at successive generations of entrepreneurial readers extend his lessons to their own circumstances.

    (12:00) Education is the process whereby the ability to lead a good life is acquired. — Socrates: A Man for Our Times by Paul Johnson. (Founders #252)

    (22:00) Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth.

    (29:00) Charlie is content to trust his own judgment when it runs counter to the wisdom of the herd.

    (31:00) Animated: Charlie Munger: The Psychology of Human Misjudgement

    (31:30) Aim for durability. Durability has always been a first rate virtue in Charlie’s eyes.

    (32:00) Charlie only focuses on great businesses and great businesses have moats.

    (33:00) Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin. (Founders #183)

    (42:00) You can flourish in a niche: People who specialize in the business world —and get very good because they specialize— frequently find good economics that they wouldn't get any other way.

    (45:00) Being so well known has advantages of scale. This is what you might call an informational advantage. It increases social proof.

    (46:30) Business Breakdowns episode on Coca Cola

    (49:00) Occasionally scaling down and intensifying gives you a big advantage. (You can find great profit margins this way)

    (50:00) Sam Walton: Made In America by Sam Walton. (Founders #234)

    (51:00) Scale and fanaticism combined is very powerful. (Think Sam Walton)

    (57:00) I also believed then, as I do now after more than fifty years as a money manager, that the surest way to get rich is to play only those games or make those investments where I have an edge. — A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market by Ed Thorp. (Founders #222)

    (1:08:00) The best thing a human being can do is help another human being know more.

    (1:14:00) Optimism is a moral duty. — Edwin Land

    (1:17:00) You want to maximize the playing time of your top players.

    (1:17:00) The game of competitive life often requires maximizing the experience of the people who have the most aptitude and the most determination as learning machines.

    (1:22:00) The most important rule in management is get the incentives right.

    (1:25:00) Never, ever think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives.

    ----

    Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes

    ----

    “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth

    Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

  • Founders✓Claim

    What I learned from reading Ted Turner's Autobiography.

    ----

    Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes

    ----

    Listen to Art of Investing #4 David Senra Lessons from the Founder Historian.

    ----

    (9:00) My net worth dropped by about 67 million per week, or nearly 10 million per day, every day for two and a half years.

    (10:00) Once to drive home a point about the difficulties of attracting good loyal employees he told me: Jesus only had to pick 12 disciples and even one of those didn't turn out well.

    (10:00) Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise .

    (11:00) Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Founders #141)

    (13:30) The problem isn't getting rich, it's staying sane. — Charlie Munger

    (17:00) I learned a lesson that would stick with me throughout my career. When the chips are down in the pressure's on it's amazing to how creative people can be.

    (20:00) My father always maintained many of the different billboard businesses as separate legal entities. (He didn’t want to dilute ownership of his main company and separate entities allowed for periodic reorganization to offset capital gains liabilities.

    (20:30) When you own an asset your job is to maximize its value.

    (23:00) He combines the assets he has in a way his competitors can not.

    (24:00) The more I learned about TV stations the more I realized that ours was a disaster. Of the 35 people who were on the payroll when we took over only two were still there a year later —the custodian and the receptionist.

    (25:00) Ted Turner believed in the power of television more than almost anybody else.

    (30:30) My dad taught me early on that longterm relationships with your customers and partners are very important. You never know how the guy who you're friendly with today might be able to help you tomorrow.

    (31:00) Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business by Mark Robichaux. (Founders #268)

    (32:00) What other people in his industry sees as a threat, Ted sees as an opportunity.

    (37:00) These issues were all unchartered territory. All of us, the regulators, the broadcasters, the program suppliers and the leagues were sorting things out on the fly. I was working as hard as I could. I'd go all out during the day, working on sales, distribution, regulatory issues, whatever the battle happened to be, and I'd worked right up until it was time to fall asleep. I had a pull down Murphy bed in my office and I would literally work until the point of total exhaustion. Then I'd put my head on the pillow at night worried about problems. Then I'd wake up and spend the entire next day trying to solve them.

    (44:00) One of the most important ideas in the book is the power of Belief: Clearly the company for whom the economics of 24 hour news would have made the most sense with a big three broadcasters. They already had most of what was needed: studios, bureaus, reporters, anchors. They had everything but a belief in cable.

    (45:00) I'm going to be a billionaire. And here's why. I'm going to put this station up on a satellite and I'm going to get a news thing going. Sports, movies and news, 24 hours a day, all over the world. He said this in 1976.

    (46:00) Henry Ford didn't need focus groups to tell him that people would prefer inexpensive, dependable automobiles over horses. Alexander Graham Bell never stopped to worry about whether people would prefer speaking to each other on a phone.

    (49:00) I'm always convinced that one of the reasons that I've been successful is that I've almost always competed against people who were bigger and stronger, but who had less commitment and desire than I did. For Turner Broadcasting this dispute meant everything. We had to win.

    (52:00) Ted’s Superstation idea is printing money: $177 million in revenue and $66 million in profit. This is in the 1980s!

    (53:00) It would be 13 years before we faced another 24 hour news channel.

    (57:00) He has a keen understanding of how to combine assets to create an advantage that no one else has.

    (58:00) The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History by William C. Rempel. (Founders #65)

    (58:00) Genius has the fewest moving parts. Never get into deals that are too complicated.

    ----

    Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes

    ----

    “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth

    Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

  • "Age of Miracles"

    Key Takeaways More energy means more humanity flourishing Nuclear fission is the cleanest and safest form of energy that we have As of 2022, nuclear energy accounts for 20% of the electric gridEnergy is a positive-sum game; the more we have, the better we do! A shift is occurring in the United States: In 2023, 57% of Americans say they favor more nuclear power plants to generate electricity in the country, up from 43% who said the same in 2020What if you were told the nuclear industry was the only industry that managed its toxic waste
 wouldn’t you be impressed? All of the nuclear waste that has been produced in the United States can fit inside of a football field, stacked 10 meters high It is impossible to create nuclear weapons from nuclear fuelUsing more energy raises the floor and ceiling for humanity; it can bring the rest of the world up to the Western standard of living, and help power all of the futuristic technology that entrepreneurs will create The amount of radiation that leaked out of the Three Mile Island incident was about the same amount of radiation that you would be exposed to getting a chest X-ray at the doctor – a negligible amount The reaction to Fukushima was completely overblown: it is debated whether zero people or one person died from any sort of radiation at FukushimaWhile nuclear fission has matured from a technological perspective, it has gotten bogged down from a political, cultural, economic, and regulatory perspectiveSignificant strides are being made in nuclear fusion; it actually might be less than 30 years away!

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Welcome to the first episode of the first season of “Age of Miracles”. This new show from Packy McCormick, investor and writer of the Not Boring newsletter, asks the question: how do we create a future of abundance?

    This season, we’re exploring the future of energy – specifically, diving deep into nuclear energy, both fission and fusion. The world needs more energy, not less, argues Packy, and nuclear has been neglected as a clean, reliable source of energy for too long. Joining Packy as co-host this season is Julia DeWahl, who previously helped scale SpaceX’s Starlink and Opendoor and is now co-founder of micro-nuclear reactor startup Antares.

    In this episode, Packy and Julia set the stage for the season. They start with how they each got nuke-pilled and how the global narrative on energy has shifted, following events like the war in Ukraine and growing inflation. Next, they bust the three most common myths about nuclear energy: it’s too unsafe, there’s too much nuclear waste, and nuclear energy = nuclear weapons. And then they set the stage for the real challenges we’ll tackle this season: the economics of nuclear power, regulation and the role of government, and the power of public perception.

    If you’re curious about the future of energy, technology, or how to get out of a doomer loop and start working towards an abundant future, join us. An age of miracles is within reach — if we're willing to work for it.

    Huge thank you to our sponsors:
    Secureframe: the only compliance automation platform with AI capabilities that help customers speed up cloud remediation and security questionnaires. Get 20% off your first year of Secureframe by mentioning "Age of Miracles" during your free demo: https://secureframe.com/
    Pilot.com: accounting, CFO, and tax services that are designed with flexibility and scalability in mind. To get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packy
    Clean Air Task Force

    For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiracles.co/

    Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/

    Follow our hosts:
    Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedIn
    Julia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn

    Timestamps:
    (00:00) Why the world needs more energy
    (06:43) Preview of this season of Age of Miracles
    (10:03) Let's talk nuclear fission
    (19:15) Busting common nuclear myths: disasters, waste, and proliferation
    (30:22) The 201 challenges with nuclear energy
    (36:21) Could all the energy in 2050 just be fusion?
    (45:23) Closing thoughts

    This show is produced and distributed by Turpentine, a network of shows and other media properties.

    Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Video editor: Jake Salyers. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.

  • "Age of Miracles"

    Key Takeaways Check Out the Age of Miracles Website

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    What if we treated building nuclear more like a manufacturing challenge than a construction challenge? How could nuclear benefit from the tried-and-true methodologies of other large industrial industries like ship-building and oil and gas to make nuclear as cheap as solar and wind to produce?

    In this episode – the first of two with leading nuclear fission startup founders – Packy and Julia talk to a new crop of nuclear entrepreneurs who are focused on manufacturing small modular reactors at scale. Drawing on best practices from very different industries like building reactors in shipyards or adapting the methods of offshore oil and gas rigs, these founders are taking a radically different approach from the incumbents in nuclear power plant construction. They’re focused on bringing the experience curves for building nuclear way down

    But how will it actually work in practice? How do they balance pleasing regulators with innovating on new designs for more efficiency and manufacturability? How do they finance these businesses? What is the plan for connecting these power sources to the grid – or finding other “behind the meter” use cases? Tune in to go deep with the people turning theories about nuclear manufacturing into reality.

    Thank you to this episode’s guests: Matt Slotkin, Nick Touran, Bret Kugelmass, Katherine Boyle, Josh Wolfe, and Jake DeWitte

    Huge thank you to our sponsors:
    Secureframe: the only compliance automation platform with AI capabilities that help customers speed up cloud remediation and security questionnaires. Get 20% off your first year of Secureframe by mentioning "Age of Miracles" during your free demo: https://secureframe.com/
    Pilot.com: accounting, CFO, and tax services that are designed with flexibility and scalability in mind. To get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packy
    Clean Air Task Force

    For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiracles.co/

    Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/

    Follow our hosts:
    Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedIn
    Julia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn

    Timestamps:
    (00:00) Building a shipyard to manufacture nuclear reactors
    (06:22) The experience curve
    (11:00) Which industries can we steal ideas from?
    (19:40) Blue Energy with Matt Slotkin
    (25:10) Last Energy with Bret Kugelmass
    (31:40) Good strategy, bad strategy
    (38:41) Financing nuclear companies
    (44:00) Oklo going public
    (51:30) Recap

    This show is produced and distributed by Turpentine, a network of shows and other media properties, where experts talk to experts about tech, business, culture, and more.

    Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Video editor: Jake Salyers. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.

  • Invest Like the Best

    Key Takeaways Trust people when they tell you what their problems are, but don’t what they think the solution isGo “back to the future” in your research; you will discover promising ideas that were discussed in the past but have since been discarded Care more about how other people will evaluate the impact of your work, rather than just doing what feels good to you If America is going to be a nation that rewards and promotes innovation, then it should be steering people in that directionIf you have unconventional ideas, you can create a large impact by forcing those ideas onto people and systems that exist in conventional institutionsImpactful businesses are rarely built on the idea of doing something a little better or a little cheaperProblems emerged and have persisted in the national security industry as a result of a broken incentive structure“We have learned a lesson: Don’t try to defend countries that aren’t willing to defend themselves.” – Palmer Luckey Anduril will save Western civilization by saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars a year, as we make tens of billions of dollars a yearIf AGI enables the capability to create dangerous things, then it will likely also enable the capability to defend against those dangerous things

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    My guest today is Palmer Luckey. Palmer is the founder of Defense company Anduril Industries, which makes next-generation military technology for the US and its allies. Since bringing the company to life in 2017, Palmer and Anduril have disrupted the established order in the Defense industry. Prior to Anduril, Palmer founded Oculus VR, a virtual reality business that he sold to Facebook for $2 billion.
    Palmer is only in his early 30s, but he has already experienced more than most people will in a 40-year career. We talk about innovation, invention, differentiated thinking, and so much more. Please enjoy this great discussion with Palmer Luckey.

    Listen to Patrick's Business Breakdown with Anduril CEO.
    Listen to Founders Podcast

    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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    This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported data point and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard-to-calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building, and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.
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    Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

    Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

    Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

    Show Notes:
    (00:03:28) - The importance of synthetic long-chain hydrocarbon fuel
    (00:09:37) - Ranking America's potential for innovation
    (00:12:43) - Why there aren't more Thiel Fellowships
    (00:14:56) - The principles that motivate and drive him
    (00:18:21) - What it has been like working in the world of defense after the attack on Israel
    (00:20:34) - Surprising lessons learned when building a large company
    (00:24:02) - How to approach a new field initially
    (00:28:45) - Meeting other out-of-the-box thinkers
    (00:33:11) - Inventors working backward from existing systems versus forward from their ideals
    (00:34:51) - The most pressing issue in national security
    (00:41:01) - What matters most for America from a defense perspective
    (00:43:58) - How to determine which problems to prioritize
    (00:50:24) - Lessons learned from working with AI
    (00:57:21) - How Apple is shaping the future of VR
    (01:01:36) - Which videogame a prospective employee should excel at
    (01:04:06) - Why Oculus was so successful in marketing
    (01:11:13) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Palmer

  • Twenty Minute VC

    Key Takeaways The best talent wants to join a company not at the highest price, but at the best price with the right amount of capital for the right risk There are three types of seed rounds: Discovery (sub $2m), Classic ($3m to $5m), and Megatron Jumbo ($5m+)To win in today’s venture climate, you must get “ball control” in any round that is presented to youBe as disciplined as possible concerning your entry price “I think AI is the most transformational thing that we are ever going to see in a long time. However, I still think it’s f***ing hard to make money there.” – Ed Sim While some people encourage investors to perpetually lean into their investments, sometimes it is best to lean out and strategically sell in increments over time Ownership matters, but it must also be balanced out with valuations The hardest problems to solve often take longer to solve; businesses working on addressing these problems may appear “slow”, but they might be massive winners in the long run

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Ed Sim is one of the best seed round investors in venture as the Founder and Managing Partner @ Boldstart, Ed focuses specifically on developer, infra and SaaS at pre-seed and seed round. Over the last decade, Ed has backed some of the best including Snyk, BigID, Kustomer, Front and Superhuman.

    In Today's Episode on Seed Rounds We Discuss: The Three Types of Seed Round: What are the three different types of seed round today? Has seed ever been this competitive? Will seed be unimpacted by the macro decline we are seeing? Why are growth and multi-stage funds being more active than ever in seed?

    2. Too Much Cash Will Kill You!

    Why does Ed believe that too much capital can kill companies at the seed round? Why does Ed believe that the best founders are not always optimising for the highest price? What are the single biggest negatives of taking a high price at the seed round? What advice does Ed have for founders who have large offers from multi-stage funds at seed?

    3. Is Growth Dead?

    Why does Ed disagree and suggest that growth is not dead? What do multi-stage and growth funds now what to see that they did not before? How will the growth market evolve over the next 12-18 months?

    4. IPOs, AI and M&A:

    What will cause the IPO windows to crack open again? Why does Ed believe that many investing in AI are simply giving money to Nvidia? Does Ed agree that 95% of the cash going into AI from venture today will go to zero? Will we see more or less M&A in the next 12 months? How did Ed evaluate the Loom acquisition by Atlassian?
  • A16z Podcast

    Key Takeaways Capitalism and free markets are the machine that has lifted people out of poverty for the last 500 yearsIt is best to embrace, support, and accelerate technology as much as possible, and then deal with the issues as they arise“I think the single biggest policy mistake of my lifetime was the decision in the 70s and 80s to essentially ban civilian nuclear power throughout the U.S. and throughout Europe as well.” – Marc AndreessenIt can take decades for the consequences of certain decisions to materialize The digital technologies that most people worry about are actually the mostegalitarian technology that has ever been produced, even more so than running water and electricityIncumbents frame new technologies as dangerous so that governments step in and effectively create sanctioned barriers to competition A society built on the idea that love scales becomes an incredibly dark, dystopian, murderous place; when you take away the carrot, all you have is a stickHumans are the ultimate resource: By having more of us, we will find better ways to solve existing problems If the education industry were primarily market-based, competitive pressures would force universities to be good and to meet the needs of society better Humility is key; technologists must not “cross the line” and do societal engineering in their spare timePeople who are hyper verbal and “work in ideas” tend to get arbitrarily unhinged over time and become more disconnected from the real world Throughout history, the inventors of the new technology have not been great at speculating on how it is to be regulated

    Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org



    Subscribe to The Ben & Marc Show on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3SdsfNt

    Subscribe to The Ben & Marc Show on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3SclPOr

    Read the full manifesto: https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/

    This past week, Marc released his new vision for the future – “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto”.

    In an article that has sparked widespread conversation across traditional and social media, Marc challenges the pessimistic narrative surrounding technology today, and instead celebrates it as a liberating force that can lead to growth, progress and abundance for all. In this one-on-one conversation based on YOUR questions from X (formerly Twitter), Ben and Marc discuss how technological advancements can improve the quality of human life, uplift marginalized communities, and even encourage us to answer the bigger questions of the universe.

    We hope you’ll be inspired to join us in this Techno-Optimist movement. Enjoy!

    Stay Updated:

    Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

    Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

    Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/

    Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio

    Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

  • Infinite Loops

    John Fio is an inventor and entrepreneur who has bootstrapped four products that have collectively generated hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.

    He joins the show to discuss why ideas are harder than execution, what he learned from being Justin Bieber’s intern, what most people get wrong about Kanye West, why magic is real, and what the success of Barbie and Taylor Swift can tell us about the future.

    Enjoy!

    Important Links: Twitter LinkedIn MoonPals Fio Creations Show Notes: From Bieber’s Intern to Moon Pals Ideas Are Harder Than Execution Kickstarting Gravity Blankets How to Have a Good Idea Kanye West & the Creative Process The Wizard & the Warrior Magic is Real Social Situations Are a Departure From the Truth Moon Pals, Barbie, Taylor Swift & the Dawn of a New Paradigm Long Tails, Curation & Good Taste John as Emperor of the World MORE! Books Mentioned: The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism, by Howard Bloom. The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch Tao Te Ching; by Lao Tzu The Two Cultures; by C.P. Snow

  • CryptoThe Investor's Podcast (TIP)

    Clay Finck is joined by Christian Billinger to discuss his quality investing philosophy.

    Christian is chairman of Billinger Förvaltnings AB, which invests in publicly listed equities. The firm seeks to generate attractive long-term total returns in real terms without employing financial leverage. Christian previously covered European equities for Cheyne Capital, Gartmore, and GAM in London.

    IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

    00:00 - Intro

    01:39 - What quality investing is and why it works.

    04:20 - How Christian assesses the reinvestment rate for a business and a company’s runway.

    10:27 - Why soul in the game is more important than skin in the game.

    12:58 - Qualities to look for to find operating managers with soul in the game.

    19:16 - Why Christian prefers investing in family-owned public equities.

    21:59 - Why he highly prioritizes removing the risk of losing money.

    25:48 - What differentiates Christian’s current holdings from companies on his watchlist.

    31:44 - What Christian learned from working with institutional investors.

    41:36 - What stands out to Christian about Markel.

    46:37 - Why Tom Gayner is an investor and business manager worth studying.

    47:46 - How the investment outlook between Berkshire and Markel differ.

    49:42 - Why Christian’s fund is heavily invested in the spirits industry, and what has led to the recent underperformance in 2023.

    Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

    BOOKS AND RESOURCES

    Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, and the other community members.Christian’s investment firm.Related Episode: WSB566: The Passionate Pursuit of Lifelong Learning w/ Gautam Baid or watch the video here.Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcasts here.

    NEW TO THE SHOW?

    Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs.Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool.Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services.Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets.Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts.Help us understand our audience better so we can create a more intentional user experience by answering this survey!

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