Founders

What I learned from reading The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz.---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---There's no recipe for complicated, dynamic situations [0:01]Meeting Marc Andreessen [8:30]The co-founder relationship between Marc and Ben [11:00]How they came up with the idea for Loudcloud (Opsware) / A business is just an idea that will make someone's life better. —Richard Branson [13:45]Ben finds value by asking the question: What would I do if we went bankrupt? [21:05]Sell the wrong product to find the right one [22:30]Saving a $20 million a year customer by buying a $10 million company [23:16]Do not play the odds [27:27]Discount praise. Focus on what can be fixed [28:32]Why training is so important (compounding effect) [31:20]Difference between large company executives and founders [32:00]Why it is a good idea to collect good ideas [34:00]Determinat

What I learned from reading Insisting On The Impossible: The Life of Edwin Land and Instant: The Story of Polaroid---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---If you dream of something worth doing and then simply go to work on it, and don’t think anything of personalities, or emotional conflicts, or of money, or of family distractions; if you just think of, detail by detail, what you have to do next, it is a wonderful dream. [0:01] Edwin Land was a pioneer whose inventions were dismissed, and yet he created a great company by dint of pure stubbornness. [2:33] He [Steve Jobs] didn't yet have the skills to build a great company, but he admired those who had pulled it off and he would go to great lengths to meet them and learn from them. [3:03] Steve admired many things about Land: his obsessive commitment to creating products of style, practicality, and great consumer appeal. His reliance on gut instinct rather than consumer re

What I learned from reading Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---He seemed eager to sum up the lessons he had learned and tell people how he applied them in his life. [0:01]He worked long hours over drawings in his room. Never revealing a project until he completed it. [5:32]Walt Disney's first business: Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists [9:34]Walt Disney's second business: Laugh-O-Gram Films [13:30]Walt Disney's third business: The Walt Disney Company [17:03]"Should the idea or name be exploited in any other way, such as toys or merchandise we shall share equally." / Jeff Bezos on the importance of sleep [21:08]Committees throttle creativity [25:31]It is normal to doubt yourself when you are creating something. Walt Disney doubted the quality of Steamboat Willie. What would go on to be one of the most famous cartoons ever created. [33:28]People don't know what is good unt

What I learned from reading The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos by Christian Davenport. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:54] Musk and Bezos were the leaders of this resurrection of the American space program, a pair of billionaires with vastly different styles and temperaments. Always audacious, Musk had plowed far ahead, his triumphs and failures commanding center stage. Bezos remained quiet and clandestine, his mysterious rocket venture kept hidden behind the curtain.[1:36] Musk, the brash hare, was blazing a trail for others to follow, while Bezos, the secretive and slow tortoise, who was content to take it step by step in a race that was only just beginning.[13:46] “How is the situation in the year 2000 different from 1960? What has changed?” he said. “The engines can be somewhat better, but they’re still chemical rocket engines. What’s different is computer sensors

What I learned from reading The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen.---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---When he arrived in America in 1891 at age fourteen, Zemurray was tall, gangly, and penniless. When he died in the grandest house in New Orleans sixty-nine years later, he was among the richest, most powerful men in the world. In between he worked as a fruit peddler, a banana hauler, a dockside hustler, and the owner of plantations on the Central American isthmus. He batted and conquered United Fruit, which was one of the first truly global corporations. [0:01]Zemurray’s life is a parable of the American dream. It told me that the life of the nation was not written only by speech-making grandees in funny hats but also by street-corner boys, immigrant strivers, crazed and driven, some with one good idea, some with thousands, willing to go to the ends of the earth to make

What I learned from reading Finding The Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture Talent by Nolan Bushnell. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---A pong is a piece of advice designed to help enhance creativity. It applies to only where the advice is helpful. Unlike a rule which thinks itself applicable to every situation. (4:36)Cherish the pink-haired. (16:53)Hire the obnoxious: Steve Jobs believed he was always right and was willing to push harder and longer than other people who might have had equally good ideas but caved under pressure. (19:07)Expect to be criticized. Everyone said Atari was nuts. When I explained Chuck E Cheese they laughed. "The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad." President of Michigan Savings Bank, advising Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in Ford Motor Company, 1903 (20:23)One of the best ways to find creative people is to ask a simple question: What book

What I learned from reading George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---Lucas unapologetically invested in what he believed in the most: himself.“What we’re striving for is total freedom, where we can finance our pictures, make them our way, release them where we want them released, and be completely free to express ourselves,” explained Lucas. “That’s very hard to do in the world of business. In this country, the only thing that speaks is money and you have to have the money in order to have the power to be free.”George looked at it like a businessman, saying, ‘Wait a minute. The studios borrowed money, took a 35 percent distribution fee off the top. This is crazy. Why don’t we borrow the money ourselves?' Some of the bravest and/or most reckless acts were not aesthetic, but financial.My thing about art is that I don’t like the word art because it means pretension and bullshit, and I

What I learned from reading Creativity Inc: Overcoming The Unseen Forces That Stand In The Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---Lead with a light touch (18:59)Anchor yourself with your why (23:35)Bet on yourself (39:54)Decentralize problem-solving (52:56)People are more important than ideas (1:00:45)Analyze ways to improve your process after a project is complete (1:24:10)Keep a startup mentality (1:26:36)—“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. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World by Lynn Downey---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:01] Levi was one of the men who set that firm foundation[17:35] I do not have at this time a specific occupation...I will share the fate that has been assigned to me[22:29] Enduring hardship for the ultimate goal[29:24] A hole in the market[42:00] Levi starts his business cold[54:18] The dangers of shipping by sea[1:04:42] Inventing Jeans by accident[1:10:00] Overnight success 20 years in the making[1:17:40] How Levi was able to serve customers who were illiterate or spoke another languageA list of all the books featured on Founders Podcast.

What I learned from reading Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---Crazy Jack (0:01)The internet is filling the void created by state planning (6:59)Jack has made a career out of being underestimated: “I am a very simple guy. I am not smart. I might have a smart face but I’ve got very stupid brains.” (20:35)Jack’s early life / Discipline and Curiosity (24:43)Jack Magic: “ Nobody saw the opportunity in this business. We didn’t make much money at first, but Jack persevered…I respect him tremendously for he has a a great ability to motivate people and he can invest things that seem hopeless with exciting possibility. He can make those around him get excited about life.” (40:00)Jack’s first time on the Internet (47:06)Another lucky break: Meeting Yahoo Founder Jerry Yang (55:45)Making money from shrimp (57:02)The worst deal he ever made (1:00:43)Masayoshi Son: Founder o

What I learned from reading Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue and Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---Culture Eats Strategy [1:45]Conspiracy as a metaphor for a company [3:56]It is a story of poetic justice on a grand scale plotted silently for nearly a decade [6:02]Something in these pages planted itself deep into Thiel's mind when he first read it long ago [15:25]It was ruthless efficiency and hyper-competence. [21:40]You were driven to entrepreneurship because it was a safe space from consensus and from convention. [34:36]What if I do something about this? What might happen? What might happen if I do nothing? Which is riskier, to act or to ignore? [38:52]Sometimes these books teach us what not to do. [59:06]Unknown unknowns > known knowns [1:11:10]How you do one thing is how you do all things. [1:25:47]He had always be

What I learned from reading Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---I don't want to be the person who ever has to compete with Elon (0:47)Musk expects you to keep up (2:45)Short of building an actual money-crushing machine, Musk could not have picked a faster way to destroy his fortune. He became a one-man, ultra-risk-taking venture capital shop (4:41)Revisit old ideas (5:22)It was not unusual for him to read ten hours a day (7:49)His approach to dating mirrors his approach to work (9:32)Humans are deeply mimetic (10:59)Thinking from first principles (14:37)What it is like to work with Elon Musk (17:40)He would place this urgency that he expected the revenue in ten years to be ten million dollars a day and that every day we were slower to achieve our goals was a day of missing out on that money (19:28)What he went through in 2008 would have b

What I learned from reading The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company by David Packard.---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:01] How Steve Jobs was inspired by David Packard[1:00] Books are the original hyperlinks[4:30] Profit is the measure of how well we work together[9:00] HP's first product[11:00] Podcasts before podcasts[14:00] Many of the things I learned in this process were invaluable, and not available in business schools[15:00] More businesses die from indigestion than starvation[16:30] The importance of maintaining a narrow focus[20:00] Growth from profit[21:00] Lessons from the Great Depression = No long term debt[26:30] A Maverick's persistence[29:00] How to avoid layoffs in a recession[30:20] Employees should outgrow you[31:00] The perils of centralization[35:00] Closing with optimismA list of all the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Wright Brothers by David McCullough---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---Unyielding determination (2:30) Jocko's concept of GOOD (4:00)The ability to focus on an idea for a long time is the antidote to short bursts of dopamine we get from checking social feeds all day. (6:30)The beginning of their side business (13:00)The importance of heroes (16:00)Rereading / revisiting old ideas (18:30)Books transformed idle curiosity into the active zeal of workers (22:00)Wilbur Wright on risk: “The man who wishes to keep at the problem long enough to really learn anything positively must not take dangerous risks. Carelessness and overconfidence are usually more dangerous than deliberately accepted risks.” (24:30)Jeff Bezos on stress (25:00)Discover things for yourself (28:00)"Success it most certainly was." (31:00)Profitability of flying machines (33:30)The distribution channel of flying machines (3

What I learned from reading A Truck Full of Money: Coding, Mania, Love, Genius: The Life of an American Entrepreneurby Tracy Kidder---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[7:00] Kayak sells for $1.8 billion[12:00] "I'm paying attention. I want meetings of three people, not ten."[15:00] "Someday this boy's going to get hit by a truck full of money, and I'm going to be standing beside him."[22:30] A description of Paul's bipolar disorder[31:00] The economics of games[36:30] Learning how to negotiate from his Dad[43:00] "The Internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers. Most people haven't figured this out yet."[50:00] Leaving a $1,000,000 behind[55:00] Applying the lessons he learned from watching his Dad negotiate[58:30] The entrepreneur of ice[1:01:00] "Consistency doesn't matter. Only invention matters."A list of all the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from My Life and Work: The Autobiography of Henry Ford.---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---A theory of business (0:01)If an old idea works then the weight of the evidence is all in its favor. The Lindy Effect. (7:30)All people are not equal (11:00) "That is why I never employ an expert in full bloom" (15:00), "I quit my job on August 15th, 1899 and went into the automobile business" (19:30)Henry Ford's philosophy on constant change (25:00)Henry Ford's 3 conclusions about business (26:00)Traits of a prosperous business (29:45)I cannot discover that anyone knows enough about anything on this earth definitely to say what is and what is not possible. .We get some of our best results from letting fools rush in where angels fear to tread. (34:00)Fix the problem. Do not think money will be the solution. (40:00)Overcome fear. Be free. (44:00)Fuck your feelings (52:30)Henry Ford's 4 principles of business (56:0

What I learned from reading Against the Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---I am a creator of products, a builder of things. [0:01]This book is the story of 15 years of struggle to finally invent, own, and sell his own product. [1:35]This is the exposition of a business philosophy which is very different from anything you might have encountered before. [2:11]The first 75% to 80% of the book is just struggle after struggle. [2:47]Dyson had a bunch of people that he looked up to that motivated him as a young man. Thomas Edison is one of those people. [4:51]Such reverence has been accorded to the miserable wheel —that perhaps that alone can account for the fact it was never improved. Perhaps millions of people in the last few years had ideas for improving it. All I did was take things a little further than just having an idea. [6:10]The look of the product —the intangible style that

What I learnd by reading No Better Time: The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet by Molly Knight Raskin. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---When Danny was excited about something, you couldn't help but get excited too (3:00)Steve Jobs had one speed: GO! (6:00)Danny joins Israel's special forces (10:00)"Life is too short to be bored. Only boring people are bored." (19:00)The idea for Akamai (22:00)"If he didn't know something, he'd go learn it." (28:00)Building a company the right way (31:00)Finding a business model (35:00)Passion is worth $500,000 (38:30)The first product (42:00)"My goal was to express it in layman's terms so that your grandmother could understand it." (44:00)Finding the right price/model (45:00)The best salesperson (48:10)"Hi, this is Steve Jobs, and I want to buy your company." (54:00)"I have this company of one hundred ten people, headed by one of the bi

What I learned from reading The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story by Michael Lewis---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---He grew up poor, dropped out of high school, and made himself 3 or 4 billion dollars (0:01), New Growth Theory (8:00), "Growth is just another word for change." (11:15), "The notion of what constituted useful work had broadened." (15:00), "If everyone was patient there'd be no new companies." (18:00), Turning his life around at 38 (21:00), Jim's idea to avoid the Innovator's Dilemma (30:00), The beginning of Netscape (33:00), The fast eat the slow (38:00), The people you don't want (40:00), The difference between a pig and a chicken /"They had wanted to be chickens; Clark forced them to be pigs" (43:00), All chips on 00 / Diversification is for idiots (48:00), Moving the goalposts / "Mama, I'm going to show Plainview." (56:00)—“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every ep

What I learned from reading How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars: The Snapchat Story by Billy Gallagher. ---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---I'm not going to work for someone else (0:01)Early design decisions of Snapchat (7:45)Evan idolized Steve Jobs and Edwin Land (10:00)How Snapchat convinced people to download the app (13:00)How Facebook created the environment for Snapchat to grow (16:00)The problem of standard (21:00)Evan on conforming (23:00)Mark Zuckerberg's first move on Snapchat (27:00)A great quote from Jeff Bezos (34:30)Digital Dualism (36:30)Snapchat Stories (39:00)Evan's framework for Snapchat and the Internet Everywhere (44:45)Learning from messaging apps in Asia (50:00)Brands are not social. People are. (55:00)Evan's philosophy on the distinction between privacy and secrecy (59:00)“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have