Due Diligence

In this episode, I delve into the fascinating history of Silicon Valley with Margaret O'Mara, a professor of American History at the University of Washington and a leading historian of Silicon Valley. We explore the relationship between the public and private sectors that fueled the growth of Silicon Valley, debunking the myth of the lone entrepreneur and highlighting the significant role of Cold War defense spending. Margaret shares insights from her celebrated book "The Code" which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the people who built Silicon Valley and shaped Big Tech. We also discuss the impact of elections on tech policy, the evolving influence of tech in Washington, and the rise of AI. We also discuss the parallels between today's tech landscape and the Gilded Age, the importance of historical perspective, and the future of tech innovation amid increasing US-China tensions and energy concerns.(00:00) Introduction(04:18) From Politics to Tech History(06:02) The Cold War Origins of Silicon Valley(08:30) The Human Storytelling Behind Tech(11:18) Is Silicon Valley A Meritocracy?(17:38) Tech's Political Influence(22:13) The Emergence of the Tech Right(23:01) A New Gilded Age(26:47) Antitrust & Regulation(31:06) What Democrats Need(36:10) Future of AI and Crypto(36:38) The 2024 Elections(39:37) China and the New Cold War(40:23) US Government Spending and Innovation(42:01) Defense Tech(45:45) The Role of Universities and Big Tech(52:27) The Rise of AI(56:56) Energy Concerns in AI(01:03:20) The Value of History

In this episode, I sit down with Glory Liu, author of Adam Smith's America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism. We delve into her book which examines the intellectual history and evolving interpretations of Adam Smith's ideas in America. Liu, Assistant Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University, discusses how Adam Smith's works have been understood and often misunderstood throughout history. Our conversation covers how economic ideas, power, Milton Friedman and capitalism.Links & resources:Adam Smith's America (book)Glory Liu'swebsite

Mark Blyth is a political economist and the William R. Rhodes Professor of International Economics at Brown University. He is the author of several books including Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (named one of the best books of the year in 2013 by the Financial Times and Bloomberg), Angrynomics, and a new book coming out in May 2025 called Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers. His research is in international & comparative political economy and focuses on the political power of economic ideas, how institutions change, and the political economy of rich democracies. Mark is a native of Scotland and received his PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1999 and taught at the Johns Hopkins University from 1997 to 2009 before joining the Brown faculty in 2009. (04:34) What is political economy? (06:10) Mark's academic journey (08:28) How economic consensus is formed (11:01) What is inflation? (13:23) Good vs. bad inflation (17:55) The four main inflation "stories" (18:51) Which story prevails currently (20:57) How will tariffs affect inflation? (26:23) The tariff narrative (28:58) Capitalism 2.0 vs. 3.0 (29:43) The "hardware" & "software" of capitalism (34:23) The "bug" in our current system (37:13) The legacy of inflation in the 1970s (44:41) The Federal Reserve's toolkit (47:41) The Fed before the 1970s (49:27) Hyperinflation in Germany and Argentina (54:16) The structural causes of hyperinflation (56:19) Economic indicators of political unrest (59:01) The role of technological progress (01:02:40) What should capitalism 4.0 be? Pre-order Mark's book on inflation here Listen to Mark's podcast on Apple and Spotify

This episode is a deep dive into our founding document, the Declaration of Independence — its history, its intellectual influences, its legacy and ultimately its evolution into our national "scripture" as historian Pauline Maier calls it. 00:00 Introduction to the Declaration of Independence 01:23 The Myth That Binds Us 05:01 Historical Context and Influences 07:11 Early Colonial Period 18:04 The Road to Revolution 27:32 The Continental Congresses 32:49 Drafting the Declaration 42:35 Inspirations & Influences 45:23 Jefferson's Version 46:17 The Slavery Clause Controversy 51:34 Religious Language in the Final Draft 53:17 Structure and Purpose of the Declaration 58:07 The Declaration's Role in Securing Foreign Aid 01:00:41 The Influence of Enlightenment Philosophy 01:13:48 The Declaration as a Living Document 01:19:43 Lincoln's Reinterpretation at Gettysburg 01:22:52 The Declaration's Enduring Legacy 01:26:53 Final Words Books & Texts: The Declaration of Independence (side-by-side versions) American Scripture by Pauline Maier Inventing America by Garry Wills The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn American Gospel by Jon Meacham Common Sense by Thomas Paine John Quincy Adams's "Monsters to destroy" 1821 speech John Winthrop's "City upon a hill" 1630 sermon Lincoln's Gettysburg Address of 1863

A deep dive into our nation's founding document: the history of the Declaration, common myths & misconceptions, the intellectual influences that shaped it, and its status as a symbol of American values. Books & sources: American Scripture: Making The Declaration of Independence by Pauline Maier Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence by Garry Wills John Quincy Adams 1821 address The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham View the Notion curriculum

I'm changing the direction of this podcast. In this solo episode I share the update, the personal realizations that have led me to this pivot, and what you can expect from Due Diligence moving forward. If you have thoughts/feedback, DM me on Instagram.

I recently published a conversation on my other podcast with Colette, a professional dominatrix of nearly 20 years, who taught me how to become a domme in her popular program MistressClass. I got several questions from friends & followers about why I took the program and what I learned, so here's my unedited, uncensored breakdown of why I felt called to explore BDSM & femdom (hint: it was, like with so many things for me, spiritually motivated) as well as what I have gained from this deep dive so far.

The feminine principle of being in presence, intuition, and alignment isn't any less productive than the masculine principle of doing, forcing, hustle. It can even achieve the same or more results with less effort & more ease if you know how to navigate from your soul energetically & practically. Here are the key principles you need to know to get shit done while staying in your "feminine" mode. Books mentioned: Living In The Light by Shakti Gawain The Intuitive Way by Penney Pierce

In this episode, I share the announcement of my new podcast, Influence FM (Apple + Spotify), and also riff on the hero(ine)'s journey, why it's an allegory for our transformation to soul-led living, and how manifestation can reinforce our egoic structures while co-creation with divine intelligence can unleash our true potential. -- Find me on Instagram Find me on TikTok

We have discipline all wrong. Most of us have been conditioned to believe that lacking discipline means we need to push or force ourselves with more willpower, and that if we stop forcing we stop producing. This is one way to do it (and the most common way). But it's also a way that reinforces a subtle violence against the self and potentially leads to burnout. There's another way, and that way can be more effortless, easeful, and even pleasurable. In this solo episode I share three keys to uncover your authentic discipline so that your consistency around your goals arises as a byproduct of alignment and not force.

If you're in a transition and experiencing a time of great fear & uncertainty, you may be on the brink of a rebirth cycle in which a truer version of you and your life is on the brink of emergence. This process is anything but easy when you're in the thick of it, so in this episode we explore tools & principles for navigating this rebirth with more ease, flow, and intuition so we can uncover the hidden opportunity in these times of great upheaval.

Today we explore a radically different approach to thinking about "purpose"—what it is, what it isn't, and how to discover yours. I also share my own (tortuous) journey to uncovering my own purpose, messy career pivots and all, and what helped me finally develop a deeper understanding of purpose that is different than any of the ideas that have been sold to me by society or self-help gurus. Enjoy.

Today we discuss stepping into our power: what it means, why it matters, and six practices for cultivating it more deeply.

A short solo episode on where I've been, the inner transformations I've been experiencing, and some lessons on how to surrender to a more inspired & soul-driven life (and how to deal with the fear energies that hold us back).

Keith Rabois is a cofounder of OpenStore, a platform connecting shoppers and merchants to create the ultimate decentralized "department store" of the internet. Keith is also a General Partner at Founders Fund, one of the top venture firms in the world. He is cofounder and executive chairman of OpenDoor, served on the boards of Yelp and Reddit, was Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, and COO at Square. Keith was an early employee at PayPal and has invested in legendary Silicon Valley startups like YouTube, Airbnb, Palantir, Eventbrite, Lyft, Quora, Yammer and Wish. He was named #8 on the Midas List in 2022 globally and #4 in the U.S. Learn about OpenStore Sign up for Gorgias

Alejandro Oropeza is the co-founder & CEO of Flavrs, a shoppable video platform that combines premium food content and commerce for foodies. Founded in 2020, Flavrs is on a mission to bring the world together through food and their creators include Everything Delish, Binging with Babish, Eric Ripert and more. They also recently launched their Creator Equity Fund to give early content creators equity in the company. Prior to starting Flavrs, Alejandro worked at Alphabet from 2011 to 2020 including as Global Head of Marketing for Creators at YouTube from 2016 to 2020.  Learn more about Flavrs Join the Creator Equity Fund

Sophia Amoruso is a serial entrepreneur who founded fashion retailer Nasty Gal and media startup Girlboss. She is also the NYTimes bestselling author of Girlboss, a business memoir that sparked a movement, inspired a Netflix show, and became solidly part of our entrepreneurial vernacular. She is now the founder of online course Business Class and VC fund Trust Fund. What we discuss: How she has evolved since publishing Girlboss If she would write another book Female founders & cancel culture How to deal with negative press What else she wants to accomplish Imposter syndrome Starting a fund Being an introverted VC Resources Female Founder World (podcast) My first interview with Sophia in 2015 Business Class (online course) Trust Fund

Michael Maslansky is a communication strategist and language expert who teaches companies how to effectively connect with customers. As the CEO of Maslansky + Partners, his emotionally savvy coaching has helped numerous Fortune 500s like Pfizer, Starbucks, Bank of America and Microsoft find their footing in times of crisis. His firm's polling methodologies and in-depth focus groups have frequently been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, 60 Minutes, Nightline and PBS's Frontline, among others. In this episode we discuss: How to be authentic in your brand messaging & PR The biggest challenges for brands in today's political landscape How to effectively communicate with policymakers and regulators Strategies for navigating "cancel culture" The case study of Bud Light How to communicate brand values while protecting reputation The 4 principles of building trust through communication And more Recommended resources: The Language of Trust: Selling Ideas in a World of Skeptics by Michael Maslansky Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

Samyr Laine is an investor, Olympian, and operator with a background in sports & entertainment. He is currently GP of Freedom Trail Capital, SVP of The Creator Project at Raptive, former SVP of Operations & Strategy at Westbrook, and former Senior Director of Operations at Roc Nation. Prior to working on celebrity ventures for Will & Jada Pinkett Smith and Roc Nation, Samyr worked in the sports industry at Major League Soccer and Monumental Sports & Entertainment. He also competed in the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the triple jump representing Haiti after getting degrees from Georgetown Law & Harvard University.

Rich Antoniello is the founder and former CEO of Complex Networks, a youth culture brand and media company that was founded in 2002 and sold in 2015 to Hearst and Verizon and later in 2021 to BuzzFeed. Find Rich on Twitter and LinkedIn Mentioned in the episode: Collect'd XSET Popchew ⁠Female Founder World⁠

Ahad Khan is the CEO of Kajabi, the leading knowledge commerce platform for creators to monetize their expertise.

Rachel Woods is an AI-focused creator with 130K+ on TikTok and the founder of The AI Exchange, a subscription-based hub for AI education. Previously she was the founder of Vinebase, an AI-enabled ecommerce platform, and a data scientist at Meta. In this episode we discuss: What is AI? What is machine learning? What are LLMs? Why AI is exploding now The big players in the AI landscape What is AutoGPT? Current limitations of AI chatbots Tips on prompt engineering Chatbot recommendations How creators & entrepreneurs can start using AI Some of the biggest risks of AI And more Join The AI Exchange here to get 20% off on your first payment

Amanda Bucci is a life coach, content creator, and author of Followed: The Content Creator's Guide to Being Seen, Facing Judgment, and Building An Authentic Personal Brand. In this conversation we discuss: How to stay aligned as a creator How to pivot & reinvent yourself Getting over the fear of being seen Tips for navigating being "cancelled" or called out Setting boundaries as a creator Practices to stay inspired & creative And more. Pre-order her book Find her on Instagram Work with Amanda

Valeria Lipovetsky is a content creator in lifestyle & fashion from Russia & Israel and now based in Miami. She has over 5M+ followers across channels including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. She is also the host of the Not Alone Podcast.

Reflecting on the past 100 days and what's ahead.

Brian Rappaport is the founder & CEO of Quan Media Group, a leading out-of-home advertising agency that has worked with brands like Skims, Daily Harvest, Public, Away, Truff, Recess, Casper, Ouai, Billie, Justworks, and Coterie.

Adrian Alfieri is the founder & CEO of Verbatim, a B2B content studio that has helped 100+ startups like OpenStore, Polywork, Goody, Tydo, Parker, Disco and Settle launch & scale their content functions. He is also the creator of The Proof as well as an advisor and angel investor in early-stage startups and venture funds.

This is the edited recording of a 1-hour live workshop I did on TikTok for Startups 101. Here is the presentation to accompany the workshop.

Jason Yeh is a former VC and startup founder who now helps startups navigate the fundraising process through his coaching, content and programs. Previously Jason was Director of New Media for Major League Baseball, an investor at Greycroft, and cofounder and CEO of the LA-based startup Tape. Learn more: Jason on Twitter Adamant Ventures Funded (podcast) Fundraise with Confidence (course)

Here are 7 resources for learning about business plus 3 bonus tips for how to accelerate this process of understanding a field/industry/vertical.

Here are my 10 principles for living based on an exercise I did to distill how I make life decisions. Sharing in case they're helpful or inspire you to do this exercise for yourself!

Ankur Nagpal is the founder of Teachable which he started in 2013 and sold for a reported $250M to HotMart in 2020. He is also the founder of Vibe Capital, an early-stage venture fund, and most recently Ocho, a fintech startup on a mission to help business owners and creators build wealth.

Here are three mindset strategies I think are even MORE important than specific tactics for becoming a successful creator on any platform.

Andrea Campos is an artist and illustrator who went full-time after a 100 day challenge led her to pivoting from her career in tech where she worked at startups like The Wing to an artist who has worked with major brands and also celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Lopez.

Brian Sugar is the co-founder and former CEO of PopSugar, a women's media company acquired by Group Nine (which was later acquired by Vox Media). He is now the Managing Partner of Sugar Capital where he invests in DTC brands like Feastables, Kinship, Caraway, Brightland, Omsom, Starface, and Kinship as well as tech companies enabling commerce like Archive, Bounty, EcoCart, Tydo, Fondue, and Cogsy. Brian's Twitter Sugar Capital website

Here is my perspective on the industry, key learnings from observing major celebrity brands over the last year especially, and some predictions. See also my most recent Substack newsletter.

Sari Azout is the founder and CEO of Sublime. Prior to Sublime she was a VC at Level Ventures, Head of Strategy at the Miami-based startup studio Rokk3r Labs, and CEO & co-founder of Bib + Tuck.

This solo episode is about the keys to consistency for anyone looking to work on a new project/business/endeavor with more follow-through & discipline.

Kiva Dickinson is the co-founder & Managing Partner of Selva Ventures, an early-stage CPG venture firm. Prior to founding Selva, Kiva was a partner at CircleUp Growth Partners, worked in private equity at TPG Global, and worked in investment banking at Barclays. Kiva's investments through Selva Ventures include Mud/Wtr, Mid-Day Squares, Cake, Arrae, House of Wise, Three Wishes, and Kinship. For more info on Selva Ventures: https://www.selvaventures.com/ To follow Kiva on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KivaDickinson

Just a little recap on my first SXSW!

Rebecca Minkoff is a designer and the founder of the iconic fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff. Ali Koplar Wyatt is an executive & operator with a background in media from Elle to Refinery29 to Goop and Girlboss. Together they are cofounders of The Female Founder Collective, a community & platform for women entrepreneurs. Join Female Founder's Day on March 23rd in Los Angeles

Peter Brack is a Managing Partner at Hypothesis Ventures, an early-stage VC fund investing in mission-driven companies outside of Silicon Valley. Peter was previously a Venture Partner at Mucker Capital in Los Angeles and before that started & exited two media companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after starting his career in media at Time Warner and Time Inc. building the Asia operations. Peter is also a startup coach in addition to being an investor and advisor in startups.

This is a recording of my SXSW panel titled "The Future of Search: The Rise of Social Search Among Gen Z".

This is a recording of my SXSW panel titled "Money In The Mission: How 4 Entrepreneurs Turned Personal Pain Into Multi-Million Dollar Passion Projects" with Amy Liu (Tower28), Mason Spector (Madhappy), and Allison Evans (Branch Basics).

Michelle Miller is the SVP of Global Marketing at K18, one of the fastest-growing beauty brands to launch in the last few years. Prior to that she served as VP of Marketing at Kosas, VP of Global Marketing at IGK Hair, and Senior Marketing Manager at Too Faced Cosmetics.

Here are some of my key insights from the research & moderation I did for my SXSW panel titled, "The Future of Search: The Rise of Social Search Among Gen Z".

Greg Fleishman is a preeminent CPG founder & operator in food & beverage focused on starting, funding, and advising impact-driven brands. He co-founded Foodstirs with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Modern Alkeme with Real Housewife Jules Wainstein, and is on the board of companies like nuun hydration, Lily's Sweets, and Once Upon A Farm (co-founded by Jennifer Garner). He has invested in leading CPG brands like MrBeast's Feastables and is the co-founder and general partner of Good Alpha Industries, a VC firm focused on CPG brands, consumer tech, and experiences that do good.

This is an impassioned rant about the media coverage of female founders in recent years: why it's a problem, the true costs, and what we can each do to play our part. It's inspired by this Fast Company article written by Leslie Feinzaig and is a solo episode in honor of International Women's Day.

Allie Egan is the CEO and founder of Veracity Selfcare, a hormonal wellness platform that helps you personalize your skincare based on your hormonal health. Prior to starting Veracity, Allie was the CEO of the iconic fashion brand Cynthia Rowley. She also led marketing at the Estée Lauder brands La Mer, Clinique and Origins after starting her career out in finance.

Ben Mathews is the GP of Night Ventures, the early-stage venture investing arm of Night Media, a management company that manages some of the world's top creator talent including MrBeast, Safiya Nygaard, Dream, Graham Stephan, Codie Sanchez, and more. Prior to starting Night Ventures, Ben was an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners and before that worked at Google. Learn more about Night Find Ben on Twitter Sign up for the TikTok for Startups workshop

If you're looking to take the leap around something you're passionate about but you're also confronting a lot of fear, this episode is for you.