Podcasts about entrepreneurs who shaped silicon valley

Dr Claude Shannon is one of the most influential scientists you’ve likely never heard of whose work laid the foundations for the information age. To explain the significance of Dr Shannon’s impact on modern computing, we’re joined by Jimmy Soni, author of “A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age” and “The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley”. Resources and links: Jimmy Soni’s website Jimmy Soni on X Jimmy Soni on Instagram Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

What I learned from rereading James J. Hill: Empire Builder by Michael P. Malone. ----Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business control your costs and save more. ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to learn from history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. You can search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----Join my free email newsletter to get my top 10 highlights from every book----Notes and highlights from the episode: —He had unlimited energy, was stubborn, had a temper, was supremely arrogant and he did more to transform the northern frontier of the United States than any other single individual.—One of the things he learned from history and biography: The power of one dynamic individual: Like so many other nineteenth-century youths, young Jim Hill fell under the spell of Napoleon. He came to believe in the strength of will, the power of one dynamic individual to change the world, the conquering hero. (He says that the railroad entrepreneurs conquered the distance between remote communities in the American west)—He accustomed himself to handle a large workload.—If you want to know whether you are destined to be a success or a failure in life, you can easily find out. The test is simple and it is infallible: Are you able to save money? If not, drop out. You will lose. You may think not, but you will lose as sure as you live. The seed of success is not in you. –James J. Hill—He held people's attention as he engaged them in characteristic rapid-fire, highly animated conversation, gesturing expansively and driving home his point with jabbing motions of his hands—the embodiment of high energy.—He worked incredibly hard, sometimes laboring late into the night, falling asleep at the desk, then getting up for a swim in the river and a cup of black coffee, then going back to work.—“Rebates existed in other industries. I just applied them to oil.” Rockefeller said. [Don't copy the what, copy the how]  —John D: The Founding Father of the Rockefellers by David Freeman Hawke. (Founders #254)—"The very best employee at any job at any level of responsibility is the person who generally believes that this is their last job working for someone. The next thing they'll start will be their own. — Max Levchin in The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)—Hill drank little, worked hard, and confined his socializing to respectable settings. As always, he read incessantly. He permitted himself few distractions in his relentless drive to achieve wealth and status.—Inefficiency disturbs him greatly.—James J. Hill loved eliminating steps.—Genius has the fewest moving parts.—Hill limited the number of details. Then he makes every detail perfect.—Hill called vertical integration, rational integration.—Hill always gets out quickly in front of the emerging trend.—Hill had an entirely pragmatic business personality. When competition suited him in a market, he competed fiercely. But when competition became wasteful to him, he did not hesitate to end it, even if this meant joining with old enemies and creating a monopoly.—Hill was making profits owning steamboats. Then a competitor from Canada starts running the same route and the rates and profits dwindle. Hill discovers a neglected maritime law that prohibited foreign ships from operating in American waters. Hill then persuades the US Treasury Department to enforce the law against his competitor. The competitor has to transfer ownership to an American. After that Hill then merges with that competitor and forges another monopoly.—This railroad is my monument. — James J Hill—As man emerged into history, he became a road maker; the better the road, the more advanced his development. — James J. Hill.—By 1885 Railroads brought in twice the revenue than the federal government.Railroads were the nations largest employer.The railroaders were the largest private land holders in the country.They owned more than 10% of land in the United States.—Hill identified an opportunity hiding in plain sight: Unlike most who viewed the Saint Paul and Pacific as a near-worthless derelict, Hill viewed it as a miracle waiting to happen, a potentially wondrous enterprise simply lacking competent leadership. He studied the road constantly, reading every scrap of information he could find about it and boring anyone who would listen with endless detail as to what it could one day be.—He possessed a priceless advantage compared with most other nineteenth-century rail titans. Rather than coming from the outside world of finance, as most of them did, he arose from the inside world of freighting and transportation, and he knew this world in all its complexities. He was about to demonstrate how certain well-established, regional capitalists on the frontier could challenge and even best larger eastern interests.—Being obsessed is an edge. Hill was obsessed getting control of the bankrupt Saint Paul & Pacific rail line:  Hill, who knew the road better than anyone else, constantly argued to his friends, the potential prize defied description. He seemed completely fixated on the project. Many years later, his friend recalled that Jim had spoken of it to him “probably several hundred times” during the mid-1870s.—James J. Hill finds what he is best at in the world at, at 40 years old, in a field where he had no direct experience.—“It pays to be where the money is spent” — James J Hill—James J. Hill was very easy to interface with. He had an easy to understand organizing principle for his company. Hills credo: What we want is the best possible line, shortest distance, lowest grades, and least curvature that we can build.—He had appreciation for those who had dirt underneath their fingernails.—Many observers would later compare Hill with Villard. The comparison was inevitable. “While Hill was building carefully and checking his costs minutely Villard built in ignorance of costs.” Like other transcontinental plungers, Villard did in fact build rapidly and poorly, much of his main line would later have to be torn up and rebuilt. He had rushed to get the massive land grants. Amid mounting deficits and acrimony, Villard was then forced to resign the presidency of the NP in 1884.—Find what you are good at and pound away at it forever.—He simply could not delegate authority and live with the outcome.—Hill on how to build a railroad: Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work. — James J Hill.—They managed the finances of the railroad in a highly conservative and prudent manner.  Hill advocated and practiced a policy of plowing large percentages of profits directly back into the property, knowing that the best defense against invading railroads was a better-built system that could operate at lower rates.—Give me Swedes, snuff and whiskey, and I'll build a railroad through hell. — James J. Hill—From the Hour of Fate: James J. Hill had built the Great Northern with deliberate thrift and brutal efficiency. His railroad would become among the most profitable in the Northwest. He didn't need JP Morgan the way other railroad executives did. (Financial strength was kryptonite to JP Morgan)—He cared most about freight, never frills.—The life of James J. Hill certainly demonstrates the impact one willful individual can have on the course of history.—I've made my mark on the surface of the earth and they can't wipe it out. — James J Hill.----“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

An interview with Johnny Burtka, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He is a graduate of Hillsdale College, and his most recent book is titled “Gateway to Statesmanship—Selections from Xenophon to Churchill”.In this episode:The Mirrors for Princes traditionObstacles as a Ladder to GreatnessThe Potency of Xenophon's ‘Education of Cyrus'The Leadership Qualities of CyrusThe Complex Enduring Power of Cicero's ‘On Duties'Cultivating Greatness of Soul and the Magnitudo Animi of ChurchillMachiavelli as Practitioner, not Political PhilosopherWhere should an 18-year old dedicate himself to?Washington's Farewell Address as a Beautiful Political TextBooks Mentioned:Gateway to Statesmanship—Selections from Xenophon to Churchill by Johnny BurtkaEducation of Cyrus by XenophonOn Duties by CiceroThe Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy SoniWalking with Destiny by Andrew RobertsFor the episode transcript, be sure to subscribe to my Substack!Thanks to our sponsor Intercollegiate Studies Institute! Check out their programs on supporting quality thought and intellectual life in and after your college years.

Elon Musk, Amy Rowe Klement, Peter Thiel, Julie Anderson, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman.  What do these powerhouse entrepreneurs all have in common?  Hint: They all played a role in the meteoric rise of PayPal. Find out the intricate web behind one of the biggest startups in the world, as Alex chats with the author of "The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley," Jimmy Soni. They dive into the history of PayPal and discuss the early days of the company, its vision, and the talented individuals who were part of its success. How did PayPal start as the result of a broken AC unit and a simple ploy to get free air conditioning from a college campus? How did Elon Musk's role in PayPal fundamentally shape his views on banking? Find out how some of today's most seminal minds collided and how things culminated into the height of Silicon Valley's fintech revolution. For a fascinating glimpse into one of history's most fundamentally impactful fintech companies, you don't want to miss this ep! Read “The Founders” here.   TruStage Payment Guard Insurance is a first-of-its-kind insurance solution built for digital lenders, designed to help you attract more borrowers, strengthen your loan portfolio and reduce time spent on collections — all with minimal tech lift needed to go live. To learn more about Payment Guard Insurance, visit https://www.trustage.com/payment-guard.   00:01:59 - Book on PayPal's Genius Team 00:09:02 - Paths Crossed: Silicon Valley Engineers 00:13:21 - Evolution of PayPal Founder's Ideas 00:19:21 - David Sacks: From Email to Product Officer 00:21:31 - Elon Musk's Early Banking Experience 00:24:03 - Elon Musk's Financial Services Interest 00:32:33 - eBay and X.com's Email Money Concept 00:39:13 - PayPal's Merger Against Elon's Will 00:44:32 - Shorting the Stock Market: Peter Thiel's Proposal 00:50:39 - PayPal's Evolution in Fintech Industry 00:52:24 - PayPal: From Startup to Modern Regulations 00:57:37 - Elon Musk's Vision for Efficiency   Sign up for Alex's Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/   And for more exclusive insider content, don't forget to check out my YouTube page.   Follow Jimmy:  Website: https://jimmysoni.com/books/the-founders/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1501197266 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/   Follow Alex:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

What I learned from rereading George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones.----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.comYou can read, reread, and search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast. You can also ask SAGE any question and SAGE will read all my notes, highlights, and every transcript from every episode for you. A few questions I've asked SAGE recently: What are the most important leadership lessons from history's greatest entrepreneurs?Can you give me a summary of Warren Buffett's best ideas? (Substitute any founder covered on the podcast and you'll get a comprehensive and easy to read summary of their ideas) How did Edwin Land find new employees to hire? Any unusual sources to find talent?What are some strategies that Cornelius Vanderbilt used against his competitors?Get access to Founders Notes here. ----(0:01) George Lucas unapologetically invested in what he believed in the most: himself.(1:00) George Lucas is the Thomas Edison of the modern film industry.(1:30) A list of biographies written by Brian Jay Jones(6:00) Elon Musk interviewed by Kevin Rose (10:15) How many people think the solution to gaining quality control, improving fiscal responsibility, and stimulating technological innovation is to start their own special-effects company? But that's what he did.(17:00) When I finally discovered film, I really fell madly in love with it. I ate it. I slept it. 24 hours a day. There was no going back.(18:00) Those on the margins often come to control the center. (Game of Thrones)(21:00) As soon as I made my first film, I thought, Hey, I'm good at this. I know how to do this. From then on, I've never questioned it.(23:00) He was becoming increasingly cranky about the idea of working with others and preferred doing everything himself.(34:00) Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker's Life by Michael Schumacher. (Founders #242)(42:00) The film Easy Rider was made for $350,000. It grossed over $60 million at the box office.(45:00) The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman (Founders #95)Steve Jobs & The NeXT Big Thing by Randall Stross. (Founders #77)(47:00) 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. That's very hard to do in the world of business. You have to have the money in order to have the power to be free.(49:00) You should reject the status quo and pursue freedom.(49:00) People would give anything to quit their jobs. All they have to do is do it. They're people in cages with open doors.(51:00) Stay small. Be the best. Don't lose any money.(59:00) That was a very dark period for me. We were in dire financial strait. I turned that down [directing someone else's movie] at my bleakest point, when I was in debt to my parents, in debt to Francis Coppola, in debt to my agent; I was so far in debt I thought I'd never get out. It took years to get from my first film to my second film, banging on doors, trying to get people to give me a chance. Writing, struggling, with no money in the bank… getting little jobs, eking out a living. Trying to stay alive, and pushing a script that nobody wanted.(1:02:00) “Opening this new restaurant might be the worst mistake I've ever made."Stanley [Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus] set his martini down, looked me in the eye, and said, "So you made a mistake. You need to understand something important. And listen to me carefully: The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled."His words remained with me through the night. I repeated them over and over to myself, and it led to a turning point in the way I approached business.Stanley's lesson reminded me of something my grandfather Irving Harris had always told me:“The definition of business is problems."His philosophy came down to a simple fact of business life: success lies not in the elimination of problems but in the art of creative, profitable problem solving. The best companies are those that distinguish themselves by solving problems most effectively.Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer. (1:05:00) My thing about art is that I don't like the word art because it means pretension and bullshit, and I equate those two directly. I don't think of myself as an artist. I'm a craftsman. I don't make a work of art; I make a movie.(1:06:00) I know how good I am. American Graffiti is successful because it came entirely from my head. It was my concept. And that's the only way I can work.(1:09:00) Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda. (Founders #281)(1:21:00) The budget for Star Wars was $11 million. In brought in $775 million at the box office alone!(1:25:00) Steven Spielberg made over $40 million from the original Star Wars. Spielberg gave Lucas 2.5% of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Lucas gave Spielberg 2.5% of Star Wars. That to 2.5% would earn Spielberg more than $40 million over the next four decades.----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----“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

Founders ✓ Claim Key Takeaways Check out the episode pageRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgWhat I learned from rereading Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer by Stephen Dando-Collins. ----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes----Follow Founders Podcast on YouTube ----(0:01) Vanderbilt was only interested in two things: making money and winning(3:00) Cornelius Vanderbilt, the descendant of poor Dutch immigrants, would die in 1877 possessing more money than was held by the United States treasury.(3:00) The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles(5:00) The NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329) (6:00) “If I had learned education. I would not have had time to learn anything else.”(7:00) Vanderbilt wrote nothing down, keeping every detail of his business dealings in his head, and at any given time he knew his income and expenditures down to the last cent.(10:00) From Founders Notes. I asked the chat feature:Tell me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. How did he make his money?One trait it identified in Vanderbilt was this:Vanderbilt's approach to business was often marked by a sly concealment of his intentions, keeping information close while simultaneously gathering intelligence on competitors. This strategic obfuscation allowed him to make moves that others often couldn't predict or comprehend until it was too late(This feature will be available to Founders Notes subscribers very soon!)(15:00) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields (Founders #292)(24:00) The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233) (26:00) Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I'll ruin you. Yours truly, Cornelius Vanderbilt.(37:00) He's turning everyone against Walker by appealing to their interests. He's not saying do this for me to get my ships back. He appeals to their interests and aligns their interests with his own.(40:00) Vanderbilt had more money than all the Central American governments combined.(41:00) As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition, I destroy competitors.— The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son by John D. Rockefeller. (Founders #324)(41:00) Vanderbilt said why don't you pay me to not compete with you?----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at 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. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast 

Founders ✓ Claim Key Takeaways Check out the episode pageRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgWhat I learned from rereading Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer by Stephen Dando-Collins. ----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes----Follow Founders Podcast on YouTube ----(0:01) Vanderbilt was only interested in two things: making money and winning(3:00) Cornelius Vanderbilt, the descendant of poor Dutch immigrants, would die in 1877 possessing more money than was held by the United States treasury.(3:00) The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles(5:00) The NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329) (6:00) “If I had learned education. I would not have had time to learn anything else.”(7:00) Vanderbilt wrote nothing down, keeping every detail of his business dealings in his head, and at any given time he knew his income and expenditures down to the last cent.(10:00) From Founders Notes. I asked the chat feature:Tell me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. How did he make his money?One trait it identified in Vanderbilt was this:Vanderbilt's approach to business was often marked by a sly concealment of his intentions, keeping information close while simultaneously gathering intelligence on competitors. This strategic obfuscation allowed him to make moves that others often couldn't predict or comprehend until it was too late(This feature will be available to Founders Notes subscribers very soon!)(15:00) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields (Founders #292)(24:00) The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233) (26:00) Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I'll ruin you. Yours truly, Cornelius Vanderbilt.(37:00) He's turning everyone against Walker by appealing to their interests. He's not saying do this for me to get my ships back. He appeals to their interests and aligns their interests with his own.(40:00) Vanderbilt had more money than all the Central American governments combined.(41:00) As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition, I destroy competitors.— The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son by John D. Rockefeller. (Founders #324)(41:00) Vanderbilt said why don't you pay me to not compete with you?----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at 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. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast 

What I learned from rereading Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer by Stephen Dando-Collins. ----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes----Follow Founders Podcast on YouTube ----(0:01) Vanderbilt was only interested in two things: making money and winning(3:00) Cornelius Vanderbilt, the descendant of poor Dutch immigrants, would die in 1877 possessing more money than was held by the United States treasury.(3:00) The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles(5:00) The NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329) (6:00) “If I had learned education. I would not have had time to learn anything else.”(7:00) Vanderbilt wrote nothing down, keeping every detail of his business dealings in his head, and at any given time he knew his income and expenditures down to the last cent.(10:00) From Founders Notes. I asked the chat feature:Tell me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. How did he make his money?One trait it identified in Vanderbilt was this:Vanderbilt's approach to business was often marked by a sly concealment of his intentions, keeping information close while simultaneously gathering intelligence on competitors. This strategic obfuscation allowed him to make moves that others often couldn't predict or comprehend until it was too late(This feature will be available to Founders Notes subscribers very soon!)(15:00) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields (Founders #292)(24:00) The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233) (26:00) Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I'll ruin you. Yours truly, Cornelius Vanderbilt.(37:00) He's turning everyone against Walker by appealing to their interests. He's not saying do this for me to get my ships back. He appeals to their interests and aligns their interests with his own.(40:00) Vanderbilt had more money than all the Central American governments combined.(41:00) As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition, I destroy competitors.— The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son by John D. Rockefeller. (Founders #324)(41:00) Vanderbilt said why don't you pay me to not compete with you?----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at 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. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast 

My guest is Jimmy Soni, an American author, and former The Huffington Post managing editor. He is best known for A Mind at Play, his biography of Claude Shannon, and The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.This is a masterclass episode on the skills, mentality, and stories of the greatest team ever built, The Paypal Mafia.You will learn on this episode:- Why it took Jimmy 6 years to write this amazing story- What is Peter Thiel's exceptional skill that powered the growth of PayPal-  How was he able to interview Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, and Peter Thiel-  How PayPal acquired the first 100 and went viral in a strategy that could have bankrupted the company- The key ingredients common between Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and David Sacks- and much more ...You can find Jimmy on:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/https://twitter.com/jimmyasoniThis is a must-read, and I would recommend purchasing the book. Here is a link:https://jimmysoni.com/books/the-founders/https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon/dp/1501197266If you like our podcast, please don't forget to subscribe and support us on your favorite podcast players. We also would appreciate your feedback and rating to reach more people.We recently launched our new newsletter, Principles Friday, where I share one principle that can help you in your life or business, one thought-provoking question, and one call to action toward that principle. Please subscribe Here.It is Free and Short (2min).

Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author, whose book "The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley" vividly narrates PayPal's rise from its challenging early days to revolutionizing financial systems. Soni also brings insights from his previous award-winning book, "A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age." In this episode, delve into the butterfly effect of PayPal on the tech industry, the importance of selecting peers for success, and leveraging connections in business. Uncover the dichotomy of dreams versus economic reality in startups, explore the value of competition in the workplace, and learn about the geographical influences on ambitious projects. Whether an aspiring entrepreneur or tech enthusiast, tune in for invaluable lessons and insights. Checkout the book:→ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Peter-Company-Modern-InternetConnect with Jimmy:→ Website: https://www.jimmysoni.com  → Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jimmyasoni   → LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni   → Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmyasoniResources Mentioned in The Episode:→ A Mind At Play: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Play-Shannon-Invented-Information→ Elon Musk: https://www.twitter.com/elonmusk  → Peter Thiel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterthiel  → Luke Nosek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukenosek→ Max Levchin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxlevchin→ David O. Sacks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidoliversacks→ Ken Howery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenhowery  → The Defiant Ones: https://www.netflix.com/title/80214552     → Silicon Valley Porn Star: https://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Valley-Porn-Star-Rediscovering  Help The Louis and Kyle Show:→ If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or leave a review!→ Leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1504333834→ Drop us an email: LouisandKyleShow@gmail.com→ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb6qBiV1HAYcep87nKJmGhAFollow The Show on Social Media:→ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisKyleShow→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louiskyleshow/→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/65567567/Connect with Louis and Kyle:→ Read Louis' Newsletter: https://louisshulman.substack.com/→ Louis' Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisShulman→ Kyle's Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kylebishop→ Louis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisshulman/→ Kyle's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-bishop-7b790050/

Rebecca Hotsko engages in a conversation with Jimmy Soni, focusing on his book titled "The Founders." This captivating book explores the rise of PayPal and the influential entrepreneurs who were instrumental in shaping the landscape of Silicon Valley. Jimmy Soni's work takes readers on an extraordinary two-decade journey of PayPal, uncovering its origins and presenting fascinating anecdotes about the key figures involved.Jimmy Soni, an award-winning author, has garnered acclaim for his latest book, "The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley." As a debut best-seller, it has received praise from renowned publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, and many others.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:00:00 - Intro.02:26 - The incredible story of how PayPal got started. 06:08 - Who is the PayPal mafia? 10:40 - Max Levchin and Peter Thiel story, and their role in PayPal. 29:19 - The role Elon Musk played in PayPal and stories from his early start up days running Zip2, and X.com. 38:21 - How the merger of Cofinity and X.com happened and why? 42:11- The hurdles the company faced along the way and lessons learned. 45:33 - The unique culture at PayPal.*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.BOOKS AND RESOURCESCheck out: Jimmysoni.com. Get Jimmy's book: The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.Related Episode: Listen to MI230: Buffett Indicator Says Market Is Overvalued w/ Lance Roberts. or watch the video.NEW TO THE SHOW?Check out our Millennial Investing Starter Packs.Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.Try Robert and Rebecca's favorite tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance.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.P.S The Investor's Podcast Network is excited to launch a subreddit devoted to our fans in discussing financial markets, stock picks, questions for our hosts, and much more! Join our subreddit r/TheInvestorsPodcast today!SPONSORSGet a FREE audiobook from Audible.Instead of trying to time the market or pick single stocks, automate your investments and invest in a variety of companies with Betterment.What does happen when money and big feelings mix? Tune in to find out on the new podcast, Open Money, presented by Servus Credit Union.Apply for the Employee Retention Credit easily, no matter how busy you are, with Innovation Refunds.Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors.Connect with Rebecca: Twitter | InstagramEmail: Rebecca@theinvestorspodcast.comConnect with Jimmy: Website | LinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Show Notes Author Jimmy Soni kicks off the conversation by explaining why the PayPal mafia is more noteworthy than other large startups. Soni explains that he wrote the book to document not only the business successes, but also the personal stories of the founders. He explains that the market has been good and that people can learn a lot of new things from the book. Soni reveals that his favorite thing about the book is learning about the inventiveness and innovation PayPal had. The Birth and Growth of the PayPal Mafia Jimmy  and Will discuss the phenomenon of the PayPal Mafia, the group of entrepreneurs who emerged from PayPal's success and went on to found some of the most successful companies in Silicon Valley. Soni explains that the PayPal Mafia is a unique phenomenon because the founders were relatively young when PayPal was successful, they had faith that businesses on the internet could be successful,  and they supported each other's ventures. PayPal alumni invested in and supported each other's companies, and they hired alumni as their first employees. This mutual support and collaboration was key to the success of the PayPal Mafia, and their success has been a major factor in the success of Silicon Valley. He shares how PayPal was able to succeed in the early 2000s due to their right timing and how important that was, the selection of very talented people, and the nurturing of their employees. They were able to take advantage of the increasing ubiquity of email addresses and the platform of eBay, which hadn't yet sorted out its payment infrastructure. They also managed to survive the .com burst and make a successful IPO. This was due to their selection of very smart and entrepreneurial people, and their experiences of putting a company together from scratch and having it be a success. He mentions how the book The PayPal Wars by Eric M. Jackson shows how messy real companies can be and how PayPal started out as two companies, Con Finiti and X.com, that merged and began toying around with the idea of beaming money from one palm pilot to another. Building a Startup Jimmy  reflects on his experience of studying the formation of PayPal and how it taught him about Silicon Valley strategy and the messiness of how companies actually grow. He emphasizes that building a company from scratch is much harder than most people think and that things that seem inevitable can often look ridiculous at the start. He demonstrates this by using the example of the Palm Pilot that was labeled one of the 10 worst business ideas of the 1990s but that company became PayPal. He emphasizes that researching the book has made him more aware of the difficulty of creating something and has taught him to not to dismiss ideas that seem silly or take for granted the companies that occupy our lives. The creation of PayPal was a “dogfight” that required a lot of hard work and effort. The biggest challenges in making it successful were to convince people to use the payment system and make sure that people were not taking advantage of it.  Jimmy talks about the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with being involved in a startup and the do or die moments that can arise and that there are often one or two decisions that are crucial to survival. He noted that CEOs usually only make six important decisions per year, so it's important to go into a startup with eyes wide open and know that these moments will arise and that the company could go under at any point. He also talked about how chaos can be beneficial for a startup, as it can bring about new ideas, but also can just be chaos. His insight from the story of PayPal is that a lot of what appeared to be chaos from the outside was actually a controlled chaos that was directed towards the right problems and issues.  The Elon Musk's Pressure Cooker Leadership Style Will and Jimmy discuss Elon Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter and his ability to lead a tech company. Jimmy explains that he and Musk never spoke about social networks, and that they only discussed payment networks. He noticed that Musk's management style and that Musk used the term ‘maniacal urgency' to describe it, and believes that Musk's intense approach is necessary for the success of a startup. Jimmy goes on to explain that this style of management has been consistent from Musk's first venture, Zip Two, to his current companies Tesla and SpaceX. Elon Musk's leadership style is one of prioritizing urgency and setting unreasonable demands for his employees. This was the case in his experience with PayPal, and is now being seen at Twitter. An engineer from X.Com shared that during this period, Elon worked longer hours than anyone else and that it was an energizing environment for engineers who wanted to build something quickly, get rapid feedback, and keep moving towards a big goal. This style is not for everyone and can be difficult to understand, but it has been successful for Musk in the past. Through his research, it became clear to Jimmy that startups need to be maniacally urgent and dedicated in order to succeed.  He discusses the market for books about companies, including his own book The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley The book has done well, both domestically and abroad, and Jimmy  believes that people are drawn to the book because of the famous and controversial players involved. Feedback received from professionals  in the startup world have told him that the book captures the energy and feeling of what it is like to be in a startup. Soni shares that the market for books about companies is big and that the Silicon Valley halo has not diminished abroad; all of these factors have contributed to the popularity of the book. His book has international appeal and what differentiates his book from others in the same genre is the inclusion of personal stories.  Researching the Book  He talks about the importance of invention and how startups are allowed to look at a problem and create something new to solve it. He shares how many inventions were developed by PayPal.  When it came to gathering information, he struck gold when he was interviewing someone who offered him access to the company's early records. The person sent Jimmy several gigabytes worth of emails from the time. Jimmy was able to access emails sent and received by key players in the company, giving him a better understanding of the story he was researching. To capture the widest possible story, he started with any emails sent to the company and printed them all out. He then read through every page, looking for any interesting gems that could be included in the book. He found a motivating note from Elon Musk outlining the company's struggles and signed off with Work like hell, Elon. This note was unexpected and captured the character of Musk that is still seen today.  When writing his book, Jimmy explained that he took a methodical approach to email research, using folders, binders, and highlighting to identify key points. He used Google Drive to store PDFs of her citations for fact-checking. This email archive was instrumental in making the book more accurate, rather than relying on hazy memories.  Jimmy talks about the secret sauce of recruiting talent. He specifically mentions Peter Thiel's superpower. Jimmy believes that it is talent identification. Thiel has an uncanny ability to identify people who have potential and to offer them help in the form of introductions, investments or by sketching out a vision of their career that is bigger than they thought possible.  Jimmy shares what he learned about his time working at McKinsey and how that helped him as a writer, and what he is working on now, which is a co-writing project on tech history.  Timestamps 07:41 "The Evolution of PayPal: A Story of Near-Failure and Success"  09:57 Exploring Contingency in the Story of PayPal's Success  13:33 Managing Uncertainty in a Startup Environment  14:15 Analysis of Elon Musk's Management Style at Twitter  18:42 Recruiting Strategies at X.com and Confinity  24:34 The Market for Books About Companies  27:59 On PayPal's Inventiveness and Innovation + Exploring the Origin Story of PayPal's CAPTCHA Technology  38:10 Analysis of Peter Thiel's Superpower: Talent Identification  41:23 Peter Thiel's Approach to Hiring and Recruiting  44:42 Writing Books, Consulting, and Professional Development  Links: The Everything Store, Brad Stone The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley,  A Mind at Play, Jimmy Soni https://jimmysoni.com/ CONTACT INFO: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/ Twitter @jimmyasoni https://jimmysoni.com/ Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His newest book, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a national bestseller and received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, The Economist, Financial Times, and more. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the 2019 Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice. “Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” - Steve Jobs ________________ Learn more about what Roger does here: https://linktr.ee/rogercomstock Follow Roger on Instagram or TikTok at: roger.comstock

EPISODE 1416: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE FOUNDERS, Jimmy Soni, about the story of PayPal and its remarkable entrepreneurs - from Elon Musk and Peter Thiel to Reid Hoffman and Levchin - who have shaped the 21st century Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His newest book, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a national bestseller and received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, The Economist, Financial Times, and more. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the 2019 Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luke Burgis joins the NIA boys to discuss Mimetic Desire, Thick vs. Thin Desires & Power of Memes.Timestamps:(00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:33) - Meme of the Week(00:04:18) - Jack & Luke's Collab(00:06:07) - Visualizing Mimesis(00:08:48) - Wanting's Backstory(00:10:33) - Meme Culture is Everywhere(00:12:26) - TLDR of Mimetic Desire(00:14:42) - Examples of Mimetic Desire(00:18:46) - Mount Rushmore of Meme Masters(00:22:39) - Role Models vs Models of Desire(00:25:52) - The Power of Mimetics(00:27:38) - Thick vs Thin Desires(00:35:57) - Mimetic Rivalry Explained(00:37:32) - Mimetic Desire is Natural(00:40:45) - Optimize for Yourself(00:48:26) - A.I. and Mimetic Desire(00:52:51) - Chat GPT vs Bard(00:53:46) - Generative Art and Society(00:58:20) - The Stendhal Effect(01:02:07) - Reacting to Twitter's “For You” Algorithm(01:05:17) - How Twitter's Algorithm Works(01:13:30) - Reacting to Twitter's Verification Reception(01:23:50) - Peter Theil and Mimetic DesireWhat Is Not Investment Advice?Every week, Jack Butcher, Bilal Zaidi & Trung Phan discuss what they're finding on the edges of the internet + the latest in business, technology and memes.Watch + Subscribe on Youtube:https://youtu.be/vpA5k1c4Ey4Listen into our group chat on Telegram:https://t.me/notinvestmentadviceLet us know what you think on Twitter:@bzaidi@trungtphan@jackbutcher@niapodcastFollow NIA on social:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notadvicepod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089813414522TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@niapodcast Links Mentioned:Wanting (Book): https://amzn.to/43a9aioAnti-Mimetic (Newsletter): http://read.lukeburgis.comRIDE/DRIVE (Creator Notes): http://ride.lukeburgis.comVisualizing Mimesis: https://vv.mirror.xyz/5O3L9nsYfmYyYAdnAtS-SbA7N6NDAUR7mzdAfmiRlrcThe Myth of Artificial Intelligence by Erik Larson: https://bit.ly/3zvJq2iFounders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni: https://amzn.to/3K4idbO Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do we actually know about the applications we use every day? Few people are aware of PayPal's humble beginnings, despite the company being a behemoth today. Nowadays, PayPal is a household name. Its founders include some of the most well-known figures in the tech industry including Max Levchin, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel. In this episode, we've invited an award-winning author and biographer, Jimmy Soni. Jimmy has spoken about his books throughout the USA at organizations big and small, including universities, conferences, and companies such as Talks at Google. His latest book, THE FOUNDERS: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a debut best-seller and has earned praise from the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Economist, among many others. In this episode, Jimmy will be sharing: 1) The Story of Paypal And The Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley 2) The Superpower which Elon Musk & Peter Thiel possess 3) The Power of Social Capital Learn more about Jimmy: Website: https://jimmysoni.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimmy.soni.750 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmyasoni/ Get The Founders: https://jimmysoni.com/books/the-founders/ Episode Sponsor: https://bookthinkers.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theraygacyshow/message

Today's episode is with Deb Liu – CEO of Ancestry.com, the billion dollar genealogy company. Deb also serves on the Board of Intuit and is the co-founder of Women in Product. This is a Replay of S6:E48.In this interview, Deb talks me through her personal and career journey from growing up in a small town where less than 1% of the community were Asian to how she overcame racism to become a VP at Facebook where she spent 12 years of her career.After studying Civil Engineering at Duke, Deb got her master's in business at Stanford and joined PayPal where she spent 6 years, working in different leadership roles including Director of Product management, focusing on Marketplaces which, at the time, made up around 70% of PayPal revenues. After that, she went to Facebook where she spent almost 12 years working in senior product leadership positions including founding Facebook Marketplace - an idea she had presented to Sheryl Sandberg years earlier.We also talk about Deb's new book Take Back Your Power: 10 New Rules for Women at Work which is a great read for women who wish to climb the ranks like Deb did but also for men who want to understand the obstacles women face at work, how they can be better allies and to learn the stories of some incredible women that Deb features in the book.There are lots of fantastic lessons in this episode on leadership, product management and overcoming the dreaded imposter syndrome.Enjoy!Deb  Twitter / Instagram / Substack Ancestry.com,  Women in ProductOrder Take Back Your Power: 10 New Rules for Women at Work here.Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter Huge thanks to Jimmy Soni – author of The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley for making the intro.

Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His latest book, THE FOUNDERS: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a debut best-seller and has earned praise from the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, among many others. Described as “an intensely magnetic chronicle” (The New York Times) and “engrossing” (Business Insider), Soni conducted hundreds of interviews, including exclusive sit-downs with Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, and many others. The book explores PayPal's turbulent early days and the shaping of a generation of technological talent. “Deeply reported and bracingly written, this book is an indispensable guide to modern innovation and entrepreneurship,” noted Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of The Code Breaker. Soni's previous book, A MIND AT PLAY How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The book explored the life and times of Dr. Claude Shannon, founder of the field of information theory and one of the 20th century's forgotten geniuses. Fortune magazine called the book a “charming account of one of the twentieth century's most distinguished scientists…Readers will enjoy this portrait of a modern-day Da Vinci.” A prior work, ROME'S LAST CITIZEN: the Life and Legacy of Cato, shared the story of the ancient Roman Senator Cato the Younger, archrival of Julius Caesar. Soni is also a co-author of Jane's Carousel, completed with the late Jane Walentas, which captured one woman's remarkable twenty-five-year journey to restore a beloved carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Soni started his career at McKinsey & Company, and he lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice. To View This Episode- https://youtu.be/o2VX5315YQ4 #paypal #whoknewinthemoment #podcast #author

What's up unscripted family! In this episode, John and La'Fayette  are joined by special  guest, Jimmy Soni.  Jimmy Soni is  a speaker, speechwriter, dad, and award-winning author. His latest book, THE FOUNDERS: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a debut best-seller and has earned praise from the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, among many others.Follow Jimmy @Jimmyasoni,  jimmysoni.comSupport the showFollow Us On Instagram - @unscriptedleadership Subscribe on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChTc55FEAu2PiY4wIkqQOsw Website - https://unscripted-leadership.com/

In this OODAcast, we talk with Jimmy Soni, the author of the book "The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley". The Founders was one my Top 10 Security, Technology, and Business books of 2022, and is one of the few books I read last year that qualifies for each category. Jimmy takes a deep, historical look at the founding story of PayPal with detailed analysis, interviews, and access that you won't find in any other telling of the PayPal story. PayPal is a fascinating company to look at, not only to examine the PayPal business, but in looking at what emerged out of the PayPal founding team in the future. A list of companies that includes the likes of SpaceX, Tesla, Affirm, LinkedIn, YouTube, Yammer, Palantir, Kiva, Yelp, and Yammer! In the OODAcast we discuss: PayPal's founding history The unique cast of characters and the importance of understanding their origin stories Key moments in PayPal's success How PayPal is ultimately a hacker success story. Podcast Version:   Official Bio: Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His newest book, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a national bestseller and received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, The Economist, Financial Times, and more. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the 2019 Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice. Recommended Books: The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley A Night to Remember Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University

Paris Marx is joined by Rose Eveleth to discuss the end of her long-running podcast, why thinking about the future is important, and how tech billionaires try to shape our idea of the future to serve their ends.Rose Eveleth is the creator and host of the Flash Forward podcast and the author of Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide to Possible (And Not So Possible) Tomorrows. You can follow them on Twitter at @roseveleth.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, support the show on Patreon, and sign up for the weekly newsletter.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Please participate in our listener survey this month to give us a better idea of what you think of the show: https://forms.gle/xayiT7DQJn56p62x7Elon Musk says Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a big inspiration, but he seems to have missed its message.Karen Hao and Gideon Lichfield explained how Facebook's PR team nitpicked one of their storiesBooks mentioned: Ruha Benjamin's Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want and Jimmy Soni's The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.The New York Times recently wrote about a group of Luddite teens.Tommy Douglas won CBC's Greatest Canadian contest for winning public healthcare. You can see the episode here.Support the show

Hello and welcome to the Danielle Newham Podcast where I interview tech founders and innovators to learn the inspiring, human stories behind the game-changing tech we use every day.I wanted to come on here quickly to wish you all a fantastic 2023 and to thank you all for being part of this podcast journey with me. I appreciate everyone who has listened and shared their favourite episodes in 2022 – truly, I couldn't do this without you all.I also wanted to thank the incredible guests I had on in 2022 from Klout founder Joe Fernandez to Dr Mary-Lou Jepsen, Jack Butcher, Rony Abovitz and many more. I was honoured to share your stories with the world.And I am looking forward to sharing more incredible inspiring stories with tech founders and innovators this year such as Steve Furber who was a principal designer for the BBC Micro computer and ARM's 32-bit microprocessor which is now in many billions of devices.But before we move into 2023, I thought I would re-share the most-listened to episode of last year which is my conversation with Jimmy Soni, author of The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. I think this is a great story revisit at the start of this year as it has all the elements which make up a great tech innovation – grit, hustle, immigrant entrepreneurs, many of whom have gone on to create huge waves in the world. A hugely inspiring and true story behind the well-known PayPal mafia.Enjoy!  

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Alon Grinshpoon, CEO of echo3D, about the virtual reality revolution, the almost unlimited potential of fully immersive technology, and why a supporting infrastructure is so important to make it happen. echo3D have positioned themselves as a 3D-native technology cloud solution for technology companies to develop VR applications at scale, retaining flexibility and function without getting left behind in a fast-moving marketplace. From curing cybersickness to fixing rendering quality for 3D video experiences, solutions to the VR problems of tomorrow are a rapidly emerging industry at the very cutting edge of our digital future, whatever tools might end up emerging as the face of all this new technology, and echo3D's integrated cloud platform might just be the glue which holds it all together behind the scenes. Topics Discussed: Being a self-declared ‘certified nerd,' and a true believer in the potential of cloud technology and VR How the metaverse spread across the world, and why it's emerging between big tech and the youth technology market Why VR is the next technology you don't realize you need, and how websites, social media and smartphone applications prove the model How a stint supporting VR surgery led Alon to rethink flexibility in 3D infrastructures Why echo3D targets the technology developers who can build out applications at scale, and need the cloud support to realize that vision Cyber sickness, rendering issues, and why the VR revolution offers a whole range of business opportunities Why oversaturated buzzwords are still a boon for people really pushing the industry forward   Favorite book:  The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley

Podcast: Founders (LS 53 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: #278 Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the FuturePub date: 2022-11-22What I learned from rereading Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel.This episode is brought to you by: Tiny: The easiest way to sell your business. Quick and straightforward exits for Founders. Fable: Make your product accessible to more people. Tegus is a search engine for business knowledge that's used by Founders, investors, and executives. Subscribe to listen to Founders Daily (my new daily podcast)[4:01] Jobs's return to Apple 12 years later shows how the most important task in business-the creation of new valuecannot be reduced to a formula and applied by professionals.[5:00] A really important sentence to understand one of the main points in Peter's book: Apple's value crucially depended on the singular vision of a particular person.[5:00] A unique founder can make authoritative decisions, inspire strong personal loyalty, and plan ahead for decades.[6:00] Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue and Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (Founders #31)[7:00] Properly understood, any new and better way of doing things is technology.[8:00] By creating new technologies we rewrite the plan of the world.[9:00] The paradox of teaching entrepreneurship is that such a formula necessarily cannot exist; because every innovation is new and unique, no authority can prescribe in concrete terms how to be innovative.The single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people find value in unexpected places, and they do this by thinking about business from first principles instead of formulas.[10:00] The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That's maybe the most important thing. It's to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you're just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it. —Steve Jobs[11:00] Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.[13:00] A startup is the largest group of people you can convince of a plan to build a different future. A new company's most important strength is new thinking.[14:00] What follows is not a manual or a record of knowledge but an exercise in thinking. Because that is what a startup has to do: question received ideas and rethink business from scratch.[14:00] The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)[17:00] Their casual way of conducting affairs did not appeal to me. — Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller (Founders #148)[18:00] My number one repeated learning in life: There Are No Adults. Everyone's making it up as they go along. Figure it out yourself, and do it. —Naval Ravikant[19:00] Bill Gurley's answer to the question For people who were there, does this feel like dot-com bust level unwiding yet? Yes.  Link to tweet[21:00] Peter's 4 principles for founders:1. It is better to risk boldness than triviality.2. A bad plan is better than no plan.3. Competitive markets destroy profits.4. Sales matters just as much as product.[22:00] The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.[22:00] By “monopoly,” we mean the kind of company that's so good at what it does that no other firm can offer a close substitute.[24:00] Every business is successful exactly to the extent that it does something others cannot.[25:00] Durability has always been a first rate virtue in Charlie's eyes. — Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger. (Founders #90)[27:00] If you focus on near-term growth above all else, you miss the most important question you should be asking: will this business still be around a decade from now?[27:00] There is no shortcut to monopoly[28:00] A substantive advantage makes your product difficult or impossible to replicate.[30:00] The perfect target market for a startup is a small group of particular people concentrated together and served by few or no competitors.[32:00] Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.[32:00] Victory awaits him who has everything in order.[33:00] My heroes are people who took epic journeys into the unknown often at substantial personal risk. I am simply following the path that they carved into history. —Explore/Create My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark by Richard Garriott.[35:00] Instead of pursuing many-sided mediocrity and calling it "wellroundedness," a definite person determines the one best thing to do and then does it. She strives to be great at something substantive— to be a monopoly of one.[36:00] Long-term planning is often undervalued by our indefinite short-term world.[39:00] Monopoly businesses capture more value than millions of undifferentiated competitors.[40:00] Most startups fail and most venture funds fail with them.[43:00]  You cannot trust a world that denies the power law to accurately frame your decisions for you, so what's most important is rarely obvious. It might even be a secret.[44:00] 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)[45:00] Schlep Blindness by Paul Graham  [46:00] Great companies can be built on open but unsuspected secrets about how the world works.[47:00] Conspiracy: A True Story of Power, Sex, and a Billionaire's Secret Plot to Destroy a Media Empire by Peter Thielby Ryan Holiday[48:00] The best entrepreneurs know this: every great business is built around a secret that's hidden from the outside.[51:00] Keith Rabois on Peter Theil insisting on focus[54:00] Superior sales and distribution by itself can create a monopoly, even with no product differentiation. The converse is not true.[56:00] Advertising doesn't exist to make you buy a product right away; it exists to embed subtle impressions that will drive sales later. Anyone who cannot acknowledge its likely effect on himself is doubly deceived.I use Readwise to organize and remember everything I read. You can try Readwise for 60 days for free https://readwise.io/founders/—Subscribe to listen to Founders Daily—“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 PodcastThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from David Senra , which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Podcast: Founders (LS 61 · TOP 0.1% what is this?)Episode: #278 Peter ThielPub date: 2022-11-22What I learned from rereading Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel.----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[4:01] Jobs's return to Apple 12 years later shows how the most important task in business-the creation of new valuecannot be reduced to a formula and applied by professionals.[5:00] A really important sentence to understand one of the main points in Peter's book: Apple's value crucially depended on the singular vision of a particular person.[5:00] A unique founder can make authoritative decisions, inspire strong personal loyalty, and plan ahead for decades.[6:00] Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue and Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (Founders #31)[7:00] Properly understood, any new and better way of doing things is technology.[8:00] By creating new technologies we rewrite the plan of the world.[9:00] The paradox of teaching entrepreneurship is that such a formula necessarily cannot exist; because every innovation is new and unique, no authority can prescribe in concrete terms how to be innovative.The single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people find value in unexpected places, and they do this by thinking about business from first principles instead of formulas.[10:00] The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That's maybe the most important thing. It's to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you're just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it. —Steve Jobs[11:00] Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.[13:00] A startup is the largest group of people you can convince of a plan to build a different future. A new company's most important strength is new thinking.[14:00] What follows is not a manual or a record of knowledge but an exercise in thinking. Because that is what a startup has to do: question received ideas and rethink business from scratch.[14:00] The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)[17:00] Their casual way of conducting affairs did not appeal to me. — Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller (Founders #148)[18:00] My number one repeated learning in life: There Are No Adults. Everyone's making it up as they go along. Figure it out yourself, and do it. —Naval Ravikant[19:00] Bill Gurley's answer to the question For people who were there, does this feel like dot-com bust level unwiding yet? Yes.  Link to tweet[21:00] Peter's 4 principles for founders:1. It is better to risk boldness than triviality.2. A bad plan is better than no plan.3. Competitive markets destroy profits.4. Sales matters just as much as product.[22:00] The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.[22:00] By “monopoly,” we mean the kind of company that's so good at what it does that no other firm can offer a close substitute.[24:00] Every business is successful exactly to the extent that it does something others cannot.[25:00] Durability has always been a first rate virtue in Charlie's eyes. — Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger. (Founders #90)[27:00] If you focus on near-term growth above all else, you miss the most important question you should be asking: will this business still be around a decade from now?[27:00] There is no shortcut to monopoly[28:00] A substantive advantage makes your product difficult or impossible to replicate.[30:00] The perfect target market for a startup is a small group of particular people concentrated together and served by few or no competitors.[32:00] Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.[32:00] Victory awaits him who has everything in order.[33:00] My heroes are people who took epic journeys into the unknown often at substantial personal risk. I am simply following the path that they carved into history. —Explore/Create My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark by Richard Garriott.[35:00] Instead of pursuing many-sided mediocrity and calling it "wellroundedness," a definite person determines the one best thing to do and then does it. She strives to be great at something substantive— to be a monopoly of one.[36:00] Long-term planning is often undervalued by our indefinite short-term world.[39:00] Monopoly businesses capture more value than millions of undifferentiated competitors.[40:00] Most startups fail and most venture funds fail with them.[43:00]  You cannot trust a world that denies the power law to accurately frame your decisions for you, so what's most important is rarely obvious. It might even be a secret.[44:00] 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)[45:00] Schlep Blindness by Paul Graham  [46:00] Great companies can be built on open but unsuspected secrets about how the world works.[47:00] Conspiracy: A True Story of Power, Sex, and a Billionaire's Secret Plot to Destroy a Media Empire by Peter Thielby Ryan Holiday[48:00] The best entrepreneurs know this: every great business is built around a secret that's hidden from the outside.[51:00] Keith Rabois on Peter Theil insisting on focus[54:00] Superior sales and distribution by itself can create a monopoly, even with no product differentiation. The converse is not true.[56:00] Advertising doesn't exist to make you buy a product right away; it exists to embed subtle impressions that will drive sales later. Anyone who cannot acknowledge its likely effect on himself is doubly deceived.----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. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders PodcastThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from David Senra , which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

What I learned from reading What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Developing a Highly Successful Company by Barnett Helzberg Jr.This episode is brought to you by: Tiny: The easiest way to sell your business. Quick and straightforward exits for Founders. Capital: Banking built for Founders. Raise, hold, spend, and send—all in one place. Tegus is a search engine for business knowledge that's used by Founders, investors, and executives. Subscribe to listen to Founders Daily (my new daily podcast)[5:00]  Then, right there on the sidewalk I told one of the most astute businessmen in America why he ought to consider buying our family's 79-year-old jewelry business."I believe that our company matches your criteria for investment, I said. To which he replied, simply, "Send me the information. It will be confidential.”My conversation with Buffett lasted no more than half a minute.[8:00] My dream buyer for the family business all along was Warren Buffet.[11:00] "This can be the fastest deal in history," Buffett said."But what about due diligence?" I asked, surprised at how fast the negotiations were moving.Most suitors demand to see every scrap of paper you've ever generated and to interview every top manager.That wasn't Buffett's way. "I can smell these things, Buffett said. "This one smells good.”[12:00] First A Dream by Jim Clayton. (Founders #91)[13:00] Buffett on his management technique: “Managers run their own shows.They don't have to report to central management. When we get somebody who is a .400 hitter we don't start telling them how to swing.”[14:00] I was always taught that many, many people were out there developing ideas I could use. I have found that to be true throughout my life. These thoughts and ideas have all been borrowed or stolen from many wise people.Think of the world as your garden of marvelous people and ideas with unlimited picking rights for you.[17:00] Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business by Mark Robichaux. (Founders #268)[23:00] Despite missteps, entrepreneurs are a special breed who do not give up on the larger goals.[24:00] It's not hard to express the quality we're looking for in metaphors. The best is probably a running back. A good running back is not merely determined, but flexible as well. They want to get downfield, but they adapt their plans on the fly. — Relentlessly Resourceful by Paul Graham[25:00] Entrepreneurs are driven to succeed. They possess an almost naive belief that nothing can stand in their way, they are mentally deaf to those who belittle their chances, they love to compete, and they have the skills of broken field runners who take the bumps and bruises along the way, change course when necessary, and stay focused on the goal.If this is not you, don't try to fool yourself. It's not worth it.Thinking you can start your own business or wanting to be your own boss, just because you hate your job, when you really have no desire or stamina to go it on your own, is courting disaster. Where there is no real will, there is no way.Some people are more  enamored by the concept than the reality. They would rather contemplate the beauty of the mountain from the base.The entrepreneur wants to climb the mountain first, briefly appreciate the gorgeous vistas from the summit, and then find the next mountain. If you possess this obsession of seeing your own creative notions succeed and are willing to pay the price, then you have no choice but to pursue the life of an entrepreneur.[29:00] He taught us to concern ourselves only with those things over which we have control.I thought he was unique in this until I realized this is one of the key common traits of highly successful people.Those folks are never victims; they take what comes and handle the situation. The rest is a waste of time.[30:00] Upgrade the herd annually: "You make more money closing bad stores than opening new ones.”His philosophy made sense. We decided we would rather spend time and effort on a $4.5 million store that could ultimately achieve annual sales of $6 million than on a lower-volume store with less potential.[32:00] Focus is your lever to success.Do not underestimate the incredible amount of mental discipline it takes to focus yourself and your teammates. Wonderful alternatives and seductive opportunities abound and temptations to go in multiple directions are unlimited.Commit yourself to be the best, define what that means, and focus on the head of that pin like no one in your industry.[32:00] Estee Lauder was a master at doing things don't scale. — Estée Lauder: A Success Storyby Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)[33:00] To be successful, have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart. —Thomas Watson The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson Sr. and The Making of IBM by Kevin Maney (Founders #87)[38:00] Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet. —African Proverb[40:00] Some of our partners created an inhospitable climate for customers. Some posted negative signs.At one store a manager hung a sign in red warning customers that they would be charged a steep fee if they bounced a  check. It said, "The bank doesn't make copies and we don't cash checks." That really got me boiling.I jumped up on the counter and ripped it down as customers and coworkers looked on, amazed. That may sound extreme, but I needed to make the point in a memorable way. I didn't want signs like that staring our customers in the face.I told our coworkers that the occasional hit we took for a bounced check cost far less than what we lost-and couldn't quantify-by creating a subtly hostile atmosphere. —Copy This!: How I turned Dyslexia, ADHD, and 100 square feet into a company called Kinkos by Paul Orfalea.[42:00] Nearly any action or communication means far more when done urgently.Trust only movement.[42:00] One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests. —John Stuart Mill[43:00] None of this works if you can't trust your own judgement.[46:00] This reservoir of knowledge and human experience creates tremendous opportunities and advantages for you as an entrepreneur. You are heir to the discoveries of many entrepreneurs who skinned their shins trying something new. It is likely other  entrepreneurs before you have experienced the same challenges and problems, and found ways to surmount them.[47:00] You have the experiences of thousands of experts and mentors at your fingertips.[47:00] The incredible, wonderful, and unavoidable truth is that seeking the help of others can put you light years ahead of other people who beat their heads against the wall trying to reinvent the wheel[48:00] I've never found anybody that didn't want to help me if I asked them for help. I called up Bill Hewlett when I was 12 years old. He answered the phone himself. I told him I wanted to build a frequency counter. I asked if he had any spare parts I could have. He laughed. He gave me the parts. And he gave me a summer job at HP working on the assembly line putting together frequency counters. I have never found anyone who said no, or hung up the phone. I just ask. Most people never pick up the phone and call. And that is what separates the people who do things, versus the people who just dream about them. You have to act. —Steve Jobs[53:00] "Max kept repeating, 'As hire As. Bs hire Cs. So the first B you hire takes the whole company down." — The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni.[54:00] “The greatest thing you can do for your competition—hiring poorly.” —Bill Gates[59:00] I wish that I had known sooner that if you miss a child's play or performance or sporting event, you will have forgotten a year later the work emergency that caused you to miss it. But the child won't have forgotten that you weren't there.—I use Readwise to organize and remember everything I read. You can try Readwise for 60 days for free https://readwise.io/founders/—Subscribe to listen to Founders Daily—“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 rereading Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel.This episode is brought to you by: Tiny: The easiest way to sell your business. Quick and straightforward exits for Founders. Fable: Make your product accessible to more people. Tegus is a search engine for business knowledge that's used by Founders, investors, and executives. Subscribe to listen to Founders Daily (my new daily podcast)[4:01] Jobs's return to Apple 12 years later shows how the most important task in business-the creation of new valuecannot be reduced to a formula and applied by professionals.[5:00] A really important sentence to understand one of the main points in Peter's book: Apple's value crucially depended on the singular vision of a particular person.[5:00] A unique founder can make authoritative decisions, inspire strong personal loyalty, and plan ahead for decades.[6:00] Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue and Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (Founders #31)[7:00] Properly understood, any new and better way of doing things is technology.[8:00] By creating new technologies we rewrite the plan of the world.[9:00] The paradox of teaching entrepreneurship is that such a formula necessarily cannot exist; because every innovation is new and unique, no authority can prescribe in concrete terms how to be innovative.The single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people find value in unexpected places, and they do this by thinking about business from first principles instead of formulas.[10:00] The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That's maybe the most important thing. It's to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you're just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it. —Steve Jobs[11:00] Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.[13:00] A startup is the largest group of people you can convince of a plan to build a different future. A new company's most important strength is new thinking.[14:00] What follows is not a manual or a record of knowledge but an exercise in thinking. Because that is what a startup has to do: question received ideas and rethink business from scratch.[14:00] The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)[17:00] Their casual way of conducting affairs did not appeal to me. — Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller (Founders #148)[18:00] My number one repeated learning in life: There Are No Adults. Everyone's making it up as they go along. Figure it out yourself, and do it. —Naval Ravikant[19:00] Bill Gurley's answer to the question For people who were there, does this feel like dot-com bust level unwiding yet? Yes.  Link to tweet[21:00] Peter's 4 principles for founders:1. It is better to risk boldness than triviality.2. A bad plan is better than no plan.3. Competitive markets destroy profits.4. Sales matters just as much as product.[22:00] The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.[22:00] By “monopoly,” we mean the kind of company that's so good at what it does that no other firm can offer a close substitute.[24:00] Every business is successful exactly to the extent that it does something others cannot.[25:00] Durability has always been a first rate virtue in Charlie's eyes. — Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger. (Founders #90)[27:00] If you focus on near-term growth above all else, you miss the most important question you should be asking: will this business still be around a decade from now?[27:00] There is no shortcut to monopoly[28:00] A substantive advantage makes your product difficult or impossible to replicate.[30:00] The perfect target market for a startup is a small group of particular people concentrated together and served by few or no competitors.[32:00] Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.[32:00] Victory awaits him who has everything in order.[33:00] My heroes are people who took epic journeys into the unknown often at substantial personal risk. I am simply following the path that they carved into history. —Explore/Create My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark by Richard Garriott.[35:00] Instead of pursuing many-sided mediocrity and calling it "wellroundedness," a definite person determines the one best thing to do and then does it. She strives to be great at something substantive— to be a monopoly of one.[36:00] Long-term planning is often undervalued by our indefinite short-term world.[39:00] Monopoly businesses capture more value than millions of undifferentiated competitors.[40:00] Most startups fail and most venture funds fail with them.[43:00]  You cannot trust a world that denies the power law to accurately frame your decisions for you, so what's most important is rarely obvious. It might even be a secret.[44:00] 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)[45:00] Schlep Blindness by Paul Graham  [46:00] Great companies can be built on open but unsuspected secrets about how the world works.[47:00] Conspiracy: A True Story of Power, Sex, and a Billionaire's Secret Plot to Destroy a Media Empire by Peter Thielby Ryan Holiday[48:00] The best entrepreneurs know this: every great business is built around a secret that's hidden from the outside.[51:00] Keith Rabois on Peter Theil insisting on focus[54:00] Superior sales and distribution by itself can create a monopoly, even with no product differentiation. The converse is not true.[56:00] Advertising doesn't exist to make you buy a product right away; it exists to embed subtle impressions that will drive sales later. Anyone who cannot acknowledge its likely effect on himself is doubly deceived.I use Readwise to organize and remember everything I read. You can try Readwise for 60 days for free https://readwise.io/founders/—Subscribe to listen to Founders Daily—“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

Today, David is talking to Jimmy Soni. Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His newest book, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a national bestseller and received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, The Economist, Financial Times, and more. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the 2019 Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice. What You'll Learn: Becoming a Writer Discovery Process when Writing a Book Interviews Listening Market Cycles Recession and its Consequences Being a Creator Favorite Quote: “How leadership teams can move very aggressively and turn the pressure on not having another round of financing into action.” -- The Capital Stack All Things Tech Investing and Value Creation Early growth investor David Paul interviews the world's most excellent ecosystem, learns how to start and scale your own business, and finds an edge in today's capital markets. To connect with David, visit: Twitter - https://twitter.com/davidpaulvc (CLICK HERE) Substack - http://davidpaul.substack.com/ (CLICK HERE) LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/Davidpaulvc (CLICK HERE) IG - https://www.instagram.com/davidpaulvc/ (CLICK HERE) DISCLAIMER: David Paul is the founder and general partner at DWP Capital. All opinions expressed by David and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinions of DWP capital. This podcast is for formational purposes only and should not be relied upon for decisions. David and guests may maintain positions in the securities discussed on this podcast.

When one thinks about today's tech leaders in Silicon Valley, PayPal is probably not the first name that comes to mind. But PayPal's founders and earliest employees have gone on to create, found, and advise companies like Tesla, SpaceX, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp, and Palantir. What happened in PayPal's early days to set these individuals and future companies up for success? On this episode, https://www.aei.org/profile/shane-tews/ (Shane) is joined by https://jimmysoni.com/ (Jimmy Soni), author of https://jimmysoni.com/books/the-founders/ (The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley). As her AEI colleague James Pethokoukis https://www.aei.org/economics/5-questions-for-jimmy-soni-on-the-history-of-paypal/ (described) it, The Founders is a “quintessential tale of Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurship in the early internet age” that was largely untold before Jimmy chronicled it. Jimmy joins the podcast to discuss his intentions behind the book and what it can teach us about Silicon Valley, tech industry competition, and the innovation landscape today.

Today's guest is Deb Liu – CEO of Ancestry.com, the billion dollar genealogy company. Deb also serves on the Board of Intuit and is the co-founder of Women in Product. In this interview, Deb talks me through her personal and career journey from growing up in a small town where less than 1% of the community were Asian to how she overcame racism to become a VP at Facebook where she spent 12 years of her career.After studying Civil Engineering at Duke, Deb got her master's in business at Stanford and joined PayPal where she spent 6 years, working in different leadership roles including Director of Product management, focusing on Marketplaces which, at the time, made up around 70% of PayPal revenues. After that, she went to Facebook where she spent almost 12 years working in senior product leadership positions including founding Facebook Marketplace - an idea she had presented to Sheryl Sandberg years earlier.We also talk about Deb's new book Take Back Your Power: 10 New Rules for Women at Work which is a great read for women who wish to climb the ranks like Deb did but also for men who want to understand the obstacles women face at work, how they can be better allies and to learn the stories of some incredible women that Deb features in the book.There are lots of fantastic lessons in this episode on leadership, product management and overcoming the dreaded imposter syndrome.Enjoy!Deb  Twitter / Instagram / Substack Ancestry.com,  Women in ProductPre-order Take Back Your Power: 10 New Rules for Women at Work here. Out in US 9th Aug, UK 13th OctDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter Huge thanks to Jimmy Soni – author of The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley for making the intro.

Jimmy Soni is an author whose work focuses on people who create and build interesting things—whether theories, carousels, or companies. His books include “The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley”, “A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age”, and more! You can follow Jimmy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni and go through his work on https://jimmysoni.com/ Show Notes: The joy of curiosity How memes spread The Great Reshuffle How internet changed the publishing industry Parallels between early days of PayPal and Bitcoin Money as an information system Appreciating the micro-level decisions Three new things about Elon The Elon Effect How the PayPal founders brought the best out of people The unknown names who were critical to PayPal Claude Shannon's financial decisions Wealth is a byproduct of the devotion to the craft Books Mentioned: The Founders; by Jimmy Soni A Mind at Play; by Jimmy Soni Virus of the Mind; by Richard Brodie The Sovereign Individual; by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg What Works on Wall Street; Jim O'Shaughnessy

In this episode of the BetterWealth Podcast I interview Jimmy Soni who is the author of, "The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. Jimmy shares with us what it was like interviewing Elon Musk, Amy Rowe Klement, Peter Thiel, and many more influential entrepreneurs and what he learned from these powerhouses in the business world. Guest Bio Jimmy Soni is a best-selling and award-winning author.. His latest book, THE FOUNDERS: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a debut best-seller and has earned praise from the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, among many others. Described as “an intensely magnetic chronicle” (The New York Times) and “engrossing” (Business Insider), With exclusive interviews with Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, and many others, Soni explores PayPal's turbulent early days and the shaping of a generation of technological talent. “Deeply reported and bracingly written, this book is an indispensable guide to modern innovation and entrepreneurship,” notes Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of Code Breaker. Guest Link Website: http://jimmysoni.com/ Get a copy of - The Founders: http://amzn.to/30PqMV2  #BetterWealth  Free 15 Minute Clarity Call: https://bttr.ly/ytclarity (https://bttr.ly/ytclarity)  The And Asset Book: https://bttr.ly/book (https://bttr.ly/book)  BetterWealth Quiz:  https://bttr.ly/quiz (https://bttr.ly/quiz)  AndAsset.com:  https://bttr.ly/andasset (https://bttr.ly/andasset)  BetterWealth Youtube - https://bttr.ly/bwyoutube (https://bttr.ly/bwyoutube)  Financial Advisor, Agent or Coach: https://bttr.ly/advisor (https://bttr.ly/advisor)

In today's episode, we interviewed Jimmy Soni, the author of The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.On Amazon: The Founders

Miguel Armaza sits down with Jimmy Soni, writer and best-selling author of The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.If you've talked to me over the last month, chances are I've recommended you read Jimmy's book. In fact, I think every early-stage fintech founder, operator, and investor should pick up a copy of The Founders, where Jimmy does a brilliant job at detailing some of the most interesting years of PayPal. From day zero in 1998, down to the 2002 eBay acquisition.This book will transport you to the days when Elon Musk, Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Roelof Botha, Reid Hoffman, and a long list of PayPal Mafia characters fought day in and day out to build one of the most influential fintech companies in the world. Some of my favorite highlights include finding product-market fit, pioneering fraud-fighting techniques that are still widely used in the industry to this day, fiercely competing against eBay, and – especially relevant these days - fundraising in the midst of the dot-com bubble. Enjoy!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today's global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond. Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join  33,000+ readers around the world! Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter. Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

With Elon Musk in the news, it's a good time to look back at some recent history. Jimmy Soni joins host Richard Aldous to talk about his book The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.

Text Hawk to 66866 for Mindful Monday... A carefully curated email sent to you every Monday to help you start your week right... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12      https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His book, Jane's Carousel, completed with the late Jane Walentas, captured one woman's remarkable twenty-five-year journey to restore a beloved carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Jimmy's most recent book is called, The Founders - The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.  Notes: “Your life will be shaped by the things you create, and the people you make them with. We tend to sweat the former. We don't worry enough about the latter." The founders and earliest employees of PayPal pushed and prodded and demanded better of one another. Instead of "Acknowledgements" to end his book, Jimmy titled the section "Debts" "A debt is deeper than an Acknowledgement." Envy the optimist, not the genius. There's real power in optimism. The world is built by optimists. Look for the silver things. Have belief. Be the type of person that believes in themselves and others… Optimism builds confidence in yourself and others. Be an optimist. Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan – The fact that Phil told the best player in the world… “We aren't going to win a championship if you keep playing that way. You have to buy into the triangle offense.” It shows the value of a friend (or a coach) telling you the truth in order to help you (and the team) get better. "Walter Isaacson made me believe in its (the book) importance and potential. At the very end, he provided the kind of advice that can only come from someone who has spent years laboring in the same fields. Peter Thiel refined Max Levchin's thinking... He made him better. Ask, "Have you thought about it this way?" Watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi Kobe Bryant was an incredible learning machine. His insatiable curiosity made him better. You can become curious about anything. Mr. Beast spent hours every day on Skype with his friends talking about how to grow a YouTube channel. We live in a moment were you can connect with others who are passionate about the same topics you are. With the internet, you can connect with anyone. Qualities of the leaders who created PayPal: It was so hard. They all experienced failure and bounced back. Highly intelligent. Hard-working. They worked 7 days a week. There was no work-life balance. They weren't just resilient, they were fast-moving. Life Advice: What looks like expertise on the outside is generally messiness on the inside. Leadership in Solitude. There are benefits to spending some time by yourself. Ask – The people who make things happen are willing to ASK. Steve Jobs to Bill Hewlitt. Elon Musk to Dr. Peter Nicholson. Those "asks" changed the trajectory of their lives. Who knows, maybe your next ASK will change yours… Claude Shannon, Bell Laboratories, renowned as an incredible hub of innovation…  whose work in the 1930s and '40s earned him the title of “father of the information age.” Geniuses have a unique way of engaging with the world, and if you spend enough time examining their habits, you discover the behaviors behind their brilliance.

Jonathan Tuttle has been in the mobile home park space since 2007. He served as a mobile home broker for 10 years and now serves as a fund manager at Midwest Park Capital, a private real estate investment firm focused on the mobile home park vertical. In this episode, Jonathan shares how the mobile home park space has changed over the last few years, what he sees in store for the future, and why despite everything, he still views mobile home parks as an undervalued asset class. Jonathan Tuttle | Real Estate Background Fund manager at Midwest Park Capital, which is a private real estate investment firm focused on the mobile home park vertical. Portfolio: GP of 95 units across two mobile home parks Based in: Chicago, IL Say hi to him at: midwestparkcapital.com mobilehomewealthacademy.com Facebook Instagram: @jonathantuttle Twitter: @JonathanTuttle.eth Best Ever Book: The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni Click here to know more about our sponsors:  Cash Flow Portal | Equity Multiple | Cornell Capital Holdings | PassiveInvesting.com 

Jimmy Soni (@jimmyasoni), author of The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, joins Ben Casnocha on this episode to discuss:- How diversity and variety of backgrounds and opinions helped PayPal become successful.- The fact that PayPal's leading product was not solving a problem that they had set out to solve, but rather a problem they discovered along the way.- The importance of sitting with your customers and really understanding their perspective and their problems.- What he learned about Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, and David Sacks.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley is a comprehensive portrait of the early era of PayPal—predominantly focused on the years between its founding in 1998 and its sale to eBay in 2002. A deeply researched and well written narrative, The Founders provides the backstory of the group of individuals who became known as “The PayPal mafia.” We are privileged to be joined by the book's author, Jimmy Soni. Show Notes The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni via Amazon Jimmy Soni's Website Jimmy Soni on Twitter Follow us on Twitter @BusinessBooksCo and join our Amazon book club. Edited by Giacomo Guatteri Find out more at http://businessbooksandco.com

Before Elon Musk was the world's wealthiest man, founder of a rocket company, and owner of Twitter, he was best known as one of the founders of PayPal. Other PayPal alumni went on to found companies like YouTube, Yelp, and LinkedIn. And the "don" of the PayPal Mafia, Peter Thiel, is now known for his political activism and contributions to Republican campaigns. So what can we learn about Musk and Thiel—and about Silicon Valley—from the early history of PayPal? To find out, I'm joined by Jimmy Soni. Jimmy is an award-winning author of three books. His first two, co-authored with Rob Goodman, are https://www.amazon.com/Romes-Last-Citizen-Legacy-Mortal-ebook/dp/B0085UD4A0 (Rome's Last Citizen), a biography of Cato the Younger, and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M5IJN1P/ (A Mind at Play), a biography of Claude Shannon. His latest is https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon-ebook/dp/B08BZXPTGJ (The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley), released earlier this year.

Today we know PayPal as a financial powerhouse. But when it was a young company, it had to innovate to survive. PayPal was the result of the merger of two startups—Confinity and X.com. Confinity was trying to be a digital payments solution for Palm Pilots, while X.com was an early online bank. PayPal first found success as a conduit for eBay payments. But perhaps PayPal's greatest innovations were in the area of fraud prevention. PayPal was a pioneer of bank account verification, CAPTCHAs, and using machine learning techniques on big data. Show Notes The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni via Amazon CAPTCHA via Wikipedia Random Forest via Wikipedia Follow us on Twitter @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.live

On this week's show, we spoke with Jimmy Soni,  Author & Speechwriter. This is a special show celebrating the 200th episode of this podcast.  Jimmy Soni is an American author and former managing editor of The Huffington Post. He is best known for A Mind at Play, his biography of Claude Shannon and The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. Soni became the managing editor at The Huffington Post in January 2012. Previously he had worked as a strategy consultant at McKinsey and Company, as well as a speech writer at the office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia. In 2012, Soni was named to AdWeek's "Young Influentials", a list of 20 people under 40 "who are wicked smart and rebooting your world". He was featured at a TEDx event held at Duke University in March 2012.   On the show, we spoke about:  His amazing book The Founders The great man theory of history  How he became interested in the story of PayPal The many lessons from studying and writing the book His strategy for interviewing successful and busy people   I'm thrilled that Jimmy took the time. His book is a must read.  I hope that you enjoy the conversation!   Let us know what you think. What types of guests would you like to see on the show?  What topics interest you the most? Send me your thoughts at nectar@thepnr.com   Subscribe | iTunes | Google Play |Spotify | YouTube | Stitcher |

What makes a billionaire different from you and me? We all have the same 24-hour day, so how have people like Claude Shannon, Peter Thiel, and Elon Musk created this explosion of innovation in information technology, leading us into an era of increased global connection and prosperity? My guest today is Jimmy Soni, a tech world historian. He is the author of the recently released, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics. On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Jimmy joins me to discuss his insight into the unique characteristics of the founders of PayPal and the three common traits that turned them into billionaires. We discuss their beginnings and backgrounds and the advantageous way they've used inexperience to infiltrate other industries, including space logistics, internet video, and even the film industry, with much success. Listen to understand why the shadowy narratives aren't always what they seem and why what makes the headlines isn't the most interesting part about these "Mount Rushmore style figures." We'll look at the most important thing to come out of the PayPal experience. Plus, we'll discuss the surprise investor interest causing the resurgence of old technology and how studying the investments of these blue check titans might lead us to the future of technological innovations. Key Takeaways Jimmy shares his insight into Elon Musk's brash approach to risk-taking and his desire to change finance from the ground up How the shotgun wedding between X.com and Confinity birthed PayPal and spawned a whole industry of people innovating their way into billions The 3 common traits in this group of tech billionaires How the PayPal alumni infiltrated the space logistics, big data, microfinance, internet video, and even the film industry successfully How Claude Shannon's ideas from 1948 saved business communication during the pandemic How Peter Thiel's ‘no orange jumpsuits' rule led to innovations right up to the line of the law The most important thing to know about the PayPal experience for your own investments Jimmy shares his ‘glass half full' thoughts on technology as a force for good in the world Connect with Jimmy Soni Jimmy Soni Jimmy Soni on Twitter Connect with Addison Wiggin Consilience Financial Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on— Facebook @thewigginsessions Instagram @thewigginsessions Twitter @WigginSessions Resources The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age The little-known story about Elon Musk's first post-grad internship an excerpt by Jimmy Soni on FORTUNE Dr. Peter Nicholson Brady Bonds Cedric Ritchie Seven Samurai Occam's razor|Ockham's razor Halt and Catch Fire George Gilder

Jimmy Soni is the author of The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OEcOUgXvz7g Buy the book: https://amzn.to/30PqMV2 Follow Jimmy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp Timestamps: (0:00:00) - Bell Labs vs PayPal (0:05:12) - Scenius in Ancient Rome and America's Founding (0:07:02) - Girard at PayPal (0:15:17) - Thiel almost shorts the Dot com bubble (0:19:49) - Does Zero to One contradict PayPal's story? (0:27:57) - Hilarious Russian hacker story (0:29:06) - Why is Thiel so good at spotting talent? (0:34:50) - Did PayPal make talent or discover it? (0:40:40) - Japanese mafia invests in PayPal?! (0:44:42) - Upcoming TV show on PayPal (0:48:11) - Musk in ancient Rome (0:52:12) - Why didn't Musk keep pursuing finance? (0:56:32) - Why didn't the mafia get back together? (1:00:06) - Jimmy's writing process

Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and hundreds of the biggest names in Silicon Valley started at PayPal. Known as the “PayPal Mafia,” these free-thinking entrepreneurs created the blueprint for tech companies today. Author Jimmy Soni sits down with host Charles Mizrahi to discuss the untold story of PayPal's founding and how it paved the way for companies like Tesla, Facebook, YouTube, and SpaceX. Topics Discussed: An Introduction to Jimmy Soni (00:00:00) Silicon Valley Has PayPal to Thank (00:01:38) PayPal's Start (00:7:30) The Origins of Elon Musk (00:17:01) PayPal's Unique Recruitment Process (00:27:33) Peter Thiel's Management Style (00:30:13) Thiel's Story (00:32:56) Why PayPal Founders Are Driven to Innovate (00:40:44) What We Can Learn (00:43:59) Guest Bio: Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. He previously served as managing editor of HuffPost and was named in Forbes' “30 Under 30” list. Soni has co-authored several books with Rob Goodman, winning the 2017 Neumann Prize for A Mind at Play. Their essays have been featured in Politico, HuffPost, and Business Insider. Soni's recent solo book (below) tells the story of PayPal's founding. Resources Mentioned: · https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon/dp/1501197266 (The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley) · https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Play-Shannon-Invented-Information/dp/1476766681 (A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age) Transcript: https://charlesmizrahi.com/podcast/podcast-season-7/2022/04/12/story-paypal-jimmy-soni/ (https://charlesmizrahi.com/podcast/)  Don't Forget To... • Subscribe to my podcast! • Download this episode to save for later • Liked this episode? Leave a kind review! Subscribe to Charles' Alpha Investor newsletter today: https://pro.banyanhill.com/m/1962483 (https://pro.banyanhill.com/m/1962483)

The World's #1 Personal Development Book Podcast! In this episode, I have the pleasure to interview author Jimmy Soni. Jimmy's last book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won multiple awards. Our conversation today is all about Peter's new book, titled The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. This book details the stories of some amazing people, including Elon Musk, Amy Rowe Klement, Peter Thiel, Julie Anderson, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman, and many others whose stories have never been shared. Please enjoy this amazing conversation with Jimmy Soni. Today's episode is sponsored by Audible. Try Audible for free: www.bookthinkers.com/audibletrial. The purpose of this podcast is to connect you, the listener, with new books, new mentors, and new resources that will help you achieve more and live better. Each and every episode will feature one of the world's top authors so that you know each and every time you tune-in, there is something valuable to learn. If you have any recommendations for guests, please DM them to us on Instagram. (www.instagram.com/bookthinkers) If you enjoyed this show, please consider leaving a review. It takes less than 60-seconds of your time, and really makes a difference when I am trying to land new guests. For more BookThinkers content, check out our Instagram or our website. Thank you for your time!

Jimmy Soni is an author, speaker, and speechwriter. His new book The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley is a gripping account of the visionaries who were involved in creating PayPal. Today, these same people are considered the technology industry's most powerful players - and have created some of the most successful and well-known companies that we know and love today. Jimmy researched this story for over 5 years and in the process uncovered amazing stories, talented visionaries, and a people with a true desire to change the status quo. Jimmy and I discussed: The process of writing a book, from idea to publishing Where the term PayPal Mafia came from Jimmy's meeting with Elon Musk Who the main players were in creating PayPal Why they were so influential in Silicon Valley Why did PayPal find success when other companies at the time failed How Paypal tackled fraud The merger that became PayPal And so much more... Jimmy Soni My Take: Starting a business is hard, starting one of the most well-known startups in modern history is next to impossible. By all accounts, if you want to achieve greatness you have to be obsessed, you have to be able to think, build, execute, and pivot faster and better than your competitors can and/or are willing to. Sprinkle some luck onto that equation, and you have the foundation of what could become a legacy company in a decade or two. How To Start A Podcast Support The Podcast

Hub Dialogues (part of The Hub, Canada's daily information source for public policy – https://www.thehub.ca) are in-depth conversations about big ideas from the worlds of business, economics, geopolitics, public policy, and technology.The Hub Dialogues feature The Hub's editor-at-large, Sean Speer, in conversation with leading entrepreneurs, policymakers, scholars, and thinkers on the issues and challenges that will shape Canada's future at home and abroad.This episode of Hub Dialogues features host Sean Speer in conversation with journalist and author Jimmy Soni on his fascinating, new book, The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. If you like what you are hearing on Hub Dialogues consider subscribing to The Hub's daily email newsletter featuring our insights and analysis on public policy issues. Subscription is free. Simply sign up here: https://newsletter.thehub.ca/.The Hub is Canada's leading information source for public policy. Stridently non-partisan, The Hub is committed to delivering to Canadians the latest analysis and cutting-edge perspectives into the debates that are shaping our collective future.Visit The Hub now at https://www.thehub.ca. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jimmy Soni is a speaker, speechwriter, and the author of books like The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, A Mind at Play, Mortal Enemy of Caesar, and Jane's Carousel: The story of one woman's remarkable 25-year odyssey to restore the beloved carousel at Brooklyn Bridge Park. He is also the Creative Director of Clout Public Affairs, and has previously worked for the New York Observer, Washington Examiner, and The Huffington Post. At their core, Jimmy's books are passion projects. Jimmy chooses topics because he wants to read about them but can't find a book to buy on the subject. He is inspired by his literary heroes, including Robert Caro, Laura Hillenbrand, Candice Millard, Daniel James Brown, and Barbara Tuchman. Like these acclaimed authors, Jimmy combines rigorous research with readability - he doesn't want his books to feel like doing homework. He enjoys obsessing over a subject for years and aims to find as much information as possible, and then make the material readable for a general audience. jimmysoni.com. Read the show notes here: https://bwmissions.com/one-away-podcast/

How much do we know about the apps that we use daily? In the case of PayPal, relatively few know the early story of the now-behemoth. Its precarious origins—coming about in the limitless, tumultuous late 1990s and early 2000s meant it was far from a shoo-in. It faced staunch competition, never-before-seen levels of internet fraud, and internal friction that could've ruined its path to success. Nowadays, PayPal is a household name. Its founders are among the best-known names in the tech industry: Peter Thiel, Elon Musk and Max Levchin, among others. Jimmy Soni's book The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, details not only the meteoric rise of the company and its founders, but all that came before and made it possible. With privileged access to the internal materials of the company's early days, Soni paints a picture of what brought together these tech giants and how they dared to dream of cashless currency when few others dared. Jimmy Soni holds the answer to why this idea, out of the many it rivaled, won against the odds. Soni will bring to life the story of PayPal, highlighting not just the prominent founders but the unsung heroes that built the brick-by-brick success the company now touts. NOTES This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Jimmy Soni Author, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley In Conversation with Katherine Boyle General Partner, a16z In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on March 9th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Jimmy Soni discusses his book “The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.” Hosts: Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld. Producer: Paul Brennan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Author Jimmy Soni discusses his book “The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.” Hosts: Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld. Producer: Paul Brennan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jimmy Soni, author of The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, joins The Realignment to discuss how the PayPal mafia of Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Reid Hoffman, and countless others shaped Silicon Valley.

Jimmy Soni is a biographer and speechwriter. He joins the podcast to talk about his new book, “The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley,” which explores the early days, history, and legacy of PayPal. It also outlines the unique qualities, business savvy, and technological vision that led to the founders' success at PayPal and elsewhere. Jimmy and Richard discuss the value of “founders,” the cultural impact of Elon Musk, and why so much high-level talent was concentrated at the University of Illinois in the ‘90s. They consider the role of productive tribalism and Peter Thiel's memetic philosophy in shaping tech culture, and reflect on how the tension between vision and practicality is central to American dynamism and innovation. Sign up for CSPI's Substack newsletter: https://cspi.substack.com. Follow CSPI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CSPICenterOrg. Subscribe to our YouTube for video podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvs4ugq0xSvbvwArpFJG6gA. Learn more about CSPI: https://cspicenter.org. Jimmy Soni, “The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.” 

Jimmy Soni  is author of "The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley." The book hit shelves yesterday. In 2022, PayPal's founders and earliest employees are considered one of the technology industry's most powerful alumni networks. Since leaving PayPal, these players have formed, funded, and advised the leading companies of our era, including Tesla, Facebook, YouTube, SpaceX, Yelp, Palantir, and LinkedIn, among many others. As a group, they have driven twenty-first-century innovation and entrepreneurship. Their names are as controversial as they are admired. Yet for all their influence, the story of where they first started has gone largely untold. In this episode, we discuss the key differences between a mafia and a diaspora, the psychologically jarring effects of the dotcom bubble burst, and the competitive work ethic that fuels the alums of PayPal to this day. You can find out more about The Founders, and some of Jimmy's other books by visiting his website at jimmysoni.com Hosted by Marshall Kosloff and produced by Jackson Steger

What I learned from reading The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni.Subscribe to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to 241 full length episodes.WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING:“Without a doubt, the highest value-to-cost ratio I've taken advantage of in the last year is the Founders podcast premium feed. Tap into eons of knowledge and experiences, condensed into digestible portions. Highly, highly recommend. “Uniquely outstanding. No fluff and all substance. David does an outstanding job summarizing these biographies and hones in on the elements that make his subjects so unique among entrepreneurs. I particularly enjoy that he focuses on both the founder's positive and negative characteristics as a way of highlighting things to mimic and avoid.”“I just paid for my first premium podcast subscription for Founders podcast. Learning from those who came before us is one of the highest value ways to invest time. David does his homework and exponentially improves my efficiency by focusing on the most valuable lessons.”“I haven't found a better return on my time and money than your podcast for inspiration and time-tested wisdom to help me on my journey.“I've now listened to every episode. From this knowledge I've doubled my business to $500k a year. Love your passion and recommend your podcast to everyone.”“Founders is the only podcast I pay for and it's worth 100x the cost.”“I have listened to many podcasts on entrepreneurship (HIBT, Masters of Scale, etc.) and find Founders to be consistently more helpful than any other entrepreneurship podcast. David is a craftsperson, he carefully reads biographies of founders, distills the most important anecdotes and themes from their life, and draws commonalities across lives. David's focus is rightfully not on teaching you a formula to succeed but on constantly pushing you to think different.”“I highly highly recommend this podcast. Holy cow. I've been binge listening to these and you start to see patterns across all these incredible humans.”Listening to your podcast has changed my life and that is not a statement I make often.“After one episode I quickly joined the Misfit feed. Love the insight and thoughts shared along the way. David loves what he does and it shines through on the podcast. Definitely my go-to podcast now.”“It is worth every penny. I cannot put into words how fantastic this podcast is. Just stop reading this and get the full access.”“Personally it's one of my top 3 favorite podcasts. If you're into business and startups and technology, this is for you. David covers good books and I've come to really appreciate his perspective. Can't say enough good things.”“I quickly subscribed and it's honestly been the best money I've spent all year. It has inspired me to read biographies. Highly recommend.”“This is the most inspirational and best business podcast out there. David has inspired me to focus on biographies rather than general business books. I'm addicted.”“Anyone interested in business must find the time to listen to each any every Founders podcast. A high return on investment will be a virtual certainty. Subscribe and start listening as soon as possible.”“David saves you hundreds of hours by summarizing bios of legendary business founders and providing valuable insight on what makes an individual successful. He has introduced me to many founders I would have never known existed.”“The podcasts offer spectacular lessons on life, human nature and business achievement. David's enthusiasm and personal thoughts bring me joy. My journey has been enhanced by his efforts.”"Founders is the best self investment that I've made in years."Sign up to listen to the rest of this episode and get access to every full episode. You will learn the key insights from biographies on Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, John D. Rockefeller, Coco Chanel, Andrew Carnegie, Enzo Ferrari, Estee Lauder, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Phil Knight, Joseph Pulitzer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alexander Graham Bell, Bill Gates, P.T. Barnum, Edwin Land, Henry Ford, Walter Chrysler, Thomas Edison, David Ogilvy, Ben Franklin, Howard Hughes, George Lucas, Levi Strauss, Walt Disney and so many more. You will learn from the founders of Nike, Patagonia, Apple, Microsoft, Hershey, General Motors, Ford, Standard Oil, Polaroid, Home Depot, MGM, Intel, Federal Express, Wal Mart, JP Morgan, Chrysler, Cadillac, Oracle, Hyundai, Seagram, Berkshire Hathaway, Teledyne, Adidas, Les Schwab, Renaissance Technologies, IKEA, Sony, Ferrari, and so many more. Sign up to listen to the rest of this episode and get access to every full episode. 

"It was hard and we succeeded." This is a quote from David Sacks, entrepreneur, investor and an early PayPal employee and I think it sums up the PayPal story well.PayPal is a unique and pivotal company in our wonderful tech history. Its founders alone include some of the most successful and prolific engineers, entrepreneur and investors from Elon Musk to Peter Thiel, Max Levchin and Reid Hoffman. But the story of PayPal traditionally only tells the PayPal mafia story and not the real, true, gritty story of a group of people, many immigrants, and lots of women, who helped shape the company and each other during one of the most critical times in history.My guest today is Jimmy Soni – author of The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley and he does what many others haven't. Over five years, he sought out the very people who were there in the early days and not just the founders and big name early employees but all of those who shaped it and made PayPal what it was. He goes back in time to the very inception when Elon was just a young man still showering at the local YMCA and Max Levchin who sought relief from a very hot day by heading to a lecture given by Peter Thiel in a hall gifted with air con.There are so many twists and turns and a huge sprinkling of serendipity, hard work and genius teams that made PayPal what it was and that's what Jimmy and I dig deep into in this interview which I know you will enjoy.------Jimmy TwitterThe Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon ValleyDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterEpisode edited by Jolin Cheng