Podcast appearances and mentions of Jimmy Soni

The Founders de Jimmy Soni

In this episode, Clay explores The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby and uncovers the secret behind venture capital's astonishing success. The Power Law is a fundamental law of the universe that explains why just a handful of disruptive companies, like Google and Tesla, generate the lion's share of returns. To win in the world of venture capital, investors must seek out bold, unconventional founders to back the next big idea. Tune in to learn how understanding the Power Law can transform your perspective on investing and help you spot tomorrow's breakout winners. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:53 - The critical role of the Power Law in venture capital and why a few outliers drive most of the returns. 30:54 - How venture capitalists identify and back bold, unconventional founders like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. 30:54 - The fascinating history behind the rise of venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and their game-changing investments. 36:22 - Why early-stage companies delay going public and the shift in bargaining power from VCs to founders. 01:06:47 - Insights into the mistakes investors make when exiting too early or dismissing "crazy" ideas that turn into trillion-dollar companies. 01:08:16 - Lessons for public equity investors on spotting disruption and understanding the potential of emerging innovators. And so much more! Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Mallaby's book: The Power Law. Jim Sinegal's interview with the Motley Fool. The Science of Hitting Blog. Email Shawn at shawn@theinvestorspodcast.com to attend our free events in Omaha or visit this page. Related Episode: Listen to TIP481: Our Story w/ Stig Brodersen & Clay Finck. Related Episode: Listen to TIP686: Big Tech Stocks w/ Adam Seessel. Related Episode: Listen to TIP417: The Incredible Story of the PayPal Mafia w/ Jimmy Soni. Related Episode: Listen to TIP667: Why Most Stocks Will Lose You Money w/ Hendrik Bessembinder. Follow Clay on Twitter. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, The Intrinsic Value Newsletter. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: Hardblock Found Unchained Fintool The Bitcoin Way Onramp Bluehost Vanta PrizePicks Fundrise TurboTax HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In the last episode, Jimmy Soni introduced Dr Claude Shannon, whose work laid the foundation for the technologies we use today. In this episode, Jimmy dives into the significance of Dr Shannon’s 1948 paper “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” to the creation of information theory. 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.

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

// GUEST //Website: https://jimmysoni.com/Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jimmy-Soni/author/B00OWU2C5KX: https://x.com/jimmyasoniInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmyasoniLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoniMedium: https://medium.com/@jimmysoni // SPONSORS //The Farm at Okefenokee: https://okefarm.com/Heart and Soil Supplements (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://heartandsoil.co/In Wolf's Clothing: https://wolfnyc.com/Tuttle Twins: http://angel.com/breedloveMindlab Pro: https://www.mindlabpro.com/breedloveKalshi: https://kalshi.com/breedloveEmerge Dynamics: https://emergedynamics.com/breedloveArt of Alpha Retreat: https://www.breedloveevents.com/ // PRODUCTS I ENDORSE //Protect your mobile phone from SIM swap attacks: https://www.efani.com/breedloveNoble Protein (discount code BREEDLOVE for 15% off): https://nobleorigins.com/The Bitcoin Advisor: https://content.thebitcoinadviser.com/breedloveLineage Provisions (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://lineageprovisions.com/?ref=breedlove_22Colorado Craft Beef (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://coloradocraftbeef.com/ // SUBSCRIBE TO THE CLIPS CHANNEL //https://www.youtube.com/@robertbreedloveclips2996/videos // OUTLINE //0:00 - WiM Intro 1:10 - A Mind at Play 7:51 - How is AI Changing Book Writing? 24:51 - The Farm at Okefenokee 26:17 - Heart and Soil Supplements 27:18 - Helping Lightning Startups with In Wolf's Clothing 28:10 - Why do we Fight Against Technology? 41:02 - Bitcoin and the PayPal Mafia 58:31 - Tuttle Twins: Teaching Kids Critical Thinking 59:48 - Mind Lab Pro 1:00:57 - Kalshi 1:02:11 - Claude Shannon and Information Theory 1:19:00 - Stoicism and Emotional Regulation 1:27:38 - Emerge Dynamics 1:28:41 - Art of Alpha Retreat 1:29:54 - Imitation of Christ, Socrates, and Cato 1:46:25 - Jimmy's Writing Process // PODCAST //Podcast Website: https://whatismoneypodcast.com/Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-what-is-money-show/id1541404400Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/25LPvm8EewBGyfQQ1abIsERSS Feed: https://feeds.simplecast.com/MLdpYXYI // SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL //Bitcoin: 3D1gfxKZKMtfWaD1bkwiR6JsDzu6e9bZQ7Sats via Strike: https://strike.me/breedlove22Sats via Tippin.me: https://tippin.me/@Breedlove22Dollars via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/RBreedloveDollars via Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/Robert-Breedlove-2The "What is Money?" Show Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32843101 // WRITTEN WORK //Medium: https://breedlove22.medium.com/Substack: https://breedlove22.substack.com/ // SOCIAL //Breedlove X: https://x.com/Breedlove22WiM? X: https://x.com/WhatisMoneyShowLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breedlove22/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breedlove_22/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@breedlove22All My Current Work: https://linktr.ee/robertbreedlove

Hai tuần trước bầu cử tổng thống Hoa Kỳ 2024, ứng cử viên của đảng Cộng Hòa hay Dân Chủ được các doanh nhân Mỹ tín nhiệm hơn ? Bàn thắng có phần nghiêng về phía Donald Trump. Quỹ vận động tranh cử mà giới tài chính ở Wall Street huy động cho ứng viên Cộng Hòa cao gấp đôi so với của bên đảng Dân Chủ. Trên dưới hơn 50 nhà tỷ phú Mỹ đã tuyên bố ủng hộ Donald Trump, mà ồn ào hơn cả là người giàu nhất thế giới Elon Musk cho dù trong quá khứ Musk và Trump từng mạnh mẽ đả kích nhau trước công chúng.Trong danh sách những nhà tài phiệt ủng hộ Donald Trump có từ những tên tuổi lớn trong giới ngân hàng, những ông trùm tại thung lũng công nghệ Silicon và giới trong ngành công nghiệp khai thác dầu đá phiến tại Hoa Kỳ.Trong danh sách đó có cả những nhà tỷ phú từng rất hào phóng tài trợ cho chương trình tranh cử của nhiều đời tổng thống bên đảng Dân Chủ, từ Bill Clinton, Barack Obama đến Joe Biden và cho phụ nữ đầu tiên trong lịch sử Hoa Kỳ chạy đua vào Nhà Trắng là cựu ngoại trưởng kiêm đệ nhất phu nhân, Hillary Clinton hồi 2016, khi bà phải đương đầu với tỷ phú địa ốc New York Donald Trump.Nhật báo kinh tế Pháp Les Echos (ngày 06/10/2024) ghi nhận đến nay Wall Street huy động 220 triệu đô la cho ông Trump và con số này cao hơn gấp đôi so với quỹ dành cho ứng viên bên đảng Dân Chủ, bà Kamala Harris. Trong lần thứ ba ra tranh cử Donald Trump, 78 tuổi, không bị các doanh nhân ủng hộ ông chỉ trích là « già nua » hay là « một mối đe dọa đối với nền dân chủ Hoa Kỳ » (như tài phiệt Bill Ackman về trách nhiệm của Trump khi những người ủng hộ ứng viên đảng Cộng Hòa tràn vào tòa nhà Quốc Hội ở điện Capitol hôm 06/01/2021.Không thấy nhà tỷ phú mang hai quốc tịch Canada và Mỹ, gốc Sri Lanka, Chamath Palihapitiya đánh đồng Donald Trump với Bernie Sanders, đại diện cho hai cánh cực hữu và cực tả « điên rồ ». Chamath giờ đây khẳng định Trump là một vị « tổng thống có tài, hoàn thành nhiệm vụ rất tốt » trong nhiệm kỳ 4 năm (2016-2020). Một số khác cũng dễ dàng « đổi ý » về ông Trump, mời cựu tổng thống Hoa Kỳ về nhà riêng và tổ chức những bữa tiệc để gây quỹ giúp ông chóng trở lại Nhà Trắng.    John Catsimatidis, 76 tuổi, một người Mỹ gốc Hy Lạp giàu có nhờ hệ thống siêu thị Gristedes đang có tham vọng ra tranh cử tranh chức thị trưởng New York tỏ ra hết sức thực tiễn : « Cộng tác với Donald Trump có nghĩa là có thể mở ra tất cả mọi cánh cửa trong giới doanh nhân ở New York ».Nhìn chung, có ít nhất ba yếu tố khiến nhiều nhà tỷ phú Mỹ thiên về Donald Trump.Hứa hẹn giảm thuế doanh nghiệp Lý do đầu tiên, ứng viên của đảng Cộng Hòa hứa giảm thuế doanh nghiệp có lợi cho giới chủ. Donald Trump đề nghị hạ thuế doanh nghiệp đang từ 20 % xuống còn 15 % vào lúc đối thủ bên đảng Dân Chủ, bà Kamala Harris đòi đẩy mức thuế này lên 28 % và « đánh thuế nhà giàu ».Trong nhiệm kỳ Trump, tháng 9/2019, tỉ lệ thất nghiệp ở Mỹ « rơi xuống còn 3,5 % và đấy là mức thấp nhất chưa từng thấy từ 50 năm qua ». Sau đó dưới tác động của đại dịch Covid, thất nghiệp ở Hoa Kỳ tăng cao lên trở lại và dao động ở ngưỡng trên dưới 8 %.Trên sàn chứng khoán Wall Street, trong 4 năm nhiệm kỳ Donald Trump, các chỉ số Dow Jones và S&P500 tăng 50 % riêng chỉ số Nasdaq trong lĩnh vực công nghệ đã tăng lên hơn gấp đôi.Hứa hẹn về một môi trường tự do « không giới hạn »  Theo tiết lộ của hãng tin Bloomberg ứng cử viên Donald Trump đã gặp gỡ không dưới 80 lãnh đạo các chủ doanh nghiệp có ảnh hưởng rất lớn với một thông điệp duy nhất : trong trường hợp trở lại cầm quyền, ông « cởi trói » cho các doanh nghiệp. Xóa bỏ những biện pháp quản lý tài chính, chứng khoán mà chính quyền Joe Biden áp đặt với tập đoàn tham gia sàn chứng khoán Wall Street. Trump sẽ mở đường cho giới ngân hàng, cho các quỹ đầu tư « tự do hoạt động trở lại như thời kỳ trước khủng hoảng tài chính 2008 », theo tiết lộ của hãng tin Anh Reuters.Với các tập đoàn dầu khí, ứng cử viên Donald Trump hứa sẽ « dẹp bỏ » các chuẩn mực về môi trường cũng do « chính quyền Biden đặt ra ».Điều ngạc nhiên hơn cả là « các ông chủ » ở thung lũng công nghệ Silicon có khuynh hướng ủng hộ ông Trump. Từ trước đến nay, thế giới công nghệ và hành tinh « digital » ở Mỹ có truyền thống ủng hộ đảng Dân Chủ nhưng nay đang chuyển hướng.Đối với David Sacks một nhà đầu tư lớn trong lĩnh vực công nghệ internet sáng lập viên quỹ đầu tư có mức độ rủi ro cao Craft Ventures ông ủng hộ Trump do thất vọng về chính sách kinh tế của chính quyền Biden mà ứng viên tổng thống Kamala Harris là một sự tiếp nối.« Hiện tại mọi việc đang tiến triển rất tốt, rất thuận lợi cho Donald Trump và chúng tôi sẽ còn tích cực vận động cho ông hơn nữa (...) Công nghệ mới muốn có khả năng sáng tạo để đem lại những kỹ thuật mới, nhưng chính quyền Biden lại rất chống đối xu hướng này. Họ phản đối kịch liệt những tiến bộ trong lĩnh vực tiền crypto. Chính phủ này đã tìm cách giám sát quá mức nghiêm ngặt các hoạt động trong lĩnh vực trí tuệ nhân tạo. Về cơ bản họ chủ trương loại bỏ các thương vụ cho phép một doanh nghiệp mua lại hay sáp nhập với một công ty khác ».Trừng phạt chính sách kinh tế tệ hại của Biden Một nhà quan sát Mỹ ghi nhận : Bốn năm qua chính quyền Biden đã phạm phải nhiều sai lầm trong mắt các nhà tài phiệt ở quốc gia tự do nhất trên thế giới. Đảng Dân Chủ muốn bảo vệ quyền lợi của người tiêu dùng và giới làm công ăn lương, nên đã mở rộng vai trò cho các cơ quan giám sát tài chính, chứng khoán  của ủy ban bảo vệ người tiêu dùng ... và thậm chí là cả bộ Tư Pháp. Tổng thống Biden chủ trương thu hẹp tầm hoạt động của các sàn giao dịch tiền ảo, thanh tra các doanh nghiệp lạm dụng quyền lực sa thải nhân viên, đòi giới chủ tăng lương cho người lao động và muốn chấm dứt thế độc quyền của một vài tập đoàn digital.Omeed Malik sáng lập viên kiêm chủ tịch tổng giám đốc quỹ tài chính Farvahar Partner giải thích thêm :« Một trong những lý do khác nữa, rất rõ ràng là môi trường với những biện pháp quản lý chặt chẽ nào là SEC - Ủy Ban Chứng Khoán và Hối Đoái, hay FTC tức là Ủy Ban Thương Mại Liên Bang Hoa Kỳ chống cạnh tranh… Tất cả các cơ quan giám sát đó chẳng những càng lúc càng khắt khe mà hoàn toàn không chủ dừng lại ở chỗ điều tiết các thương vụ M&A –   mua bán hay sắp nhập các doanh nghiệp hay các hoạt động trong lĩnh vực tiền điện tử crypto ».   Tập đoàn Live Nation độc quyền thao túng thị trường mua bán vé xem hát và các chương trình giải trí tại Mỹ chẳng hạn đã trong tầm ngắm của bộ trưởng Tư Pháp Merrick Garland : « Chúng tôi cáo buộc tập đoàn Live Nation độc quyền thống lĩnh thị trường phân phối vé hát trên toàn nước Mỹ. Hiện tượng này đã kéo dài quá lâu và đã đến lúc cần chấm dứt ».  Băng đảng Mafia PayPalNhưng trong số các nhà tài phiệt Mỹ ủng hộ ứng viên đảng Cộng Hòa, Elon Musk chủ nhân của Space X, của hãng xe điện Tesla và của mạng xã hội X, năng động nhất.Hai tháng trước bầu cử tổng thống Mỹ, Donald Trump tuyên bố đếu đắc cử ông sẽ mời Elon Musk làm cố vấn để vực dậy kinh tế Mỹ, một nền kinh tế đang « đắm chìm trong khủng hoảng, suy đồi »Cũng Donald Trump xem rằng, Elon Musk sau khi thâu tóm mạng xã hội Twitter cuối 2022 đã sa thải 75 % nhân sự chỉ giữ lại những người chấp nhận « luật chơi mới » và đấy là một tấm gương để đem lại hào quang cho Make America Great Again.« Dân chủ và tư bản », hai khái niệm « đối chọi » với nhau  Thêm một lý do sau cũng được nhà xã hội học Pháp Olivier Alexandre thuộc Trung Tâm Nghiên Cứu Khoa Học Quốc Gia CNRS ghi nhận : « một số tỷ phú Mỹ đang có khuynh hướng muốn thiết lập một trận tự kinh tế mới ».Peter Thiel cha đẻ của tập đoàn Palantir trong lĩnh vực thông tin và tin học viết sách chung với David Sacks quảng bá ý tưởng rằng « tư bản và dân chủ » là những khái niệm không thể song hành.Elon Musk, Peter Thiel và David Sacks là ba cột trụ đã cho ra đời hệ thống thanh toán trên mạng PayPal và từ đó họ đã đặt nền móng cho khối tài sản bạc tỷ khổng lồ trước khi mỗi người tìm cho mình một hướng đi riêng. Nhưng Thiel, Musk và Sacks vẫn rất gắn bó với nhau. Họ mở rộng câu lạc bộ đến nhiều thành viên mới, một cộng đồng mà giới phân tích gọi là « băng đảng Mafia PayPal » bởi trong vỏn vẹn 2 thập niên nhóm này đã bành trướng và làm bá chủ trong thung lũng công nghệ California. Chính băng đảng Mafia PayPal đã áp đặt J.D Vance đứng liên danh với ông Trump trong cuộc đua vào Nhà Trắng năm nay. Mark Chapkin, người viết tiểu sử về Peter Thiel thậm chí mệnh danh J.D Vance là « cánh tay nối dài » của Thiel.Thiel đã « đầu tư 35 triệu đô la để xây bệ phóng chính trị cho hai nhân vật thân tín là J.D Vance và Blake Master » nhưng đến nay chỉ có ông Vance là đã thành công, đắc cử thượng nghị sĩ bang Ohio năm 2022.Năm 2022 Steve Banon, chiến lược gia và cũng là người đã có công đưa Donald Trump và Nhà Trắng từng quả quyết Peter Thiel là người thực sự muốn « thay đổi hẳn hướng đi » của Hoa Kỳ.   Jimmy Soni, tác giả cuốn sách mang tựa đề The Founders, nói về ba ông trùm của băng đảng Mafia PayPal viết : Elon Musk, Peter Thiel và David Sacks, « ba gã khổng lồ ở thung lũng công nghệ Sillicon » đã « lập ra một mạng lưới quyền lực nhất, và thịnh vượng chưa từng có », họ không chỉ thống lĩnh vùng Silicon Valley mà còn muốn áp đặt cả luật chơi với Hoa Kỳ.Đối với mạng lưới này, Donald Trump đắc cử hay không sau cuộc bầu cử tổng thống Mỹ ngày 05/11/2024 tuy quan trọng nhưng không là tất cả. Điều quan trọng hơn nữa là « một sự sắp xếp về nhân sự sau Donald Trump » mà phần nào họ đang đánh cược vào thượng nghị sĩ bang Ohio, J.D Vance.Crystal McKellar, một nhà đầu tư nặng ký ở Silicon Valley trông thấy ở ứng cử viên phó tổng thống này « một nhà tư bản chân chính và trung thành với thị trường tự do, ông tin tưởng vào tăng trưởng, vào sức mạnh của mọi khám phá về kỹ thuật, vào việc xóa bỏ mọi trở ngại đè nén tăng trưởng và thịnh vượng ».

This week's guest is David Senra, ex-founder and host of  Founders podcast – one of my favourite podcasts where each week, David devours a biography of a founder and shares his favourite lessons with the world, whether it's Charlie Munger, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Kobe Bryant, The Wright Brothers, Lucille Ball, Jay Z, Enzo Ferrari and many more!But David has a really interesting story himself and one we dive into today. We talk about his tough childhood and how his escape came through his obsession with books because it was within those pages where he found the role models he wanted and needed to inspire him on his way.We also discuss some key themes between the founders and innovators whose stories David has shared in over 300 episodes now from a self-styled delusion which helps them to ignore the naysayers and dream the impossible to the obsession which comes with a laser focus on what matters.There are lots of great stories and anecdotes as you can imagine from David but there are also some great lessons that he has learned about success on his personal journey and why he wants to build something he's younger self would be proud of.Here is my conversation with David Senra.Enjoy!This episode was originally released April 2023 - S9:E73David's podcast Founders podcast / Twitter / Instagram Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeAll my podcast episodes are edited with Descript - try it for FREE hereMentioned in this episode:Tim Urban post that David mentions in this episode Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People ThinkMy episode with Jimmy Soni here

Ever wondered what it takes to build a tech giant from the ground up? Is it just about having a great idea, or is there a secret formula for success? In this episode, we dive into Jimmy Soni's The Founders, uncovering the key principles that propelled PayPal from a fledgling startup to a cornerstone of the digital economy.In the world of investing and entrepreneurship, having a visionary idea is just the beginning. "The Founders" reveals that it's the combination of vision, timing, and an unrelenting focus on execution that separates successful companies from the rest.Throughout my career, I've learned that building a business is like solving a complex puzzle. Each piece—whether it's hiring the right people, navigating market challenges, or building a sustainable business model—needs to fit perfectly. Drawing on my experience as an entrepreneur and investor, I'll break down the stories and strategies from PayPal's early days to help you understand what it really takes to create a company that lasts.This episode dissects 10 crucial lessons from the book, each one offering valuable insights into leadership, innovation, and resilience. From taking calculated risks and building trust, to the power of culture and strategic partnerships, we'll explore how these principles can help you build a winning team and a sustainable business.Book on Amazon[Link to Amazon]Problems This Solves:Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of business books? This concise summary delivers the most impactful lessons from "The Founders."Unsure how to translate entrepreneurial principles into action? We'll provide actionable takeaways and reflection questions to guide your journey.Curious about the minds behind PayPal and its lasting impact? Gain insights into the challenges, strategies, and collaborative spirit that fueled their success.Why Listen:Discover the 10 Lessons for Success: Uncover the strategies that turned PayPal into a tech powerhouse.Learn from Real-World Examples: Hear stories from the book and my own experiences that illustrate these principles in action.Apply the Lessons to Your Own Ventures: Reflect on how you can foster innovation and build a resilient business.Quotes:“On the eve of its IPO, a prominent trade publication declared that the country needed PayPal ‘as much as it does an anthrax epidemic.'”“Properly understood, PayPal's story is a four-year odyssey of near-failure followed by near-failure.” "PayPal started off as a product with no use case. Then we had a use case but no business model. Then we had to build a sustainable business.""Your life will be shaped by the things you create, and the people you make them with." Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(03:03) Jimmy Soni(06:28) Overview of the Book(10:42) Vision, Persistence, and Hiring the Right People(17:08) Elon Musk's Bold Moves: Risk and Reward(23:07) Peter Thiel's Contrarian Thinking: Market and Monopoly(30:20) Max Levchin's Obsession with Security: Building Trust(35:36) PayPal's Viral Growth: User-Centric Design(41:54) Surviving the eBay Wars: Strategic Partnerships(48:10) The IPO and Beyond: Timing and Execution(54:00) The Role of Culture: From Chaos to Cohesion(59:42) PayPal Mafia: Legacy and Impact(01:05:30) Entrepreneurship Challenges: Navigating Uncertainty(01:11:12) Wrap-Up and Key TakeawaysSend us a Text Message.Support the Show.Join the Podcast Newsletter: Link

“I could hardly form the words. My mouth wasn't working. My heart hammered in my ears and pins and needles burned my hands and feet. I squeezed my fists as hard as I could to get them to stop hurting as I stumbled into my office and fumbled through my laptop password, pulling up the message that had thrown me out of bed:  “Nat, someone found a way to hack us. It sounds bad. All of our funds might be at risk.” This was the absolute worst-case scenario. The one I'd pushed to the back of my mind. The one I pretended was impossible so I could sleep at night. I'd always accepted the risk that I could lose all of my money. But if I lost a hundred million dollars of other people's money…” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Today's episode is extra special as we talk all things Crypto Confidential, a brand-new book by our very own co-host, Nathaniel Eliason. Join us as Nat shares the behind-the-scenes journey of writing and launching his book. Whether you're a seasoned crypto enthusiast or just curious, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of crypto through Nat's insightful storytelling.  We cover a wide range of topics including: Nat's journey of writing Crypto Confidential Differences in promoting fiction vs. nonfiction How Nat learned from other successful book marketers Challenges of book promotion and strategy The creative process behind book cover design And much more. Please enjoy, and make sure to follow Nat, Neil, and Adil on Twitter and share your thoughts on the episode. Links from the Episode: Mentioned in the Show: Crypto Confidential early release in Toronto (1:56)  Brandon Sanderson signing 5,000 copies in 3 hours (8:37) Brandon Sanderson advice and lectures (8:56) 10 Things I Learned Losing 10 Million Dollars (18:30) Olympus (50:55) Outside the System: Crypto Confidential with Nat Eliason (58:55) Books Mentioned: Crypto Confidential The Founders (22:24) Zero to One (23:23) (Nat's Book Notes) Red Rising (25:08) Atomic Habits (26:49) (Nat's Book Notes) The Three-Body Problem (28:33) (Book Episode) (Nat's Book Notes) The 4-Hour Body (36:11) The 4-Hour Workweek (36:26) (Nat's Book Notes) Trust Me, I'm Lying (38:48) The Obstacle Is the Way (40:40) Ego is the Enemy (41:00) (Nat's Book Notes) Deep Work (41:40) (Nat's Book Notes) Elantris (42:32) Endurance (43:58) Empire of the Summer Moon (44:09) Kitchen Confidential (59:00) People Mentioned: Brandon Sanderson (8:37) Jimmy Soni (22:21) Peter Thiel (23:43)  James Clear (26:50) Eric Jorgensen (32:04) Paul Millerd (32:17) Tim Ferriss (36:03) Ryan Holiday (38:32) Cal Newport (41:39) Cormac McCarthy (43:47) Show Topics: (0:00) In today's episode, we delve into Nat's upcoming book, Crypto Confidential, set to release on July 9th. Get your copy here! Nat discusses the book, the preparations for its launch, and the surprise of finding an early-released copy in a Toronto bookstore. (4:01) We explore the process of how bookstores order books, what it takes to keep them on the shelves, and the criteria for returning unsold copies. (7:40) Signed copies of books, and how authors get creative in distributing their signature across a wide number of publishings.  (12:52) Nat shares how he balanced promoting Crypto Confidential to his existing audience while also attracting new readers. He reveals his strategy of getting pre-ordered copies into readers' hands early to generate online testimonials by the release date, despite disagreement from his publishers. (19:38) We talk about how the promotion strategy may change after the book release. At what point do you take your foot off the gas? (24:16) The effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing and why it's such a powerful strategy. We compare the promotion of fiction and nonfiction books, noting that fiction is often less promoted by authors and more by publishers. How does promotional work differ between these genres? (27:33) Nat talks a bit about his upcoming science-fiction book, HUSK, and how he would change his promotion strategy the next time around. (31:10) How can authors maintain momentum and sustain genuine interest in the book? The difference between organic enthusiasm surrounding the book vs. prompted posts. (36:00) Insights from successful book marketers and the strategies that contributed to their success. Spoiler: It's NOT about bombarding your email list. (38:29) The importance of incorporating valuable content into your books. Regardless of the niche, avoid creating “popcorn” books that lack substance. (43:44) Being committed for the long haul as an author, and how it can often take years and multiple books to see your success. (45:50) We dive deeper into the book and explore Nat's motivation behind writing it. Plus, Nat emphasizes the importance of portraying both the lows and highs to engage readers emotionally throughout the narrative. (50:31) What was something that Nat had to cut from the final version of the book? He shares more about his experience with Olympus and how easy it is for people to get carried away while trading.  (55:06) The story of Crypto Confidential began in early 2021 as Nat started to get more into crypto. He eventually found his writing sweet spot by focusing more on narration and less on detailed explanations, with the intermediary chapters providing essential, but non-critical, background information. (1:01:08) The cover of Crypto Confidential. What guidance was given in order to come up with the final cover of the book? (1:04:42) Nathaniel Eliason vs. Nat Eliason  (1:07:17) That wraps up this episode! If you'd like to order a copy of Crypto Confidential, you can do so here! Make sure to leave a review and let us know your thoughts on the new book. This is a great read for anyone regardless of if you're into the crypto world or not. Stay tuned for our next episode covering Endurance by Alfred Lansing. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know by leaving a review on iTunes and tell a friend. As always, let us know if you have any book recommendations! You can say hi to us on Twitter @TheRealNeilS, @adilmajid, @nateliason and share your thoughts on this episode. You can now support Made You Think using the Value-for-Value feature of Podcasting 2.0. This means you can directly tip the co-hosts in BTC with minimal transaction fees. To get started, simply download a podcast app (like Fountain or Breez) that supports Value-for-Value and send some BTC to your in-app wallet. You can then use that to support shows who have opted-in, including Made You Think! We'll be going with this direct support model moving forward, rather than ads. Thanks for listening. See you next time!

In this episode of the Bitcoin Fundamentals Podcast, Jimmy Soni, author of "A Mind at Play" and "The Founders," joins us to discuss the life and work of Claude Shannon. We explore Shannon's groundbreaking contributions to information theory, including the concept of entropy and its importance in data transmission. Jimmy explains how Shannon's work laid the foundation for many of the technologies we take for granted today, including Bitcoin and blockchain technology. We also touch on stories from "The Founders," highlighting the tech pioneers and their innovative contributions. Join us for an in-depth discussion on information theory, Bitcoin, and the history of technology. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:06 - The life and work of Claude Shannon, the father of information theory. 07:10 - The foundational role of Shannon's work in modern technology. 20:31 - The relevance of information theory to Bitcoin and blockchain. 20:52 - Stories from Jimmy Soni's book "The Founders" about tech pioneers. 28:58 - How Shannon's concept of entropy relates to data transmission. 32:52 - Insights into the problem-solving approaches of early tech innovators. 40:42 - How Bitcoin investors can apply Shannon's principles to their strategies. 55:16 - The impact of Shannon's interdisciplinary approach on his innovations. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Jimmy's book, A Mind at Play. Jimmy's Book, The Founders. Jimmy's X (Twitter Account) Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Toyota Sun Life The Bitcoin Way Meyka Sound Advisory Industrious Range Rover iFlex Stretch Studios Briggs & Riley Public American Express USPS Shopify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, US Air Force Captain Jose Davis discusses his paper, which is entitled: "Leveraging AI for Operations in the Information Environment: 3 Demonstrations in Disinformation, Social Media, and Entropy." The paper focuses on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the realm of Operations in the Information Environment (OIE), particularly for the Air Force. The paper presents three case studies demonstrating how AI can positively impact OIE and advocates for direct AI research in this area. Additionally, he'll recap an information campaign that US Air Forces in Europe conducted to assure Baltic NATO Allies, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Recording Date: 24 April 2024 Research Questions: Jose Davis suggests as interested student examine:  What other common metrics can be developed or researched for assessing the Information Environment, tailor-made for the national security needs and useful for IO and PA operators? What are the practical outcomes in the Information Environment (a complex system) when entropy is influenced, pushed either higher or lower? e.g. Hypothetically, when high entropy is present, humans deploy simplifying heuristics, so this should help improve Key Leader Engagements' (KLE) timing and improve KLE dossiers. Or with PA/IO, high entropy hypothetically may demand a simplified messaging campaign. In what other ways can AI be leveraged to combat nefarious AI use for disinformation? The ideas of watermarking or safeguarding content from manipulation from nefarious Generative AI are a form of  immunization, advancing Inoculation Theory as a whole. What other preventative measures along the lines of immunization can be taken to combat disinformation? Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #46 Pat Ryder on Public Affairs and Strategic Communications #174 Kara Masick on Assessment Insights from Program Evaluation #183 Julie Janson on Air Force IO Talent and Strategy Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence Universal adversarial perturbations by Seyed-Mohsen Moosavi-Dezfooli, Alhussein Fawzi, Omar Fawzi, and Pascal Frossard Pre-trained Adversarial Perturbations by Yuanhao Ban, Yinpeng Dong Automating OIE with Large Language Models by Cpt Alexander Sferrella, Cpt Joseph Conger, and Maj Kara Masick Claude Shannon AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by former Google technologist Kai-Fu Lee and science fiction writer Chen Qiufan. I'm a huge advocate of using story to educate. For those new to AI or wanting to understand AI's societal impact, this is my go-to book. Written in a series of fictional short stories with in-depth essay analysis at the end of each, the book teaches AI while making it entertaining. A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman. I think every Information Warfare professional should know who Claude Shannon is and read his “magna carta” of the Information Age, The  Mathematical Theory of Communication.  My intellectual hero, this exceptional biography brings the man to life — a polymath, a tinkerer, an innovator. “Attention is all You Need” by Ashish Vaswani et al. This is the seminal paper advancing the Transformer architecture which made Generative AI like ChatGPT possible. Liken this paper to Einstein's book on Relativity or Newton's Principia. Information Theory: Structural Models for Qualitative Data by Klaus Krippendorff Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio:  Jose is a Public Affairs Officer for Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He has over 14 years of experience in integrated communications, both in the public and private sectors. He is accredited in Public Relations and Military Communications through the Public Relations Society of America. In his current role, he ensures the strategic communication of accurate and timely information about the command's 104-country area of operations. He played a pivotal role at NATO in combating misinformation before, during and after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. He just finished a rigorous six-month fellowship at a DoD-sponsored AI Accelerator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gaining exposure to some of the brightest and best minds in AI and Machine Learning technologies. As part of his fellowship, Jose was required to apply his newly acquired AI foundational knowledge to produce a research paper addressing a problem or issue facing the U.S. Air Force. The paper is slated for publication in the U.S. Air Force's Air and Space Operations Review journal. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Author and friend-of-the-show Jimmy Soni returns to discuss the future of publishing, the changing world of book marketing, the courage of creative risk, and MUCH more! Important Links: Jimmy's website Jimmy's Twitter The Great Reshuffle Show Notes: Why Traditional Publishing is in Stasis A Case of Broken Incentives The Changing World of Book Marketing & the Case for Patience Talent Spotting & Creative Risk The Challenge of Self-Publishing Experiment, Experiment, Experiment Taylor Swift, Michael Jordan, and the Courage of Trying Something New Don't Be Trapped by the Opinions of Others Jimmy as Emperor of the World MORE! Books Mentioned: The Founders; by Jimmy Soni A Mind at Play; by Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy Invest Like The Best; by Jim O'Shaughnessy How To Retire Rich; by Jim O'Shaughnessy Atomic Habits; by James Clear Psychology of Money; by Morgan Housel The Obstacle is the Way; by Ryan Holiday Trust Me, I'm Lying; by Ryan Holiday The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics; by Daniel James Brown You Are a Badass; by Jen Sincero 11/22/63; by Stephen King

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 

Chapter 1 What's A Mind At Play Book by Jimmy Soni"A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age" is a biography of Claude Shannon written by Jimmy Soni. The book explores Shannon's groundbreaking work in the field of information theory and his contributions to modern technology and communication. It also delves into Shannon's personal life and his playful approach to problem-solving and innovation.Chapter 2 Is A Mind At Play Book A Good Book"A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age" by Jimmy Soni is a highly praised biography of Claude Shannon, the father of information theory. The book has received positive reviews for its detailed exploration of Shannon's life and work, as well as its engaging and accessible writing style. If you are interested in technology, mathematics, or the history of science, this book may be a good choice for you.Chapter 3 A Mind At Play Book by Jimmy Soni Summary"A Mind At Play" by Jimmy Soni is a biography of Claude Shannon, often referred to as the “Father of Information Theory.” Shannon was a brilliant mathematician and engineer whose work laid the foundation for the digital revolution that has transformed the modern world.The book charts Shannon's life from his early days as a curious and precocious child growing up in Michigan to his groundbreaking work at Bell Labs, where he made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, engineering, and computer science.Soni portrays Shannon as a thinker ahead of his time, someone who was able to see connections between seemingly disparate fields and make groundbreaking discoveries that would revolutionize the way we think about communication, encryption, and computing.The book also delves into Shannon's personal life, exploring his relationships with colleagues, friends, and family, as well as his hobbies and interests outside of his work.Overall, "A Mind At Play" provides a comprehensive look at the life and legacy of Claude Shannon, shedding light on the man behind some of the most important ideas and inventions of the 20th century. Chapter 4 A Mind At Play Book AuthorJimmy Soni is a writer, author, and journalist. He co-authored the book "A Mind At Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age" with Rob Goodman, which was published in 2017.Apart from "A Mind At Play", Jimmy Soni has also written another book titled "Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar" in 2012.In terms of editions, "A Mind At Play" is considered the best book by Jimmy Soni as it has received critical acclaim for its detailed and engaging portrayal of Claude Shannon, the father of information theory.Chapter 5 A Mind At Play Book Meaning & ThemeA Mind At Play Book Meaning"A Mind at Play" is a biography of Claude Shannon, the father of information theory. The book explores Shannon's life and his revolutionary contributions to technology, mathematics, and communication. It delves into the complex mind of Shannon and his groundbreaking ideas that have shaped the digital world as we know it today. The title "A Mind at Play" suggests Shannon's creative and playful approach to problem-solving and innovation, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and experimentation in pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.A Mind At Play Book ThemeThe theme of "A Mind At Play" by Jimmy Soni centers around the concept of innovation and creativity. The book explores the life and work of mathematician and computer...

On today's episode, Clay shares the lessons he learned from reading Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson.  As our audience knows, Elon is, financially speaking, one of the world's most successful individuals as Forbes has his net worth estimated at $248 billion, making him the richest individual on the planet. 25 years ago, Elon was making his mark in Silicon Valley in the early days of PayPal, and today he is launching dozens of rockets into orbit, taking the lead in the world's transition to electric vehicles, actively working to stay on top of the world of AI, and has taken over one of the world's largest social networks in Twitter, now known as X. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro. 03:48 - The highlights of Elon Musk's childhood and upbringing in South Africa. 07:03 - The key themes Clay found in Elon's life. 07:40 - Peter Theil's key insight in working with Elon. 10:01 - How Elon and Kimbal made their way to the United States. 13:34 - The three fields Musk found in college that he decided he wanted to commit his life to. 15:25 - The early businesses that Elon and Kimbal Musk started in the 90s. 16:58 - What led Elon to join forces with Peter Thiel and create PayPal. 22:29 - The beginnings of SpaceX. 24:26 - The early key decisions within Tesla. 29:35 - Business tactics Elon Musk used that were similar to Steve Jobs. 29:57 - Elon's master plan for Tesla. 32:44 - What made the great financial crisis one of the most troubling periods of Elon's career. 53:14 - How Elon got interested in artificial intelligence. 58:58 - How Tesla made it through what Musk called “Production Hell.” 01:11:33 - The backstory of the Cybertruck, Starlink, & Optimus. 01:30:04 - The story of Elon's takeover of Twitter.  Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, and the other community members. Check out Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson. Book Mentioned: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Learn more about Tesla's developments in artificial intelligence. Learn more about the Berkshire Summit by clicking here or emailing Clay at clay@theinvestorspodcast.com. Related Episode: TIP417: The Incredible Story of the PayPal Mafia w/ Jimmy Soni or watch the video. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. NEW TO THE SHOW? Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Shopify Vanta Alto NetSuite AlphaSense Toyota American Express Business Gold Card Babbel Percent Salesforce Monetary Metals Efani Ka'Chava Wise Glengoyne Whisky HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre Silicon Valley - Claude Shannon & Bell Labs w/ Jimmy Soni  AZ TRT S04 EP49 (212) 12-10-2023   Revisit the Show w/ Clips From: PayPal Mafia - The Founders Story & Their Battle w/ EBAY w/ Jimmy Soni  - BRT S03 EP36 (135) 8-7-2022  Full Show: HERE    What We Learned This Week PayPal Mafia – alumni created or involved many other co's – Tesla, SpaceX, Palantir, Yelp, Yammer, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube & more PayPal had may contributors & a real long shot to happen during the DOTCOM Crash of 2000 Claude Shannon – creator of Information Theory, predecessor to the modern computer age, & algorithms Bell Labs was a classic Tech Incubator like Fairfield Semiconductor, Xerox Parc, Menlo Park – Edison / GE, Manhattan Project, Tuxedo Park PayPal sold to EBAY in 2002 for $1.5 Billion, prior to this, the two companies were rivals as EBAY wanted a different payment system   Full Show: HERE     Guest: Jimmy Soni, Author https://jimmysoni.com/ https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/ My books are passion projects. My topics come because I look for a book to buy on the subject and can't find one. I know it's supposed to be fancier than that, or that there must be some grand theory of my work, but there isn't one. That said, my readers seem to enjoy what I've written, so maybe it's fine? I am inspired by my literary heroes, including Robert Caro, Laura Hillenbrand, Candice Millard, Daniel James Brown, and Barbara Tuchman, among many others. They are all rigorous researchers—but reading their books doesn't feel like doing homework. That's what I'm going for, and hopefully I hit the mark a few times. For me, books are all-consuming projects, leaving little other time for the things that should populate this section like hobbies, interests, and even the ability to remain in basic touch with people. I enjoy obsessing over a subject for years, and my goal is to find as much information as possible and then make the material readable for a general audience.  When not writing or reading, I spend time with my daughter in Brooklyn, NY.  If you'd like to connect, please drop me a line at hello [@] jimmysoni.com.   https://jimmysoni.com/books/   The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley A definitive, deeply reported look at the origin of PayPal and its founding team, including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, Max Levchin, and others whose stories have never before been told. They defined the modern world. This experience defined them.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal_Mafia Paypal Mafia   Elon Musk – Tesla, Space X, Boring Co. Peter Thiel – 1st FB Investor, AirBnB Investor, Founders Fund, Palantir Reid Hoffman – LinkedIn (sold to Microsoft) Max Levchin – Affirm, Investor in Yelp David O. Sacks – Geni.com & Yammer Chad Hurley – YouTube Russel Simmons – Yelp   https://fintechboomer.com/guide-evaluate-the-founders-the-story-of-paypal-and-the-entrepreneurs-who-formed-silicon-valley/   https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-hindu-business-line/20220620/281758452959411   https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni/status/1488992532268732419       A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age In this elegantly written, exhaustively researched biography, Soni and Goodman reveal Claude Shannon's full story for the first time. With unique access to Shannon's family and friends, A Mind at Play brings this singular innovator and always playful genius to life.   https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-claude-shannons-information-theory-invented-the-future-20201222/ QUANTIZED COLUMNS How Claude Shannon Invented the Future Today's information age is only possible thanks to the groundbreaking work of a lone genius.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9hfWiQKhcs&t=2s A Mind at Play | Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman | Talks at Google     Life in Code and Digits: When Shannon met ... - ScienceOpen  Shannon is credited with the invention of signal-flow graphs, in 1942. He discovered the topological gain formula while investigating the functional operation of an analog computer. For two months early in 1943, Shannon came into contact with the leading British mathematician Alan Turing.   Ed Thorp, Claude Shannon and the World's First ... - Winton https://www.winton.com › technology › 2018/07 › ed-t... Jul 13, 2018 — Thorp, 85, is a former American mathematics professor and hedge fund manager, who became a New York Times bestselling author in 1962 with his ...   https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html The No-Stats All-Star     Notes: Claude Shannon Bio – A Mind at Play (2017) Claude Shannon – mathematician & MIT professor created Father of Information Theory – How do you make info transferrable, & secure in wartime? Friend of Alan Turing (British Mathematician), both worked on coding in WW2, German code breaking scientists became celebrities in WW2 and raised funding The science behind compressing info, digitizing info and MP3 files, transfer data Mathematics Theory of Communication, Shannon's paper and theory considered the Magna Carta of information age. Great paper theoretically and practically. Shannon created algorithm called sigsally. Imitation Game – WW2 bio movie about Alan Turing Shannon's work used for Gun torrents on Navy ships, target projectiles Bell Labs – math group that Shannon was a part of Famous Groups of Genius - Menlo Park – Edison/GE, Manhattan Project – Built the A Bomb Fairfield Semiconductor – predecessor to Intel and other Silicon Valley tech co's Bell Labs had money and started as R&D Dept. in Bell Telephone Bell Telephone ran all land lines in America, had a Fed guaranteed monopoly on the phone system Bell invented touch tone dialing, transistor, satellite tech, cell tech, communication networks We are all affected by Bell tech and inventions, modern age owes a solid to Bell Had big group of talent and could afford all of it, leading scientists of the time. During WW2 many major U.S. corporations – Bell, Ford were recruited by the US Government. War effort created urgency – math used to shoot down the enemy. The Founders – story of PayPal (2022) Dot Com burst created urgency to Pay Pal, bleeding money, had to survive. Dotcom crash – companies started 1 day, & BK out of business next day. Rise like a rocket and crash in 2 years Next Gen of Genius Teams - Xerox Parc, Microsoft, Apple Music Producer – Brian Eno coined the term “scenious” Scene meets genius - Clusters of talent American Revolution – Hamilton, Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Franklin all together for 1 cause Inklings, Fugitive Poets, 1960's British Music scene, Bill Walsh 49ers Coaching staff of the 1980s Paypal is the story of many – Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Reed Hoffman Alumni of Fairchild Semi led to Intel, Atari and Xerox Parc led to Apple. Post WW2 Bell Labs pressure decreased compared to PayPal. Bell Labs allowed free wheeling, could work on a project for 10 years.   PayPal Mafia - The Founders Story & Their Battle w/ EBAY w/ Jimmy Soni  - BRT S03 EP36 (135) 8-7-2022 Full Show: HERE   More on Bell Labs:   'The Idea Factory': How Bell Labs invented the future – Article HERE           Bell Labs: The research center behind the transistor, and so much more – Article HERE         Best of Biotech from AZ Bio & Life Sciences to Jellatech: HERE   Biotech Shows: HERE   AZ Tech Council Shows:  https://brt-show.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=az+tech+council *Includes Best of AZ Tech Council show from 2/12/2023     ‘Best Of' Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+of+BRT      Thanks for Listening. Please Subscribe to the BRT Podcast.     AZ Tech Roundtable 2.0 with Matt Battaglia The show where Entrepreneurs, Top Executives, Founders, and Investors come to share insights about the future of business.  AZ TRT 2.0 looks at the new trends in business, & how classic industries are evolving.  Common Topics Discussed: Startups, Founders, Funds & Venture Capital, Business, Entrepreneurship, Biotech, Blockchain / Crypto, Executive Comp, Investing, Stocks, Real Estate + Alternative Investments, and more…    AZ TRT Podcast Home Page: http://aztrtshow.com/ ‘Best Of' AZ TRT Podcast: Click Here Podcast on Google: Click Here Podcast on Spotify: Click Here                    More Info: https://www.economicknight.com/azpodcast/ KFNX Info: https://1100kfnx.com/weekend-featured-shows/   Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts, Guests and Speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent (or affiliates, members, managers, employees or partners), or any Station, Podcast Platform, Website or Social Media that this show may air on. All information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes. Nothing said on this program should be considered advice or recommendations in: business, legal, real estate, crypto, tax accounting, investment, etc. Always seek the advice of a professional in all business ventures, including but not limited to: investments, tax, loans, legal, accounting, real estate, crypto, contracts, sales, marketing, other business arrangements, etc.  

Diving into the life, lessons, and greatness of the founders of PayPal from Jimmy Soni's book called, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entreprenuers Who Shaped Silicon ValleyCheck out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence-----0:00 - Wrong Ideas“You start off with an idea, and that idea is mostly wrong. And then you adapt that idea and keep refining it and you listen to criticism…and then engage in sort of a recursive self-improvement…keep iterating on a loop that says, ‘Am I doing something useful for other people?' Because that's what a company is supposed to do.” - Elon Musk2:50 -  On questions“A lot of times the question is harder than the answer, and if you can properly phrase the question, then the answer is the easy part.” - Elon Musk6:35 - Trust“Trust builds speed. We could be on a much faster cycle than a lot of companies where you have to take a month to sort of massage things throughout the company before you could say what you were trying to say.” - Peter Thiel7:40 - On hirings“As hire As. Bs hire Cs. So the first B you hire takes the whole company down." - Max Levchin15:30 - On all-nighters“I think there's something very special about the all-nighter ethic. There's definitely something about the nocturnal lifestyle for engineers specifically that really opens up the chakras of creativity or code writing. People get slightly sillier, but also maybe a little more creative. They get tired and some spirit and camaraderie wakes up in those hours and you get more done because you're not afraid to tell people to shove it when they're doing something wrong and the interactions become more interesting." - Max Levchin17:15 - On losers“Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser.” - Peter Thiel25:50 - A question to ask.“Who is the most eccentric or unorthodox person you know and could I meet them.” - Reid Hoffman27:00 - One final note "The fates guide the person who accepts them and hinders the person who resists them." - Cleanthes

In this week's podcast, I am joined by Jimmy Soni: Author of The Founders We talked about a wide range of topics: 1. Securing interviews with top people in PayPal2. Cold emailing tips and more Connect with Jimmy below: X(formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni Check out The Founders book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Founders/Jimmy-Soni/9781501197260 Connect with the host Roohi Kazi on the below platforms: Instagram-roohik2 LinkedIn: Roohi Kazi Twitter: https://twitter.com/roohi_kr Visit this link for more listening options/platforms for the Business Podcast by Roohi, and next step groups: ⁠https://bop.me/roohikaz⁠ Business Podcast by Roohi Website: https://businesspodcast.transistor.fm/ Subscribe to the Business Podcast by Roohi newsletter here: ⁠https://businesspodcastbyroohi.substack.com/⁠ Subscribe to the YouTube channel here: ⁠https://youtube.com/@bizpodroohi?si=V4VxfkFEO4AlEiIz⁠ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review of the podcast here on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-podcast-by-roohi-vc-startups/id1516165457?uo=4 Or rate it on Spotify Would really appreciate it! Follow Business Podcast by Roohi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-podcast-by-roohi/ DM me on X(formerly Twitter) or LinkedIn- if you are interested in sponsoring episodes of the podcast

Elon Musk is man, but he's also a character that he crafted and which the media blew up to unimaginable scale. Without the media, Musk would not be the man he is today because that myth — and the way it exaggerated some of his traits and virtually hid others — was essential to his success. This is episode 2 of Elon Musk Unmasked, a special four-part series from Tech Won't Save Us.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, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Science fiction author Annalee Newitz, CNBC.com journalist Lora Kolodny, Ludicrous author Edward Niedermeyer, freelance journalist Karl Bode, and Insider senior correspondent Linette Lopez were interviewed for this episode.Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, The Founders by Jimmy Soni, and The PayPal Wars by Eric Jackson were the books cited.Support the show

Elon Musk wasn't always the influential billionaire he is today. To begin our dive into the myth of Musk, we need to go back to his origins — to find out where he came from, what inspired him, and how he became the man he is today. Those details set the foundation for the three episodes to come. This is episode 1 of Elon Musk Unmasked, a special four-part series from Tech Won't Save Us.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, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Insider senior correspondent Linette Lopez, New York Times Johnannesburg bureau chief John Eligon, CBC documentary producer Ira Basen, and science fiction author Annalee Newitz were interviewed for this episode.Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, and The Founders by Jimmy Soni were the books cited.A full transcript can be found on the show's official website.Support the show

Are you continually transforming your business like Amazon? Today I'm talking with John Rossman who is a thought leader on the topics of digital strategies and innovation strategies.  John is a former Amazon executive who was a leader in launching and scaling the Amazon Marketplace business and ran the enterprise services business. John is an expert at leveraging the Amazon leadership principles to help people innovate, compete, and win in the digital world. He is an advisor to companies and leaders who want to innovate and compete with more agility and effectiveness.  John is also a keynote speaker on leadership for the digital era. He is the author of three books, including The Amazon Way: Amazon's 14 Leadership Principles. “Continually transform your business by making small tangible changes, learn from those changes, and continue with more changes.” – John Rossman Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - How companies can improve their Digital Transformation effectiveness - What inspired John to write “The Amazon Way” - What tech leaders can learn from the Amazon leadership principles - Why “Customer Obsession” is the first principle discussed in John's book - What is the “diving deep” principle  Resources John's Book:  The Amazon Way - https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Way-Amazons-Leadership-Principles/dp/173497916X John's Newsletter:  The Digital Leader Newsletter - https://thedigitalleader.substack.com/ Book:  The Founders by Jimmy Soni - https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon/dp/1501197266  Connect with John Rossman: Website: http://rossmanpartners.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rossman/ Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book. 

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).

A master of biographies and a professional speechwriter. If you want to write serious, research-backed non-fiction or build your writing career while working a full-time job, this episode is for you. Website: https://jimmysoni.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni Books: The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar Want to learn more about the next cohort with Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw Want to learn more about How I Write? Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're joined by Jon Gertner (author of THE IDEA FACTORY: BELL LABS AND THE GREAT AGE OF AMERICAN INNOVATION) and Jimmy Soni (author of A MIND AT PLAY: HOW CLAUDE SHANNON INVENTED THE INFORMATION AGE) to discuss our favorite "house of magic" - Bell Labs! Can Bell Labs ever be recreated? What would Claude Shannon think of ChatGPT? What can we learn about "doing great things" from Bell Labs?Shownotes:Bell Labs - Wikipedia pageClaude Shannon - Wikipedia pageGet Back (Beatles documentary)The Idea Factory - Jon's book about Bell LabsA Mind At Play - Jimmy's book about Claude ShannonThe Ice At The End of The World - Jon's latest book about the melting ice sheet in GreenlandThe Founders - Jimmy's latest book about PaypalJon's websiteJimmy's website Charlie's short story about the "Voyager 3" space probe

(PART 2) "I wish I was connected with less influential people",  said absolutely no one. Let's be real, we all wish we had a chance to connect with famous & influential people. Whether for business or personal reasons, I'd bet the majority of you have at least one A-list individual you're dying to meet & talk to. I know I have like at least 58 or so. What if I told you there were things you could start doing today to dramatically increase the odds of successfully connecting with them? Today's guest is the incredible author Jimmy Soni! Jimmy spent 6 years researching and writing a comprehensive book about the founders of PayPal. Not only did we dive into his  book The Founders, we spent the first half of the conversation discussing the "how" of networking with people who most consider inaccessible. You say, "What does Jimmy know about this?" Well, he sat down with Elon Musk at his home and interviewed him for several hours. So that right there should highlight he knows a thing or two!This is probably the most tactical conversation I've had so far on the show and it's chocked full with actionable networking & sales strategies! Jimmy's an incredible author who's written a number of books and has another couple bangers in the works! Oh,  and he's just so damn likeable too.Order The Founders  today:  https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon/dp/1501197266A great place to start learning more about Jimmy and his books: https://jimmysoni.com/Follow & interact with Jimmy on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedInhttps://www.instagram.com/jimmyasoni/https://twitter.com/jimmyasonihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/Follow me on Instagram @ johnskomski for daily motivation and learn more about Investing Inward at https://jskomski.com/Music: Hindsight (Instrumental) by Fivefold (used with written permission)

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/

"I wish I was connected with less influential people",  said absolutely no one. Let's be real, we all wish we had a chance to connect with famous & influential people. Whether for business or personal reasons, I'd bet the majority of you have at least one A-list individual you're dying to meet & talk to. I know I have like at least 58 or so.  What if I told you there were things you could start doing today to dramatically increase the odds of successfully connecting with them?  Today's guest is the incredible author Jimmy Soni! Jimmy spent 6 years researching and writing a comprehensive book about the founders of PayPal. Not only did we dive into his  book The Founders, we spent the first half of the conversation discussing the "how" of networking with people who most consider inaccessible. You say, "What does Jimmy know about this?" Well, he sat down with Elon Musk at his home and interviewed him for several hours. So that right there should highlight he knows a thing or two! This is probably the most tactical conversation I've had so far on the show and it's chocked full with actionable networking & sales strategies! Jimmy's an incredible author who's written a number of books and has another couple bangers in the works! Oh,  and he's just so damn likeable too. Order The Founders  today:  https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon/dp/1501197266A great place to start learning more about Jimmy and his books: https://jimmysoni.com/Follow & interact with Jimmy on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedInhttps://www.instagram.com/jimmyasoni/https://twitter.com/jimmyasonihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/Follow me on Instagram @ johnskomski for daily motivation and learn more about Investing Inward at https://jskomski.com/Music: Hindsight (Instrumental) by Fivefold (used with written permission)

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on MavenThis conversation will help you think more deeply about the nature of rhetoric.Caleb Ontiveros speaks with the political scientist Rob Goodman. You may recognize his name from the book Rome's Last Citizen, which he wrote with past Stoa Conversations guest, Jimmy Soni. He's also the author of Words on Fire: Eloquence and Its Conditions. We discuss ancient Romans, current politics, risk, and rhetoric.(02:03) Introduction(03:56) Who was Cicero?(07:00) Cicero & Cato the Younger(19:53) Rhetoric(29:50) Responsibilities of the Audience(32:57) Politics as Spectators(36:43) Politics as Conflict(39:13) Why Rome?*** Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribeDownload the Stoa app (it's a free download): stoameditation.com/podListen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

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.

Friend-of-the-show (and new O'Shaughnessy Ventures team member) Liberty RPF joins Jim and fellow friend-of-the-show Jimmy Soni to discuss the current state of the publishing industry and the new opportunities emerging for current and aspiring authors. Important Links: Jimmy's Website Jimmy's Twitter Liberty's Newsletter Liberty's Twitter 10 Reasons Why I'm Publishing My Next Book on Substack Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time Show Notes: How has the publishing industry changed? Reinventing the audiobook The living book Towards new book pricing models Why the traditional publishing industry is becoming unsustainable The tragedy of unwritten books A rejection from a traditional publisher is meaningless What do traditional publishers do well? The importance being invested in the success of a product Leveraging AI & other tools in the writing process Why the publishing industry is successful Increasing the power of individual creators Change, prestige & disruption Playing the right kind of status games Aligning quality with meritocracy MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Founders; by Jimmy Soni A Mind at Play; by Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar; by Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy Invest Like The Best; by Jim O'Shaughnessy Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds; by David Goggins The Psychology of Money; by Morgan Housel The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich; by Tim Feriss Harry Potter; by J. K. Rowling Reality Hunger; by David Shields $100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No; by Alex Hormozi The Status Game: On Social Position and How We Use It; by Will Storr

Today's guest is David Senra, ex-founder host of  Founders podcast – one of my favourite podcasts where each week, David devours a biography of a founder and shares his favourite lessons with the world, whether it's Charlie Munger, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Kobe Bryant, The Wright Brothers, Lucille Ball, Jay Z, Enzo Ferrari and many more!But David has a really interesting story himself and one we dive into today. We talk about his tough childhood and how his escape came through his obsession with books because it was within those pages where he found the role models he wanted and needed to inspire him on his way.We also discuss some key themes between the founders and innovators whose stories David has shared in the almost 300 episodes now from a self-styled delusion which helps them to ignore the naysayers and dream the impossible to the obsession which comes with a laser focus on what matters.There are lots of great stories and anecdotes as you can imagine from David but there are also some great lessons that he has learned about success on his personal journey and why he wants to build something he's younger self would be proud of.Here is my conversation with David Senra.Enjoy!David's podcast Founders podcast / Twitter Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter Mentioned in this episode:Tim Urban post that David mentions in this episode Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People ThinkMy episode with Jimmy Soni here

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

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

On the latest episode of 20 Minute Playbook, we interview the bestselling author and former Huffington Post Managing Editor Jimmy Soni. We decode what he's mastered and learned along the way—from his biggest lessons learned as an author to his favorite books, his superpowers, the advice he'd give his younger self, and more—all in 20 minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest episode of Great Books Distilled, we explore Jimmy Soni's bestselling book, The Founders. The Founders tells the founding story of PayPal and the personalities who shaped it, including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, and Reid Hoofman. To write the book, Jimmy Soni conducted hundreds of interviews and had unprecedented access to thousands of pages of internal material. In this interview, we explore the most interesting aspects of this incredible story and what we can learn from it, and we go behind the scenes to explore the five-year story of writing the book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on MavenAll ages will produce men like Clodius, but not all ages men like Cato.– SenecaWhy did Stoics idolize Cato the Younger?In this episode Caleb Ontiveros speaks with Jimmy Soni, author of Rome's Last Citizen.We focus on what is admirable about Cato the Younger, his contradictions, and his legacy. We also touch on Soni's book The Founders which is a deep dive on the story of PayPal. It's a engaging book on the early days of what are now Silicon Valley legends.Follow Jimmy on Twitter.***Stoa Conversations is Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay's podcast on Stoic theory and practice.Caleb and Michael work together on the Stoa app. Stoa is designed to help you build resilience and focus on what matters. It combines the practical philosophy of Stoicism with modern techniques and meditation.Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): stoameditation.com/podListen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/Caleb Ontiveros has a background in academic philosophy (MA) and startups. His favorite Stoic is Marcus Aurelius. Follow him here: https://twitter.com/calebmontiverosMichael Tremblay also has a background in academic philosophy (PhD) where he focused on Epictetus. He is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His favorite Stoic is Epictetus. Follow him here: https://twitter.com/_MikeTremblayThank you to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

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

➤ Jimmy Soni, author of 'The Founders' joins Rob Maurer to discuss the early days of Elon Musk, the story of x.com and PayPal, where Twitter may be headed, and more. The Founders: https://amzn.to/3V7oGWZ The Soul of A New Machine: https://amzn.to/3jcqGzY Find Jimmy Soni on Twitter @jimmyasoni 0:00 Jimmy Soni & The Founders 0:41 Backstory on the book 4:38 Understanding Elon 10:22 Elon's early days and Twitter motivation 14:25 A vision unfulfilled 16:57 Being wrong 20:20 Organizational change 22:06 Speed 24:02 Elon forced out of PayPal 34:22 Elon's mindset and overcoming challenges 39:55 Elon's motivation & character 47:08 Engineering vs. the world 50:31 Filtering out the noise 53:08 Misconceptions Shareloft: https://www.shareloft.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/teslapodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tesladailypodcast Tesla Referral: https://ts.la/robert47283 Executive producer Jeremy Cooke Executive producer Troy Cherasaro Executive producer Andre/Maria Kent Executive producer Jessie Chimni Executive producer Michael Pastrone Executive producer Richard Del Maestro Executive producer John Beans Disclosure: Rob Maurer is long TSLA stock & derivatives. Product links may earn additional revenue for the channel.

Ryan speaks with historian of Rome Josiah Osgood about his new book Uncommon Wrath: How Caesar and Cato's Deadly Rivalry Destroyed the Roman Republic, the complicated legacy of Cato, how Caesar and Cato's relationship can help inform our daily lives, and more.Josiah Osgood is Professor of Classics at Georgetown University. His teaching and research cover many areas of Roman history and Latin literature, with a special focus on the fall of the Roman Republic. Josiah's interest in the fall of the Roman empire began in high school Latin class, where he read Cicero's speeches against Catiline. He found Cicero's rhetoric so powerful that he became enthralled by Roman politics and has been studying the subject compulsively for twenty years since. He is the author of several books, including Caesar's Legacy, Turia: A Roman Woman's Civil War, and How to be a Bad Emperor.Listen to Josiah and Ryan's previous conversation from 05/11/22 here: https://dailystoic.com/josiah-osgood/ Check out Rome's Last Citizen by Rob Goodman and Jimmy Soni.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

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

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.