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4 episodes with Thiel Fellowship
4 episodes with Thiel Fellowship
4 episodes with Thiel Fellowship
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2 episodes with Thiel Fellowship
2 episodes with Thiel Fellowship
2 episodes with Thiel Fellowship
Ethan Thornton is the founder of MACH Industries, a next-generation defense technology and manufacturing company that's dedicated to redefining the future of modern combat through their hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and drone defense systems. A 21-year-old MIT dropout, Ethan left higher learning in 2023 after receiving a Thiel Fellowship from tech startup investor Peter Thiel (as well as placing on Forbes 30 under 30 list) to pursue working at MACH full-time. Considered by some to be a modern tech savant who shares the stage with the likes of Elon Musk or Marvel's fictional billionaire Tony Stark, Ethan's goal is to create more cost-effective and efficient defense systems by replacing traditional munitions with hydrogen-powered alternatives. He's also attracted significant attention for his work at the Department of Defense, with his innovative approach to crafting weapons systems like Viper, Glide, and Stratus leading some to believe that MACH may very well be rewriting the rulebook when it comes to combat engagements and aerial warfare. Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop ---------- Support Ethan Thornton - Website - https://machindustries.com/ Follow Ethan on X - https://x.com/ethanrthornton Follow MACH Industries on X - https://x.com/Mach_Industries ---------- Sponsors: C. Crane When the internet goes dark, radio still works! Order Your C. Crane CC Skywave SSB 2 today when you call C. Crane's U.S. based Customer Service at 800-522-8863 or visit https://ccrane.com/drop and use code DROP at checkout for 10% off orders over $75! ---------- TEAM DOG FOOD, TREATS & SUPPLEMENTS Be Your Dog's Hero: Veteran-owned by a former Navy SEAL and Special Operations K9 Trainer, Team Dog provides a complete diet of science-backed premium dog food, treats, and supplements to optimize your dog's health, forged from rigorous standards and real-world expertise. https://www.teamdog.shop TEAM DOG ONLINE TRAINING Mike Ritland – a former Navy SEAL & Special Operations K9 trainer – shares his simple and effective dog training program to build trust and control with your dog. Based on Mike's bestselling book “Team Dog, Train the Navy SEAL Way”, join tens of thousands of families that successfully trained their way to a better dog. https://www.teamdog.pet SHOP ALL THE MIKE RITLAND BRANDS Get all your Mike Ritland branded gear - Mike Drop | Trikos | Team Dog https://shop.mikeritland.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Adam Guild is the co-founder and CEO at Owner, an online food ordering system for independent restaurants. Within a year, Owner went from being about to run out of money to having hundreds of customers. Last year, they raised a $33M Series B. Adam's entrepreneurial journey began as a teenager when he built a successful Minecraft server, which led him to drop out of high school to become a founder. His passion for helping small businesses was sparked by his mom's struggles running a dog grooming shop, which led him to launch the early iteration of Owner. -- In today's episode, we discuss: How working with a small business kickstarted Owner Adam's unusual outbound strategy Why the pandemic accelerated Owner's success How Owner's pivot led to “hyperbolic” product-market fit The two qualities Adam looks for in new hires -- Referenced: Alex Bard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbard/ Dean Bloembergen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanbloembergen/ Guisados: https://www.guisados.la/ HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/ Jack Altman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackealtman/ Kimbal Musk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimbalmusk/ Modern Restaurant Management: https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/ Naval Ravikant: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navalr/ Neil Patel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkpatel/ Peter Thiel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterthiel/ P.F. Chang's: https://www.pfchangs.com/ Sean Rad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrad/ Thiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org/ Tim Ferriss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timferriss/ Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/ -- Where to find Adam: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamharrisonguild/ -- Where to find Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast -- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:29) Adam's first business (04:15) The transition from Minecraft to Owner (05:58) The dark side of the gaming industry (14:20 Adam's scrappy strategy to landing his first customers (16:52) The COVID pivot (21:31) The quest to find product-market fit (30:53) What actually worked to get new customers (36:03) Inside Owner's explosive growth (46:41) How Owner secured its crucial first round of funding (53:34) The bet on going multi-product (64:28) What Adam wishes he knew at 17 (76:22) Sales-led vs. product-led growth
The new political propaganda machine did not just appear overnight. It's been a long road built in a relatively short period of time, and we are speeding down it now. If you just merged onto this freeway be warned, nothing is as advertised on the billboards. Topics include: no Uncle show this week, 2009 Singularity Summit, Peter Thiel, Ray Kurzweil, NYC, MIRI, Google, Macroeconomics and Singularity, Libertarian politics, government contracts, intelligence, Palantir, PayPal Mafia, billionaires, limited government, consolidation of fringe and mainstream, alternative media, ideological shifts, political technology, social media, big data, surveillance, Big Tech, crazy wins elections, data as a commodity, analytics, Information Age, political campaigns as potential data purchasers, world of contradictions, technocracy, Trump and Musk, crypto, claims to be disclosing hidden secrets, chainsaw at CPAC, transhumanism, zero charisma spokesmen, Joe Rogan, podcasts, comedy, fake underground, Gravitron ride, online media is the new establishment, cult of personality, X, AI, Culture Wars as a distraction, executive orders made to placate the electorate, propaganda, Thiel Fellowship, powers that be now on public display, talking points, acting like automatons, Russian disinformation, confluence of interests, Hulk Hogan, Idiocracy, dumbing down of America, Ochelli Radio Network, performance art, stand up comedy, branding, There is an Us and Them however you've gotten the identities of both wrong
The Age of Transitions 2-21-2025AoT# 451It's a long road built in a relatively short period of time, and we are speeding down it now. If you just merged onto this freeway be warned, nothing is as advertised on the billboards. Topics include: no Uncle show this week, 2009 Singularity Summit, Peter Thiel, Ray Kurzweil, NYC, MIRI, Google, Macroeconomics and Singularity, Libertarian politics, government contracts, intelligence, Palantir, PayPal Mafia, billionaires, limited government, consolidation of fringe and mainstream, alternative media, ideological shifts, political technology, social media, big data, surveillance, Big Tech, crazy wins elections, data as a commodity, analytics, Information Age, political campaigns as potential data purchasers, world of contradictions, technocracy, Trump and Musk, crypto, claims to be disclosing hidden secrets, chainsaw at CPAC, transhumanism, zero charisma spokesmen, Joe Rogan, podcasts, comedy, fake underground, Gravitron ride, online media is the new establishment, cult of personality, X, AI, Culture Wars as a distraction, executive orders made to placate the electorate, propaganda, Thiel Fellowship, powers that be now on public display, talking points, acting like automatons, Russian disinformation, confluence of interests, Hulk Hogan, Idiocracy, dumbing down of America, Ochelli Radio Network, performance art, stand up comedy, branding, There is an Us and Them however you've gotten the identities of both wrongFRANZ MAIN HUB:https://theageoftransitions.com/PATREONhttps://www.patreon.com/aaronfranzUNCLEhttps://unclethepodcast.com/ORhttps://theageoftransitions.com/category/uncle-the-podcast/FRANZ and UNCLE Merchhttps://theageoftransitions.com/category/support-the-podcasts/KEEP OCHELLI GOING. You are the EFFECT if you support OCHELLI https://ochelli.com/donate/The Age of Transitions 2-21-2025
Mark Daniel is the co-founder and managing partner of the investment firm Digital, whose portfolio extends across accelerated computing, gaming, crypto, social networking, AI, extended reality, cybersecurity, creator tools, spatial computing, and immersive learning. Back in 2013, he was also one of the very first recipients of a Thiel Fellowship. This was a fun one. Mark joins the show to discuss why podcasts are dangerous (
Send us a textEli Mohamad is a prominent figure in the biotech, space, and AI industries who has co-founded several successful startups and has a real passion for groundbreaking ventures that focus on the development of futuristic technologies.Currently as a Core Team Member at CryoDAO ( https://www.cryodao.org/ ), a decentralized organization focused on sourcing and funding research in cryopreservation, Eli continues to work at the forefront of innovative technologies and applies his extensive experience in biotechnology and innovative projects to advance novel cryopreservation technologies and their various applications, from critical tissue and organ preservation, to cryo-sleep and suspended animation for space exploration.Eli has also been involved in setting up another decentralized organization called HydraDAO ( https://hydradao.org/ ) which is focused on funding and incubating biological replacement research to significantly extend human lifespan and will be looking at everything from Limb Regeneration, Organ Bioprinting and Xenotransplantation, to Progressive Brain Replacement, head/brain transplants, and even whole body replacement via non sentient cloning.Throughout his career, Eli has held various leadership positions in cutting-edge companies including as Co-founder and Chief Business Officer at X-Therma Inc., a company focused on complex tissue preservation; Advisor and Chief Business Officer at Rimac Automobili, working on high-performance electric vehicles; CFO/CBO at Insilico Medicine, Inc., as well as Co-founder of Organ Preservation Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the future of organ banking, Orphidia Ltd., a medical diagnostics company, and Walkmore, a data science company.Eli holds a Master's degree in Science, Technology and Innovation Management from the University of Sussex. He is also an alumnus of Singularity University's GSP (Global start up) 2012 program. Kai Micah Mills ( https://kaimicahmills.com/ ) is the visionary founder of Cryopets ( https://cryopets.com/ ), a company focused on advancing cryopreservation technologies for pets. Cryopets was founded in 2023 with the aim of revolutionizing the field of cryopreservation. Starting with pets, the company is innovating on existing methods to create reliable and accessible cryopreservation services. Cryopets aspires to make cryopreservation available in local veterinary clinics and, eventually, in human hospitals.With a deep passion for defeating death, Kai is driven by the belief that true progress in longevity science must be bold and unapologetic. He has received backing from the prestigious Thiel Fellowship and is a recognized thought leader in the radical life extension community.Kai is a co-founder of CryoDAO and HydraDao.Important Episode Link - Vitalist Bay - https://www.vitalistbay.com/#EliMohamad #KaiMicahMills #Longevity #Immortality #LifeExtension #ProgressiveBrainReplacement #Cryopreservation #OrganPreservation #Bioprinting #VitalistBay #Vitalism #AdamGries #NathanCheng #HydraDAO #CryoDAO #DeSci #Cryonics #Regeneration #Cryoprotectants #LimbRegeneration #Xenotransplantation #HeadTransplant #BrainTransplant #SpinalCordInjury #SergioCanavero #RenXiaoping #ClonedNonSentientBodies #Cloning #ArtificialWombs #Cryosleep #Crypto #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show
Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, started in 1998, redefining the world of secure and fast e-commerce. Shortly thereafter, Thiel was the first outside investor in Facebook in 2004. Additionally, he co-founded Founders Fund, which has backed transformative companies like SpaceX and Airbnb, With a background in law and finance, Thiel has consistently championed innovation, whether through his venture capital firm, Thiel Capital, or the Thiel Fellowship, which provides $100,000 grants to young entrepreneurs who have a vision for a new product. Known for his contrarian thinking, Thiel is also the author of #1 New York Times bestselling book, Zero to One, which challenges conventional ideas about innovation and offers optimistic insight into future progress. ------ Thank you to the sponsors that fuel our podcast and our team: Vivo Barefoot http://vivobarefoot.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA25' ------ LMNT Electrolytes https://drinklmnt.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Athletic Nicotine https://www.athleticnicotine.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Squarespace https://squarespace.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Sign up to receive Tetragrammaton Transmissions https://www.tetragrammaton.com/join-newsletter
Danielle Strachman is the cofounder and general partner of the 1517 Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund and community supporting college dropouts and tech-focused scientists working on entrepreneurial solutions to big problems. Danielle has worked with young entrepreneurs for over a decade, including during the founding in 2010 of the Thiel Fellowship, a program started by entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel to provide funding to ambitious young people who opted out of college in favor of entrepreneurial ventures. Prior to that, Danielle was an education entrepreneur! She founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 400 students, with a focus on student-led, project based learning and other alternative programs. Read more about 1517 at Substack. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
I have a poor eye for specific sociological detail but a good brain for psychology and the things that drive people to block and hurt others. —Matthew GasdaMy guest on this episode of the podcast is poet, novelist, essayist and playwright Matthew Gasda, with playwright being the most salient of those descriptors. His play Denmark just finished up a short run at the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research, which Gasda founded and runs, and he is best known for his play Dimes Square, which helped fix the notorious New York downtown microneighborhood in the public imagination.In 2022, The New York Times published a very substantive profile of Gasda, tracking his emergence into hipster prominence during Covid:In the spring of 2021, he fell into a downtown social scene that was forming on the eastern edge of Chinatown, by the juncture of Canal and Division Streets. What he witnessed inspired his next work, “Dimes Square.”“Dimes Square became the anti-Covid hot spot, and so I went there because that's where things were happening,” Mr. Gasda said.Named after Dimes, a restaurant on Canal Street, the micro scene was filled with skaters, artists, models, writers and telegenic 20-somethings who didn't appear to have jobs at all. A hyperlocal print newspaper called The Drunken Canal gave voice to what was going on.Mr. Gasda, who had grown up in Bethlehem, Pa., with the dream of making it in New York, threw himself into the moment, assuming his role as the scene's turtlenecked playwright. And as he worked as a tutor to support himself by day, and immersed himself in Dimes Square at night, he began envisioning a play.Set in a Chinatown loft, “Dimes Square” chronicles the petty backstabbing among a group of egotistic artists and media industry types. It's filled with references to local haunts like the bar Clandestino and the Metrograph theater, and its characters include an arrogant writer who drinks Fernet — Mr. Gasda's spirit of choice — and a washed up novelist who snorts cocaine with people half his age.Matt and I talk about a great number of things over the course of this quite long and I think quite rich conversation, which we recorded in two separate sessions. He helps me come asymptotically closer to understanding what the Dimes Square scene is or was (I'm pretty sure it's was at this point).We talk about his very middle-class youth in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the difficulties of making the transition from that world, and the world of his middle-class degrees from Syracuse and Lehigh, to the very specialized set of manners and expectations that structure life and society in New York City.We talk about the general challenges of making it in as playwright (and by extension as screenwriter or tv writer), as well as the specific challenges of making it when you've been classified as politically suspect, as Matt has.We end, more or less, with my expressing my hope that Matt can continue to protect and nurture his talent and his desire to connect even as, of necessity, he has to live and work in various scences in New York that can be quite toxic. AI-generated show notes. They seem mostly accurate.00:00 Introduction to Eminent Americans00:32 Meet Matthew Gazda: Playwright Extraordinaire01:10 The Dime Square Phenomenon02:29 Exploring Denmark and Other Plays03:37 Defining Dime Square05:26 The Scene and Its Key Figures08:07 The Evolution of Dime Square21:03 The Genesis of the Play27:43 Matthew Gazda's Background39:36 Navigating Social Classes and Upbringings40:58 The Art of Performativity and Banter42:55 Algorithmic Conversations and AI's Impact44:04 Flirting and Social Dynamics46:14 Authenticity vs. Performativity in Plays48:26 Cynicism and Artistic Integrity57:13 Challenges of a Playwright's Career01:00:40 Exploring Dimes Square and Its Impact01:19:22 The HBO Deal and Dimes Square01:19:49 Canceled Party and Industry Politics01:21:24 Theater World Challenges01:25:08 Class and Credentials in the Arts01:28:52 Navigating Bitterness and Cynicism01:33:28 The Reality of Artistic Success01:44:00 Final Thoughts and Future PlansSome of the questions I prepared in advance, many but not all of which I ended up asking:In the most concrete, least abstract terms possible: What was Dimes Square and who were the major players within it? And should I be talking about it in the past tense? Tell me about Bethlehem? You seem like a hustler from the provinces, much much more driven than the people around you. True? One of the tensions in your plays, at least in the ones I've read, is between what I guess I'd just call earnestness, or authenticity, and the alternatives to that—on the one hand a kind of ironic performativity, which is what constitutes much of Dimes Square, and then on the other hand just a zoned out deflection of emotion, which is what you get so much of in your play Zoomers. Does that sound right to you? You just wrote this piece, "Credentialist Cretins," that is just immensely cynical about the people around you. But then you seem like a fairly earnest person, interested in connecting. And you've been pretty protective of your friends in the scene, people who a lot of others would like to see as ironic performative too cool for school types. Square that circle for me. My brother always says that theater will be the last refuge of wokeness, that it will be land acknowledgements until we all sink into the sea. Is that right? How do you fit into the scene? Are you endangering your career prospects either through the plays, and their use of certain language and expression of certain ideas, or through your political writing? Are you cutting yourself off from the money flows? What the hell is going on with Zoomers? I found it an interesting read, but I wasn't sure what you were doing? Am I too old? Would it have been more apparent if I saw the play in person?Excerpts from Matt's essay “Downtown Demons,” about the development and meaning of the Dimes Square scene:The creation of scenes was aided and accelerated by temporarily cheaper rents and inflated tech wages (and crypto fortunes). Large apartments and lofts were secured, sometimes in two-year leases. A new, politically ambiguous patron class appeared at the same time that subscriber-supported writers and podcasters were challenging mainstream news and opinion. You could listen to a podcast or read a Substack, and meet the podcaster or writer the same night at a party or a bar (though these shuttered in the early evening, for those who remember, on the totally scientific theory that the virus hunts at night); shifts in perspective were happening in real time.Old political boundaries were temporarily porous and fluid and ideological lines could be crossed and retraced again. At a given party, you might meet—to name a few examples at random—a liberal New York Times columnist, a Big Five novelist with a forthcoming debut (typically less daring than her conversation), a dirtbag podcaster, a powerful editor, an out-of-work actor, a fashion model, a filmmaker, an influencer, a Thiel Fellowship winner, a grad student on a stipend, a union organizer, a Bitcoin multimillionaire; the melange was the message.In effect, the pandemic downtown moment was, from the very beginning, infected with spirit of the very-online, which, while latent for a long time, never went away; there was a tension between those who really truly wanted to leave the internet behind, and those who instinctively wanted to integrate the online into the fabric of nightlife—and the latter won out.The mimetic violence of downtown discourse—the denunciations, the trollings, the doxxings, the terroristic threats—that is manifest in the way people talk to, and more often, about one another, presages real political conflict in the future. Get full access to Eminent Americans at danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe
Today's guest, Ritik Malhotra, is the co-founder and CEO of Savvy Wealth, a Tech-Enabled Wealth Management Firm that surpassed $700 million in assets in just three years.In this episode, Ritik and Stacy discuss:Ritik's backstory: How his obsession with coding (that started in elementary school) turned into a thriving business that funded his college education How he became an exiting founder at just 21 years old Lessons learned from raising a 26.M series A round: Why storytelling matters when fundraising Why it pays to provide a modern, tech-forward experience as an advisor in 2024More About Ritik Malhotra Ritik Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Savvy Wealth, a digital-first platform for financial advisors centered around modernizing human financial advice. Savvy Wealth builds proprietary technology to empower advisors as its affiliate RIA Savvy Advisors to increase efficiency, automate mid-and-back office workflows and build stronger client relationship. A 32-year-old tech founder with 2 exits in his 20s, Malhotra was inspired to found Savvy Wealth after his second exit, and realized that today's advisors were not providing a modern, tech-forward experience. A YCombinator and Thiel Fellowship alum, Malhotra was named among the “Ten to Watch” in 2023 by WealthManagement.com, one of the most well-regarded publications in the wealth management space.Want More Help With Storytelling? + Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth: https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital's exclusive membership - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital's exclusive membership
What is school and culture in the time between worlds? This is a rich conversation about the present digital age and its horrors and possibilities. Michael Gibson is the co-founder of the 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm that supports young entrepreneurs challenging traditional education paths. He was instrumental in developing the Thiel Fellowship, which awards $100,000 grants to innovators under 23, encouraging them to skip or leave college. Previously, he worked at Thiel Capital alongside Peter Thiel. Gibson studied philosophy at Williams College and the University of Oxford, and his background in philosophy shapes his approach to supporting unconventional ideas and innovation. Gibson wrote the magnificent "Paper Belt On Fire", Dr. Zak Stein studied philosophy and religion at Hampshire College, and then educational neuroscience, human development, and the philosophy of education at Harvard University. While a student at Harvard, he co-founded what would become Lectica, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to the research-based, justice-oriented reform of large-scale standardized testing in K-12, higher-education, and business.He is also a writer whose work has appeared in a variety of journals including American Psychologist, New Ideas in Psychology, Mind, Brain, and Education, Integral Review, and the Journal of Philosophy of Education. He has published two books, Social Justice and Educational Measurement a dissertation that traces the history of standardized testing and its ethical implications, and Education in a Time Between Worlds, which expands the philosophical work to include grappling with the relations between schooling and technology more broadly. He is also the co-author of David J. Temple's First Principles and First Values: Forty-Two Propositions on Cosmoerotic Humanism, the Meta-Crisis, and the World to Come. Michael Gibson's books: https://www.amazon.fr/stores/author/B099S87YCD Zak's Web Page: http://www.zakstein.org/
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Thiel on AI & Racing with China, published by Ben Pace on August 20, 2024 on LessWrong. This post is a transcript of part of a podcast with Peter Thiel, touching on topics of AI, China, extinction, Effective Altruists, and apocalyptic narratives, published on August 16th 2024. If you're interested in reading the quotes, just skip straight to them, the introduction is not required reading. Introduction Peter Thiel is probably known by most readers, but briefly: he is an venture capitalist, the first outside investor in Facebook, cofounder of Paypal and Palantir, and wrote Zero to One (a book I have found very helpful for thinking about building great companies). He has also been one of the primary proponents of the Great Stagnation hypothesis (along with Tyler Cowen). More local to the LessWrong scene, Thiel was an early funder of MIRI and a speaker at the first Effective Altruism summit in 2013. He funded Leverage Research for many years, and also a lot of anti-aging research, and the seasteading initiative, and his Thiel Fellowship included a number of people who are around the LessWrong scene. I do not believe he has been active around this scene much in the last ~decade. He appears rarely to express a lot of positions about society, and I am curious to hear them when he does. In 2019 I published the transcript of another longform interview of his here with Eric Weinstein. Last week another longform interview with him came out, and I got the sense again, that even though we disagree on many things, conversation with him would be worthwhile and interesting. Then about 3 hours in he started talking more directly about subjects that I think actively about and some conflicts around AI, so I've quoted the relevant parts below. His interviewer, Joe Rogan is a very successful comedian and podcaster. He's not someone who I would go to for insights about AI. I think of him as standing in for a well-intentioned average person, for better or for worse, although he is a little more knowledgeable and a little more intelligent and a lot more curious than the average person. The average Joe. I believe he is talking in good faith to the person before him, with curiosity, and making points that seem natural to many. Artificial Intelligence Discussion focused on the AI race and China, atarting at 2:56:40. The opening monologue by Rogan is skippable. Rogan If you look at this mad rush for artificial intelligence - like, they're literally building nuclear reactors to power AI. Thiel Well, they're talking about it. Rogan Okay. That's because they know they're gonna need enormous amounts of power to do it. Once it's online, and it keeps getting better and better, where does that go? That goes to a sort of artificial life-form. I think either we become that thing, or we integrate with that thing and become cyborgs, or that thing takes over. And that thing becomes the primary life force of the universe. And I think that biological life, we look at like life, because we know what life is, but I think it's very possible that digital life or created life might be a superior life form. Far superior. [...] I love people, I think people are awesome. I am a fan of people. But if I had to look logically, I would assume that we are on the way out. And that the only way forward, really, to make an enormous leap in terms of the integration of society and technology and understanding our place in the universe, is for us to transcend our physical limitations that are essentially based on primate biology, and these primate desires for status (like being the captain), or for control of resources, all of these things - we assume these things are standard, and that they have to exist in intelligent species. I think they only have to exist in intelligent species that have biological limitations. I think in...
Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Thiel on AI & Racing with China, published by Ben Pace on August 20, 2024 on LessWrong. This post is a transcript of part of a podcast with Peter Thiel, touching on topics of AI, China, extinction, Effective Altruists, and apocalyptic narratives, published on August 16th 2024. If you're interested in reading the quotes, just skip straight to them, the introduction is not required reading. Introduction Peter Thiel is probably known by most readers, but briefly: he is an venture capitalist, the first outside investor in Facebook, cofounder of Paypal and Palantir, and wrote Zero to One (a book I have found very helpful for thinking about building great companies). He has also been one of the primary proponents of the Great Stagnation hypothesis (along with Tyler Cowen). More local to the LessWrong scene, Thiel was an early funder of MIRI and a speaker at the first Effective Altruism summit in 2013. He funded Leverage Research for many years, and also a lot of anti-aging research, and the seasteading initiative, and his Thiel Fellowship included a number of people who are around the LessWrong scene. I do not believe he has been active around this scene much in the last ~decade. He appears rarely to express a lot of positions about society, and I am curious to hear them when he does. In 2019 I published the transcript of another longform interview of his here with Eric Weinstein. Last week another longform interview with him came out, and I got the sense again, that even though we disagree on many things, conversation with him would be worthwhile and interesting. Then about 3 hours in he started talking more directly about subjects that I think actively about and some conflicts around AI, so I've quoted the relevant parts below. His interviewer, Joe Rogan is a very successful comedian and podcaster. He's not someone who I would go to for insights about AI. I think of him as standing in for a well-intentioned average person, for better or for worse, although he is a little more knowledgeable and a little more intelligent and a lot more curious than the average person. The average Joe. I believe he is talking in good faith to the person before him, with curiosity, and making points that seem natural to many. Artificial Intelligence Discussion focused on the AI race and China, atarting at 2:56:40. The opening monologue by Rogan is skippable. Rogan If you look at this mad rush for artificial intelligence - like, they're literally building nuclear reactors to power AI. Thiel Well, they're talking about it. Rogan Okay. That's because they know they're gonna need enormous amounts of power to do it. Once it's online, and it keeps getting better and better, where does that go? That goes to a sort of artificial life-form. I think either we become that thing, or we integrate with that thing and become cyborgs, or that thing takes over. And that thing becomes the primary life force of the universe. And I think that biological life, we look at like life, because we know what life is, but I think it's very possible that digital life or created life might be a superior life form. Far superior. [...] I love people, I think people are awesome. I am a fan of people. But if I had to look logically, I would assume that we are on the way out. And that the only way forward, really, to make an enormous leap in terms of the integration of society and technology and understanding our place in the universe, is for us to transcend our physical limitations that are essentially based on primate biology, and these primate desires for status (like being the captain), or for control of resources, all of these things - we assume these things are standard, and that they have to exist in intelligent species. I think they only have to exist in intelligent species that have biological limitations. I think in...
In unserer heutigen Folge sprechen wir über das Thema Berufseinstieg. Wir sprechen unter anderem darüber, was unser erster bezahlter Nebenjob, unser erstes richtungsweisendes Praktikum und unser erster richtiger Job war und wie es uns beeinflusst hat. Wir sprechen darüber, warum es wahrscheinlich nicht reicht, nur die eigenen Eltern um Rat zu fragen. Michael verweist auf die aktuelle Folge von “On the Way to New Work”, in der er zum dritten Mal mit der Karriereberaterin Ragnhild Struss von Struss & Claussen spricht und er verweist auf Test von der Zeit: Die Zeit | Studiengangtest: https://shorturl.at/iHsKy Die Zeit | Berufstest: https://shorturl.at/F5CLb Wir sprechen darüber, ob erst eine Lehre und dann ein Studium ein guter Weg sind und auch darüber, ob all diese Angebote überhaupt noch zeitgemäß sind. Michael ist wieder einmal einem urbanen Mythos aufgesessen und der hat mit einer Rede von Larry Ellison, dem Gründer von Oracle zu tun. In dieser Rede soll Ellison gesagt haben, dass 17 der 20 vermögendsten Amerikaner Studienabbrecher seien und die Absolventen der Yale University "Verlierer" seien, weil sie ihr Studium abgeschlossen hätten. Wahr wiederum ist, dass Peter Thiel, der Mitbegründer von PayPal und ein prominenter Tech-Investor, tatsächlich ein Programm ins Leben gerufen hat, das Studierende dazu ermutigt, ihr Studium abzubrechen. Dieses Programm, bekannt als Thiel Fellowship, wurde 2011 gegründet und bietet jungen Menschen unter 23 Jahren eine Unterstützung von 100.000 US-Dollar über zwei Jahre, um ihre eigenen Projekte und Start-ups zu entwickeln, anstatt weiterhin zur Schule zu gehen. Oskar berichtet von seinen positiven Erfahrungen in Dänemark und der dort anzutreffenden Praxis, dass nahezu alle Jugendlichen früh berufliche Erfahrungen sammeln. Am Ende gibt es 10 Tipps: 1. Es ist nie zu früh für den ersten Job oder das erste Praktikum - probiert euch aus! 2. Sucht euch (berufliche) Vorbilder und Mentoren auch außerhalb der Familie. 3. Kommt raus aus der Komfortzone, neue Stadt, neues Umfeld, neue Eindrücke. 4. Seid mutig bei der Gehaltsverhandlung, egal wo. Kennt euren Wert. 5. Klärt Erwartungen mit Teammitgliedern, Managern etc., damit es nicht zu Unklarheiten kommt. 6. Schreibt bei Unklarheiten, die in den ersten Wochen Fragen auf, und stellt sie auch. 7. Setzt Grenzen. 8. Seid offen für Feedback, falls es keins gibt, fordert es ein. 9. Nutzt Reverse Mentoring als Tool, um euch und euren Mentee herauszufordern und zu fördern. 10. Seid euch euer Stärken und Blind Spots bewusst (mehr dazu in der nächsten Folge) Auch nach 19 Folgen können wir unser Glück nicht fassen, solche Gespräche führen zu können. Wir stellen weiter fest, wie wichtig es für uns ist, dass wir uns immer wieder zu wichtigen Themen austauschen und reflektieren. Wir hoffen, dass wir Euch mit unserem Gespräch nicht langweilen, sondern Euch inspirieren, selbst immer wieder auch in den Dialog mit Vertretern aller Generationen zu gehen. LinkedIn: michaeltrautmann64 Oskar-trautmann96 #ZoomerMeetsBoomer #GenZ #BabyBoomer
As CEO of the AI start-up DoNotPay, Joshua Browder is one of Silicon Valley's rising young entrepreneurs. Born in the UK and educated at Stanford, Browder is from a remarkable family of American innovators and activists. His great grandfather, Earl Browder, was head of the US Communist Party. His grandfather, Felix Browder, was one of America's most brilliant mathematicians. And his father, Bill Browder, is an American investor, activist and high profile critic of Vladimir Putin. Given this unique lineage, I began my conversation with Josh Browder by asking him what being American meant to him.Joshua Browder is the CEO and Founder of DoNotPay.com, the world's first robot lawyer. DoNotPay has automated over 200 consumer rights processes for consumers, including cancelling subscriptions, lowering bills and obtaining refunds, among many others. To date, the company has won over 2m cases for its customers. Browder has been named as one of the “35 Innovators Under 35” by MIT Technology Review and one of the top legal innovators in America by the Financial Times. Before starting DoNotPay, Browder studied Computer Science at Stanford, dropping out after 3 and a half years to take the Thiel Fellowship. He has since invested in over 150 companies, including Figma, Mercury, Owner.com, Riverside and Jeeves. He focuses his investing on first time entrepreneurs, such as college and high school dropouts.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Noor Siddiqui is currently building Orchid, a reproductive technology company that measures genetic predisposition to disease and provides embryo screening for couples going through IVF. Noor joins the show to discuss the ambitious culture of the West Coast, getting into the Thiel Fellowship, her personal reasons for starting Orchid, the sacred act of reproduction and why it must be made safe, her belief in children as the future, and MUCH more! Important Links: Noor's Personal Website Noor's Twitter Noor's Linkedin Orchid's Website Show Notes: The Ambitious Culture of San Francisco The East Coast Aversion to Risky Ambition The Intimate Origin Story of Orchid What Orchid Has Built The History and Controversy Around Reproductive Technology Surprising Aspects of Orchid's Technology Benefits of Saliva Testing Making Our Own Genetic Luck Noor's Predictions for the Field Advances in Embryonic Freezing Why Noor Values Clear Writing Noor as Empress of the World MORE! Books/Essays Mentioned: What You Can't Say; by Paul Graham Secrets (from Zero To One); by Peter Thiel
►Think School's flagship Communication course with live doubt sessions : https://thethinkschool.com/sp/communication-masterclass/ ►Follow Think School Social Media: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkSchool Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethinkschool?igsh=NWg2ZXRyZmdsM2ds&utm_source=qr VIDEO INTRODUCTION: In this episode of the Indian Business Podcast, we get insights from Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of Oyo Rooms. He tells us about his journey from being a young, inexperienced entrepreneur to leading a big success in the hotel industry. Ritesh talks about overcoming big challenges, like losing 70% of the company's revenue overnight. He also talks about how it's important to think differently and how he got help from the Thiel Fellowship. In this podcast shares lessons he learned, why it's good to be different, and the value of education beyond formal settings, offering invaluable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders.
#61. In this episode of The meez Podcast, host Josh Sharkey welcomes Sam Bernstein, the founder of Table22. Table22 is a pioneering company designed to help restaurants generate incremental new revenue through subscriptions, including memberships, CPG products, and events.Josh and Sam's paths first crossed at The Chef Conference in Philadelphia. Since then, their encounters have become frequent, most recently at the National Restaurant Association Show, where they connected at an event hosted by meez, Made In Cookware, and Fernet.In this episode, Josh delves into Sam's entrepreneurial journey, discussing his impressive background as a Thiel Fellow and his early forays in real estate before founding Table22. Sam's passion and smart approach to supporting the restaurant industry shine through as he shares insights into the growth of Table22 and his vision for the future of restaurant revenue streams.Tune in to hear about Sam's innovative strategies, his dedication to the restaurant community, and the story behind Table22. Don't miss this engaging conversation packed with entrepreneurial wisdom and industry insights.Where to find Sam Bernstein:InstagramLinkedInWhere to find host Josh Sharkey:InstagramLinkedInTikTokTwitterIn this episode, we cover:(03:41): Sam's background(15:17): Sam's learnings from receiving a Thiel Fellowship(22:00): How Table22 works(47:39): Sam's interpretation of the 11 star experience for Table22
In this episode of the Inspired Money Live Stream Podcast, we discuss the intriguing world of wine regions and investment opportunities. Joined by guest panelists Anthony Zhang, John Jackson, Tanisha Townsend, and Cha McCoy, we navigate through the intricacies of wine production, market trends, and strategic investments. Discovering the World of Wine Investment Wine investment is not just about enjoying a good bottle, but also about understanding the complexities of the wine market. "Exploring Wine Regions and Investment Opportunities," brings to light the multifaceted aspects of investing in wine. Our distinguished guests share their expertise and personal experiences, offering a comprehensive view of wine investment beyond traditional financial markets.
Today's guest is Danielle Strachman, co-founder of 1517 venture fund which, in their own words, backs dropouts working on hard problems and sci-fi scientists at the earliest stages of their startups. Prior to starting 1517, Danielle worked with Peter Thiel, and Michael Gibson (who I Interviewed in Series 8, Episode 60) and together, they ran The Thiel Fellowship for five years. For those who don't know, The Thiel Fellowship was set up to fund students who were 22 or under, giving them a total of $100k over two years so that they could dropout of the traditional education system and pursue important work. The Fellowship guided them through this process which would often involve scientific research, creating a startup, or working on a social movement. Past founders backed by the Fellowship include Vitalik Buterin who was still a teenager when the fellowship allowed him to drop out and work on Ethereum full time, as well as Laura Deming, the founder of The Longevity Fund and Dylan Field of Figma.In this episode, we discuss how Danielle went from tutoring to starting the Thiel Fellowship to venture capital, what common traits the founders she has backed share and the lessons she learned from Peter Thiel.Please enjoy my conversation with Danielle Strachman.Danielle Strachman on Twitter / 1517 venture fund / 1517 SubstackDanielle on Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / Sponsorship / YouTube Mentioned in this episode:Innovations Academy, San DiegoDanielle's writeup of recent 2E camp for teens Noor Siddiqui, Founder of Orchid
Nota: Este episodio es originalmente del 2022 Alfonso de los Ríos es CEO y Co-Founder de Nowports, el nuevo unicornio mexicano y el primer y más grande agente de carga digital en Latinoamérica, combinando logística con herramientas financieras y tecnológicas para mover carga de una manera eficiente, transparente y segura. Antes de esto Alfonso empezó su camino como desarrollador web en Blooders y luego en Yewno. Después estuvo en TrepCamp un centro de formación de líderes en California y fue admitido en Thiel Fellowship, un programa de Peter Thiel fundador de PayPal en el que ofrecen a jóvenes menores de 22 años, 100mil dólares para emprender. Además, Alfonso es parte de Y Combinator, una de las aceleradora de startups más importantes de Silicon Valley. Por esto y mas Alfonso está considerado en la lista de los 30 mejores empresarios jóvenes de Forbes. Algunos de los temas que platicamos fueron:
Today, we're thrilled to welcome a very special guest, Alexandra Debow. Alexandra's journey is one of the most compelling narratives we've explored on our show. With a rich background spanning internships at big tech firms, VC funds, investment firms, and startups, she leveraged her diverse experiences to launch Swsh, a rising star in the consumer social platform arena. Swsh is all about enhancing meaningful connections, whether they're brief encounters or lasting relationships. It simplifies sharing photos from any event, making cherished memories easily accessible with cutting-edge facial recognition technology. Notably, Alexandra has successfully raised over $1 million for Swsh, crafting a 'better-for-you' social media experience. It's also worth mentioning that she's among the rare few—only 20 annually—to be awarded the prestigious Thiel Fellowship. Founded by entrepreneur Peter Thiel, this $100,000 grant encourages young entrepreneurs to leave college and pursue their business dreams full-time. Alexandra embraced this challenge, leaving NYU to focus on Swsh. We're eager to delve into her insights and discuss her impressive career, which is sure to inspire many. Alexandra, thank you so much for being here today. The sponsor of this episode is Jetson - #1 App for entrepreneurs, try out Jetson's logo generator, competitor research tool, and mentorship from CEOs Young Founder and want to be featured on the pod? Submit your application here. --- This episode was produced & edited by Murat Akyuz and co-host Jake Harper. ---
Delian Asparouhov, a Bulgarian-born, self-made software engineer, dives into the rollercoaster of a journey from being an MIT dropout to earning the Thiel Fellowship. Delian discusses his initial reservations about a career in venture capital and how early exposure to the field via an internship at Square, a student-run VC, helped change his mind and led him closer to his purpose. Delian touches on how he accidentally fell into a full-time venture capital role and how, over time, his skepticism ignited into a passion. Delian also covers his experience as a partner at Founders Fund.This episode explores recent pullbacks in the crypto market – and what these changes spell out for investors – but also gets into the space-born industry and Varda, a first-of-its-kind orbital manufacturing platform, where Delian serves as co-founder. Tune in to hear Tom Wallace and Saxon Baum on Skin in the Game. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode we have special guest, Delian Asparouhov. Delian is the founder of Nightingale and Varda Space Industries. He was offered a Thiel Fellowship at the age of 19 and dropped out of MIT to pursue his dreams. Delian is a brilliant mind, but more than this he is a passionate father. Delian shares his vision for what he sees as a patriotic duty - having babies and building families! We cover a wide range of topics in this episode: space exploration and innovation, founding companies, becoming a father, culture, and so much more! Follow Delian on X: https://x.com/zebulgar?s=20 And check out Varda: https://www.varda.com/
Matt Clifford is a co-founder of Entrepreneur First and leads their AI efforts, as well as chair of ARIA, the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency. We talk about EF, talent investing, ambition, why we don't have more Thiel Fellowships, his new focus on AI, and AI safety concerns. — (00:59) Talent matters most (03:17) Scarcity of talent x culture (09:16) Founder qualities: effectiveness, unlocking resources (14:37) Can you teach ambition? (16:44) Failure to learn is an anti-signal (19:13) Alternative funding: income share agreements, adverse selection, longer term bets, & government funding (27:11) Why don't we have more grant programs or patrons, like the Thiel Fellowship? Scaling taste in talent & the macro talent allocation problem (41:32) Focusing on AI & handing off the EF CEO role (47:00) Is AI safety futile? Threat models and radical uncertainty (53:31) Final question for listeners — Matt's Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewclifford Entrepreneur First: https://www.joinef.com/ Personal Site: https://www.matthewclifford.com/ Spencer's Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer's Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
Danielle Strachman is a cofounder and general partner of 1517. She has worked with young entrepreneurs for about a decade. In 2010, during the founding of the Thiel Fellowship, Danielle joined to lead the design and operations. She's worked with some of the most prestigious founders, such as Vitalik Buterin and Ritesh Agarwal. Previous to her work with Peter Thiel, Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 400 students, with a focus on student-led project-based learning and other alternative programs.Session SummaryDanielle envisions a world where fostering personal agency and curiosity is the key to progress. She imagines a future where technology, particularly AI, catalyzes human potential and societal transformation, emphasizing the importance of environments that champion experimentation and a fail-forward mentality.Specifically, she advocates for special economic zones as laboratories for innovation, suggesting governance that adapts to technological advancements. She dreams of a solarpunk future, where sustainability is achieved through technological and natural harmony. Acknowledging the complexities ahead, she views the journey to this future as requiring a balance between innovation and ethics. Her vision is grounded in the belief in human capacity to navigate the unknown and transform existential risks into opportunities for growth.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
One of the key events in the Christianization of the Roman Empire was when the children of the existing Roman elites turned aside from the status system of the Roman imperium in favor of new ways of pursuing and achieving elite status within the church.Today, in the Negative World, the church operates as a shadow status system that takes its cues from secular elite culture. It will always be dominated by that culture unless and until it creates its own status system again. The Thiel Fellowship is an example of what an attempt at creating an alternative form of status would look like in our society.
Welcome to “The Ben & Marc Show”, featuring a16z co-founders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. In this latest episode -- the final in a three part series on the current crisis in higher education -- Marc and Ben answer YOUR questions from X (formerly Twitter). In this one-on-one conversation, Ben and Marc unpack the merits of a Harvard undergrad education versus a Thiel Fellowship, discuss the benefits of trade school, and determine what universities are going to look like ten years from now. That and much more! Please enjoy. Resources:Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarcaMarc's Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz Stay Updated: Find us on X: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: https://a16z.com/disclosures/
In this podcast episode, Lucy Guo, a prominent entrepreneur and Thiel Fellow, shares her remarkable journey from receiving a Thiel Fellowship at the age of 20 to becoming the second wealthiest self-made female in the United States. Lucy discusses her experiences with ventures such as Scale AI, her transition from venture capitalist to entrepreneur, and the evolution of her venture fund, HF0.The conversation explores Lucy's latest venture, Passes, a platform for content creators, where she emphasizes the importance of investing in engineers and discusses the role of AI in the creator economy. Lucy reflects on her move to Miami, highlighting the differences in the tech landscape and the need for increased capital in the ecosystem. Listen to find out more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Noor is the Founder and CEO of Orchid, a reproductive technology company measuring genetic predisposition to disease for the purpose of helping people have healthier babies. Prior to creating Orchid, Noor was a Thiel Fellow and an AI researcher at Stanford where she worked on applications of deep learning to genomics. Follow Noor on X @noor_siddiquiz_ and Orchid @OrchidInc. [0:16] - The personal motivation behind Noor's interest in genomics [11:31] - Embracing “weirdness” as a child [15:42] - The Thiel Fellowship and Stanford experiences [22:30] - How and why Noor got interested in crypto in college [24:30] - How Orchid measures risks at the embryo stage [28:12] - Using Orchid's data to make informed health decisions [38:47] - Comparing Orchid to other existing embryo screening tech [42:52] - How Orchid accomplished a 100x technological improvement [51:25] - Current costs of embryo screening and paths to lower them [57:55] - Noor's thoughts on the future of genomic technologies [1:03:47] - How reproductive tech relates to human longevity For more episodes, go to podofjake.com. Previous guests include Mark Cuban, Vitalik Buterin, Brian Armstrong, Balaji Srinivasan, Keith Rabois, Ali Spagnola, Anthony Pompliano, Raoul Pal, Julia Galef, Jack Butcher, Tim Draper, and over 100 others alike. Learn from founders and CEOs of companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Solana, Polygon, AngelList, Oura, and Replit, and investors from Founders Fund, a16z, Union Square Ventures, and many more. I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy. Thanks to Chase Devens for the show notes and Yiction for the music. Lastly, I love hearing from fans of the pod. Feel free to email me any time at jake@blogofjake.com. Thank you!
“What is something you believe in, that no one else around you does?”If you've heard episode 30 with Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, then you'll recognize this as a question that he had to answer while applying for the Thiel Fellowship.It's a simple but powerful question that usually differentiates motivated, passionate and unreasonable founders from other equally capable professionals. Because what is a startup if not a mere belief in something that should exist?This question is also equally apt for our guests today. Because Soumya Rajan believed in something that no one else around her did. Soumya is the Founder and CEO of Waterfield Advisors – India's largest multi-family office and wealth advisory firm which manages over 40,000 crore – that's over $4 billion – for its clients.But in 2010, Soumya was working at Standard Chartered Bank, a bank she'd joined straight from college after back-to-back mathematics degrees. A bank where she'd worked at for 17 straight years – her first and only job. She'd been the head of Standard Chartered's Private Banking arm and reached the top. But having reached there, Soumya wondered why she wasn't interested in playing the same game.2010 was also the year Soumya turned 40. The age when many professionals hit their mid-life crisis. If you remember, Karthik Jayaraman, the co-founder and CEO of Waycool, decided to start up too after hitting 40. Soumya too decided to quit her job and start on her own by making a contrarian bet – that it was better to charge her wealthy clients directly for financial advice instead of making money via commissions paid by financial services companies whose products she would recommend. Soumya says that in 2010, this went completely against the tide in India's wealth management sector. No one else was doing it. Even her peers and ex-colleagues were dismissive of her belief. In this episode, Soumya, in her calm and reflective manner, tells me her story. There is a strong thread of vision that runs through our entire conversation – Soumya is driven by a sharp sense of curiosity and purpose in everything that Waterfield Advisors is doing. You'll notice it in the way she breaks down her midlife crisis, her role as CEO, her beliefs about products and incentives, and even her work for empowering women as investors. We also talk about:What the wealth management landscape of India looks likeWhy Waterfield is like the lawyer or the doctor of financial wellbeingHow to survive in the short-term when you're building to lastThe one question she asks people before hiring them.Check out the First Principles Newsletter, a weekly Sunday read on entrepreneurship, mental models, leadership and reflection here.Send in submissions for book recommendations, interesting reads, Silent Sunday pictures or songs for the First Principles newsletter here.This is Episode 32 of First Principles, with Soumya Rajan.—The Ken's fortnightly leadership podcast.The Ken is India's first subscriber-only business journalism platform. Check out our deeply reported long-form stories, insightful newsletters, original podcasts and much more here.
At the age of 18, Anthony dropped out of college to take the Thiel Fellowship and pursue his first startup, EnvoyNow. Which was acquired by JoyRun, then by Walmart.Seven years ago at the age of 21, Anthony suffered a life-changing accident that left him as a quadriplegic. Although he's recovered some function since, he's still currently in a wheelchair.Today, Anthony is the Cofounder and CEO of Vinovest. Vinovest helps investors diversify their portfolios into rare wine and whiskey, an asset class that has outperformed the S&P over the past three decades. Vinovest has over $100MM in assets under management.In this episode, we discussBecoming paralyzed at 21. And how he persevered to grow and sell Envoy Now.His relationship with his wife Mckenna and how they've stayed together since teenagers.Securing Mark Cuban as his first angel investor through a Shark Tank-esque campus pitch.Leaving college as a Thiel Fellow and meeting Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin.Hustling to work for Blockfolio, its sale to FTX, and meeting Sam Bankman-Fried.The genesis of Vinovest and how he carved out a serious reputation in the wine industry.Learn more about Anthony:Vinovest Website: www.vinovest.coVideo: Anthony pitching Mark Cuban Shark Tank-styleAnthony's Instagram: @anthony_j_zhangAnthony's Twitter: @anthony_j_zhangFortune: A 22-Year-Old Entrepreneur Moves Forward After a Life-Changing Accident Left Him Paralyzed
Wes, Eneasz, and David keep the rationalist community informed about what's going on outside of the rationalist communitySupport us on Substack!News discussed:Alex Jones can't use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying $1.1BCaroline Ellison of FTX admits on the stand that Sam bribed Chinese officials with $100M to unfreeze their assets, purposely tried to scam Saudi investors in the final days of FTX, & intentionally tried to sic regulators on Binance to destroy his competition.The NYT issued a mea culpa for its coverage of the destroyed hospitalA US Navy warship shot down several cruise missiles and drones launched from Yemenmia khalifa plus many others cancelledan intrepid 25-year-old Israeli woman saved an entire kibbutz from harm by leading a group of residents to kill more than two dozen advancing terroristsTexas fortifies border with New Mexico with concertina wireGag issue ordered for TrumpA group representing L. Ron Hubbard asked the Copyright Office to alter a repair exemption that makes it legal to hack Scientology's E-MeterHappy News!over the past two decades increased globalization has resulted in higher wages, safer workplaces, and less child labor, and it has happened the fastest in the countries that have opened the most and are most integrated in global supply chainsBay Area high school grad (with a 3.97 unweighted and 4.42 weighted GPA, scored 1590 out of 1600 on SATs) rejected by 16 colleges - hired by Google! Eleven of the 271 recipients of the Thiel Fellowship have founded unicorns so far!!Troop DeploymentsEneasz - Gender is personality (or maybe more accurately, personality-tropes)Got something to say? Come chat with us on the Bayesian Conspiracy Discord or email us at themindkillerpodcast@gmail.com. Say something smart and we'll mention you on the next show!Follow us!RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themindkillerGoogle: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iqs7r7t6cdxw465zdulvwikhekmPocket Casts: https://pca.st/vvcmifu6 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-mind-killer Apple: Intro/outro music: On Sale by Golden Duck Orchestra This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindkiller.substack.com/subscribe
In a world about to be dominated by technologies like AI and ML, and Chat GPT and run by machines computing, sensing, and learning on the edge, do we need more people with university degrees, or do we need a whole new approach to educating ourselves through our lives? It's an existential moment for how we collectively consider our own educational investments and debt as well as the decisions we might be making for our children or grandchildren. The idea that a university education sets you up for life has been questioned for the first time in recent years. A typical US university education will cost between $120,000 for a four-year degree to over $250,000. It's increasingly becoming common in the US for this to take six years and come closer to $300,000. Average college debt might take twenty years to pay back, and the interest rates (even with current inflationary levels) make this one of the most expensive decisions we will make in our lives, and it is often made in our teens. Is there a better way to do this? Peter Thiel's, Thiel Fellowship kicked off a set of alternative ideas for educating for the future based on living real learning experiences and building something early, ahead of a possible university experience. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Y para terminar la serie de lives de MI VIDA EXTREMA, cerramos con broche de oro, con una de las favoritas de cracks podcast, la mujer que está revolucionando la industria del audio en Latinoamerica, mi amiga y socia Pamela ValdésPamela es fundadora de la plataforma de audio BEEK, una empresa que tiene miles de usuarios, a los inversionistas más experimentados del mundo, es parte del Thiel Fellowship y en su día a día recibe mentoría de las personas más inteligentes del planeta.Hoy Pamela me cuenta qué fue lo que lo llevó ahí, me habla de sus hábitos, sus ideales, libros que le han ayudado y cómo le hace para mantener la intensidad al más alto nivel sin morir en el intento.
Todd Wahnish, Entreprenuer, Product Specialist on AI, Stan Lee, Jeff Koons, Marvel, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network & Warner Web3comicon.com Adultfantasy.io Biography Todd is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur and product specialist with over 25 years of experience in the animation and comic industries. He has contributed to the creation of original I.P. for renowned companies like Marvel Entertainment, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Warner Bros., and KidRobot. Todd has had the privilege of working directly with creative legends such as Stan Lee and Jeff Koons, the most successful American artist since Andy Warhol. In addition to his impressive career in animation and comics, Todd is also deeply involved in the web3 space. He is a key figure in the development of adultfantasy.io and Web3Comic-Con, pioneering the intersection of digital culture, blockchain technology, and pop culture. As a mentor and advisor, Todd has shared his expertise with entrepreneurs from some of the world's top startup institutions, incubators, and accelerators. These include the Thiel Fellowship, Techstars, The Startup Leadership Program, Columbia University, and NYU. His guidance has helped shape the next generation of innovators and disruptors in both the traditional and digital realms.
How do defined tracks and cultural status symbols passed on from previous generations affect a person's life choices? When we break with those paths is that being self-employed, an entrepreneur, a creative, or something else? In this episode, we challenge the traditional notions of career paths and entrepreneurial journeys, with thought leader and author of "The Pathless Path" Paul Millerd. The conversation delves into his unconventional road to professional and creative fulfillment, how technology is creating more opportunity for people to follow the Pathless Path, and the role of storytellers & creatives in innovation ecosystems like Austin. Episode HighlightsPaul highlights the concepts from his book "The Pathless Path" that challenge traditional career paths and encourage unique, individual journeys in our evolving economy.Paul emphasizes the significant shift in work and career trajectories due to changing economic trends and advancements in technology, heralding new opportunities for autonomy and creativity.Alternative funding methods like the Thiel Fellowship and Emergent Ventures provide support for unconventional ideas and experiments, reshaping solopreneurship and entrepreneurship beyond just traditional VC-backed startups.The conversation underscores the role creatives historically have played in innovation ecosystems and how today that role is also being filled by digital storytellers, comedians, podcasters, creators, YouTubers, and Instagrammers. As Austin continues its rapid growth, rising costs pose a challenge to its creative scene, but acknowledging these obstacles allows for the formulation of strategies to maintain an inclusive and accessible hub for creativity and innovation.What's next, Austin? “I actually do think storytellers, creators, YouTubers, Instagrammers, they're sort of underrated. They're storytellers that can link those different worlds. I think creative people are very natural at shifting between ideas and crowds and groups. Austin has been able to cultivate a scene around that, and I think it will continue to emerge and grow. What will it look like in ten years? The history of Austin is that scenes have always emerged and sort of faded away. So, what is the next scene? How do you keep cultivating that environment? Is it going to become too expensive to nurture and cultivate those scenes? I don't know. But yeah, it's going to be interesting to watch.”Paul Millerd: Website, Podcast, YouTube, X/TwitterThe Pathless Path Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Robert Leonard chats with Michael Gibson about the Thiel Fellowship, what it is and how it came to be, some of the most successful companies to come out of it, his firm 1517, startup investing, Luminar, and much, much more! Michael Gibson is the founder of the venture capital firm 1517, one of the minds behind the Thiel Fellowship, and most recently, the author of Paper Belt on Fire. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:00:00 - Intro.04:35 - The story of how he met Peter Thiel and started the Thiel Fellowship. 15:56 - Why he left the Thiel Fellowship to start his own venture fund, 1517?27:10 - The flaws with the current education system and how we can create more effective alternatives for young people interested in entrepreneurship.31:41 - Some of his most successful investments at 1517, such as Luminar and Loom. 59:46 - His thoughts on Luminar, the the role he thinks the company can have in the future of autonomous driving. *Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.BOOKS AND RESOURCESCheck out: 1517 Fund. Check out: Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University. NEW TO THE SHOW?Check out our Millennial Investing Starter Packs.Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.Try Robert'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.Apply for the Employee Retention Credit easily, no matter how busy you are, with Innovation Refunds.Your home might be worth more than you think. Earn extra money today with Airbnb.Protect and optimize your wealth with Money Pickle - whether you're seeking advice on retirement planning, optimizing your 401k, navigating inheritances, or any other financial matter.Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors.Connect with Robert: TwitterEmail: robert@theinvestorspodcast.comConnect with Michael: Website | Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on The #MiamiTech Podcast the hosts chat with Zaid Rahman Founder/CEO of FlexbaseTopics on Deck:- Who Is Zaid Rahman?- Dropping Out Of College For The Thiel Fellowship- Working In A.I. Before It Was Cool- Building a Finance Super App - Investing With 305 Ventures- Biggest Learnings As A Founder - Miami Culture Shock- And More!Follow Zaid on Twitter! @ZaidrmnLearn more about Flexbase: https://www.flexbase.appFollow the Hosts:Brian Breslin @BrianBreslinMaria Derchi @MariaDerchiCesar Fernandez @CFernandezFLElizabeth Irizarry @Darthv83rWill Weinraub @WillWeinraubIf Interested in being on the podcast please email: Miamitechpod@gmail.comPlease Like + Subscribe + Rate + Review!#miamitech #miamitechpod #crypto #nft #technology #startup
Adam Laor is a different Type of 20 year old. He is building the future of Hospitality with his new technology. SINATRA https://sinatra.ai/ His story is one of genius and just sheer work ethic. Hope you enjoy. Thank you for listening to ON THE DELO Check out my website at www.iamthedelo.com - Building Sinatra, An Ecosystem For Hospitality.- Turning AZ into a tech hub at JamPad.- Member of 1517, group spun out of the Thiel Fellowship.Previously:- Built one of NYC's biggest independent pharmacies while in high school.- Successfully founded an herbal supplement brand, ReviverBlasts, at 15.- Shadowed NYC Calvin Klein Sr. Director, Marketing Science when I was 16.- Sold a ton of stuff on the web.
This week, Zohar is joined by Michael Gibson, venture capitalist, founder of the Thiel Fellowship, and author of Paper Belt on Fire, to talk about why philosophers aren't saints, his pivot from studying philosophy to investing, why charisma is a mixed bag, how Aristotle can help with talent scouting, and the future of education.
This week, Zohar is joined by Michael Gibson, venture capitalist, founder of the Thiel Fellowship, and author of Paper Belt on Fire, to talk about why philosophers aren't saints, his pivot from studying philosophy to investing, why charisma is a mixed bag, how Aristotle can help with talent scouting, and the future of education.
If you could design a drone specifically for public safety agencies, what would it look like? Blake Resnick is CEO and Founder of BRINC. BRINC designs, manufactures and sells sUAS systems to public safety departments worldwide. The company's flagship product, the LEMUR, employs innovative solutions designed specifically for public safety and emergency situations. Using lidar technology, the drone flies indoors with precision and unprecedented agility, and its two-way communication system allows first responders to hear and see through the drone. But this only scratches the surface of the drone's capabilities. Blake has the innate ability to define a problem, imagine a new approach and create a technology-based solution. He started taking college courses at the age of 14, and then attended Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. Before launching BRINC, Blake worked at McLaren Automotive, Tesla Motors, and DJI. He's a member of the Thiel Fellowship's class of 2020. Under Blake's leadership, in just 2 ½ years, BRINC has become a leader of public safety UAS solutions worldwide. He is currently working on an sUAS mesh system designed to respond to gunshot detections and 911 calls within seconds. When not enveloped in product development, he actively engages in recruiting, strategy development, internal communication, and fundraising. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Blake talks about BRINC drones, in particular it's revolutionary LEMUR drone and he provides insights into how the company has become successful in supporting the mission of hundreds of public safety organizations around the world.
Michael is co-founder of the 1517 Fund, a venture capital fund investing in teams led by dropouts, the uncredentialed, and renegade scientists. He recently published his first book, Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University. Previously he was vice president for grants at the Thiel Foundation and a principal at Thiel Capital, where he helped launch and run the Thiel Fellowship. Follow Michael on Twitter @William_Blake. [2:18] - How Michael's background in philosophy ultimately led him to venture capital [12:06] - Michael's brief stint as a screenwriter and how he views founders through the perspective of a storyteller [22:49] - Analyzing the factors that contribute to individual and societal creativity, greatness, and progress [39:08] - How Michael approaches talent attraction, identification, and development [48:07] - The story behind the title of Michael's book “Paper Belt on Fire” --- homeofjake.com
In Today's episode of "Moment of Truth," Saurabh and Nick sit down with Michael Gibson, Co-Founder & General Partner at the 1517 Fund, to discuss the decline of America's university system, the corresponding stagnation in scientific and technological breakthroughs, where and when universities became corrupt and what if anything can be done to rectify the situation.Michael Gibson is co-founder of the 1517 Fund, a venture capital fund investing in teams led by dropouts, the uncredentialed, and renegade scientists. Previously he was vice president for grants at the Thiel Foundation and a principal at Thiel Capital, where he helped launch and run the Thiel Fellowship. He has written on innovation and technology for MIT's Technology Review, the Atlantic, National Review, and City Journal. His book, Paper Belt on Fire, was published on November 29, 2022.Learn more about Michael Gibson's work:1517fund.comPurchase Michael's new book "Paper Belt on Fire"https://bookshop.org/p/books/paper-belt-on-fire-how-renegade-investors-sparked-a-revolt-against-the-university-michael-gibson/18656095––––––Follow American Moment across Social Media:Twitter – https://twitter.com/AmMomentOrgFacebook – https://www.facebook.com/AmMomentOrgInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/ammomentorg/YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4qmB5DeiFxt53ZPZiW4TcgRumble – https://rumble.com/c/c-695775BitChute – https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Xr42d9swu7O9/Gab – https://gab.com/AmMomentOrgCheck out AmCanon:https://www.americanmoment.org/amcanon/Follow Us on Twitter:Saurabh Sharma – https://twitter.com/ssharmaUSNick Solheim – https://twitter.com/NickSSolheimAmerican Moment's "Moment of Truth" Podcast is recorded at the Conservative Partnership Center in Washington DC, produced by American Moment Studios, and edited by Jake Mercier and Jared Cummings.Subscribe to our Podcast, "Moment of Truth"Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moment-of-truth/id1555257529Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5ATl0x7nKDX0vVoGrGNhAj Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Author and investor Michael Gibson joins Brian Anderson to discuss the work of the 1517 Fund and the Thiel Fellowship, why real technological progress has stalled and how elite universities contribute to that stagnation, and what some promising new educational models and institutions look like. His book, Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University, […]
Author and investor Michael Gibson joins Brian Anderson to discuss the work of the 1517 Fund and the Thiel Fellowship, why real technological progress has stalled and how elite universities contribute to that stagnation, and what some promising new educational models and institutions look like. His book, Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University, will be published November 29.
Subscribe to The Realignment to access our exclusive Q&A episodes and support the show: https://realignment.supercast.com/.REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail us at: realignmentpod@gmail.comMichael Gibson, Co-Founder of the venture capital firm 1517 and author of the upcoming Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University, joins The Realignment to discuss his journey challenging the higher education status quo leading the Thiel Fellowship, why the "Paper Belt" running from D.C. to Cambridge struggles to innovate, and which significant scientific and technological problems dropouts and college grads alike should tackle.
Scott takes a question about the Thiel Fellowship and offers his thoughts on whether the government should subsidize business loans like they do for college loans. He then shares his ideas on America needing a rebrand, and explains the benefits of a S.A.F.E Agreement: Simple Agreement For Future Equity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sam Parr (@TheSamParr) and Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) talk about four ideas of what you can do with AI, Twitter empires, and some of the billion dollar companies that have come from the Thiel Fellowship. ----- Links: * Theo Von story * Charisma On Command * DALL*E 2 * Unreal Speech * This Person Does Not Exist * Spoonflower * Trung Phan * Sahil Bloom * Thiel Fellowship * Italic * Figma * Ethereum * Luminar * Do you love MFM and want to see Sam and Shaan's smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. * Want more insights like MFM? Check out Shaan's newsletter. ----- Show Notes: (09:35) - DALL-E and AI (30:35) - John Steinberg (32:55) - Building Twitter Empires (49:05) - Thiel Fellowship success stories ----- Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more. ----- Additional episodes you might enjoy: • #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits • #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future • #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto * #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett • #218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates • Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More • How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More
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