Podcasts about unlimited brewing company

Neil Soni has built, grown, and created new ventures – both within the world’s largest brands and as an independent entrepreneur. Neil is currently the Founder & CEO of Unlimited Brewing Company, the world’s first platform for customizing and personalizing beer. He also runs a growth and innovation consulting practice, which helps startups and Fortune 500 companies partner and invest in cross-industry technology and commercial opportunities. Neil is the author of The Startup Gold Mine: How to Tap the Hidden Innovation Agendas of Large Companies to Fund and Grow Your Business.In this episode, you will learn:-how unexpected email breaks led to new ventures-how taking notes after a new job ending up starting an unexpected book launch-how companies are increasingly wanting to work with freelancers-the importance of also creating products, in addition to your freelance workAs always, this episode with time-stamp notes is available on my website

Mise-en-place is not a crazy efficiency program. It is really a way of life for people who value themselves, people, eachother, and the planet. In this episode of Made You Think, we’re covering the book Everything in Its Place (originally “Work Clean”) by Dan Charnas, and for the first time on the podcast, the author is joining us for the episode! This book is all about the strategies and tools that culinarians often use in their work, and applying these strategies to improve your life and productivity. We cover a wide range of topics, including: The ten mise-en-place system techniques that you can use to improve your life The correlation between an organized space and an organized mind Using the mise en place system to reduce anxiety, improve work efficiency, and overall quality of life Building inner-discipline and being honest with yourself The importance of actually finishing the tasks that you start on Becoming a better manager and a few of the flaws in companies today And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of Everything in Its Place and to check out Nat’s Notes on the book! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our episode on How to Think Like Elon Musk, to learn how to emulate Musk’s way of thinking for extreme advantages in life, and our episode on The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, to learn how to use a simple theory to never stop improving. Be sure to join our mailing list to find out about what books are coming up, giveaways we're running, special events, and more.   Mentioned in the show: Unlimited Brewing Company [1:12] Warner Brothers [2:03] The Eisenhower Matrix [4:29] School of Journalism [5:28] The Palm Pilot [5:54] NPR [12:06] Transcendental Meditation [22:22] Culinary Institute of America [25:35] Tisch [47:58] Saturday Night Live [48:29] Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee [1:01:37] Four Sigmatic Cordyceps Elixir [1:02:49] Made You Think support page [1:03:35] Perfect Keto [1:03:39] Kettle and Fire Bone Broth (20% off for listeners!) [1:03:41] Nat’s article on fasting [1:09:25] Keto Subreddit [1:12:13] Matcha MCT oil powder [1:17:04] Athletic Greens [1:18:04] Books mentioned: Work Clean (Nat’s Notes) (new version of the book) Getting Things Done [0:48] The Goal [3:14] (Nat’s Notes) (episode on the book) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People [4:02] First Things First [4:04] The Big Payback [4:37] The Making of a Chef [6:44] Kitchen Confidential [7:04] Heat by Beaufort [7:06] The Way of Zen [23:22] (Nat’s Notes) (Neil’s Notes) (episode on the book) Irrational Exuberance [1:00:25] Outliers [1:00:29] What Happened [1:00:45] Antifragile [1:04:04] (Nat’s Notes) (episode on the book) Godel Escher Bach [1:10:27] (Nat’s Notes) (episode on the book) Daily Rituals [1:18:35] People mentioned: Dan Charnas Chris Sparks [0:33] Rick Rubin [2:05] Steven Covey [3:57] David Allen [6:08] Michael Ruhlman [6:44] Anthony Bourdain [7:04]] Wylie Dufresne [9:02] Jean-Georges [13:54] Thomas Keller [13:56] Alan Watts [23:22] Éric Ripert [25:28] Bill Buford [25:31] Lauren Michaels [48:29] Ernest Hemingway [50:23] Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:00:13] (Antifragile episode) Tim Ferriss [1:02:42] 0:00 - Introduction featuring the author himself, Dan Charnas. A bit on what made Dan write the book, how he got into organizational systems, and some background on his life. Also, Dan listing some of the most influential books that he’s read. 7:24 - Dan’s journey to becoming a chef and him describing the importance of mise en place. Also, a bit on applying the powerful principles that chefs live by to other areas of life. 11:30 - The beginning of Dan cotifying mise en place for the first time with Work Clean, some thoughts on how things sometimes need an outside perspective, and a bit on the discipline and commitment that’s required in the culinary world. “There’s a certain level of commitment to reality that culinarians have that I think we miss in the corporate world.” 17:02 - The thirty-minute daily commitment to setting your own mise en place, some discussion on the macro and micro levels of the system outlined in Work Clean, and the importance of having a system that involves both the mind and the body. 20:02 - Using mise en place as an effective anxiety reducing technique, the correlation between an organized space and an organized mind, and a bit on the zen-like aspects of the book. 24:20 - Breaking down the ten ingredients/techniques of mise en place that you can bring together for your own personal system. 27:55 - The main technique of the mise en place system that has positively impacted Dan the most and some discussion on the importance of doing the largest tasks in your day first. 34:58 - Certain things to do watch out for when managing people, some thoughts on management in general, and discussion on implementing systems into large-scale organizations. 42:20 - General discussion on corporate meetings and the flaws of these meetings. Also, a bit on a chef’s heavy responsibilities, finding balance between speed and quality, and improving efficiency within a company. “A meeting is about sharing ideas, resolving conflicts, and unblocking.” 48:48 - Going in depth on the importance of actually finishing your actions. Also, some discussion on taking an intentional break and the need to be honest with yourself about your work. “Ninety percent finished is the same as zero percent finished.” 54:07 - A bit more on having a system for both the body and the mind, and linking the system to your calendar. Actually taking the time to do things and scheduling the time to do them. “This is what I can do today.” 58:14 - Wrap-up, where to find Dan at online, and some closing thoughts. 59:03 - After-thoughts with just Neil and Nat. Some discussion on various products discounted for listeners, diet, health, fasting, and going into ketosis (ketogenic diet). Also, some discussion getting into ketosis and how to minimize the negative effects when transitioning into ketosis. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com Ultimately it is about cultivating our inner-discipline.

The goal is essentially to increase net-profit while increasing return on investment and increasing cash flow. Today we’re discussing The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. It is a business novel that Eliyahu used to introduce the “Theory of Constraints”, a sort of meta-theory for business (and life, really) that you can use to advance the output of just about any system. It is very much a “zero-to-one” book, where you’ll see the world differently after reading. We cover a wide range of topics, including: Improving all of your systems with the Theory of Constraints Discovering bottlenecks in various systems and effectively optimizing them Identifying your goal and making positive progress towards it Becoming a better manager or employee by using the Theory of Constraints Improving your time-management skills, productivity, and workflow Useful mental hacks for waking up easier and for making habits stick And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Goal and to check out Nat’s Notes on the book! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our other episode on How to Think Like Elon Musk, to emulate Musk’s way of thinking for extreme advantages, and our episode on Antifragile, to learn how to profit from chaos.   Mentioned in the show: The Theory of Constraints [1:13] AlphaLab [5:31] Sumo [7:35] Zirtual [12:13] Unlimited Brewing Company [13:21] Growth Machine [18:26] Joe Rogan Podcast [28:20] Nat’s article on how to start a podcast [39:37] Deep House Relax on Spotify [40:28] (Nat and Neil’s favorite playlist for deep work) Last of the Mohicans’ soundtrack [40:39] Halo soundtrack [40:45] Matrix soundtrack [40:51] Tron soundtrack [40:52] The Magician on Soundcloud [43:05] OWSLA and Skrillex mix [43:24] Praxis on Medium [45:45] Medium [45:45] Getting Stuff Done Like a Boss course [46:34] Building a Second Brain course [46:45] The Forcing Function [47:00] Nat Chat podcast [47:02] Nat Chat episode with Chris Sparks [47:02] Tiago Forte’s main courses [47:09] Neil’s post on viewing books similar to VC [48:00] Four Sigmatic’s Mushroom Coffee [1:02:18] Athletic Greens [1:02:28] Game of Thrones [1:05:48] Stranger Things [1:05:49] Buffer [1:07:57] Made You Think episode on Thinking Like Elon Musk [1:09:18] Tesla [1:09:18] Boosted Board [1:11:28] How to Legally Own People article [1:13:26] Books mentioned: The Goal (Nat’s Notes) Antifragile [4:29] (Made You Think episode) (Nat’s Notes) Work Clean [50:22] (episode coming 12-19 or 12-26) (Nat’s Notes) Principles [52:17] (episode coming 12-5) (Nat’s Notes) Emergency [1:19:43] (Made You Think episode) (Nat’s Notes) People mentioned: Eliyahu M. Goldratt Zak Slayback [4:04] Joe Rogan [28:20] Daft Punk [40:55] Rapper Nas [41:55] Lil Wayne [41:58] Future [42:02] Ivan Pavlov [43:22] Adil Majid [43:29] Tiago Forte [45:32] Chris Sparks [46:59] Elon Musk [1:09:18] Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:13:26] 0:00 - Introductory quote, a bit of background on the book and the author, and how you can use this book to help you out in both business and in life. 7:24 - Some examples from the book applied to the real-world and some flaws in various business systems. 10:36 - What the actual goal is for various systems, some details on the goal’s infrastructure, and why these three metrics are important. “The goal is essentially to increase net-profit while increasing return on investment and increasing cash flow.” 19:40 - The next part on the daily goal metrics (throughput, inventory, and operational expense) and some details on those. 21:10 - How to use these metrics if you’re not a manager or a CEO and are without a big-picture perspective. Also, some discussion on these metrics, applying them to members of a system, and some real-world examples. 28:44 - Figuring out all of these metrics and operations and then applying them in day-to-day situations. The beginning of how the main character in the story does this. 30:47 - The bottleneck issue from the book and applying it to real-world scenarios, the funny story of discovering and solving the bottleneck from the book, and some discussion on it. (Tangent #1 at 31:29) 35:05 - The order for optimizing around a bottleneck properly. Also, some examples of optimizing various bottlenecks and improving your time management skills. Nat and Neil’s favorite music for working, as well. 41:00 - (Tangent #2) The issue with typing the words to a song or podcast instead of the words meant for your writing and some more thoughts of various music types for various types of work. 43:49 - The Theory of Constraints coming into play in the book and some information on Tiago Forte and his courses on improving systems, creative output, and productivity. 47:48 - Books and small investments improving your ROI ($10-$20 books possibly giving you insights that make you $1000+, save you time, or offer valuable enjoyment) and some thoughts on doing your quality insurance before you buy books. 50:22 - Discussion on the book Work Clean and some ideas from it for improving your peace of mind, organizational ability, and productivity. 52:29 - The idea of losing an hour on the bottleneck which is not just being lost to the bottleneck, but to the whole system. Also, being a better manager by analyzing not only possible bottlenecks with others, but for your own bottlenecks, as well. 57:04 - Examining your life for possible scenarios that create bottlenecks for you (drinking and eating unhealthy afterward, etc) and fixing those scenarios. Also, some useful mental hacks for waking up easier at 1:00:36 and 1:01:38. 1:02:10 - Waking up and daisy-chaining your habits immediately afterward. Some explanation and examples of doing this. 1:03:55 - Applying the Theory of Constraints to creative work and making sure you apply the theory towards positive things instead of negative things. 1:09:37 - The steps for identifying the constraints within a system and then beginning to fix them. Some issues on having someone on salary versus hourly, compensating people for their work, and having slack in a system discussed here, as well. 1:16:23 - Some last thoughts and some pieces of advice for others on goals and systems. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com What is the bottleneck and how do I optimize around the bottleneck right now? To even identify what the bottleneck is, you really need to clearly identify the goal.

We all have these things in our life that we accept as a first principle while having no scientific basis or reason for believing in that thing. Today we do a deep dive of the world’s raddest man: Elon Musk. We’re exploring the wildly popular Elon Musk series by “Wait but Why,” focusing on the last article titled “The Cook and the Chef: Elon Musk’s Secret Sauce” which explores just how Musk might be able to do all the things he can do. And most importantly, we discuss how any of us can use these tools to enhance our own thinking and work. How any of us can be more chef than cook. We cover a wide range of topics, including: Emulating Musk’s way of thinking for extreme advantages Musk’s businesses and how he began them How Musk thinks compared to the way most people think Challenging your existing beliefs and redefining your perspective A strategy for designing your reality and pursuing your goals How the way that you think is much more influential than your natural-born talents Shedding dogma-based thinking and instead, thinking based off of first principles Turning fear into excitement And much more. Please enjoy and be sure to check out the article!   Mentioned in the show: Hyperloop One [15:20] Boring Company [15:20] Neurolink [15:21] OpenAI [15:38] Square [16:28] Elon Musk’s cameo in Iron Man 2 [17:23] Diagram for designing your reality and pursuing your goals [26:34] The history of SpaceX article [29:27] Unlimited Brewing Company [30:53] Zara Clothing [32:17] Shark Tank [35:24] Crispr [41:57] Zip2 [45:08] Paypal [45:24] eBay [45:29] Elon Musk and Peter Thiel’s early days [46:40] Peter Thiel blood transfusions from children article [47:45] PayPal Mafia [48:28] The 49ers [49:34] Made You Think episode on The Sovereign Individual [51:37] Bitcoin [51:50] Made You Think episode on Cryptocurrency [52:03] Uranium on Amazon [55:57] AC Propulsion [56:38] Ad Astra [56:55] Nat Chat podcast [57:28] Calvin and Hobbes comic strips [1:00:30] Crony Beliefs by Kevin Simler [1:02:42] Melting Asphalt [1:02:51] Jordan Peterson’s Biblical Series podcast [1:06:02] Made You Think episode on The Way of Zen [1:18:18] Tyranny article [1:18:26] Made You Think episode on Emergency [1:20:25] Two Somali immigrants rape case in Canada [1:22:07] Good Beer Hunting podcast [1:29:37] Magic Hat [1:29:42] Estee Lauder [1:37:35] Growth Machine [1:42:53] Made You Think episode on Finite and Infinite Games [1:44:15] Uber [1:49:11] Airbnb [1:49:12] Tim Ferriss Podcast [2:03:25] Killing the Lion: Turning Anxiety into Excitement article [2:04:55] Made You Think episode on Amusing Ourselves to Death [2:12:58] Made You Think episode on Letters from a Stoic [2:13:05] Grand Theft Auto [2:13:28] Bookinabox [2:15:37] Books mentioned: Steve Jobs’ Biography [14:52] Tropic of Cancer [24:22] The Goal [25:53] (Nat’s Notes) (episode coming 11-28) The 50th Law [38:10] (Nat’s Notes) Principles [39:13] (Nat’s Notes) (episode coming 12-5) The Score Takes Care of Itself [49:40] (Nat’s Notes) The Sovereign Individual [51:37] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) Surely You’re Joking [1:07:45] (Nat's Notes) The Way of Zen [1:18:18] (Nat’s Notes) (Neil’s Notes) (MYT episode) Emergency [1:20:25] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) The E-Myth Revisited [1:41:58] (Nat’s Notes) Finite and Infinite Games [1:44:15] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) Pragmatic Thinking and Learning [1:47:45] (Nat’s Notes) The Red Book [1:50:33] The Cook and the Chef on Amazon [2:15:40] People mentioned: Elon Musk Jim Cramer [3:09] Tim Urban [3:38] Albert Einstein [9:03] Peter Thiel [12:10] Jeff Bezos [13:18] Steve Jobs [14:50] Walter Isaacson [14:52] Jack Dorsey [16:27] Henry Ford [18:50] Genghis Khan [18:50] Marie Curie [18:50] John Lennon [18:50] Ayn Rand [18:50] Louis C.K. [18:50] Henry Miller [24:24] Eliyahu M. Goldratt [25:54] Ray Dalio [39:13] Galileo [44:25] Reid Hoffman [48:59] Max Levchin [49:03] Bill Walsh [49:37] Kevin Simler [1:02:44] Dr. Jordan Peterson [1:06:02] Richard Feynman [1:07:40] Tim Ferriss [1:17:22] Justin Mares [1:17:45] Sam Harris [1:32:24] The Dreyfus Brothers [1:47:47] Carl Jung [1:50:33] Nassim Nicholas Taleb [2:00:02] (Antifragile MYT episode) Seneca [2:02:39] (Letters from a Stoic MYT episode) Robert Greene [2:02:42] (Mastery MYT episode) 0:00 - Perspective challenging, introductory quote and an outline of what the discussion will be about. Also, some information on giveaways, upcoming episodes, the mailing list, and the podcast notes. 3:31 - How the Wait but Why article is outlined and some talk about challenging your existing beliefs. Some examples of challenging your beliefs, as well. 9:40 - The first section on us being constrained by existing beliefs and then, some examples of how Elon Musk thinks. 11:48 - The possible benefits of being on the Asperger or autistic spectrum in regards to life and business. Also, some thoughts on Elon’s companies, his deadlines, and the huge scale of the things that he does. 15:50 - Some discussion on how Musk may allocate and divvy up his time, and the many different projects that he has going on. 18:06 - The software versus hardware idea, how a different way of thinking is more powerful than your natural-born intelligence or talents. 20:08 - How where you’re born can have very little impact on your success, and some examples of very successful people born or raised in poor situations. 26:12 - Discussion on the strategy for designing your reality and pursuing your goals from the article (diagram here). Also, some examples of various companies operating using this system and being successful. 34:21 - How Elon uses this thinking strategy, continually adjusts it, and tests everything. 36:56 - Learning to not become attached to any of the goals and be willing to let it go if something better comes in. Also, being honest with yourself and be willing to invalidate things, instead of validating them. Some examples of doing this and lying to yourself. 40:50 - The story of Musk when he was in college, and how he thought “What would most affect the future of humanity?”. Also, how he focused mostly on expanding the list of things that were possible, instead of focusing on his wants at the time. Musk’s thoughts on engineering being preferable to science, as well. 45:06 - Elon’s first companies and how he was able to fund his next companies. 47:28 - (Tangent #1) The possible health benefits of blood transfusions from younger people. Also, some discussion on various trees of people who are either all successful or not. 50:46 - The history of PayPal, some of its original goals, and some of the feats that the company has accomplished. Also, what came next for Elon after PayPal. 58:12 - The comparison between most people’s way of thinking compared to Musk’s and the importance of always asking “Why?”. 1:02:23 - Some discussion on The Great Depression mindset and how it may be negatively affecting most of us, as well as our future generations. Rooting out these negative beliefs that are passed onto us by our peers, environments, parents, and more. 1:07:37 - The problem with learning things based on dogma, rather than on first principles. Making your way of learning and thinking more antifragile. Also, some examples of these things based on dogma. 1:13:30 - Thoughts on tribalism in political parties, life, social circles, and religion. Some discussion on blind versus conscious tribalism and universal based income, as well. 1:20:59 - Testing people on how tribal they are and challenging their core beliefs. Also, some more talk on tribalism and various issues in the world like rights, cultural differences, health care, and laws. 1:29:22 - Some examples of us not using first principles in our judgment, and some thoughts on various events that completely change your perspective on something. 1:36:20 - Some core heuristics from the Cook and the Chef article for improving your thinking and life. Also, thoughts on growing a business and how you can be the Chef instead of the Cook. “The Chef creates, while the Cook, in some form or another, copies.” 1:45:39 - The necessary need to become the cook and develop intuition before you become the chef. Also, how Musk is the chef and how this all relates to his way of thinking. 1:54:39 - How the ability to become a Chef is infinitely greater now than it was a hundred years ago. How easy it is to try things risk-free currently and the large number of things that we can now try. 1:56:58 - Explaining the three types of cooks and then, the chef. Where most people lie in regards to these four types and recognizing these types, as well. 2:02:45 - Obtaining an accurate view of reality and the benefits of an extreme honesty policy within a company. 2:04:16 - Two mental tricks to overcoming public speaking anxiety and some details on these tricks. Also, how the chef doesn’t give into rational fear and turns fear into excitement, and how the chef doesn’t get tied up in their own identity. 2:10:39 - How a misplaced identity and getting caught up in your history can affect what you allow into your want pool and your view of reality. Thinking things are a lot riskier than they are and the selection bias within stories. 2:13:21 - The final part regarding us essentially playing Grand Theft Life. Us taking much more risks and going after the largest opportunities if our life was inside of a simulation, similar to Grand Theft Auto. 2:15:18 - Wrap-up, some closing thoughts on the article, some bits on the future of the podcast, where to contact us, and information on what our newsletter offers. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com The more I learn about Musk and other people who seem to have superhuman powers—whether it be Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Genghis Khan, Marie Curie, John Lennon, Ayn Rand, or Louis C.K.—the more I’m convinced that it’s their software, not their natural-born intelligence or talents, that makes them so rare and so effective. - Tim Urban

Butterflies of Wisdom is a podcast where we want to share your story. We want to share your knowledge if you have a small business if you are an author or a Doctor, or whatever you are. With a disability or not, we want to share your story to inspire others. To learn more about Butterflies of Wisdom visit http://butterfliesofwisdom.weebly.com/ Be sure to FOLLOW this program https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wins-women-of-wisdom/id1060801905. To find out more about Challenge Aspen go to https://challengeaspen.org. To find out how Win walk and about Ekso go to http://www.bridgingbionics.org/, or email Amanda Boxtel atamanda@bridgingbionics.org.   On Butterflies of Wisdom today, Best-Selling Author, Win C welcomes Neil Soni. Neil has built, grown, and created new ventures – both within the world’s largest brands and as an independent entrepreneur. Neil currently runs a growth and innovation consulting practice, which helps startups and Fortune 500 companies partner and invest in cross-industry technology and commercial opportunities. He is also the founder of Unlimited Brewing Company, the world’s first platform brewery. Before starting his consulting practice and Unlimited Brewing Company, Neil led the growth team at MomTrusted.com, a social marketplace for early education with over 3 million users. Before MomTrusted, Neil founded CollegeZen, a social platform for high school students, peer mentors, and colleges. This effort caught the attention of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which named CollegeZen one of the worldwide winners of the College Knowledge Challenge. Neil was appointed as a Finalist for Entrepreneur Magazine’s College Entrepreneur of the Year award for his work at CollegeZen. Neil works with a variety of groups in the innovation ecosystem, including startups, venture funds, accelerators, and large brands. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s Chemical Engineering program. To learn more about Neil visithttp://neilsoni.com/. To find out more about Win Kelly Charles visit https://wincharles.wix.com/win-charles. To follow Win on Twitter go to @winkellycharles. To support Win on Instagram go to winkcharles. To assist win on Snapchat go to Wcharles422. To see Win's art go tohttps://fineartamerica.com/profiles/2-win-charles.html. "Books for Books," you buy Win's books so she can purchase books for school. "Getting through school is a 'win' for her fans and a 'win' for her."Please send feedback to Win by email her at winwwow@gmail.com, or go to http://survey.libsyn.com/winwisdom and http://survey.libsyn.com/thebutterfly. To be on the show, please fill out the intake at http://bit.ly/bow2017. Butterflies of Wisdom sponsored by Kittr a new social media tool that is bringing about new ways of posting on Twitter. It's fun, full of free content you can use, helps you schedule at the best times, is easy to use, and it will help you get more followers. Visit Kittr at gokittr.com. This is a 20% off code forwww.gracedbygrit.com. The code will be XOBUTTERFLIES. If you would like to support Butterflies of Wisdom go to https://www.patreon.com/wcharles. If you want to check out what Win’s friend, Dannidoll, is doing (a.k.a. Dannielle) go to https://www.facebook.com/dannidolltheragdollclown/?notif_t=page_invite_accepted¬if_id=1492366163404241. To learn more about Danielle visit http://www.dancanshred.com. To learn about the magic of Siri go to https://www.udemy.com/writing-a-book-using-siri/?utm_campaign=email&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email. If you want to donate Butterflies of Wisdom, please send a PayPal donation to aspenrosearts@gmail.com or aspenwin@gmail.com. Please donate to Challenge Aspen or the Bridging Bionics Foundation. Please send a check in the mail so 100% goes to Bridging Bionics Foundation.    In the Memo section have people write: In honor of Win Charles. Please donate to the charity of your choice thank you in advance, Win.   Send to:   Challenge Aspen PO Box 6639 Snowmass Village, CO 81615 Or give online at https://challengeaspen.org.   Bridging Bionics Foundation  PO Box 3767 Basalt, CO 81621   Thank you Win

“Trust the process, follow your curiosity, and don’t get to wrapped up in what other people are doing.” - Neil Soni In this episode of Nat Chat we have Neil Soni. Neil and I originally connected over Twitter a few years ago as members of a startup incubator alumni network. While Neil was an undergrad, he started a company called “College Zen” to help prospective students get matched up with current students to get a real feel for the school. That startup didn’t work out, but the people he met and the experience he got from it turned into his next few roles, including his most recent work, as an “innovation consultant” for Estee Lauder. I wanted to talk to Neil for a few reasons: He’s had an extremely varied career during and after college, from starting that first company, to leading growth at another, to doing this innovation consulting, and now starting a beer company of all things. He is one of the more well read people I know, and draws deeply from history, philosophy, and science in his discussions. These can lead to really wide ranging discussions on anything when we talk, and our catch ups tend to run about as long as this interview. And he’s also great at testing ideas while maintaining safe alternatives. He was able to try out a number of startup ideas while doing his consulting work, giving him the best of both worlds. A steady income he could rely on, but also the flexible hours he needed to test startup ideas. Now that one’s working, he’s able to leave with much more security than he would if he were jumping in blind. We cover a wide range of topics, including: Optimizing for learning versus wealth Testing startup and business ideas How Neil has landed such interesting work roles, and what an “innovation consultant” is Developing skills on your own, marketing or otherwise How Neil chooses what to read, and how he learns from the books he reads What Neil did and would have done differently with his college education Philosophy, psychology, books, podcasts, blogs… you name it Please enjoy, and reach out to Neil on Twitter! Find Neil Online: Twitter Instagram Neil’s website LinkedIn Mentioned in the show: Estee Lauder AlphaLab Mom Trusted No Wait Y Combinator University of Pennsylvania Carnegie Mellon University Unlimited Brewing Company Ideo Amway Neil’s article on commodity versus luxury Procter and Gamble Booz Allen Dangers of Ibuprofen and other NSAIDS Gen Next People Naval Ravikant Tim Ferriss John Keay Books Mentioned 33 Strategies of War 48 Laws of Power The Secret Count of Monte Cristo   Infinite Jest The Book of Five Rings Everything is Obvious The Image Complete Joy of Homebrewing Happy Accidents Meditations Letters from the Stoic Discourses Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Atlas Shrugged Fight Club (Neil’s recommendation for students) Antifragile Podcasts Mentioned Jocko Joe Rogan Hardcore History Sam Harris Tim Ferriss 2:12 - Intro to Neil, what he currently does in the cosmetic industry, and how he got his job. 11:53 - How Neil started his first company, College Zen. 23:36 - Neil moving on from his startup onto working with Mom Trusted and what he ended up doing afterwards. 26:10 - How Neil learned to test his company College Zen and his first experience with entrepreneurship. 30:48 - Neil speaking on himself currently starting up Unlimited Brewing Company and it’s mission. 34:33 - What Neil learned about companies while working for Estee Lauder. 44:03 - Neil on optimizing for learning and optimizing for wealth. 48:04 - Neil speaking on the importance of networking and providing some tips for reaching out to people. 56:41 - Neil on commodity versus luxury and why it’s important. Neil’s article on this here. 1:05:00 - Neil speaking on the habit of reading, thoughts on books, and some book recommendations. 1:19:59 - How Neil chooses which books to read and his perspective on learning things from books. 1:30:15 - Neil speaking about spending time on grades in school versus learning skills. 1:36:12 -  Neil speaking on “safe” volatile jobs versus spending time on learning valuable skills that translate well to numerous companies. 1:44:08 - Neil’s experience with his parents on making the choice to focus more on skills and projects rather than getting better grades. Also continuing to speak on learning valuable skills that you can be more versatile job-wise with. 1:51:23 - Neil’s experience with depression while being a student and as a post-grad. Also speaking on the importance of being open while connecting to people. 2:01:07 - Neil and Nat speaking on the power and value of stoicism. 2:10:20 - Neil’s learning experience with the use of crowdsourcing projects and having people invest in companies going bankrupt. 2:17:10 - What Neil would have done differently in college knowing what he currently knows and on how what you learn in college can translate loosely into real world field work. 2:31:19 - Which podcasts Neil thoroughly listens to and some of his favorites. 2:34:40 - Neil’s favorite failures and what he learned from them. 2:40:27 - Neil’s one book recommendation to incoming freshmen at Carnegie Mellon University. 2:48:12 - Neil’s last thoughts and some advice he wished he had as a student. 2:50:30 - Wrap up, where to find Neil online, and a last piece of wisdom on Neil. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://nateliason.com/podcast “In college, you’re paying other people to teach you, but in the real world you can get paid to be taught.” - Neil Soni