Founders

What I learned from reading Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life by Richard Branson. --- Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode.  --- — “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the...

What I learned from reading Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography by Richard Branson.   ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work.  Get access to Founders Notes here.  ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode tha...

What I learned from reading Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Wayby Richard Branson ---- Business is a fluid, changing substance. A mutating, indefinable thing [0:45] I just pick up the phone and get on with it [7:50] smart ways to get initial traction [9:51] to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent [14:19] Richard Branson's ear...

What I learned from reading I Love Capitalism: An American Story by Ken Langone.  --- His early life: there was never much money (3:30) Ken's first jobs (5:35) [At school] I didn't apply myself at all . I did the absolute minimum . I was too busy having fun and working at all my various jobs (12:05)  further adventures in entrepreneurship (13:24) Looking for work / finding excitement (17:00) stepp...

What I learned from reading Built From Scratch: How A Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank.  --- The creation of The Home Depot began with two words: "You're fired!" [0:01] Blinders on focus on the customer [5:45] Learning how not to manage people from Ming the Merciless [8:37] Meeting Ken Langone / the prehistory of Home Depot [1...

What I learned from reading Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft by Paul Allen  --- I was 21 years old and at loose ends (0:01) how Paul Allen works (4:09) coming up with the idea for Microsoft (4:48) admiring Bill Gates' bravado (7:56) advice from his father: do something you love (12:30) "Paul is an 'enthusiast' and when in the grip of an enthusiasm is almost totally irresponsible in...

What I learned from reading Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio --- Whatever success I've had in life has had more to do with my knowing how to deal with my not knowing than anything I know [0:01] Ray's first principle and why [5:35] Ray's key to success [8:07] The similarities between investors and entrepreneurs [9:27] Shift your mindset from I know I am right to How do I know I am right? [13:...

What I learned from reading One From Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization by Dee Hock  --- Walking away at the pinnacle of success was the hardest thing I have ever done (0:01) Through the years, I have greatly feared and sought to keep at bay the four beasts that inevitably devour their keeper – Ego, Envy, Avarice, and Ambition. In 1984, I severed all connections with business for a l...

What I learned from reading The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz. --- There's no recipe for complicated, dynamic situations [0:01] Meeting Marc Andreessen [8:30] The co-founder relationship between Marc and Ben [11:00] How they came up with the idea for Loudcloud (Opsware) / A business is just an idea that will make someone's life bet...

What I learned from reading Insisting On The Impossible: The Life of Edwin Land and Instant: The Story of Polaroid --- If you dream of something worth doing and then simply go to work on it, and don’t think anything of personalities, or emotional conflicts, or of money, or of family distractions; if you just think of, detail by detail, what you have to do next, it is a wonderful dream. [0:01]  Edw...

What I learned from reading Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas --- He seemed eager to sum up the lessons he had learned and tell people how he applied them in his life. [0:01] He worked long hours over drawings in his room. Never revealing a project until he completed it. [5:32] Walt Disney's first business: Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists [9:34] Walt Disney's second business: Laugh-...

What I learned from reading The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos by Christian Davenport.  --- [0:54] Musk and Bezos were the leaders of this resurrection of the American space program, a pair of billionaires with vastly different styles and temperaments. Always audacious, Musk had plowed far ahead, his triumphs and failures commanding center stage. Bezos re...

What I learned from reading The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen. --- When he arrived in America in 1891 at age fourteen, Zemurray was tall, gangly, and penniless. When he died in the grandest house in New Orleans sixty-nine years later, he was among the richest, most powerful men in the world. In between he worked as a fruit peddler, a banana haul...

What I learned from reading Finding The Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture Talent by Nolan Bushnell.  --- A pong is a piece of advice designed to help enhance creativity. It applies to only where the advice is helpful. Unlike a rule which thinks itself applicable to every situation. (4:36) Cherish the pink-haired. (16:53) Hire the obnoxious: Steve Jobs believed he was always right and...

What I learned from reading George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones.  --- Lucas unapologetically invested in what he believed in the most: himself.“What we’re striving for is total freedom, where we can finance our pictures, make them our way, release them where we want them released, and be completely free to express ourselves,” explained Lucas. “That’s very hard to do in the world of business. I...

What I learned from reading Creativity Inc: Overcoming The Unseen Forces That Stand In The Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull.  --- Lead with a light touch (18:59) Anchor yourself with your why (23:35) Bet on yourself (39:54) Decentralize problem-solving (52:56) People are more important than ideas (1:00:45) Analyze ways to improve your process after a project is complete (1:24:10) Keep a start...

What I learned from reading Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World by Lynn Downey --- [0:01] Levi was one of the men who set that firm foundation [17:35] I do not have at this time a specific occupation...I will share the fate that has been assigned to me [22:29] Enduring hardship for the ultimate goal [29:24] A hole in the market [42:00] Levi starts his business cold [54:18] The d...

What I learned from reading Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark.  --- Crazy Jack (0:01) The internet is filling the void created by state planning (6:59) Jack has made a career out of being underestimated: “I am a very simple guy. I am not smart. I might have a smart face but I’ve got very stupid brains.” (20:35) Jack’s early life / Discipline and Curiosity (24:43) Jack Magic: “...

What I learned from reading Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue and Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future --- Culture Eats Strategy [1:45] Conspiracy as a metaphor for a company [3:56] It is a story of poetic justice on a grand scale plotted silently for nearly a decade [6:02] Something in these pages planted itself deep into Thiel's mind w...

What I learned from reading Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance.  --- I don't want to be the person who ever has to compete with Elon (0:47) Musk expects you to keep up (2:45) Short of building an actual money-crushing machine, Musk could not have picked a faster way to destroy his fortune. He became a one-man, ultra-risk-taking venture capital shop (4:41...

What I learned from reading The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company by David Packard. --- [0:01] How Steve Jobs was inspired by David Packard [1:00] Books are the original hyperlinks [4:30] Profit is the measure of how well we work together [9:00] HP's first product [11:00] Podcasts before podcasts [14:00] Many of the things I learned in this process were invaluable, and not available...

What I learned from reading The Wright Brothers by David McCullough --- Unyielding determination (2:30)  Jocko's concept of GOOD (4:00) The ability to focus on an idea for a long time is the antidote to short bursts of dopamine we get from checking social feeds all day. (6:30) The beginning of their side business (13:00) The importance of heroes (16:00) Rereading / revisiting old ideas (18:30) Boo...

What I learned from reading A Truck Full of Money: Coding, Mania, Love, Genius: The Life of an American Entrepreneurby Tracy Kidder --- [7:00] Kayak sells for $1.8 billion [12:00] "I'm paying attention. I want meetings of three people, not ten." [15:00] "Someday this boy's going to get hit by a truck full of money, and I'm going to be standing beside him." [22:30] A description of Paul's bipolar d...

What I learned from My Life and Work: The Autobiography of Henry Ford. --- A theory of business (0:01) If an old idea works then the weight of the evidence is all in its favor. The Lindy Effect. (7:30) All people are not equal (11:00)  "That is why I never employ an expert in full bloom" (15:00), "I quit my job on August 15th, 1899 and went into the automobile business" (19:30) Henry Ford's philos...

What I learned from reading Against the Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson --- I am a creator of products, a builder of things. [0:01] This book is the story of 15 years of struggle to finally invent, own, and sell his own product. [1:35] This is the exposition of a business philosophy which is very different from anything you might have encountered before. [2:11] The first 75% to 80% of the bo...