Founder's Journal

Alex breaks down his new business, Distro, the first AI content strategist.  — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:34) Be a student of AI (5:48) Post-It Note Pitch (7:08) Launch process (9:42) Create clarity before launch (12:18) Moats in AI (14:09) Go-forward plan (16:05) Conclusion — Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com...

Alex does a 2-year lookback on his 7-figure B2B content agency, storyarb.  — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:00) 2-year storyarb review  (3:36) Founding story (8:05) The pivot (10:03) Product evolution  (13:01) Building the right team (14:51) Financials & path forward  — Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex — Epi...

Alex does a SXSW 2025 recap.  Here’s what to expect: Why conferences are a waste Two exceptions to the rule 7 stops & lessons  — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:35) When conferences aren’t a waste (5:12) SXSW recap (6:05) Founders run club (6:48) Brunch with Lauren Zima (7:38) Lunch with David Perell (9:28) Hampton Dinner  (10:18) B2B Creator...

Episode 142: Alex talks about his do sh*t meter & give a sh*t meter, how to calibrate them properly, and why they’re essential for being a successful founder.  — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:36) Being lazy is good (5:13) My do sh*t meter  (7:38) My give a sh*t meter (8:02) Tobi from Shopify on Lenny’s pod (12:46) Concluding thoughts — Thank...

Episode 142: Alex breaks down the drama between Deel & Ripping, the VC-backed HR software giants.  Here’s what to expect: Why Rippling is suing Deel for corporate espionage The timeline of events A lawyers analysis of the case 3 founder lessons from the saga  — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:15) Timeline of alleged espionage (8:00) Impact on...

Episode 141: Alex breaks down his 2-year journey as a multipreneurHere’s what to expect: What is multipreneurship? Why did Alex pick this path 2 years into storyarb 6 lessons from multipreneurship — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:30) Post-Morning Brew journey (5:20) What is multipreneurship? (8:00) My plan as a multipreneur (9:20) Case study:...

Episode 141: Alex shares why sales is king of the hill in entrepreneurship & how you can be great at it. Here’s what to expect: Why sales is misbranded Why sales is a founder’s most important skill 7 tactics Alex used to sell at Morning Brew Tactics from 3 startup sales experts — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:03) The Misconception of Sales (...

Episode 140: Alex breaks down Pieter Levels’ AI-coded flying game, which hit $67,000 in monthly revenue in just 3 weeks. Here’s what to expect: The stats & story behind Levels’ flying game Key lessons to take from this business Understanding critiques of the game — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:09) Peter Levels’ AI-coded flying game (6:17) T...

Episode 139: Alex talks about the unsung hero of startups: boring work. He shares how society forgets that much of entrepreneurship involves doing boring work privately, to become celebrated publicly. He also breaks down three under-discussed aspects of boring work: It’s an unavoidable part of building a business, especially in the early days. Some founders stay in boring work for far too long, ev...

Episode 138: Alex Lieberman, host of Founder’s Journal, announces the relaunch of the show. He shares what you can expect from Founder’s Journal & how he thinks about shifting his businesses from off-course to on-course, using the pirate ship approach. — Show Notes: (0:00) A note from our sponsor (2:28) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal (3:58) Effortless vs. effortful (5:38) Your business as a pir...

Episode 137: This week, Kyle Hagge, Chief of Staff to the COO at Morning Brew and co-host of the podcast Per My Last Email is guest hosting Founder’s Journal to chat about career pivots. Kyle shares his own experience with career changes and discusses the importance of utilizing side projects, weak ties, and storytelling.   Want to hear more of Kyle's career advice? Check out his podcast, Per My L...

Episode 136: In today’s episode, I chat with marketing master Noah Kagan, the founder and CEO of Appsumo and New York Times bestselling author of Million Dollar Weekend. Noah shares his repeatable marketing playbook, and I have him rip apart my marketing strategy for Storyarb.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #...

Episode 135: Today, I speak with Kian Sadeghi, one of the most impressive early-stage founders I have ever met. Kian's genetic testing company, Nucleus, has attracted investment from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Alexis Ohanian's 776, and he shares how he has employed relentlessness to build his company after dropping out of the University of Pennsylvania.  Send us an email and let us know what...

Episode 134: Today, I speak to legendary executive and investor Keith Rabois about his ability to identify top 1% founders and employees. Keith has invested in a billion-dollar business every year for the last 20 years, including Doordash, YouTube, and Lyft. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at Paypal, LinkedIn, and Square. We chat about how to find undiscovered talent, hiring barrels, a...

Episode 133: In today’s episode I chat with Jesse Pujji (@jspujji), co-founder of Ampush and founder of startup studio Gateway X. Jesse has used entrepreneurship as a vehicle for personal and professional growth, and we talk about the tools and tactics he's found valuable including, Zone of Genius, five levels of motivation, and context versus content.   Send us an email and let us know what you t...

Episode 132: To kick off Founder's Journal's new episode format, I speak with Sam Parr (@thesamparr), founder of The Hustle and Hampton. Sam is an expert at reverse engineering business ideas, and we speak about the tools and frameworks he uses to find and vet the best businesses using examples from Sam's life.  Sam's List: samslist.co Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! f...

Episode 131: On this episode, I discuss the future of Founder’s Journal and why I think it will be the best entrepreneurship show, full stop. Thanks as always for being on this journey with me and can’t wait for what’s next. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https:/...

Episode 130: On today’s episode, I talk about refinding purpose post-exit and launching my new business storyarb. I share the full details on storyarb with no details spared including, ideation, customer acquisition, early challenges, pivots, finding my co-founder, and our biggest lessons.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJourna...

Episode 129: On today’s episode I discuss my decision to step down as CEO of Morning Brew. I chat about going from a Chapter 1 to a Chapter 2 CEO, the emotional journey after stepping down, and climbing out of the trough of sorrows. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here:...

Episode 128: On today’s episode of Founder’s Journal, I talk through the sale of Morning Brew. I chat about how the opportunity came about, why we said no to previous potential deals, why I thought selling the business was the right decision, and if I have any regrets reflecting on the decision today. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #Fou...

Episode 127: On this episode of Founder’s Journal, I break down the exact strategies we used to acquire our first 10,000 newsletter subscribers and abstractable growth lessons you can apply to your business. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/O...

Episode 126: Today I discuss my biggest takeaways from a Fortune 500 CMO dinner I hosted, choosing between freelancers vs. full-time employees, lessons in storytelling from Shaan Puri, the importance of following your energy, and joining the board of a non-profit.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur...

Episode 125: In today’s episode I chat about being in a content creation slump, making an impact as an entrepreneur, and why you never know if it is the right time to go all in on your business.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watc...

Episode 124: Today we’re throwing it back with a true journal style episode. I talk about the joys of finding product market fit, being a default-trusting founder, and understanding extrinsic vs. intrinsic drivers.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.cht...

Episode 123: On this episode, I share a recent blog post by my friend and former colleague, Tyler Denk. Tyler is the co-founder & CEO of beehiiv, a high-growth email newsletter platform. This post outlines Tyler’s philosophy on building a team and culture that allows your company to ship features at lightning speed. His insights are valuable not just for technical founders, but for any entrepreneu...