Founder's Journal

Episode 72: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) reflects on four lessons from the OpenAI saga. He also chats about the power of saving time and making people look good, his morning ritual, and why momentum is everything in business.  Avoiding an OpenAI Fiasco by Successfully Building Your Board: https://link.chtbl.com/XiP9TGTI OpenAI Saga Summary: https://twitter.com/businessbarista/status/172667779...

Episode 71: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks to Jesse Pujji (@jspujji), founder of GatewayX and former CEO of Ampush, about delegating effectively as an entrepreneur. The two discuss powerful frameworks like the Delegation Ladder and Task Relevant Maturity. Jesse’s thread on delegation: https://twitter.com/jspujji/status/1453441211696484355 GatewayX: https://www.gateway.xyz/ GrowthAssistant...

Episode 70: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) and guest Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett), discuss how to successfully build a startup board. Brett is a serial entrepreneur who has raised over $1 billion of venture capital and has constructed four boards during his career. He is currently building Figure, an AI robotics company, and before Figure, he built Archer, an electric vertical takeoff and landi...

Episode 69: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares a story that he told himself for nearly a decade, which made him question his self-worth and abilities despite “the world’s” perception of him as a successful entrepreneur. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com Grow more (and stress less) with Brex: brex.com/foundersjournal #FoundersJournal...

Episode 68: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) interviews Ankur Nagpal (@ankurnagpal) about maximizing your equity as a founder. Startup equity can be confusing and daunting, but it could also be the difference of millions of dollars in your pocket or the government’s pocket. There are tried and true ways to structure startup equity and Ankur knows how to do it exceptionally well. The two talk abou...

Episode 67: Today, Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) is speaking about investor updates with the most qualified guest in the world. Sam Corcos (@SamCorcos) is the co-founder & CEO of Levels, a healthtech company focused on metabolic health using continuous glucose monitors. Sam is an exceptional entrepreneur, and Levels’ investor updates are the most comprehensive, thoughtful snapshot of a busines...

Episode 66: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) recounts a day in his life as an entrepreneur, creator, and new uncle. He reflects on the lens through which we decide to observe our life, the wisdom in children, and the beauty of presence & wonder. He shares his growth plan for Founder’s Journal, and how he feels sitting in the messy middle with StoryArb. Alex also explores three new business ideas....

Episode 65: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) chats with Dan Siroker (@dsiroker), a serial entrepreneur who is currently the co-founder and CEO of Rewind, a personalized AI that captures everything you’ve ever seen, said, or heard. Prior, he was the co-founder and CEO of Optimizely, a $500M Martech business doing over $110M in annual revenue. In this episode, Dan takes us through his X series, “Fi...

Episode 64: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) chats with Michael Girdley (@girdley), entrepreneur and content creator that generates $100 million in annual revenue. In this episode, they talk about an ideation process of effectuation, which is a lower-risk but high upside way to do startups using 6 key principles.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@mornin...

Episode 63: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) takes you through an exercise to recalibrate and focus on his zone of genius. The zone of genius is work that you do that brings out the best version of yourself. Follow this super easy, super quick 3-step process to find your own zone of genius. Best Stuff Exercise: https://conscious.is/excercises-guides/the-best-stuff Send us an email and let us know...

It’s the season finale! We’re taking time to reflect on this year’s biggest learnings and answer some final audience questions. From insights on financial wellness for women to AI’s influence on the financial landscape, we’re touching on topics that can have a big impact on your portfolio. Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Certain complex options st...

Episode 62: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) chats with Sam Corcos, co-founder and CEO of Levels, a health tech company focused on metabolic health using continuous glucose optimizer. In this episode, they break down how CEOs and founders should be spending their time, maximizing their productivity and ensuring they are spending their time wisely and efficiently.  Send us an email and let us know...

Episode 61: A guest Founder’s Journal by an industry veteran. Ron Shaich, founder and former CEO of Panera Bread, shares his early exposure to entrepreneurship and how a personal tragedy led to a personal philosophy that would eventually transform the fast-casual restaurant industry.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Sta...

Episode 60: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares how he feels like a stranger in his own home. Working in the offices of Morning Brew has made him come to the realization that he has FOMO from seeing the matured inner workings of a business he helped create. It’s a unique position of feeling on the outside of in. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morn...

Episode 59: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) chats with Tyler Denk, an old teammate from Morning Brew, about the building of Beehiiv. It’s a newsletter platform that boosts some of the top newsletters today, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Arnold’s Pump Club to Mattew Berry’s Fantasy Life. In just 2 years, it’s already raised $16.7 million and is doing around $750K/mo in business.  Send us an ema...

Episode 58: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) sits down with Robbie Crabtree (@RobbieCrab), ex-Lawyer, now Co-Founder of Potential AI, to talk about how narrative storytelling is a powerful but underutilized tool for startup founders when it comes to pitching to investors. Visualizing for investors the future of your business can be the key to raising capital.  Send us an email and let us know wha...

Episode 57: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) tries a true journal-style episode and reflects back on the latest milestones across his businesses. StoryArb is evolving quickly and is close to getting the product to V2. Alex is still in search of his North Star but is getting closer after speaking with his executive coach.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjourna...

Episode 56: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) opens up about some limiting beliefs that he still deals with today. Even after successfully selling Morning Brew and starting his ghostwriting agency, StoryArb, there’s internal dialogue that thinks he’s not capable of achieving his goals. Entrepreneurs face this problem at almost every turn when they’re starting their business. Here are tips on how t...

Episode 55: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) chats with former podcast co-host Jesse Pujji to reflect on the growth of his business, Growth Assistant, how he came up with the idea, and how he was able to build it from ground zero.  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 54: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) sits down with Kajabi CEO Ahad Khan who runs an all-in-one commerce platform for knowledge content creators. In this conversation, they talk about the future of the creator economy, how Ahad built Kajabi, and why it’s most important in a post-pandemic economy.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com...

Episode 53: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about why it’s good to embrace the boring parts of starting a business. Founders can get caught up in the notion that if they’re not doing anything exciting at all times, they’re failing. However, it some cases, refining your product or service might not be sexiest phase of your business but can be the most important in building the foundation. ...

Episode 52: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) runs through 8 ideas to see if they merit becoming full-on sustainable businesses. From Blinkist for podcasts to an AI-assisted memoir writer, Alex walks through his thought process as if he were an investor and gives an honest rating.  Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startu...

Episode 51: It’s Flashback Friday. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) and Jesse Pujji (@jspujji), former co-host of The Crazy Ones, talk about what bootstrapping a business really means. In this episode, Alex uses examples from his early days of Morning Brew to highlight the differences between bootstrapping a business vs. raising money through investors.  Send us an email and let us know what you...

Episode 50: Are you a “below the line” or “above the line” leader? Don’t know the difference? Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares examples of how to become a more self-aware leader, making sure your approach to problem-solving or disagreements is honest and open-minded. As leaders, it’s natural to have egos, but it often takes higher leadership abilities to set aside your ego for the greater...

Episode 49: Establishing a logo can be a trap for many entrepreneurs and startups. Just because a business might have a distinct design or font that is recognizable, doesn’t mean it's a brand. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) goes into the biggest difference between a logo and a brand. A brand goes beyond the design or the look. It’s a status symbol or a culture. In this episode, you’ll learn how...