Smart Friends
Casual conversations with founders, technologists, investors, and artists about building a brighter future through science, technology, and entrepreneurship. The host, Eric Jorgenson, author of The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, explores how to find, apply, build, and invest in technologies to improve quality of life. Guests include notable figures like Balaji Srinivasan, Naval Ravikant, and others. The podcast aims to show listeners how to change their lives and the world.
Episodes
#105 Inside the Underground Meme Marketing World: Jason Levin of Memelord
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:34) - The most effective meme and the midwit curve
(00:08:11) - Memes as memetic warfare and communication
(00:10:04) - Jason's internet kid origin story
(00:13:09) - Building MemeLord and AI agents for memes
(00:16:47) - Working with B2B and boring companies
(00:17:50) - The arbitrage in funny B2B marketing
(00:21:38) - Running multiple meme accounts for
#104 The Elite Private High School Where Students Earn A Million Dollars: [Nat Eliason of Founder School (via Alpha)]
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:27) - Nat joins Alpha School to launch Founder School
(00:04:11) - The million-dollar business guarantee
(00:04:44) - Why no program like this exists yet
(00:09:09) - How AI tutors compress academics into three hours
(00:13:00) - Teenagers are capable of real work
(00:15:27) - The Alpha School platform and expansion model
(00:25:35) - Founder School's Sept
#103 How to Destroy Bad Ideas Without Killing Relationships [The Dionysus Program with Sean Devine]
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:23) - Reading the forward to Sean’s new book
(00:09:30) - What problem were you experiencing that sparked these ideas?
(00:12:30) - Sean’s early arrival to AI
(00:23:15) - Identity
(00:27:55) - Defining Apollo and Dionysus
(00:34:47) - Understanding and uncertainty
(00:38:26) - Tools to deal with uncertainty
(00:50:27) - Tools for metabolism
(01:03:25) -
#102 The Next Renaissance, AI Reality vs Hype, and a Movement of Hope with Zack Kass
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:40) - Being the “tech for middle America” translator
(00:06:00) - Who are your heroes?
(00:13:40) - Zack’s unique approach to AI
(00:57:35) - The market for identity transformation
(01:11:08) - Writing the next renaissance
(01:15:31) - Using AI in the writing process
(01:18:25) - Final thoughts
Links:
The Next Renaissance by Zack Kass - https://a.co/d/
The Book of Elon - Part 4
Welcome to the free audiobook of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success.
This is Part 1 of 4.
I’ve made all of my books available for free. This is the third book I’ve published, and like the others, it’s available in all formats—PDF, EPUB, and audio—and in dozens of languages. More than 5 million people have read the free version of The Almanack of Naval, and I wanted to do the same h
The Book of Elon - Part 3
Welcome to the free audiobook of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success.
This is Part 3 of 4.
I’ve made all of my books available for free. This is the third book I’ve published, and like the others, it’s available in all formats—PDF, EPUB, and audio—and in dozens of languages. More than 5 million people have read the free version of The Almanack of Naval, and I wanted to do the same h
The Book of Elon - Part 2
Welcome to the free audiobook of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success.
This is Part 2 of 4.
I’ve made all of my books available for free. This is the third book I’ve published, and like the others, it’s available in all formats—PDF, EPUB, and audio—and in dozens of languages. More than 5 million people have read the free version of The Almanack of Naval, and I wanted to do the same h
The Book of Elon - Part 1
Welcome to the free audiobook of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success.
This is Part 1 of 4.
I’ve made all of my books available for free. This is the third book I’ve published, and like the others, it’s available in all formats—PDF, EPUB, and audio—and in dozens of languages. More than 5 million people have read the free version of The Almanack of Naval, and I wanted to do the same h
The Book of Elon launches today
The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success is now available!
“All of Elon Musk’s Most Useful Ideas, In His Own Words.”
I’ve invested five years of effort and tens of thousands of dollars into making this book as useful as possible for you.
Order the book now on Amazon:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4uEf0pO
Paperback: https://amzn.to/47avSuh
Hardcover: https://amzn.to/4by5VWL
Audible: http
My Conversation with Naval Megasode
It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.
I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.
You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ
Chapters:
00:00 - Bu
#101 Tesla War Stories, Self-Driving at Waymo, and Building the Salesforce of BOM (Spencer Penn of LightSource)
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:43) - Heroes and inspirations
(00:07:14) - The rise of Chinese electric vehicles
(00:12:13) - The Tesla experience
(00:31:04) - Tesla's rapid development and industry impact
(00:32:54) - The culture of speed and frugality at Tesla
(00:34:10) - Elon's leadership and pressure tactics
(00:37:22) - Transitioning from Tesla to Waymo
(00:39:43) - Waymo's organi
#100 Interviewing Your Parents, Writing Through Fear, and One's First Book (Kyle Thiermann)
Title: #100 Interviewing Your Parents, Writing Through Fear, and One's First Book (Kyle Thiermann)
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:47) - The birth of a book: from idea to reality
(00:04:01) - A pandemic epiphany: interviewing my dad
(00:07:51) - The journey of a professional surfer and journalist
(00:10:48) - Writing a book: challenges and insights
(00:17:04) - The emotional depth of inte
#099 Jonathan Swanson: Scaling Thumbtack, 10x Delegation, and Designing an Ideal Life
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:30) - Who are your heroes?
(00:09:26) - The infancy and evolution of Athena
(00:15:12) - Inflection points
(00:18:14) - Jonathan’s reasoning for going public with interviews
(00:20:08) - How do you pick countries to work in?
(00:22:41) - Who is the core Athena customer?
(00:28:09) - Jonathan’s 6 EAs
(00:32:13) - Surprising things Jonathan’s delegated
(00
#098 Danielle Strachman: What Makes a Thiel Fellow
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:46) - Deep dive into the Thiel Fellowship
(00:07:04) - Success stories and impact of Thiel Fellows
(00:11:04) - Challenges and controversies
(00:16:01) - Evolution and future of fellowship programs
(00:18:39) - Early days of building the Thiel Fellowship
(00:23:36) - Traits of a Thiel Fellow
(00:33:24) - Nurturing genius
(00:39:57) - Screen time & childre
#097 Brad Feld: Founding Techstars, Giving First, and Mentorship
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:49) - Heroes
(00:10:50) - How do you know when it’s time to step away from something you started?
(00:18:37) - Len Fassler
(00:32:52) - Mentors and inflection points in life
(00:39:07) - Brad’s book - Give First
(00:47:58) - The role of books in Brad’s career
Links:
Scribe — https://scribemedia.com
Give First: The Power of Mentorship - https://amzn.to/
#096 Cal Riley: Special Ops, Grief, and Why Your Business Needs a Heart
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:07) - Cal's military background
(00:13:59) - Transitioning into a family business
(00:19:35) - Implementing EOS
(00:25:08) - The journey to compassionate leadership
(00:36:16) - Prioritizing self-care and meditation
(00:37:19) - Journaling techniques and prompts
(00:39:02) - Mental health stigma and therapy
(00:40:16) - Daily intentions and successes
(00
My Conversation with Naval on Building Judgement
It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.
I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.
This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Building Judgement
You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:
https://www
My Conversation with Naval on Saving Yourself
It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.
I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.
This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Saving Yourself
You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:
https://www.audi
My Conversation with Naval on Learning Happiness
It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.
I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.
This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Learning Happiness
You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:
https://www
My Conversation with Naval on Philosophy
It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.
I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.
This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Philosophy
You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:
https://www.audible
My Conversation with Naval on Building Wealth
Naval Ravikant on Building Wealth
It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.
I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.
This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Building Wealth
You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new materi
#095 Rolling Fun #10: Capitalism is Hard, Natural Gas From Sunshine, and "Blimps" (That Work This Time)
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro(00:03:26) - Marathon misadventures(00:06:15) - The failed acquisition(00:13:47) - Lessons from the deal(00:29:31) - The future of retail(00:33:44) - Empathy for founders(00:35:23) - The grind of capitalism(00:35:37) - Challenges for young founders(00:36:10) - The importance of peer support(00:37:17) - Scaling and growth pains(00:37:42) - Exciting new ventures(00:38:20)
#094 Rolling Fun #9: Basketball, Asteroid Mining, Child Labor (Not Really Tho)
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:46) - Personal updates and new ventures
(00:04:06) - The youth sports complex project
(00:05:21) - Challenges and strategies in youth sports business
(00:09:09) - Community impact and future vision
(00:19:00) - Reflections on education and parenting
(00:34:05) - The magic of holding a newborn
(00:34:32) - The joys and challenges of parenting
(00:3
#093 Behind the Scenes of a Nuclear Microreactor Startup with Matt Loszak, Founder CEO of Aalo Atomics [Replay]
***This is a Replay Episode***
Links for Matt’s stuff:
Aalo.com
Matt on Twitter
Aalo on Twitter
Aalo Job Board
Link to invest alongside Eric in deals like Aalo: rolling.fun
Links to stuff mentioned:
Decouple Podcast
Titans of Nuclear Podcast
Nuclear Barbarian Substack
Atomic Awakening by James Mahaffey
Why Nuclear Power Has Been a Flop by Jack Devanney
Topics
#092 Sarma Melngailis: Bad Vegan, Memoir as Recovery, and Reclaiming Your Story
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:37) - The Netflix documentary: Misrepresentation and struggles (00:03:19) - Writing the memoir (00:08:47) - The challenges of independent publishing (00:12:40) - The creative process and future plans (00:35:23) - Impact of the book on readers (00:36:04) - Scripted series and unused content (00:36:36) - New docuseries and correcting the narrative (00:37:04) - Psyc
#091 The Magic of Code, History of Computing, and the Future of AI Interfaces [Sam Arbesman #2]
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:14) - The magic of code
(00:05:30) - The wonder of early computing
(00:11:13) - The evolution of computing: From analog to digital
(00:18:45) - The personal computer revolution
(00:32:36) - The future of computing: Beyond silicon
(00:36:59) - The importance of computing history
(00:40:53) - AI and human uniqueness
(00:50:46) - The future of AI and computi
#090 Building a Venture Firm From Zero to One, and AI-driven VC Thesis Research [Arkady Kulik #2]
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:19) - Entering the VC space
(00:08:38) - Pilot-fund theories
(00:12:50) - Risk tracking
(00:19:56) - Finding LP alignment
(00:22:39) - Arkady’s fund thesis
(00:47:12) - Creating the index of solutions to problems
(00:57:18) - The TAM for VC in 2025
(01:00:29) - How founders can increase the odds of being funded by Arkady
(01:03:36) - False signals in VC
#089 David Senra + Mitchell Baldridge #6 : Writing the Founders’ Book, Building Natural-fit Businesses, and Craft
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:52) - The Founder's book project
(00:04:06) - Effort and building relationships
(00:11:20) - The value of self-publishing
(00:24:00) - Bootstrapping a HoldCo
(00:46:05) - Finding natural fit in business
(00:47:48) - The role of trust in business
(00:49:07) - AI and changing perspectives
(00:50:26) - Daily use of AI tools
(00:55:49) - The value of deep re
#088 Toby Rush: $100M Exits, Splitting Companies, Timing Startups, and Ideem Killing 2FA
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:45) - Who are your heroes?
(00:05:16) - What is something you’ve had to teach yourself that’s become a core part of your identity?
(00:07:34) - Taking a sabbatical post-exit
(00:09:30) - Going back into entrepreneurship
(00:12:52) - How to kill two-factor auth
(00:14:34) - When to split a company into two companies
(00:18:04) - Who is the customer of iDeem
#087 Nat Eliason: From Blogging to Sci-Fi Novels, Writing Books That Last, and Owning Your Audience
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:00:45) - Introducing Nat Eliason
(00:01:27) - Nat's Diverse Career and Writing Journey
(00:01:47) - The Transition from Nonfiction to Fiction
(00:02:13) - The Seven Act Structure and Writing Process
(00:02:44) - Publishing with Scribe and Launching Husk
(00:03:24) - The Rewards and Challenges of Writing
(00:04:29) - Building an Audience and Mark
#086 Jim O’Shaughnessy: Learning to Learn, AI Disruption, and the Future of Publishing
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:30) - What’s the most important thing you’ve ever learned?
(00:07:23) - Learning to Learn
(00:11:20) - How learning changes as you age
(00:18:51) - How do you think about your circle of competence?
(00:22:21) - The future of book publishing and how authors adapt
(00:35:29) - AI disruption in book publishing
(00:47:56) - Jim’s inaugural book: Two Thoughts
(00:56:46
#085 Ben Reinhardt: How to Discover New Technology, Playing the Longest Game, and Philanthropy in Technology
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:05:25) - Studying both Medieval History and Engineering
(00:09:48) - Founding Speculative Technologies
(00:11:25) - Defining “Useful” in Science and Technology
(00:13:46) - Building the roadmap of discoveries to unlock futuristic tech
(00:17:24) - The need for new institutions
(00:25:22) - Why focus on material science and manufacturing technologies
(00:46:57) - The
#084 Augustus Doricko: How to Terraform Earth, The History of Weather Control, and The Mandate of Heaven
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:13) - Catching up
(00:13:14) - Making Earth (even more) Habitable by Controlling Weather
(00:26:54) - Doug Burgum: Next Secretary of the Dept. of the Interior
(00:31:30) - Building Rainmaker
(00:44:19) - Are we short on clean water in America today?
(00:50:37) - Drones, precipitation, cloud seeding, and the future
Links:
Rainmaker
Augustus on X
Augustus’ Thread
#083 Klaus Kleinfeld: How to Lead Fortune 500 Companies, Manage Energy, Inspire Teams
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:24) - Watching the moon landing
(00:07:32) - Klaus’ career
(00:10:08) - Why Klaus wrote Leading To Thrive
(00:15:13) - Energy management, not time management
(00:19:37) - How do you implement these tactics in business?
(00:23:46) - Spiritual energy
(00:37:36) - Managing energy for life, work, and family & business
(00:54:52) - Instilling purpose as a leader
(01:04
#082 Paul Millerd: Profits in Publishing, Why Self-Publish, How Authors Make Big Money
Links:
Scribe Media
Paul’s website
The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd
Good Work by Paul Millerd
Paul on X
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:15) - Introducing Paul, and the early days of the publishing industry.
(00:06:48) - The earliest days of publishing, distribution of profit, and printing methods.
(00:17:46) - The 2014 E-book collusion
(00:20:27) - The self-publishing surge, the $4.99 sweet sp
#081 The Next Industrial Revolution w/ J. Storrs Hall [Replay]
This is a replay of episode 34 of this podcast.
Links:
Josh’s Bio - Autogeny.org
Where is my flying car? By J. Storrs Hall
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper
The Martian by Andy Weir
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Beyond AI by J. Storrs Hall
Nanofuture: What’s Next For Nanotechnology by J. Storrs Hall
Other Episode You’ll Like:
Solocast #3: Nuclear, Nanotech, and the next Industrial Revolutio
#080 Solocast #3: Nuclear, Nanotech, and the next Industrial Revolution [Replay]
This episode is a replay of episode 22 of this podcast.
Links:
Eric’s Blog
Eric’s blog post on digital scarcity
Eric’s Blog post on The Cost of Trust
Technological revolutions and Financial Capital by Carlota Perez
Topics:
(0:08) - Introducing the Web3 discussion
(4:13) - What is the Blockchain?
(6:06) - Lowering transaction costs across Web1, Web2 & Web3
(9:46) - Creating cheap, digit
#079 Andrew Wilkinson: De-risking Leverage, Investing vs. Operating, and the Best Part About Business [Replay]
[This is a replay of episode #002]
Andrew Wilkinson is the co-founder of Tiny, a venture capital firm that has helped to build over 25 profitable internet businesses over the last 15 years. He got his start founding MetaLab, one of the world’s top design agencies. He has gone from working out of his apartment a little over a decade ago, to today overseeing a group of companies with over 300 employ
#078 David Senra + Mitchell Baldridge #5: David’s Private Conference, Writing Books, and Building Networks
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:24) - Recapping FoundersOnly Conference
(00:36:36) - Helping others first
(00:44:32) - Baldridge updates & the power of working hard
(01:03:46) - How do you want to spend your time?
(01:10:38) - Great book recs, Scribe, and the knowledge gap
(01:44:38) - Unethical founders
(02:00:56) - Optimizing for usefulness
Links:
Founders Podcast
Mitchell Baldridge on X
Get
#077 Alex Komoroske: Systems Thinking, Builders vs Gardeners, and Working In Large Organizations
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:52) - The Gardener of Systems
(00:07:43) - Builders vs. Gardeners
(00:11:09) - Who are the best farmers of miracles?
(00:16:52) - How did you become a “systems” person?
(00:23:45) - What does Systems Thinking look like for you?
(00:53:09) - Alex’s Slime Mold deck
(00:55:12) - The iterative, adjacent possible
(00:59:53) - Alex’s experience at Google
(01:03:12) - AI
#076 The Alliance of Entrepreneurs and Scientists with Arkady Kulik of RPV
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:43) - Russian interpretations of friendship
(00:09:28) - Thoughts on the state of society and its rate of technological adoption
(00:13:22) - Creating alliances between entrepreneurs, capitalists, and scientists
(00:17:17) - Rick Rubin on Creativity in Investing
(00:20:55) - Does Taste exist in the world of VC?
(00:26:06) - Becoming a better Communicator
(00:40:59
#075 Flywheel Masterclass, Flying Planes, and Building For Creators with Nathan Barry of Convertkit
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:05:10) - The decision to live in Idaho
(00:08:21) - Nathan’s flying hobby
(00:15:09) - Building Flywheels
(00:46:07) - Incentive compensation and giving people ownership
(01:06:39) - Inflection points in building ConverKit
(01:14:16) - How to work on a ton of things
(01:23:15) - What are the rules of thumb you use the most in life?
Links:
Nathan Barry on X
ConvertKi
#74 Rolling Fun #8: New LPs, Mark-ups, Giant Guns for Space Cargo, How to Find a Lead Investor, Software for Manufacturing, AI for Ecomm.
Links:
Join us in Rolling Fun!
Hear our other Rolling Fun eps!
Rolling Fun GPs:
Al Doan - Founder of Creativity Inc., a $100m+ collection of e-commerce brands. Founder of Pretzel. BS from BYU Hawaii, OPM at HBS. Makes one hell of a peach cobbler. (Twitter, LinkedIn)
Bo Fishback - Founder of Lightspeed Genomics (acq 2008), Orbis Biosciences (acq 2020), Zaarly (acq 2020). BS in Biomedical Engineeri
#073 Rolling Fun #7: Q4 Updates: Nuclear Fusion, AI for Kids, AI Manufacturing — and how founders can find lead investors
Links:
Join us in Rolling Fun!
Hear our other Rolling Fun eps!
Rolling Fun GPs:
Al Doan - Founder of Creativity Inc., a $100m+ collection of e-commerce brands. Founder of Pretzel. BS from BYU Hawaii, OPM at HBS. Makes one hell of a peach cobbler. (Twitter, LinkedIn)
Bo Fishback - Founder of Lightspeed Genomics (acq 2008), Orbis Biosciences (acq 2020), Zaarly (acq 2020). BS in Biomedical Engineeri
#072 The First Artificial Human Arm with Tyler Hayes of Atom Limbs
Links:
Atom Limbs
Waitlist
Crowdfunding Round - Wefunder
Tyler on X
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:19) - Inside building Atom Limbs
(00:18:37) - The process of researching what knowledge was needed to build this company
(00:27:26) - Feedback loops in prosthetics
(00:29:23) - Where is Atom Limbs today?
(00:40:48) - Wild, irresponsible speculation: Where do you hope this company will be in 50
#071 Robotic Delivery Tunnels with Garrett Scott of Pipedream Labs
Links:
Garrett Scott on X
Pipedream Labs
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:00) - Pipedream
(00:08:33) - What’s the existing infrastructure for this product?
(00:12:55) - Finding geographical partners
(00:14:52) - Hyperlogistics, regulations, and long-tail e-commerce
(00:30:35) - What are the toughest technical problems?
(00:34:32) - The ability to master multiple disciplines
(00:37:18) - The chal
#070 Rolling Fun #6: Investing in Robotic Prosthetics, 10x Batteries. Al meets MrBeast.
Links:
Join us in Rolling Fun!
Hear our other Rolling Fun eps!
Ouros
AltHQ
Zencastr
Atom Limbs
General Fabrication Company
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:57) - Dear Listener
(00:09:44) - Eric’s life as a CEO & Scribe
(00:17:14) – Rolling Fun Q2 Investments
(00:30:21) - Rolling Fun Q3 Investments
(00:41:26) - Lessons from playing basketball with Mr. Beast for 3 days
To support the costs of pro
#069 David Senra + Mitchell Baldridge #4: Old Books, New Events, and A Surprise CEO Job
Links:
David Senra on X
Mitchell on X
Founders Podcast
Better Bookkeeping
Mentioned on the episode:
Fiftyyears.com
Foundersonly.com
Poor Charlie’s Almanac
Liar’s Poker
Atomic Habits
The Pathless Path
Morgan Housel books
Tren Griffin Blog - 25iq
Brent Beshore on meeting Charlie Munger
Who is Michael Ovitz?
Powerhouse by James Andrew Miller
The Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness
Blake Robbins on Twi
#068 Behind the Scenes of a Nuclear Microreactor Startup with Matt Loszak, Founder CEO of Aalo Atomics
Links for Matt’s stuff:
Aalo.com
Matt on Twitter
Aalo on Twitter
Aalo Job Board
Link to invest alongside Eric in deals like Aalo: rolling.fun
Links to stuff mentioned:
Decouple Podcast
Titans of Nuclear Podcast
Nuclear Barbarian Substack
Atomic Awakening by James Mahaffey
Why Nuclear Power Has Been a Flop by Jack Devanney
Topics:
(00:03:08) How the popular opinion of nuclear has changed from t
#067 Room-Temperature Superconductors and Nuclear Fusion with Andrew Cote
Links:
Andrew on Twitter
Andrew’s Substack
The AI Salon
Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital by Carlota Perez
Topics:
(00:00:00) Eric welcomes you to the episode
(00:03:20) The rocketing popularity of superconductors
(00:05:28) The LK-99 Superconductor Breakthrough
(00:19:44) How to commercialize room-temp superconductors
(00:25:36) The value of superconductors and their impact
(00:34:
#066 World-Changing Potential of Next-Gen Batteries with Eli Dourado and Ethan Loosbrock (Ouros Energy)
Links:
Center for Growth and Opportunity
Where’s my Flying Car by J. Storrs Hall
Eli on Twitter
Eli’s Substack
Ethan on Twitter
Ouros Energy
Episode #32 of Smart Friends: book recap of Where’s My Flying Car?
Episode #34 of Smart Friends w/ J. Storrs Hall
Episode #58 of Smart Friends w/ Brett Kugelmass
Timestamps:
(00:04:09) Eli Dourado & Ethan Loosbrock’s backgrounds
(00:05:53) Impact of Next-Gen
#065 David Senra + Mitchell Baldridge #3: Recap Capital Camp, Lunch with Sam Zell
Links:
David on Twitter
Mitchell on Twitter
Founders Podcast
Stuff mentioned:
Jocko Go Drink
Capital Camp
People mentioned:
Jeremy Giffon on Twitter
Brent Beshore on Twitter
Clayton Dorge - CEO of Capital Camp
Books mentioned:
Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Coulombe
In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules by Stacy
#064 The Synthesis of Media and Ecommerce with Kevin Espiritu of Epic Gardening
Links
Epic Gardening
Kevin Espiritu on YouTube
Creator Capitalists post from Eric
Kevin’s first appearance on Smart Friends
Scribemedia.com/consult
Timestamps
(00:04:23) Kevin’s career leading to content
(00:14:00) What did raising capital unlock for you?
(00:20:36) Attaching a dollar value to your niche
(00:27:08) What is your high-leverage work today?
(00:28:24) What do you see for Epic Garde
#063 Turning Discoveries Into Companies with Sam Arbesman of Lux Capital
Topics:
(00:04:26) - Who are your influences?
(00:08:57) - When Facts Expire: The Half-life of Knowledge
(00:22:57) - The Playbook behind Boston Dynamics and DeepMind
(00:28:36) - Research Orgs other than Academia, Govt, and Industry
(00:31:00) - DARPA and Speculative Technologies
(00:39:08) - Ink & Switch
(00:41:13) - Challenges of University Tech Transfer Offices
(00:47:42) - Transforming the f
#062 Meeting Charlie Munger and Starting RE Costseg with David Senra and Mitchell Baldridge
Links:
David on Twitter
Mitchell on Twitter
Founders Podcast
Invest like the best
How to Take Over the World
Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
Joe Lonsdale - Lessons from Peter Thiel
Topics:
(5:51) - David’s dinner with Charlie Munger
(29:33) - The power of Podcasting, Chris Powers, and innovation
(36:21) - How to make a successful Podcast
(47:42) - The Scarcity of G
#061 How CEOs Build with AI - Sean Devine of XBE
Links:
XBE
Sean on Twitter & LinkedIn
ChatGPT
ChatGPT-4
BarelyKnown.com
OpenAI
CoPilot
Ben’s Bites newsletter
BaeKayla.com
Support our Sponsor:
Bread: https://www.madebybread.com/
Topics:
(5:04) - Setting the stage: Sean’s company & programming background
(20:38) - Part 1: Individual Contributor AI Applications: ChatGPT 4
(44:23) - Part 2: Product Improvement AI Applications
(1:11:40) - Part 3
#060 Making Data Honest (and Valuable) with Omar ElNaggar (Weavechain) and Zach Pettet (Money20/20)
Topics:
(4:21) - Introducing Omar & Zach (nerds)
(5:30) - Why will Web3 data take 100% of the market?
(7:22) - What are data flows?
(14:40) - Does the whole world need to be on Web3 to execute your vision?
(18:02) - Is there a gamification to this whole approach?
(25:05) - Are you seeing finance being the first industry to adopt Web3 Data flows?
(34:29) - CryptoPoops.com (Finest shit on the intern
#059 Rolling Fun #5: Investing in Nuclear, Ecommerce Data, and AI Productivity
Helpful Links:
The Rolling Fun(d)
Al on Twitter
Bo on LinkedIn
Matt Loszak on Twitter
Midjourney
ChatGPT
Portfolio companies Mentioned:
FasterBetter
Solve.io
Sponsors:
Athena: Get a free first month (Worth $3k!) when you sign up with my code: athenago.me/eric-jorgenson
Listen and Learn more about Athena here: Creative EA Delegation with Athena on the Podcast
Topics:
(3:49) - Life Updates:
#058 Scaling Nuclear Energy, Saving The World – Bret Kugelmass of Last Energy
Links:
Bret Kugelmass on LinkedIn
Last Energy
Titans of Nuclear Podcast
Energy Impact Podcast
Marc Andreesen regulatory capture podcast episode
The Energy Impact Center
Decouple Podcast
Invest your money alongside ours in high-tech, high-growth startups: Rolling.fun
Rolling Fun Podcast episodes:
Rolling Fun Ep. 1
Rolling Fun Ep. 2
Rolling Fun Ep. 3
Rolling Fun Ep. 4
Sponsors:
Athena: Get a f
#057 Startup To Scale, What CEOs Learn - Austen Allred (Bloomtech) and Al Doan (Missouri Star Quilt Co)
Links:
Austen on Twitter
Al on Twitter
Bloomtech (Formerly Lambda School)
Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Coulombe
Rolling.fun
Rolling Fun Podcast episodes:
Rolling Fun Ep. 1
Rolling Fun Ep. 2
Rolling Fun Ep. 3
Rolling Fun Ep. 4
Creative EA Delegation with Athena on the Podcast
Sponsors:
Athenago.com
MadeByBread.com
Topics:
(6:29) - Warming up & Austen escaping San Francisco
(13:35) - Catching
#056 New York Times’ Radical Distortions and Fabrications with Ashley Rindsberg, Author of “The Gray Lady Winked”
Links:
The Gray Lady Winked by Ashley Rindsberg
Ashley on Twitter
Ashley on Substack
Ashley’s writing
Sponsor:
MadeByBread.com
GiveWell.org
Topics:
(5:02) - The impact of Balaji’s love for your book
(6:54) - When did you realize this book needed to be written?
(10:35) - Rejected by publishers
(11:44) - What changed? How did this get published?
(13:51) - The research and writing process
(18:
#055 Crypto Business Banking and Long-Term Blockchain Applications with Grace Guo of Domo and Mitchell Baldridge
Links:
Domo.so
Grace on Twitter
Mitchell on Twitter
Domo on Twitter
Jorgenson’s Soundbox #38 with Athena
Jorgenson’s Soundbox #52 with Zach Pettet
Sponsor:
Athenago.com
Givewell.org
Topics:
(5:21) - Introducing Grace and Mitchell
(5:58) - Who are your heroes?
(8:27) - How did you discover there was a need for Domo?
(17:22) - How are you thinking about incorporating fiat-based compani
#054 Engineering an Acquisition, Grant Funding, and Nanotech Pharma with Maria Flynn
Links:
Ambiologix
Rolling Fun
SBIR requirements
Participating governmental agencies
State funds for SBIR
Topics:
(6:00) - Maria’s origin story & the founding of Orbis
(12:03) - What is this technology?
(13:46) - What was Corey’s breakthrough?
(16:06) - How many months of burn did you have from the seed round?
(17:42) - What was the process of running down your first 4 contracts?
(18:49)
#053 Rolling Fun #4: Q4 Portfolio Recap, Crypto Long-view, Uncapped Notes, and Fund Growth
Links:
Rolling Fun #1
Rolling Fun #2
Rolling Fun #3
Portfolio
Al on Twitter
Bo on Twitter
Positive Food Co.
Omella
Tonic Audio
Stell Engineering
NSION
Gently.com
Glyph
Terran Robotics
Topics:
(5:34) - Crypto has imploded, thanks FTX! What’s the long-term play?
(21:00) - Life and news updates
(23:20) - Q4 Investment updates
(1:01:00) - Elon and Twitter
(1:06:22) - Discussing the pros and c
#052 Money 20/20, Fintech Innovations, and Interviewing Legends with Zach Anderson Pettet
Links:
Zach on Twitter & LinkedIn
Money 20/20
For Fintech’s Sake Podcast
TripleBlind
Rule 1033
Propel
Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller
Topics:
(4:25) - Recap the last episode with Zach and Eric
(5:34) - Fintech Industry Overview
(15:21) - Money 20/20 – the Biggest Fintech Conference in the world
(24:02) - Regulation looms over Fintech, always
(27:12) - The “Off The Record” Stage at Money 20/20
#051 AI Evolution: ComputerVision, Olfactory Computation, and Neural Nets with Max Olson
Topics:
(5:29) - Max’s background and career
(14:15) - Is it reasonable to use Neural Net, Deep Learning and Machine learning interchangeably?
(26:37) - The Future of AI
(39:18) - Google & AI Writing
(49:42) - Hiring AI for help in our personal lives
(55:02) - How Improvements in Robotics will massively push things forward
(57:12) - Computers being able to smell and taste
(1:04:56) - Scarier futur
#050 Growing Podcasts, Bookkeeping Biz, and Creator-Led Companies with David Senra and Mitchell Baldridge
Topics:
(4:12) - David on how to grow a podcast & Mitchell as a connector
(13:32) - David on changing the structure of his podcast
(15:58) - Creator-Led Business, Kobe Bryant, Arnold Schwarzenegger & Balaji
(36:49) - The genius of Berkshire Hathaway & The power of Twitter
(51:24) - Creator Economics & Story time with David Senra
(1:06:38) - Eric’s impact on David
(1:09:48) - Mitchell’s career mode
#049 Rolling Fun #3: Q3 Portfolio Recap and Life Updates: Crafting, Smart Kitchens, the API for the Auto Industry
Topics:
(1:05) - Life updates and catching up from Al’s Quilting Capital: Hamilton, MO
(20:08) - Fund updates for end of Q2
(25:15) - Fund updates for Q3: Omello, Ohm, Driv.ly & Glyph
(49:35) - Closing out Q3
(50:28) - Updates on old portfolio companies: StableCoin, Terran, Gently
(55:23) - How to get involved with Rolling Fun!
Links:
Rolling Fun #1
Rolling Fun #2
Portfolio
Al on Twitter
Bo on
#048 Balaji’s Most Epic, Personal, In-Depth Interview Ever (Transhumanism, Investing, and more)
Topics:
(5:53) - Start of Balaji Interview
(6:24) - How would you introduce yourself to a stranger?
(8:19) - Do you think of your work as “whatever it takes” to advance your ideology?
(10:05) - What would you like to see most achieved?
(13:14) - What are the things you believe you are the best at?
(20:52) - What are the ideas you are most confident telling others that you know for certain?
(30:2
#047 Track Zach Marshall #4: The Services Trap, Firing Customers, Chicken-and-Egg Problems
Topics:
(7:05) - Updates from Zach: hiring, firing, building software, and finding PMF
(13:41) - What drove the decision to focus more on the marketplace rather than services?
(20:18) - How different was it working with a fund rather than angels?
(23:03) - Cost cutting measures
(24:35) - What was it about services that made them not repeatable or scalable?
(37:00) - Fear mongering
(38:19) - Regio
#046 Finding Your Peak of Productivity: Ultraworking with Sebastian Marshall
Topics:
(1:46) - Who are your heroes?
(7:25) - Sebastian’s affinity for studying history, sports, art & professional gamers
(11:30) - How do you take lessons learned from these studies and apply them to entrepreneurship?
(13:01) - Why do you approach life and work with a lens of ruthless optimization?
(18:12) - Breaking down the concept of ‘productivity’
(26:56) - Non-value producing w
#045 The Future of Nuclear Energy: Politics, Culture, and Technology with Mark Nelson
Topics:
(3:15) - Mark’s career & background
(4:40) - Do you think there is a popular renaissance behind Nuclear Energy?
(6:27) - Realizing the regulatory problem holding back energy advancement
(15:35) - The costs behind Nuclear
(18:06) - The Nuclear customer & Europe’s approach to Nuclear
(31:46) - France’s energy price crisis
(37:00) - The history of Nuclear Power
(51:07) - The n
#044 Brainstorming Bologna with Matt Ferrel and Ben Bator
Topics:
(5:14) - Matt & Ben’s friendship origin
(8:42) - Starting Texts From Last Night
(18:17) - Matt’s early career with Google, Coachella & Lafayette American
(43:33) - Mille Mitten
(58:34) - Tik Tok, Ads and Algorithms
(1:06:55) - Elon Musk & Twitter
(1:15:38) - Fixing Movie Theaters & car charging infrastructure
(1:38:07) - Fixing conferences
(1:50:50) - Exercise: Rebranding
#043 Automation and Delegation to buy $500 million+ of real estate, with Rohun Jauhar of JT Capital
Links:
Rohun on Twitter
JT Capital
The Sovereign Individual by James Davidson
CBRE
JLL
4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
Loom
Maven
The Fear Setting Exercise - Tim Ferriss
Topics:
(6:10) - Why Eric and Rohun Should have been friends 10 years ago
(8:30) - Rohun’s Heroes & family dynamic
(15:44) - Journeying into Real Estate
(20:52) - Getting Reps: Underwriting Deals
(26:57- The import
#042 Black Swans, The End of Jobs, and Long Volatility with Taylor Pearson of Mutiny Fund
Topics:
(6:21) - What is your specific knowledge?
(7:20) - Taylor’s career
(12:38) - Transaction Cost Economics
(20:02) - The work behind Taylor’s first book: The End of Jobs
(21:20) - Was publishing that book a major inflection point in your career?
(23:53) - Taylor’s writing on the crypto space and work in investing & finance
(29:03) - Mutiny Funds
(32:57) - The Long-Volatility S
#041 Devouring Founder’s Biographies, Self-Belief, and the Power of Podcasting with David Senra of Founders Podcast
Topics:
(3:48) - David Hijacks the podcast: Eric’s Heroes, Munger as a copywriter and “Jeffisms”
(8:31) - How did you start Founders Pod and build it into a business?
(27:39) - How did you engrain this level of discipline in your craft?
(34:41) - Emulating Ed Thorpe
(43:59) - The power of podcasting
(50:43) - Eric and David discuss career goals
(57:46) - Thoughts on the ‘serial entre
#040 Customer-Driven Products: How Brett Kopf built “Slack for Schools” and launched Omella
Topics:
(7:11) - Brett’s earliest memories of his strengths
(9:58) - Understanding different skills and abilities
(13:36) - Brett’s early career
(18:08) - What was the moment of conception for Remind?
(26:03) - What were some pivotal moments early on?
(30:08) - How much did Twilio aid your growth?
(31:18) - What role did investor selection play into the success of Remind?
(35:00) -
#039 Track Zach Marshall #3: 10x-ing your company in 4 Months
(2:29) - How clear is the picture of how far you’ve come in the past 4 months?
(3:27) - Recapping Track Zach #2
(10:36) - What are customers buying now and how have the service offerings changed?
(20:06) - Do you know the bootstrapping process of these other industry marketplace products?
(21:49) - How did you arrive at home security audit and family protection as the right first products to offer
#038 Creative EA Delegation, the Corporation of You, and Personal Leverage with Robert Hayes and Chris Ho of Athena
Topics:
(4:56) - Chris’ background and work at Athena
(6:53) - What does a Chief Client Officer do?
(10:20) - Robert’s background and work at Athena
(17:00) - Robert recruiting Chris to Athena
(20:20) - What distinguishes Robert as an operator
(25:02) - Robert’s first year with Athena and how the company has scaled
(33:39) - Chris’ decision to join Athena
(37:28) - Creating a great experience for
#037 Inside Buying & Selling Internet Businesses with Thomas Smale, Founder/CEO of FE International
The sponsor for this week’s episode is Founders Podcast.
David Senra, the host of Founders Podcast, is a biography-reading machine. If you don’t have time to spend 40 hours reading the full-length biography of some gilded-age entrepreneur, listening to David’s high-quality recap is the next best thing.
The Founders Podcast is a paid podcast that costs $99/year or $299 for lifetime access. Subscr
