Founder's Journal
Alex Lieberman, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Morning Brew, provides an insider's perspective on building businesses. He explores the founder's journey, from the challenges of starting from scratch to frameworks for scaling to millions in revenue, as well as the emotional ups and downs along the way.
Episodes
The secret business weapon
Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about EOS, an operating system for running & scaling your business successfully.
In 2019, Morning Brew used EOS to scale the business from 15 people and $3 million in revenue to 300 people and $75 million in revenue.
Michael Girdley is an entrepreneur and content creator who has a holding company of 12 businesses that do $100m in annual revenue. Mich
How to Find Your Zone of Genius
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.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https
How to Get Your First 1,000 Users
Today’s read is by one of my favorite startup creators, Lenny Rachitsky. The essay, How To Kickstart & Scale a Consumer Business, breaks down the seven proven strategies to acquire your first 1,000 users as a B2C startup. I’m going to read through each of the strategies, share some examples that Lenny provides, and provide some of my own thoughts on early growth.
Original essay: https://www.lenny
13 Dangerous Psychological Biases
In 1995, Charlie Munger gave a speech called the Psychology of Human Misjudgment, which contains 25 psychological tendencies by humans that can lead to bad decision making & bad outcomes. Today, Alex shares his 13 favorite & provide examples of how they impact your abilities and success as an entrepreneur.
Link to the original speech: https://fs.blog/great-talks/psychology-human-misjudgment/
Lin
How to Crush a Quarterly Offsite
On this episode of Founder’s Journal, I teach you how to crush a quarterly meeting.
V/TO: https://www.eosworldwide.com/blog/whats-in-your-v-to
Rocks 101: https://www.eosworldwide.com/blog/creating-the-best-rocks
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.co
How to deal with imposter syndrome
Today I share my experiences with imposter syndrome and some techniques I use to cope with it.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbarista
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-l
How to Not F*ck Up Your Meetings
Let’s face it…most meetings suck.
Even when they’re set up with all the best intentions, they often end up being a waste of everyone’s time. So what can be done?
Alex Lieberman has 7 important lessons to keep your meetings under control. By incorporating these lessons, you’ll know when a meeting is needed or not (Hint: most of the time, it’s not).
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto.
Early days building a decacorn
Alex hands the mic to Josh Reeves, co-founder & CEO of Gusto. Josh walks us through major milestones in the first 12 months of building a multibillion dollar people platform.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X
Focus, fresh eyes, and pet psychics
Alex does a Founder's Journal variety show, covering some of his favorite topics from the week:
- Building one company vs. many
- The power of channel partnerships
- Pet psychics exist?
- AI audio business idea
- Great product thinking
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - h
I'm raising money
Alex talks about raising a preseed round for Distro & some takeaways from the process thus far.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbarista
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex
Founder Mt. Rushmore
Alex talks about his startup heroes and why they've changed over time.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbarista
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/
Learn more ab
Hire wrecking balls
Alex tells the story of a wrecking ball he recently hired. What a wrecking ball is, why they're so valuable, and what it looks like in practice.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbar
Should I quit?
Alex shares his thoughts on quitting your business & how he thought about it while building Morning Brew.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbarista
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin
Pitching preseed investors
Alex takes you through his 7 tips for pitching early stage investors on a preseed round.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbarista
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieb
Agencies are wildly underrated
Alex talks about why agencies are underrated especially in the age of AI. He shares why agencies are considered unsexy (relative to software businesses) & why that's about to change.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.co
A better way to interview
Alex walks you through his new, 5-step process for interviewing potential employees & how he's using AI to improve his approach.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbarista
• Linkedin
What motivates entrepreneurs
Alex breaks down the different levels of motivation for entrepreneurs. He shares what motivated him early in his journey (while building Morning Brew) and what motivates him today.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
Own the internet
Alex walks you through his process for building an employee influencer program.
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Check Out Alex’s Stuff:
• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/
• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/
• distro - https://youdistro.com/
• X - https://x.com/businessbarista
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/
Lear
A primer on seedstrapping
Alex breaks down seedstrapping. What it is, why it's in vogue, what the internet thinks, and how you should think about it in the context of your business.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(4:26) Intro to seedstrapping
(6:20) Why seedstrapping is in vogue
(9:15) Founder take on seedstrapping
(12:40) VCs views on seedstrapping
(14:00) My take on seedstrapping
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Thanks to our
Steal my Idea: Stack Overflow for AI Prompts
Alex pitches you on Codex, his AI prompt database idea. He gives you the elevator pitch & likely questions a venture investor would have.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(2:28) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal
(4:00) What is Codex?
(4:20) Two truths in prompting
(6:05) Elevator pitch
(8:50) Biggest investor questions
(13:05) Conclusion
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Hea
Crush your procrastination
Alex talks through the science of procrastination, his own journey with it, and tools he uses to take charge of it.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(2:28) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal
(3:33) Why we procrastinate
(5:23) Cognitive biases
(6:28) Hyperbolic discounting
(7:21) Temptation bundling
(8:40) Social commitments
(10:00) Conclusion
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto.
Facing your limiting beliefs
Alex walks through limiting beliefs he’s faced from childhood through entrepreneurship as well as his process for healthily navigating them.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(2:28) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal
(2:57) Exploring Limiting Beliefs
(3:48) High School Limiting Beliefs
(5:01) Morning Brew Limiting Beliefs
(8:07) Post-Exit Limiting Beliefs
(9:13) Understanding and Addres
How to run a quarterly offsite
Alex breaks down how quarterly offsites are run at his companies & what separates great offsites from royal wastes of time.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(2:28) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal
(4:09) General thoughts on offsites
(4:48) Well run vs. unproductive offsite
(5:29) Key leadership roles
(7:25) Sticking to the program
(8:50) Item 1: Check-in
(9:30) Item 2: Previous qu
LEAKED MEMO from Shopify CEO
Alex breaks down a leaked internal memo by Tobi Lutke, CEO of Shopify. The memo details Tobi’s view on AI, expectations of how Shopify employees will use AI, and six AI action items for the company, top-down.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal
(3:32) Shopify CEO AI interest
(4:48) Leaked AI Memo
(6:03) AI step function change
(8:18) What is refl
How I find business ideas
Alex shares his 6 strategies for identifying business ideas.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal
(3:34) Business ideas are everything
(5:21) How I find business ideas
(6:25) Turning brain off autopilot
(7:43) Friction finder
(8:10) The why ladder
(9:05) Game of ‘what if’
(9:50) Scan for repetition
(10:36) Content-based ideas
(11:40) Conversation
I launched an AI agent
Alex breaks down his new business, Distro, the first AI content strategist.
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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
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com
My biz's 6 defining moments
Alex does a 2-year lookback on his 7-figure B2B content agency, storyarb.
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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
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Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex
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Epi
Conferences are (mostly) a waste
Alex does a SXSW 2025 recap.
Here’s what to expect:
Why conferences are a waste
Two exceptions to the rule
7 stops & lessons
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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 Cr
Being lazy is good
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.
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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
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Thank
$12 billion startup caught spying
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
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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) Imp
Becoming a multipreneur
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
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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 s
7 tactics for non-cringy sales
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
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Show Notes:
(0:00) A note from our sponsor
(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal
(3:03) The Misconception of Sal
How Pieter Levels Hit $67k MRR in 3 Weeks
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
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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
(6:1
Why boring work is inevitable
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,
Can you make your business feel “effortless”?
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.
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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
Navigating Career Pivots (Kyle Hagge, Chief of Staff to the COO at Morning Brew & Co-Host of Per My Last Email)
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
How to Become a Marketing Master (Noah Kagan, Appsumo & Million Dollar Weekend)
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
How to Become Relentless as an Entrepreneur (Kian Sadeghi, Nucleus)
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
How to Identify Top 1% Talent (Keith Rabois, Investor in Doordash, YouTube, Airbnb & Lyft)
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
How to Use Entrepreneurship to Propel Personal Growth (Jesse Pujji, Ampush & Gateway X)
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
How to Reverse Engineer Great Business Ideas (Sam Parr, The Hustle & Hampton)
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!
Founder’s Journal’s Next Chapter
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
My New Business
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
#FoundersJour
Why I Stepped Down As CEO
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 her
Why We Sold Morning Brew
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
#F
Growing Morning Brew from 0 to 10,000 Subscribers
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
Lessons from CMOs, Great Storytelling, Freelance vs. Full-time, Follow Your Energy
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 #Entrepreneu
Feeling Unskilled, Curing Cancer, and Going All-In on Morning Brew
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
Wa
A Little Throwback
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.c
Always Be Shipping
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
Go Direct
Episode 122: Lulu Meservey is the former Chief Communications Officer of Activision Blizzard and Substack. This episode, I read her recent manifesto, which details the importance of founders crafting their narrative, learning how to communicate, and going direct to their audiences via social media.
Original essay: https://www.rostra.co/
Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea
The Opportunity Cost of Everything
Episode 121: Writer, Columbia Business School grad, and college athlete Jack Raines' essay, "The Opportunity Cost of Everything," forces readers to ask themselves the only question that really matters: If I was nearing the end of my life, would I be happy with how I am currently spending my time? It is a question that any human being must ask themselves periodically, but I find that it is especial
How I Lost $10,000,000
Episode 120: Andrew Wilkinson is the co-founder and CEO of Tiny, a publicly traded holding company trying to be Berkshire Hathaway but for internet companies. In 2007, Andrew started a Canada-based design agency called MetaLab, which grew to $40-50 million in revenue & $20 million in profit. After trying and failing to launch other businesses, Andrew pivoted to buying businesses to grow his holdin
The Dangers of LTV
Episode 119: LTV, or lifetime value, has become the gold standard for startups, specifically how they measure the effectiveness of their various marketing channels. LTV does have merit, and it is a helpful proxy to prioritize marketing and understand the economics of each customer you acquire, but if relied on entirely, it can be misleading at best and harmful to your business at worst. I’ve found
7-Figure Business in 48 Hours
Episode 118: Million Dollar Weekend, by Noah Kagan, the founder & CEO of AppSumo, walks you through the step-by-step process for building a 7-figure business in 48 hours. I know it sounds too good to be true, and no, you’re not going to make $1 million in 2 days, but after reading the book, I can promise you that you will have a repeatable process for going from business idea to revenue in 48 hour
Why Software is Eating the World
Episode 117: Just under 13 years ago, Marc Andreessen proclaimed that software would transform every industry. He couldn’t have been more right; software did eat the world. 7 of the 10 largest companies in the world today are technology or software businesses, and Andreessen Horowitz, the investment firm Marc founded in 2009, grew to become the largest VC in the world. Today, we’re going to be rea
How to Hire Well
Episode 116: I found one of the best resources on hiring by one of the most well-respected founders and early-stage investors, Elad Gil. In this episode, I'll be reading highlights from the Hiring chapter of Elad’s startup book, High Growth Handbook, and cover job descriptions, interview questions, candidate scoring, work projects, building a diverse team, and more.
Original essay: https://growth
7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy
Episode 115: Today’s essay breaks down one of the best business strategy books I’ve ever read.
Startup founder Abi Tunggal breaks down 7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer, which is a book about the seven proven business strategies that lead to sustained competitive advantage for companies. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand each of these strategies, why they created powerful moats, and examples
Amp it Up
Episode 114: Yesterday, Snowflake announced that its CEO, Frank Slootman, was retiring. Slootman, former CEO of Data Domain and ServiceNow, is such a successful and well-respected CEO that Snowflake's stock was down 24.5% or $17 billion. In honor of Slootman’s amazing leadership, defined by high standards and high intensity, I’m reading an article he wrote in 2018 about how he runs his companies.
How to Get Your First 1,000 Users
Episode 113: Today’s read is by one of my favorite startup creators, Lenny Rachitsky. The essay, How To Kickstart & Scale a Consumer Business, breaks down the seven proven strategies to acquire your first 1,000 users as a B2C startup. I’m going to read through each of the strategies, share some examples that Lenny provides, and provide some of my own thoughts on early growth.
Original essay: http
Rich vs. King
Episode 112: Today’s read was recommended by my buddy Sam Parr & it was written by Jason Cohen, a serial entrepreneur who has built 4 businesses, resulting in 2 exits and 2 unicorns. The essay is called Rich vs. King in the Real World & it explores Jason’s decision to sell his business, the unexpected criticism he received from friends & colleagues, and why he believes it was ultimately the right
Second Job of a Startup CEO
Episode 111: In today's episode, I talk about transitioning from early-stage founder to late-stage CEO. I read the essay, The second job of a startup CEO by Ali Rowghan, Managing Director at Y Combinator, the former COO of Twitter, and CFO of Disney. Ali breaks down the three distinct jobs of a startup CEO and how to go from being a stage 1 doer-in-chief to a stage 2 company-builder-in-chief.
Ori
17 Startup Principles by Sam Altman
Episode 110: On today’s episode, I am going to break down 17 startup principles by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI & former President of YCombinator.
The essay is called What I Wish Someone Had Told Me & as I read the piece I found myself nodding from beginning to end. Sam managed to bottle up so many thoughts & experiences that I’ve had as an entrepreneur, but never articulated in such a clear way.
Imitate, Then Innovate
Episode 109: On today’s episode, I am going to break down & analyze an essay by one of my good friends & the super popular internet writer, David Perell. David is a prolific content creator, the founder of the super popular writing school Write of Passage, and the host of the writing podcast, How I Write. The essay I’ll be sharing is called Imitate, then Innovate, which explores entrepreneurs & cr
Why Market Size Matters
Episode 108: For today’s episode, I read and analyze startup founder Paras Chopra’s essay on market size from his online book Mental Models for Startup Founders. Chopra’s essay suggests that entrepreneurs should want to define their market as narrowly as possible.
Original essay: https://invertedpassion.com/define-your-market-as-narrowly-as-possible/
Send us an email and let us know what you thi
Visionary vs. Fraud
Episode 107: Today, I break down one of my favorite issues of one of my favorite newsletters, No Mercy No Malice, which explores why some entrepreneurs are considered visionaries and others are called frauds.
Original Essay: https://www.profgalloway.com/tell-me-a-story/
Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com
#FoundersJournal #Startups #Entre
Momentum is Everything
Episode 106: On today’s episode, I read and breakdown Speed as a Habit by David Girouard, CEO of Upstart and former President of Google Enterprise Apps. This essay was originally posted on First Round Review, one of my favorite startup blogs, and it talks about the importance of speed in decision making and execution when building a business.
Original essay: https://review.firstround.com/speed-as
The Great Online Game
Episode 105: For today’s episode, I read and break down The Great Online Game by Packy McCormick. This essay provides a completely new way of looking at the internet economy, and how you can structure your career and life in a manner that embraces curiosity, experimentation, and collaboration.
Original essay: https://www.notboring.co/p/the-great-online-game
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Active vs. Passive Listening
Episode 104: Today, I’m going to be breaking down an essay by Morgan Housel, one of my favorite internet writers. Morgan is a partner at Collaborative Fund and a New York Times best selling author of The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever, of which he’s sold over 4.5 million copies combined. If there’s one lesson you take from this amazing essay it is the importance of embracing wandering and cu
Why The Next Big Thing Looks Like a Toy? Ft. Apple Vision Pro
Episode 103: I’m going to break down a seminal essay by Andreesen Horowitz General Partner Chris Dixon. In 2010, Chris wrote an essay titled “The next big thing will start out looking like a toy” which talks about why the next big technology product always starts out by being dismissed and being considered “toy-like.” And while I think understanding this essay and Chris’ words are always important
Private Elon Musk Emails
Episode 102: For today’s episode, I’m going to be reading 3 emails from Elon Musk. These emails were initially just for Tesla employees’ eyes, but were eventually made public. I think these emails not only give good insight into the way in which Elon operates as a person & operates his businesses, but I also think there are great lessons hidden within each of these emails regardless of what you th
How to Get Rich (Without Getting Lucky)
Episode 101: I’m going to be reading quite possibly the most viral twitter thread in the world of business ever. In 2018, Naval Ravikant, wrote “How to Get Rich (Without Getting Lucky),” a 40-tweet thread that covers everything from what wealth is & what it isn’t to the power of leverage to finding your specific knowledge to the power of optimism. For those who don’t know him, Naval is the founder
Brian Chesky on Startups, Leadership, and Curiosity
Episode 100: On this episode, I’ll be sharing the best moments from Lenny Rachitsky’s recent interview with Brian Chesky, the co-founder & CEO of Airbnb.
Airbnb is a $95bn company that under Brian’s leadership has grown into a community of 4 million hosts welcoming over 1.5 billion guests across 220 countries.
These moments range from how politics & bureaucracy are created in a company to survivin
1,000 True Fans
Episode 99: I’m going to be reading & analyzing one of the most famous essays that has been published on the internet in the last 20 years: 1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly. Kevin Kelly is the founding Executive Editor of Wired magazine & he wrote 1,000 True Fans to illustrate the ability for creators on the internet to make a very meaningful living with a seemingly small number of consumers or cust
25 Lessons in 25 Years
Episode 98: I’m going to be breaking down a 45-minute video by one of the greatest startup minds of all-time, who quite possibly, you’ve never heard of. Bill Gross is the Founder of IdeaLab, considered by many to be the world’s first venture studio. Modeled after Thomas Edison’s Lab, a place where many ideas and inventions can be tested under one roof, IdeaLab went on to find 5,000 ideas, launch 1
A Founder’s Failure to Build a Billion-Dollar Company
Episode 97: On this episode, I talk with Sahil Lavingia about his 2019 essay titled “Reflecting on My Failure to Build a Billion-Dollar Company.” Sahil is the founder & CEO of Gumroad, an e-commerce platform for creators. Gumroad does nearly $20m per year, is highly profitable, and has no full-time employees. In the essay, Sahil talks about leaving Pinterest as its second employee in 2011, to buil
How to Spend a Startup’s $ Wisely
Episode 96: Most startups and their founders don’t spend their money well, often using it as a crutch for a bad product or a misguided tool for growing their business too quickly. Today, I’m going to read essays from Elad Gil, a successful entrepreneur and arguably the greatest angel investor in the world, and Paul Graham, the founder of Y Combinator, on spending your money wisely.
Elad Gil Essa
The First Amazon Shareholder Letter: Summarized & Analyzed
Episode 95: Today, I’m sharing one of the greatest pieces of business writing living on the internet today. It’s been hiding in plain sight since 1997 yet the fact every entrepreneur hasn’t read it is criminal. I’m talking about the very first Amazon shareholder letter written by Jeff Bezos the year that the company went public. It’s a 4 page, 1600-word letter, but it punches way above its word co
How to Find Your Zone of Genius
Episode 94: 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.
Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com
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Measuring Product Market Fit
Episode 93: Today, we’re talking about product market fit. Product market fit is one of those things that every startup founder obsesses over, but it’s always been this elusive thing that can’t be measured or quantified. Until now. Rahul Vohra, the founder & CEO of superhuman, which is the fastest email app ever, felt strongly that there had to be a better way to measure product market fit. A way
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