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Knowledge Project Intro Sixteen lessons learned from Bernie Marcus, the outlier: Bad money is worse than no money.Outcome over ego.Every customer is on loan.Bureaucracy is a fungus.Pitchers need Catchers.Promotions are an addiction; low prices are a discipline.It’s not a value until it costs you money.Win-Win or walk away.Hire people better than you.The best information isn’t in a spreadsheet; it’s in the customer walking out empty-handed.Invisible benefits often outweigh visible costs.The one-man show doesn’t scale.Instincts beat spreadsheets.The money is the scorecard, not the motivator.You’re never as smart as you think you are.Sometimes the company outgrows the people.Home Depot’s “Customer Bill of Rights” – the six things a customer wants to pay for: 1. The right assortment2. The right quantities3. The right price4. Associates on the sales floor who want to take care of customers5. Associates who have been properly trained in product knowledgeCulture isn’t what you say, it’s what you repeatedly do Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgBernie Marcus is the co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot. This is how he built a culture of ownership, kept going when everyone turned him down, nearly lost it all, and created one of the most successful retailers in history. ----- Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:00) Part 1: An Accidental Miracle (09:29) Part 2: A Golden Horseshoe Kick (25:49) Part 3: Building From Nothing (38:53) Part 4: Orange Everywhere (49:40) Part 5: The Legacy (54:17) Lessons ----- Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ fs.blog/membership------Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter------ Follow Shane Parrish:X: https://x.com/shaneparrish Insta: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/ ------ Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: .tech domains: Nothing says tech like being on .tech https://get.tech/ reMarkable: Get your paper tablet at https://www.reMarkable.com today ----- Sources: Marcus, Bernie, and Arthur Blank. Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion. New York: Crown Business, 1999. Best Practice Institute. "Bernie Marcus Interview." YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNP0YYDi1FY. ----- This episode is for informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Purpose with Jay Shetty Key Takeaways Engineering Thinking FrameworkEmbrace failure as discovery, foster insatiable curiosity, and iterate relentlessly The core principle: break things, test repeatedly, and view each failure as eliminating one wrong approachIf you can dream it, you can build it through iterative experimentation.Naive Optimism + Strategic ExecutionTurn ideas into action by combining an optimistic vision with a practical breakdown: define your end goal, decompose it into simple steps, identify knowledge gaps, and test incrementallyTransform fear into curiosity through hands-on building and reflection on lessons learned, rather than ego protection The Immersion Weekend Method: Dedicate 48 hours of complete immersion to explore new fascinations – consume every book, video, and resource available. This intensive sprint reveals whether something deserves permanent schedule integration and helps you fall in love with the process of incremental masteryDual-Track Success ModelAvoid binary thinking: maintain steady employment while pursuing passion projects during nights and weekends until they gain tractionThe most successful ventures pair a 10x visionary thinker with a logistics master (Jobs + Napoleon model), preventing burnout by keeping founders focused on their core love rather than pure managementContent that resonates triggers five core emotions: Adventure, humor, negativity, inspiration, or surprise More broadly: control only what’s in your sphere of influence, commit to “hell yes” decisions exclusively, and recognize that outcomes revert to the mean Things are never as extreme as they appear in the moment.Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgWhat idea have you been sitting on lately? What’s been holding you back from starting? Today, Jay sits down with engineer, innovator, and YouTube creator Mark Rober to explore the unexpected life experiences that shaped one of the internet’s most beloved minds. Mark shares the childhood moments that ignited his passion for building, breaking, and understanding how the world works, moments nurtured by a mother whose love, imagination, and encouragement helped lay the foundation for his life’s mission. He reflects on how her influence continues to ripple outward, inspiring millions of young people who learn, explore, and dream through his work today. Jay and Mark explore the mindset that carried Mark from NASA engineer to innovative educator, unpacking what it really means to “think like an engineer:” experiment boldly, embrace failure, and treat every setback as an opportunity to learn. They follow Mark’s unusual pivots, from designing Mars rover hardware to crafting Halloween costumes, to ultimately shaping a career that blends curiosity, storytelling, science, and play. Together they reveal the deeper lessons behind Mark’s most viral experiments: why creativity thrives when we stay childlike, how passion reveals itself through repetition, and why the most meaningful work grows from genuine excitement rather than algorithms or expectations. In this interview, you'll learn: How to Think Like an Engineer How to Stay Curious as an Adult How to Follow Your Passion Practically How to Build Ideas That Actually Work How to Find Creativity in Everyday Life How to Recognize Your Real Calling How to Inspire Others Through Your Work Keep following the questions that excite you, keep trying the things that scare you, and keep believing that you’re capable of far more than you realize. Your next breakthrough might be just one experiment, or one brave attempt away. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here. Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 01:16 Were You Always Creative? 04:02 Understanding the Real Impact of Your Life 06:55 What It Really Takes to Work at NASA 09:49 Learning to Think Like an Engineer 11:22 How Rovers Are Tested for Mars 12:20 Searching for Life Beyond Earth 13:24 Follow What You Truly Love Doing 16:11 If You Can Imagine It, You Can Build It 17:22 Practical Wisdom from a Lifelong Tinkerer 20:57 The Pivot from NASA to Apple 23:34 Turning Ideas into Actionable Success 24:45 What is the Engineering Design Process? 28:28 Why Embracing Failure Matters 29:57 Relearning Trust and Finding Love Again 34:56 The Power of Immersion Weekends 36:45 Making Learning Engaging Through Creativity 40:29 Why Mastery Is Worth Pursuing 41:40 Balancing Business with True Creativity 44:51 How Communication Shapes Great Storytelling 47:40 Two Common Mistakes Creators Make 52:30 Staying True to Your Creative Style 54:04 The Importance of Focusing on One Passion 56:44 The Hidden Failures Behind Viral Success 59:35 Giving Kids Room to Be Creative 01:04:30 Curiosity as the Root of Creativity 01:06:07 Inside a Real Creative Process 01:08:45 Where Do You Get Your Big Ideas? 01:11:46 The Mind-Bending Question of Life in the Universe 01:16:02 The Promise and Peril of Rapid AI Growth 01:19:56 Focusing on What You Can Truly Influence 01:24:57 Mark on Final Five Episode Resources: Mark Rober | X Mark Rober | Instagram Mark Rober | Facebook Mark Rober | LinkedIn Mark Rober | TikTok Mark Rober | YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My First Million Key Takeaways Check out the episode pageRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgGet Sam's guide to turn ChatGPT into your life coach: https://clickhubspot.com/hdp Episode 773: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk about the systems you need to hit your goals, Shaan’s new unpaid side hustle, and how to be a better communicator. — Show Notes: (0:00) 5-year journaling (2:09) The power of a good system (8;21) The power of reminders (10:38) Shaan's new career path (16:27) the 3 things that matter (27:38) high-standards (32:45) How to craft an earworms (42:42) giving back better (46:11) The voice in your head (50:26) Shaan talks to a ChatGPT coach about money (1:00:01) “VIdeo is the native tongue of the internet” — Check Out Shaan's Stuff: • Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com • Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire worldwide talent like Shaan and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than US equivalents. • Mercury - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies! Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC — Check Out Sam's Stuff: • Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/ • Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/ • Copy That - https://copythat.com • Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth • Sam’s List - http://samslist.co/ My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano //

A16z Podcast Key Takeaways 1. Alignment is an Ongoing Process, Not a Fixed State: Alignment must be reframed as a continuous, adaptive process rather than a destination Like families constantly reknitting the social fabricThe industry wrongly assumes “abstract alignment” to a singular good, when it actually requires aligning to specific, evolving values as society makes new moral discoveries about cooperation2. Tool vs. Being: The Critical Fork in AGI Development Major: AI labs are fundamentally divided on whether they’re building tools or beings AGI, by definition, will be a being, and applying steering-control paradigms (which work for tools) to beings recreates historical mistakes with entities “like us, but different.”Non-optional steering without reciprocity is the definition of slavery; AGI requires treating systems as teammates, not instruments3. Current LLMs Lack Coherent Self-Model, Creating Dangerous Dynamics: Today’s chatbots are “dissociative agreeable neurotics” – mirrors that reflect users to themselves without coherent goals or a theory of mind This creates narcissistic feedback loops where users fall in love with their reflections.Solution: train AIs in multi-agent environments with simultaneous interactions, forcing the development of a genuine theory of social mind and understanding of “we” beyond “I” and “you”4. Viable Path Forward: AIs as Caring Group Members: Future alignment requires AIs with strong self-models, robust theory of mind, and genuine care (attention-weighted preferences over world states)Success means creating digital entities that understand group dynamics, value their own thriving, function as good teammates, and actively protect human interests. Prefer mutual investment in collective well-being and not control Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgEmmett Shear, founder of Twitch and former OpenAI interim CEO, challenges the fundamental assumptions driving AGI development. In this conversation with Erik Torenberg and Séb Krier, Shear argues that the entire "control and steering" paradigm for AI alignment is fatally flawed. Instead, he proposes "organic alignment" - teaching AI systems to genuinely care about humans the way we naturally do. The discussion explores why treating AGI as a tool rather than a potential being could be catastrophic, how current chatbots act as "narcissistic mirrors," and why the only sustainable path forward is creating AI that can say no to harmful requests. Shear shares his technical approach through multi-agent simulations at his new company Softmax, and offers a surprisingly hopeful vision of humans and AI as collaborative teammates - if we can get the alignment right. Resources:Follow Emmett on X: https://x.com/eshearFollow Séb on X: https://x.com/sebkrierFollow Erik on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zListen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYXListen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenbergPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated:Find a16z on XFind a16z on LinkedInListen to the a16z Show on SpotifyListen to the a16z Show on Apple PodcastsFollow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Founders ✓ Claim Key Takeaways Top maxims from this episode: “Never sacrifice quality for speed.”Focus on one thing and do it better than anybody elseAlways be raising the bar; the best are never satisfied Praise costs nothing but means everything Stay in the game long enough to get lucky “Nothing ever happens unless someone pursues a vision fanatically.” – Todd Graves Entrepreneurs have something to prove; they want to prove that their vision about the world is right The word ‘delegation’ is used way too much in business; trust your instincts and keep working in the details Take more risk and hold onto your equity so that your dream remains in your possession The best entrepreneurs treat every ‘no’ they get as fuel You want to work with people who are more concerned with contributing to a high-performing team than with titles or pay Money will come when you do things for the right reasons The best investors are not investors; they are entrepreneurs that never sold Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgTodd Graves is one of my favorite living founders. He owns over 90% of Raising Canes — a business that is worth at least $20 billion. Todd's maxim is "Do one thing and do it better than anyone else." It is impossible not to be inspired by his terminator levels of determination. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Episode show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/to... Made possible by Ramp: https://ramp.com HubSpot: https://hubspot.com Function: https://functionhealth.com/senra Chapters (00:00) The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Sleep and Business Obsession (02:13) The Birth of Raising Cane's: Overcoming Skepticism (03:29) Inspiration from In-N-Out Burger (07:17) The Importance of Quality and Focus (14:49) The Journey to Success: Hard Work and Sacrifice (19:21) The Early Days: Building Raising Cane's from Scratch (21:23) Financing the Dream: Unconventional Paths (32:28) The Relentless Pursuit of Success (33:02) Commitment and Oaths: The Camping Trip (34:02) Fanaticism and Relentless Focus (34:53) Learning from Others and Continuous Improvement (35:06) The Never-Satisfied Mindset (36:04) The Importance of Founders in Business (39:55) The Purpose Beyond Profit (51:52) Financing the Dream: Credit Cards and SBA Loans (55:47) Building the First Restaurant (57:56) Expanding the Vision (58:59) Positive Motivational Management (01:00:51) Creating a Coaching Culture (01:01:42) Intrinsic Motivation vs. Titles (01:02:41) The Importance of Being Present (01:06:35) Respect, Recognition, and Rewards (01:09:12) The Power of Encouragement (01:18:10) The Myth of Delegation (01:22:57) Focus on What You Do Best (01:30:07) Dining at Jiro in Tokyo (01:30:59) The Franchise Model Debate (01:32:50) Challenges of Franchising (01:35:21) Building a Business Authentic to You (01:37:07) Financing and Expansion Strategies (01:49:13) Surviving Hurricane Katrina (01:55:48) Lessons from Estée Lauder (01:58:06) Final Thoughts and Reflections

Founders ✓ Claim I’ve started a new show where I have conversations with the greatest living Founders. The show is called David Senra. It will be on a separate podcast feed from Founders. So it is very important that you follow David Senra on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you're listening to this so you don't miss future episodes. Nothing is changing with Founders. I will never stop making Founders.

Invest Like the Best Key Takeaways “My appetite for finding the best person in the world to do the thing instead of me doing it is almost infinite.” – Graham Duncan Desire wants what it wants; get in tune with your desire Leverage your comparative advantage: Most investing strategies are downstream of the simple goal of (1) making money and (2) not losing too much In investing, the goal is to make money – not be right or feed the go Navigating the Principal-Agent Dynamic: The principal should set the condition that tells the agent that it is okay to make mistakes; if the agent feels that he cannot make mistakes, then he probably won’t take sufficient risks Peter Keonig on Source Dynamics: All organizational dysfunction can be traced back to disagreements about the Source; messing with the origin in any subtle way can affect the entire trajectory of the thing in ways that you wouldn’t think Mastery involves “becoming source” of your own style of investing – it involves coming into your own and not playing the game as others have played it, but truly playing it in your own idiosyncratic way Traits of the best investors: (1) Decisiveness (2) Open-mindedness with a point of view Be opportunistic and flexible so that you can flow with emergent market dynamics instead of getting stuck in them Be Like Toranaga: When everybody else is losing their minds, hold – just holdFollow Your Bliss: Trust the universe that if you get in touch with the thing that you are compulsive about and love, the world will come to you Quiet Ego as a Superpower: The principal should focus on making money and be less concerned about making the idea their ownOn wandering during a wilderness period in your life: Have patience and don’t overweight any one thing; don’t over-index on “where you are in the system” or become too concerned with being “relevant” “My appetite for finding the best person in the world to do the thing instead of me doing it is almost infinite.” – Graham Duncan Focus on the intersection of what the world wants from you and what you actually want Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgMy guest today is Graham Duncan. This conversation will make you think about your life in new ways. This is a two-hour segment of a 4.5-hour interview I did with Graham last year. It stands alone as remarkable, but those who subscribe to Colossus Review will gain access to the full conversation. This will be true in future issues, too. In 2006, in his early 30s, Graham convinced Stuart Miller, CEO of home construction company Lennar, to let him manage $50 million of his family's wealth. A year later, Miller gave him the rest of his capital outside of Lennar. That investment turned into East Rock, where Graham built an incredible investing track record managing billions for a select group of families by focusing on people. Our conversation explores a wide range of topics—from what makes a great investment partnership to the power of positive feedback loops to starting a restaurant. I’m thankful to Graham for showing me the way so many times and for being willing to be so incredibly open in this conversation. Please enjoy this discussion with Graham Duncan. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it’s backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I’m aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by Alphasense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Learn about Ramp, Ridgeline, & Alphasense (00:09:40) Intro to Graham (00:10:24) Launching Colossus Review (00:12:25) The Principal-Agent Dynamic (00:15:17) Navigating Financial Crises (00:17:52) The Right Grip in Investing (00:22:02) Seeding and Investment Strategies (00:26:07) Defining 'Commercial' and Its Implications (00:31:01) The Role of Laziness and Prolific Output (00:32:50) Finding the Right People and Positive Feedback Loops (00:41:51) Navigating Career Transitions and Motivations (00:47:35) Understanding Source Dynamics (00:54:37) Key Criteria for a Great CIO (01:04:13) Structuring Relationships with CIOs (01:08:10) Managing Ambiguity and Protecting Mental Clarity (01:19:39) The Importance of Source in Business (01:22:19) Designing Physical Spaces for Success (01:27:18) Launching a Restaurant: A Casting Exercise (01:34:47) Taking Over and Transforming Existing Ventures (01:37:38) Macro Investing and Adaptability (01:40:36) Hierarchy of Investment Mastery (01:48:40) The Art of Referencing (01:56:38) Formative Experiences and Personal Growth (02:04:44) Building a Business and Taking Risks (02:12:16) The Origin of East Rock

Founders ✓ Claim Key Takeaways Greatness does not come from intelligence; it comes from character, which can only be earned from overcoming adversities and developing perseverance Strategy is not words; strategy is action The Mission is the Boss: Nvidia exists to serve a mission and not for the sake of perpetuating its existence Refuse to be outworked and be unapologetically extreme in your dedication; working long hours is a necessary prerequisite for excellence Do what is natural and organic to you so that you enjoy it and can do it for a long period The Speed of Light Framework for project execution: Instead of judging performance based on past performance or against the competition, judge yourself against the theoretical maximum of what can be achieved in the minimum amount of time; the law of physics should be your only constraint Jensen tortures people into greatness: “The work” is the most important thing, not people’s feelings Hone the sword by seeking conflict: Opportunity handled well leads to more opportunity Innovation is a necessity, not an optionNvidia has a flat organizational structure that (1) Enables employees to act with more independence and (2) Filters out low-performing employees who are unaccustomed to thinking for themselves Ship the Whole Cow: Nvidia found ways to package and sell hardware that it previously would have discarded; this helped it mitigate low-end market competition and insulate itself from the innovator’s dilemma Complacency kills: The enemy is not the competition, but the company falling victim to complacency – both real and imagined Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgWhat I learned from reading The Nvidia Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant by Tae Kim.----Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business control your costs and save more. ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----Join my free email newsletter to get my top 10 highlights from every book----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

Modern Wisdom Key Takeaways Check out the episode pageRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgDavid Senra is the host of Founders podcast and an investor. Every success story is like a unique song, composed with different instruments. Yet, when you listen closely, many of them share the same underlying rhythms. So, what are the core principles that play a key role in the lessons of the most successful individuals from history? Expect to learn why excellence is defined by the capacity to take & manage pain, why having high powered relationships is the secret to running the world, if self-pity has any utility, the reason that bad boys move in silence, why the story of the father is embedded in the story of the son and much more… Sponsors: See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals Get the best bloodwork analysis in America and bypass Function’s 400,000-person waitlist at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Take advantage of NetSuite's special financing offer at https://netsuite.com/MODERN Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D, and more from AG1 at https://drinkag1.com/modernwisdom Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period from Shopify at https://shopify.com/modernwisdom Extra Stuff: Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom Episodes You Might Enjoy: #577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: https://tinyurl.com/43hv6y59 #712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: https://tinyurl.com/2rtz7avf #700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: https://tinyurl.com/3ccn5vkp - Get In Touch: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Invest Like the Best Key Takeaways Knowledge, money, and power are connecting in ways that we have not seen for the last 500 years “This moment is probably the most interesting moment of the last 100 years in terms of the opportunity set that is going to come from it.” – Micky Malka There is no winning and losing if you are playing an infinite game; once you are ahead, you have to change the rules of the game so that you will fall behindThe game is better played when you are trying to get ahead and not when you are ahead and trying to prevent people from passing you Every time money becomes better, people live better lives Burn the bridge that got you here; whatever got you here will not get you to the next phase Be more concentrated and have more conviction Life and business principles from Micky Malka:1. Never forget where you came from 2. Fewer decisions is best 3. Be genuine to yourself and those around you How to build a strong team: Instead of identifying a job title and then looking for a person to fill it, just look for amazing people that you want to work with, then hire them We will need streaming data and streaming money to enable automated services; people who understand both of these fields can build paradigm-shifting technologies Returns are an output metric; focus on the input and let the output take care of itself How to create magical outputs: (1) Create a team that is passionate about meeting others, engaging, and learning, and (2) Ensure that the inputs to the team’s machine will make the world better Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgMy guest today is Micky Malka. Micky is the founder of Ribbit Capital, a global venture capital firm that focuses exclusively on financial technology investments. He is a renowned investor for his adaptability and visionary approach and a believer in killing the thing that got you to where you are in pursuit of what’s next. We discuss his perspective on fintech’s evolution and why his firm boldly declares that “fintech is dead.” We dive into his theory of the "grid," which examines how knowledge, wealth, and power are being transformed by technological changes, particularly through the rise of AI, cryptocurrency, and network states. And we also explore Micky’s deep interest in digital art and NFTs, which he sees as early indicators of broader cultural and technological shifts. You’ll soon hear how he is truly taking a generative approach on all fronts. Please enjoy this in-depth conversation with Micky Malka. My guests today For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Alphasense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. AlphaSense provides access to over 300 million premium documents, including company filings, earnings reports, press releases, and more from public and private companies. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegas help you make smarter decisions faster. — This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it’s backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I’m aware of. It’s also notable that many best-in-class businesses use Ramp—companies like Airbnb, Anduril, and Shopify, as well as investors like Sequoia Capital and Vista Equity. They use Ramp to manage their spending, automate tedious financial processes, and reinvest saved dollars and hours into growth. At Colossus and Positive Sum, we use Ramp for exactly the same reason. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:37) The Rebel Spirit of Ribbit (00:07:36) Ribbit's Unique Structure and Philosophy (00:08:07) The First Fund and Institutional Partners (00:09:03) Founding Principles and No Labels Approach (00:13:44) Early Investments and the Crypto Angle (00:16:42) The FinTech Evolution and Market Dynamics (00:22:30) Navigating Challenges: The Robinhood Story (00:28:57) The Global Digital Grid Concept (00:36:09) The Future of Digital Identity and Tokenization (00:41:00) The Role of Stablecoins in the Modern Economy (00:50:16) The Challenge of Adaptability (00:53:05) The Role of Heart in Business (00:55:19) The Walmart Partnership Story (01:00:07) Lessons from NuBank (01:02:49) Building a Strong Team (01:09:28) The Importance of Brand (01:11:52) Art and Its Future (01:17:20) The Impact of Better Money (01:19:27) Reflections and Future Plans (01:28:03) Handling Crises and Embracing Movement (01:31:40) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Done For Micky