Smart Friends

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: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Book-of-Elon-Audiobook/B0G3B4SJPQ To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

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 - Building Wealth 37:49 - Building Judgement 01:12:30 - Learning Happiness 02:15:17 - Saving Yourself 02:50:17 - Philosophy To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

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 organizational structure and challenges (00:43:35) - The future of autonomous vehicles (00:54:34) - Founding Light Source and addressing procurement issues (01:00:23) - Conclusion and final thoughts Links: LightSource - https://lightsource.ai/ Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spenpenn/ Preorder the Book of Elon - https://a.co/d/02huhEee To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! Quotes from Spencer: “It was the most fun I never want to have again.” (Describing his time at Tesla during the Model 3 production ramp) “The Model 3 seat feel is attuned directly to Elon’s butt.” “I’m not an Elon fanboy, but I’m also not a critic. I’m an optimist.” “Speed wins. After seeing both Tesla and Waymo, that’s my belief.” “We were the underdog. Eventually, it does end up feeling like you’re on the winning team.” “You couldn’t go into a meeting with Elon and show up empty-handed.” “This opportunity we’re pursuing at LightSource should have disappeared 20 years ago.” “ERP is the finance system of record. What’s Salesforce in reverse? That’s LightSource.” “The thing that surprised me: every company still runs procurement on spreadsheets and email.” “Tesla built their own ERP system from scratch. That’s not normal.” “There are things that are just core to the P&L of every business… and yet completely orphaned in the tech stack.”

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 interviewing parents (00:22:40) - Balancing humor and vulnerability in writing (00:34:39) - Creating unique value in a book (00:41:59) - The power of a good title (00:44:31) - The importance of a book title (00:49:10) - Balancing writing and marketing (00:57:56) - Long-term marketing approach (01:10:16) - Navigating the publishing process (01:19:45) - Unexpected outcomes and reflections Links: One Last Question Before You Go - https://amzn.to/49JVWg2 Scribe Media - https://scribemedia.com/ To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! Quotes from Kyle: “The interview process can be a kind of empathy drug.” “Write as if you are already dead.” “The ideas that won't go away are the ones worth chasing.” “I wanted to write the book that only I could write.” “Most people live their lives being rewarded for having the right answer, not the right question.” “Books are like malaria nets—people use them in ways you never expect.” “If I tell you to interview your parents, I have to show you what happened when I did.” “Marketing is an act of consideration and generosity.” “A lot of how-to books could be a one-page PDF. I refused to do that.” “Live events aren’t about selling books. They’re about making you feel like a winner as an author.” “The best advertisers I know create a mood shift immediately.” “Make fun of yourself. That’s how you earn the right to critique others.”

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 (00:35:42) - Broadening your scope of what’s possible with assistants (00:42:05) - A day in the life with multiple EAs (00:45:41) - Delegation within EAs (00:50:31) - Family dynamics with EAs (00:54:07) - The 2050 version of Athena Links: Athena - https://www.athena.com/ Rolling Fun — https://www.rolling.fun To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: How Jonathan developed calm under extreme startup pressure Athena’s evolution from side hustle to billion-dollar vision Why great delegation is a skill, not magic Surprising personal and family delegation use cases Combining humans and AI for exponential leverage Quotes from Jonathan: “My mind is an inner citadel. I’ve got a good mind, a wife that loves me, and everything else is gravy.” “I started Athena with the sole goal of generating income for my wife and I to live off of.” “The vision of ​Athena​ is the best human assistants powered by the best AI.” “Humans are good UX. We’ve evolved to like humans.” “You don’t build the first Tesla without a steering wheel.” “We're building something that watches assistants work, not to replace them, but to augment them.” “Delegation is a J-curve. It's slower at first, but compounds.” “The cardinal sin of delegation is thinking, ‘It’s faster to do it myself.’” “You can think of an assistant as a cognitive prosthesis.” “Belief is the first limiter. Most people don’t believe time freedom is possible.” “Ask yourself: If I had a hundred more hours a week, what would I do?” Important Quotes from the podcast on Business and Entrepreneurship There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. - Naval Ravikant You have to work up to the point where you can own equity in a business. You could own equity as a small shareholder where you bought stock. You could also own it as an owner where you started the company. Ownership is really important. Everybody who really makes money at some point owns a piece of a product, a business, or some IP. That can be through stock options if you work at a tech company. That’s a fine way to start.

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 & children (00:40:30) - Big screens vs. small screens (00:43:12) - Quality time and engaging activities (00:45:42) - Emotional depth and resilience in young founders (00:54:02) - The traits of innovators (01:04:08) - The journey of 1517 Fund (01:10:05) - Join the 1517 community Links: Rolling Fun — https://www.rolling.fun To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: The founding story and long-term vision behind the Thiel Fellowship Common traits among exceptional young founders, including curiosity, hyper fluency, and “dog on a leash” energy Lessons from supporting early pioneers like Vitalik Buterin, Dylan Field, and Laura Deming. How 1517 Fund backs young builders and “Wily weirdos” working on sci-fi-level ideas Danielle’s philosophy on education, parenting, and fostering genius in children Quotes from Danielle: “We weren’t looking for startup founders—we were looking for people on a mission.” “Dog-on-a-leash energy—that’s what we look for. We’re here to cut the leash.” “Hyperfluency is the ability to geek out with geeks, and still explain your work to your grandma at Thanksgiving.” “These people are kind of mutants—they don’t fit in typical systems.” “All kids under five are geniuses. The system just squashes it out of them.” “The most shocking thing? People publicly attacked the Fellows. Not just the program—the people. Teenagers.” “Crazy, crazy awesome—we can’t tell if they’re insane or brilliant, and it’ll take years to find out.” “Big screens good, small screens bad.” “In the future, I want to be funding 11-year-olds. The world won’t be ready, but I will be.” “We just want to talk to wily weirdos who want to be around other wily weirdos.”

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/3KT3IvF To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: The role of heroes and mentors in shaping Brad’s values How "Give First" transformed startup culture How to let go of control while still fighting to the end for what matters Key mentors like Len Fassler and the life lessons they gave him Why reading, writing, and coding all serve as reflective practices Quotes from Brad: "The best way to fly is to throw yourself at the ground and miss." (Zaphod Beeblebrox quote that Brad uses to describe startups) "I love to help things get started. That’s my favorite part of the journey." "Fight to the bitter end. You try until it doesn’t work anymore." "Some things don’t end. Some things outlive you—which is delightful." "The future does not belong to me. The future belongs to people 40 years younger than me." "Give First is not a religion. It’s a philosophy." "Your VC’s are not in control. The board members are not in control. The CEO is in control." "Books are core to so many things I do. Reading and writing are how I process the world." "I write books to understand better an idea and work out the idea." "Mentorship is about ways of being, not about following a set of rules." "Hibernation from social media gave me the creative space to finish the book I actually wanted to write." "People said, 'Brad’s the king of the Colorado startup community.' I hated that. I don’t want to be king—I want to be just one of the many leaders."

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 (00:42:28) - Leadership (00:47:28) - Coaching and team building (00:58:45) - Writing a book (01:03:10) - Resources Links: Scribe — https://scribemedia.com Entrepreneurial Compassion: An Entrepreneur’s Journey Through Combat, Suicide, and the Discovery of Compassionate Leadership - https://amzn.to/4nqH6AK To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: How military battle drills shaped Cal’s approach to business leadership How EOS changed about his company and personal life Why compassion is both a moral imperative and a business advantage Tactical ways Cal builds emotional awareness into his leadership habits How journaling, meditation, and presence help fuel resilience and clarity Quotes from Cal: "The more compassion I showed my team, the more profit we made. It’s not soft—it’s smart." "They’ll never care how much you know until they know how much you care." "Every really good unit has this thing called a tactical SOP—just like your business has processes." "EOS gave me the ability to step back, let the team lead, and focus on building the future." "I went from working 90 hours a week in the business to now doing one meeting a week." "The business stops running you, and you start running it." "When we can be driven and compassionate, the sky’s the limit." "As entrepreneurs, we’re good at putting out fires—and if there isn’t one, we’ll start one just to feel busy." "My brother’s death has to mean something—this book is how I make sure something good comes from it." "I want to create a million compassionate leaders and prevent a hundred thousand suicides." "This isn't about monetizing trauma—every cent from the book goes to suicide prevention." Important Quotes from the podcast on Business and Entrepreneurship There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. - Naval Ravikant You have to work up to the point where you can own equity in a business. You could own equity as a small shareholder where you bought stock. You could also own it as an owner where you started the company. Ownership is really important. Everybody who really makes money at some point owns a piece of a product, a business, or some IP. That can be through stock options if you work at a tech company. That’s a fine way to start.

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.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ Chapters: 00:00 The Search for Something Perfect & Permanent 03:00 Timeless vs. Timely Knowledge 06:00 Truth, Reach & Universal Theories 09:00 From Specifics to General Principles 12:00 Learning by Doing – Experience First 15:00 Judgment, Taste & the Role of Reflection 18:00 Investing, Taste & Post-Wealth Choices 21:00 Hard Work, Focus & Breakthroughs 24:00 From Logic to Intuition to Taste 27:00 AI, Information Retrieval & Human Creativity 30:00 Leverage of Software Engineers with AI 33:00 The iPhone as the Greatest Product of the Age 36:00 Entrepreneurs, Creativity & Using AI as a Tool To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

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.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ Chapters: 00:00 Virtues as Long-Term Selfishness & Cheap Dopamine 03:00 Fixing Local Problems Before Global Activism 06:00 Spreadability vs. Correctness of Ideas 09:00 Truth as Survival in the Multiverse 12:00 Authenticity, Ego & Removing the Mask 15:00 Modern Traps, Hedonism & Religion’s Role 18:00 Finding the People, Work & Place That Need You Most 21:00 Exploration, Investment & Compound Interest 24:00 Learning Through Iterations, Not Hours 27:00 Choosing Your Environment & Adapting It 30:00 Envy vs. Inspiration – Choosing the Better Path 33:00 Heroes, Resonance & The Legacy of Steve Jobs 36:00 Universal Human Potential & Breaking Labels To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

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.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ Chapters: 00:00 Happiness as a Skill & Thought Construct 03:00 Peace, Desires & Higher Motives 06:00 Mind-Created Problems & Meditation 09:00 Engagement vs. Peace – Balancing Both 12:00 Health, Wealth & the Pursuit of Truth, Love, Beauty 15:00 Meditation, Silence & Resolving Thoughts 18:00 Love, Creation & Human Flourishing 21:00 Acute vs. Chronic Unhappiness, Ego & Identity 24:00 Choice Theory & Depression as Habit 27:00 Seasons of Life – Wealth, Health & Happiness 30:00 Aging, Compounding Actions & Character 33:00 High Agency Living & Designing Life 36:00 Reinterpreting the Past, Forgiveness & Ego 39:00 Enlightened Teachers, Peace & No-Self 42:00 Relationships, Self-Sufficiency & Truth in Bonds 45:00 Consciousness, Self-Examination & No-Self Realization 51:00 Seeking Enlightenment vs. Chasing Shiny Objects 54:00 Happiness, Motivation & Effectiveness 57:00 Relationships, Obligations & Peer Bonds 60:00 Ritual vs. Genuine Happiness To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

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.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ Chapters: 00:00 Meditations, Authenticity & Schopenhauer 03:00 God, Kids, or Mission – Sources of Meaning 06:00 Truth, Heresies & Group Consensus 09:00 Evolution, Buddhism & Quantum Physics 15:00 Simulation Theory vs. Consciousness 18:00 Religion, Science & Contemporary Lenses 21:00 Live for Something Larger Than Yourself 24:00 Reading, Philosophy & Timeless Books 27:00 Pursuing Happiness, Wealth & Status Indirectly 30:00 Fun Criterion & Learning Through Curiosity 33:00 Risk, Conviction & Building the Impossible 36:00 Retirement, Truth, Love & Beauty 39:00 Endgame Content & Playing Without Fear 42:00 Wealth, Enlightenment & Contradictory Desires To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

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 material on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ 00:00 Defining Wealth 03:00 Knowledge as the True Multiplier 09:00 Ethics of Wealth Creation & Capitalism 15:00 Progress, Optimism & Conjecture 21:00 Scale, Governance & Morality 27:00 Products, Knowledge & Hard-to-Vary Designs 36:00 Closing Reflections To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

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) - Genetic engineering innovations(00:43:40) - Revolutionizing air freight with airships(00:49:56) - Terraform Industries: Energy independence(01:02:17) - Innovative warehouse automation(01:05:25) - Mining industry disruption(01:09:45) - Conclusion and future outlook Links: Join us in Rolling Fun! Hear our other Rolling Fun eps! To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: Why personal networks matter most when raising money quickly for big deals New investments in companies building genetically engineered animals, advanced airships, and solar-powered synthetic natural gas How real operational experience shapes the way we invest and support founders The balance of optimism and realism required to keep taking shots in business Quotes from Al: “Just keep taking the shots. A shooter’s gotta shoot.” “Sometimes you take the shot, do everything right, and the ball still doesn’t go in.” “There’s no classy way to advertise, ‘Hey, your favorite store died—but we’re a good rebound.’” “Capitalism is an unforgiving mistress.” “Personal relationships were the most valuable asset I had in that deal.” “Sometimes I think, ‘I should be inventing Facebook 2,’ but here I am—investing in fabric.” “I’ve never worked on a deal that hard. It should have gone my way… and didn’t.” “You wake up the next morning and it didn’t happen, but I still have a great family, and my business is still running.” “It's hard until it isn’t—and even when it isn’t, it’s still freaking hard.” Quotes from Bo: “We’re actual operators—curious about what’s possible with technology—and that makes us better investors.” “On a Thursday, ‘This deal is happening.’ Then Tuesday? ‘It’s over. We lost.’” “We have a unique amount of empathy for founders—because we know how hard this shit is.” “If you can pull it off, it’s transformational. And that’s awesome.” (on Airship) “A blimp is not a quadcopter to carry Al’s big ass—it’s an elegant, slow-moving blimp.” “There’s a lot of industries still doing 90/10 in-store sales. That blew my mind.” “It’s a real ‘software is eating the world’ moment—but finally arriving at the mining industry.” “When you’re building something that matters, you’re playing the long game—even if the outcome is uncertain.” “The people who make glow-in-the-dark fish… now they’re building unicorns. And yeah, it’s gonna happen.”

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 (00:35:07) - Balancing work and family life (00:37:36) - Exciting company updates (00:38:03) - Success stories in venture capital (00:40:55) - Innovations in space and technology (00:47:19) - The future of asteroid mining (00:54:34) - Revolutionizing construction and robotics (00:59:01) - Battery technology breakthroughs (01:03:59) - Conclusion and next steps Links: Join us in Rolling Fun! Hear our other Rolling Fun eps! To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: Bo is turning around a Youth Sports Complex that was losing millions/year. “Never skip a funeral and always hold a baby” Investment updates across nuclear energy, asteroid mining, robotics, and batteries. Why enthusiasm, networks, and timing matter so much in early-stage investing. Quotes from Bo: "This was like 11 businesses stuffed into one building… and none of them were working yet." "My job right now is teaching people who love what they do how it fits into a business." "We get 2 to 3 calls a week from private equity firms, and I tell them all: don’t do it." "It’s a 600-person organization… a real thing with real complexity." "Maybe it’s a $30 million business—manageable, understandable, and ridiculously high impact." "It’s a cartel-organized market. You need to be a trusted actor to even play in it." "Helping it really succeed is time well spent—for Kansas City, for the kids, and for everyone here." "The youth sports market is a $40 to $80 billion space, and it’s on fire." "There’s not a lot of credible business builders in this space—and I haven’t found another one yet." "In 50 years, this will be even more awesome. I love working on stuff like that." Quotes from Al: "You couldn't just copy-paste this business into another city. You need deep trust and local knowledge." "This is a fun community challenge. If you get it right, you leave a real legacy." "I texted Bo—‘We did it’—because Eric and Jeannine had a baby. That’s how we all felt." "The bond between dad and baby isn’t immediate. But it grows—and it’s worth it." "I fixed the cheeseburger at Home Field before Bo was even involved." "Once you have a baby, every infant photo becomes magic." "The best underappreciated part of being an entrepreneur? You can get your kids working early." Important Quotes from the podcast on Business and Entrepreneurship There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. - Naval Ravikant You have to work up to the point where you can own equity in a business. You could own equity as a small shareholder where you bought stock. You could also own it as an owner where you started the company. Ownership is really important. Everybody who really makes money at some point owns a piece of a product, a business, or some IP. That can be through stock options if you work at a tech company. That’s a fine way to start.