Stretch Four Podcast

It is the return of the Stretch Four Podcast after a month away from our amazing listeners. My apologies, just a lot going on in the startup world these days.This week I will unpack my fitness journey in February as I gear up for a half-marathon in July. Also in this week’s episode, I will give my take on Silicon Valley Bank and how it impacted my business, and what I learned from the experience as a venture-backed founder.Last week, I attended my first industry event at the Fintech Meetup Conference in Las Vegas where I presented ModernTax, and conducted over 20 meetings in a speed-dating style format.To cap off the episode I interviewed Cody Barbo, who I got to see at the conference and recently announced a $15 million fundraising round a few weeks ago. We got deep into the weeds of personal finance for founders, moving from CA to TX, and his daily routines around fitness, diet, and parenting.Intro (3:47) — Fitness recap for February — Running updates, Fitness check-in, and weight goals as I prepare for a half-marathon in July(8:24) — The Aftermath of SVB & My Take on how it impacts founders.(20:29) — My interview with Cody Barbo, Co-Founder & CEO of Trust & WillLinksCody Barbo TwitterCody Barbo LinkedinTrust and Will (Use STRETCHFOUR at checkout for a special discount)SponsorsWe'd like to thank our sponsorModernTax — Use CODE: StretchFour on your first invoice to make your first business tax verification for free.Check out the podcast on both apps below.SpotifyApple Get full access to Four Insights at stretchfour.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Tuesday,Here is episode 005 of the Stretch Four Podcast.If you’re enjoying this podcast, consider clicking the ❤️ button above so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏🏿.Also, check out the podcast on your favorite podcast players including Spotify and Apple.Show Notes03:24 Church Announcements & Celebrating 5 years of Victory Lap and Nipsey Hussle8:14 — Recapping the Elad Gil x Dylan Field Interview and Stripe’s New HQ.16:24 — Scott Britton (Co-founder of Troops.ai) Interview — We dive into topics around his Ayahuasca retreat that changed his approach to consciousness, spirituality, how he feels about creating content online, and his recent exit to Salesforce.Links* Nipsey Hussle Breakfast Club Interview (Breakfast Club)* Elad Gil x Dylan Field Interview: YouTube, Transcript* Scott Britton* From Becoming A Somebody to Becoming A NobodyConsciousness ∞ The Doorway to Human Evolution | Scott Britton | SubstackBook references* High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil* How to Change Your Mind by Michael Polland* Power Versus Force by David Hawkins* Spectrum of Consciousness* 15 Commitments of Conscious LeadershipOther references* What It's Really Like to Join an Ayahuasca Retreat Alongside Spiritual Experts (Conde Nast)SponsorsWe'd like to thank our sponsors.Future — Get 50% off your first three months using the link aboveModernTax — Use CODE: StretchFour on your first invoice to make your first business tax verification for free.Check out the podcast on both apps below.SpotifyApple Get full access to Four Insights at stretchfour.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Monday,If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider clicking the ❤️ button above so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏🏿.Also, check out the podcast on your favorite podcast players including Spotify and Apple (see below)Episode 004: Stretch Four PodcastBelow are the topics we covered in today’s episode with timestamps. To provide feedback on the show email [email protected] or make a comment.Please write a review if you like the showThe Church of Sam Altman [3:00]The state of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is of particular interest to founders. The Church of Sam Altman is a popular theme in Silicon Valley and has been quietly building steam over the course of Altman’s career starting when he was 18 and one of the first founders to complete Y Combinator. With the emergence of ChatGPT by Open AI, Altman has captured the zeitgeist and changed the game again.The Return of Adam Neumann [17:05]Adam Neumann recently revealed his next venture, Flow, at a conference put on by A16Z in D.C. in an interview with Marc Andreeson. While he was trolled on Twitter, I believe founders can learn three important lessons from Neumann. On the podcast this week, I unpack those three things.Closing Thoughts & Church Announcements [30:28]Build your brand in these. Don't miss our presentation at the upcoming Fintech Meetup! Tune in to our new podcast on Apple and Spotify, and leave us a review.SponsorsWe'd like to thank our sponsorsFuture [1:35]Get 50% off your first three months using the link aboveModernTax [15:40]Use CODE: StretchFour on your first invoice to make your first business tax verification for free.Check out the podcast on both apps below.LinksSam Altman’s Manifest Destiny (The New Yorker)Disrupting the World's Largest Asset Class with Adam Neumann (A16Z’s Youtube)Check us out on the podcast networks:AppleSpotify Get full access to Four Insights at stretchfour.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Monday,If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider clicking the ❤️ button above so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏🏿.I hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s newsletter — Companies do more with less, Frugality vs. ROI, and Tasting the Rainbow, if you missed please check it out.On this week’s show, I recapped three books that I read in January and how I did on the fitness front with my workouts. I also shared some behind-the-scenes results on how the Stretch Four Media business is doing, what my goals are for the next few months, and how the first two episodes of this podcast are doing.Finally, I end with an interview with Selim Benayat — Founder and CEO at Bento.me one of the first founders to participate in the Sequoia Arc Program.We got an inside look at what a high-performing founder’s lifestyle looks like, how and why he chooses to live in Berlin, Germany, and more on how he got into the Sequoia Arc program including what the evaluation process was, and what he built with Bento.As always, thanks for subscribing, and please shoot me your feedback when you check out the episode.Find the show notes below.Also, check out the podcast on your favorite podcast players including Spotify and Apple.Episode 003: Stretch Four PodcastMy Recaps* 6:25-17:58 - Summarizing the read three books in January* Loonshots* Safi Bahcall, an American author, physicist, technologist, business executive, and author, has written a book that highlights companies and stories from the past 100 years, weaving through biotech, aviation, and hardware. He has studied at Harvard and Stanford.* Lords of Easy Money* The New York Times bestseller from business journalist Christopher Leonard is highly recommended. I had previously read his book, Kochland (an extraordinary account of how the world's largest private company grew to become so powerful, and how it shaped modern corporate America, with a focus on the Koch brothers and their empire), and it was remarkable.* Freezing Order* In his follow-up to the explosive New York Times bestseller Red Notice, Bill Browder recounts his journey to becoming Vladimir Putin's nemesis. He details the events that led him to become a fierce critic of the Russian president, from his investment in the Russian stock market in 1996 to his eventual exile from the country in 2005. Browder's story is a gripping tale of corruption, courage, and resilience, and a powerful reminder of the power of truth.* 17:59- 24:43 Fitness Check-in powered by Future reporting and dashboard tools* I broke down my Future report for the last 30 days, shared in the newsletter, to show how active I was at the gym in January and what my baseline is for the short month of February.* 24:54 - 33:32 How the Stretch Four Business Performed in January* In January, we reviewed our financials, including revenue, subscriber growth, and the performance of our newly launched podcast in its first few episodes.Thank you for reading Stretch Four Insights. This post is public so feel free to share it.Guest Interview* 33:50 - 1:17:27 — Selim Benayat Founder & CEO of Bento.me* Selim Benayat— Founder and CEO at Bento.me—shares his lifestyle tips, how he manages his schedule and food, and life in Berlin, Germany. He also opens up about how he got into Sequoia's Arc Program. Finally, he sheds light on what he is building with Bento, which you can sign up for today using the code: STRETCHFOUR.Church Announcements* 1:17:30 - the end* This week, I'm participating in a Black History Month Panel in San Francisco. If you're local and looking for Friday night activities, come join us! Here's the registration link: Cap Table Coalition & Pay It Forward MBA Black History Month Panel. I'm also preparing for a presentation at the Fintech Meetup in Las Vegas for ModernTax.Check out the podcast on both apps below.SpotifyAppleThanks to our sponsor Future. Get full access to Four Insights at stretchfour.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Monday,I am reporting live from San Francisco, where the mood is a bit down, to say the least after yesterday’s 49ers game. Having to use their fourth-string quarterback in an NFC championship game on the road is never a good way to end a season. The timing was not the best for yesterday’s weekly newsletter, but I am sticking to my 12 pm PT Sunday release — so check out volume 50, if you missed it.To lighten the mood, I am happy to get out Episode 2 of the Stretch Four Podcast. Check out the first episode.On this week’s show, I dive into two areas of interest for founders and those that may want to be starting their own companies. First, I talk about the new Sequoia Arc Program.Second, I do a deep dive into childcare and how it impacts the lives of founders. Inspired by a tweet from Steve Schlafman.Lastly, I interviewed a fellow founder my friend Laduram Vishnoi who just this week announced his second startup Middleware as a part of Y Combinator’s current Winter 2023 batch.As always, thanks for subscribing, and please shoot me your feedback when you check out the episode.Find the show notes below.Stretch Four Insights is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Stretch Four Podcast: Episode 002My Recaps5:04 - 21:41 — Breaking Down Sequoia’s New Arc Program for Pre-seed and Seed stage founders Sequoia Capital is the most well-known venture capital firm in the world and has now begun to run an accelerator program for pre-seed and seed-stage companies. The program invests up to $1 million into the companies and hosts a seven-week educational program with the founding teams both here in the United States and in Europe. So far over 50 founders have participated based on our researched data and Sequoia is planning to expand the program to three cohorts per year this year.21:49 - 43:58 - Deep diving into childcare and how it impacts the founder's journey; If you are a subscriber you likely know that I became a father in the past year. It has had a drastic impact on my lifestyle and particularly how it pertains to running my startup. I share my thoughts on how I have handled childcare with my wife and I dive further into the things I have learned as a new parent that I think other founders with children or planning to start families should be aware of. Also, check out a collaborative post I did with my wife on the 10 things we learned about parenting in our first 10 months.Interview Series44:05-1:08:30: Laduram Vishnoi Founder and CEO at (Middleware) Laduram have raised over $50 million in his first startup Acquire and managing large international teams of engineers from his home in San Francisco. We spoke about how he balances his lifestyle with running international teams, and now with his second startup what he’s learned as a founder.Announcements1:08:35 — the end — ModernTax, February 10th speaking engagementThanks to our sponsor Future. Get full access to Four Insights at stretchfour.substack.com/subscribe

Hey everyone,I am reporting live from San Francisco, and I wanted to introduce you the Stretch Four Podcast.This week I am starting something new here on Substack.I will be doing these weekly in addition to the newsletter content.On this podcast I will go deeper into the weekly topics I discuss on the newsletter, and occasionally I will do a weekly deep dive on a topic based on an essay, a big topic that blows up on Twitter and ruffles the feathers of the powers that be, or some insights I gathered from a conversation or a book.At the end of each episode I plan to interview a founder — and while we will talk about their company’s founding story, product, and business model I plan to go deeper into other areas of interest related to lifestyle including fitness and daily habits like diet, personal finances and spending, and how they stay up for the job of building a venture-backed company in the face of the new reality — which is currently much harder than it was even two years ago.As always, thanks for subscribing and please shoot me your feedback when you check out the episode. My inbox is open and not Gated as you will understand much better what that means by checking out episode 001.Stretch Four Podcast Episode 001My Recaps* Equinox’s January marketing campaign* What is the New Chip Accelerator and why it is allegedly a scam?* What is coming up for meInterviewGuest 001: Andy Mowat Founder and CEO at Gated* How Andy Mowat found himself working in Silicon Valley* How he maintains his health and well-being as a founder* The importance of sleep and financial health* What is his number from a financial perspective personally and his goal with a company outcomes* Parenting tips* The Gated product* The Gated business modelThanks to our sponsor Future. Get full access to Four Insights at stretchfour.substack.com/subscribe