Seeking Wisdom with David Cancel

One of the youngest self-made billionaires and an entrepreneur/author/ultra marathoner get married and have four kids, yet they still manage their own businesses and try new adventures daily. How do they manage it all? In this from-the-vault episode of Seeking Wisdom, DC sits down with founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, and author, entrepreneur and keynote speaker, Jesse Itzler, to talk prioritization, marriage and extreme sports. DC and Jesse bond over big calendars, and DC learns how Sara...

What do you do after you accomplish your biggest professional goal at age 33? That’s the question DC asked professional climber Alex Honnold in this exclusive HYPERGROWTH episode of Seeking Wisdom. Alex was the first, and remains the only, climber to free solo El Cap, a 3,000ft granite face in Yosemite National Park, in 2018. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t as easy as he made it look. In this episode, DC and Alex talk about what it was like to train for the climb with an entire film...

Ever blame your unproductive day on too many emails, Slacks, and phone calls? Us too. But on this never-before-released episode of Seeking Wisdom, author, investor and lecturer, Nir Eyal, debunks the myth of technology’s influence on distraction. Because it’s not the technology’s fault you’re distracted – it’s you wanting to be distracted. DC and Nir talk about Nir's background in advertising and gaming, what he's learned from writing two books (Indistractible and Hooked), and why anything...

What do skiing, rock climbing, and photography have in common? They can all become part of one story – if you seek the parallels. For this episode we went back into the crates to bring you an exclusive episode with the one and only Jimmy Chin. Jimmy, who is a professional climber, photographer, and Academy-Award winning film director, talks with DC about what it was like to grow up as the “other.” He shares how his early understanding for different worlds helps him to draw parallels...

Leo Tenenblat (Drift's Chief Product Officer) is back to talk with DC about iteration. Leo shares what iteration is like at Drift and how it compares to other companies he's worked at – from the big ones (like Salesforce where he drove the Einstein platform) to the small ones (like the startup he founded called AppMesh). DC discusses the difficulty of tying together marketing and product releases too tightly. They also touch on the importance of feedback loops and why product teams need to...

DC's goal in life? To replace himself. On this episode, he's joined by Leo Tenenblat (Drift's Chief Product Officer) to talk through what this means in the context of a scaling company. Together, DC and Leo talk about their approaches to hiring and team building, projecting yourself into the future, and the one thing Leo thinks DC should stop doing. Digressions include some Portuguese lessons (for DC) and comparing astrological signs. Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️...

The world of marketing is constantly evolving, but understanding people? That will always be fundamental. Today, marketing expert Rebecca Messina joins David to share her biggest learnings from the 22 years she spent at Coca-Cola, what it was like to be Uber's first-ever CMO, and how she's applying both of those experiences to her work as a senior advisor at McKinsey. DC and Rebecca go deep on the importance of brand building and brand love, the psychology of marketing, and what it means to...

There's a saying at Amazon: "Good intentions don't work. Mechanisms do." For well over a decade, Colin Bryar and Bill Carr worked in tandem with Jeff Bezos, building out the mechanisms and leadership principles that shaped the company into what it is today. How'd they do it? They started with a relentless focus on the customer – and worked backwards from there. Colin and Bill were in the trenches for the creation of some of Amazon's most innovative products and services including Kindle,...

You have to pick an edge, pick a side. You can't be in the middle. Because the middle is where there's consensus. This week on Seeking Wisdom, DC and Adam talk about why consensus is dangerous for companies – and why you need to avoid it at all costs. Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with DC on Twitter @dcancel @DriftPodcasts or text him to share your feedback at +1-212-380-1036. For more learnings from DC,...

To kick off the first episode of Drift's newest podcast, DC sits down for a special episode with Elias Torres – Drift co-founder, CTO, and now the host of The American Dream. In an unfiltered chat with Dena Upton (Drift's Chief People Officer) Elias and DC open up about their backgrounds and upbringing (Elias in Nicaragua and DC in Queens, NY), what it means to be Latin American in tech, how Drift is addressing systemic racism in the industry, and more. The American Dream is available...

This week on Seeking Wisdom, David and Adam talk about arbitrage opportunities. And we're not talking about paying for clicks on Google or looking for a spread. For DC, arbitrage means finding bigger opportunities. It means being contrarian. It means looking for value where others see none. In other words, invest when others won't, hold back when others are greedy. Tune in to hear more now. Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends....

This week on Seeking Wisdom, DC talks about the five aspects of culture at Drift. Who better to join the discussion than our very own Chief People Officer, Dena Upton. The two of them dive right into why these five aspects help the team at Drift thrive. Dena says it perfectly, “We need to be explicit about what we celebrate, and what we don’t tolerate.” Tune in to listen to DC and our superstar guest, Dena! Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod...

DC and Adam are back to talk about... the news?! That's right. In a year that's been dominated by the news, DC has figured out how to tune it out. But not in favor of ignorance. Instead, he does it for his own sanity and productivity. In this episode, you'll learn about DC's eight-year-long news fast, how it's helped him focus on what's most important, and why it's the ultimate mood builder. Plus, hear how he tunes it out, but still manages to check in. Like this episode? Be sure to leave...

On this episode of Seeking Wisdom, DC and Adam dive deep into one of DC's favorite topics: storytelling. DC comes from a very analytical, framework-driven way of thinking and for many, including him, storytelling can seem arbitrary. It's a topic that's hard to get your arms around. So until DC founded Drift, he hadn't given it too much thought. But then he had to market to marketers. And that's when he finally began to understand the power of storytelling. On this episode, you'll get...

DC is often asked why he started Drift when he started Drift. As his fifth company, a lot went into the decision. But it boils down to a simple question – Why now? – with a simple answer– undeniable shifts. In this episode, DC explains why “Why now?” is the most important question any entrepreneur can ask themself before starting a new venture. The answer must always be because of an undeniable shift – a massive change in our world, a megatrend that’s forcing people to adopt new behaviors....

On this episode of Seeking Wisdom, DC sits down with Dena Upton, Drift's Chief People Officer, to discuss the company's recent decision to go digital first. Together, they talk about what this means for company culture, hiring, and the fate of our office space (hint: Conversation Spaces are coming to cities near you). You're not going to want to miss this episode where DC and Dena uncover what the future of work looks like. Tune in! Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️...

On this episode of Seeking Wisdom, DC breaks down his top five sales and marketing predictions for 2021. We know... these are usually a dime a dozen, but DC's predictions are anything but predictable. A sneak peek: CMOs will be held accountable for revenue, the CRM as we know it is dead, AI AI AI, and much more. Tune in to hear what's in store for 2021. Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with DC on Twitter...

On this episode of Seeking Wisdom, DC breaks down his top five sales and marketing predictions for 2021. We know... these are usually a dime a dozen, but DC's predictions are anything but predictable. A sneak peek: CMOs will be held accountable for revenue, the CRM as we know it is dead, AI AI AI, and much more. Tune in to hear what's in store for 2021. Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with DC on Twitter...

Great opportunities are much rarer than you think. When they do come your way, go all-in. That's the takeaway DC shares on this episode of Seeking Wisdom and it's just one secret behind Charlie Munger's success. Tune in for more wisdom plus lessons from Jeff Bezos and Bill Ackman. And, is this the episode DC finally gets on Twitch? You'll have to listen to find out. Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with DC and...

Great opportunities are much rarer than you think. When they do come your way, go all-in. That's the takeaway DC shares on this episode of Seeking Wisdom and it's just one secret behind Charlie Munger's success. Tune in for more wisdom plus lessons from Jeff Bezos and Bill Ackman. And, is this the episode DC finally gets on Twitch? You'll have to listen to find out. Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with DC and...