Founder's Journal

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 you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, and the two traits of 10X founders. Episode Transcript: https://foundersjournalpod.morningbrew.com/blog/how-to-identify-top-1-talent-keith-rabois-investor-in-doordash-youtube-airbnb-lyft 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 entrepreneur who wants to better empathize with engineers and product employees. Original essay: https://mail.bigdeskenergy.com/p/always-be-shipping 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 especially relevant for entrepreneurs. There are many external forces that can push you down the path of making ego-driven decisions, and I believe this article is an important counterbalance to ground you. Original Essay: https://www.youngmoney.co/p/opportunity-cost-everything Jack’s X URL: https://twitter.com/Jack_Raines Jack’s Linkedin URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackraines/ 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 holding company. I’m going to read a story by Andrew about one of the businesses he tried to launch after MetaLab and his lessons from its spectacular failure. Original Story: https://twitter.com/awilkinson/status/1376985854229504007 Andrew’s X Account: https://twitter.com/awilkinson 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 what I believe to be one of the best pieces on the internet about the challenges of this methodology, a 12-year-old essay by investing legend Bill Gurley that is as relevant today as it was then. The Dangerous Seduction of the Lifetime Value (LTV) Formula: https://abovethecrowd.com/2012/09/04/the-dangerous-seduction-of-the-lifetime-value-ltv-formula/ DTC Metrics, Explained: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/dtc-metrics-explained-2020-02-12 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 hours and understanding if it has the potential to get to 7-figures. In today’s episode, I break down the Million Dollar Weekend method as efficiently as possible, and if you want to learn more, you should 100% buy Kagan's book. Link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Weekend-Surprisingly-7-Figure/dp/059353977X Link to the site: https://noahkagan.com/mdwbook/ Link to Noah’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@noahkagan 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 reading Andreessen’s 2011 essay to understand the rationale behind his future predictions, and how the patterns he spotted could be applied to today’s business landscape with the growth of AI. Original essay: https://a16z.com/why-software-is-eating-the-world/ 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.eladgil.com/book/recruiting/recruiting-best-practices/ 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 Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices