Due Diligence

A short solo episode on where I've been, the inner transformations I've been experiencing, and some lessons on how to surrender to a more inspired & soul-driven life (and how to deal with the fear energies that hold us back).

Keith Rabois is a cofounder of OpenStore, a platform connecting shoppers and merchants to create the ultimate decentralized "department store" of the internet. Keith is also a General Partner at Founders Fund, one of the top venture firms in the world. He is cofounder and executive chairman of OpenDoor, served on the boards of Yelp and Reddit, was Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, and COO at Square. Keith was an early employee at PayPal and has invested in legendary Silicon Valley startups like YouTube, Airbnb, Palantir, Eventbrite, Lyft, Quora, Yammer and Wish. He was named #8 on the Midas List in 2022 globally and #4 in the U.S. Learn about OpenStore Sign up for Gorgias

Sophia Amoruso is a serial entrepreneur who founded fashion retailer Nasty Gal and media startup Girlboss. She is also the NYTimes bestselling author of Girlboss, a business memoir that sparked a movement, inspired a Netflix show, and became solidly part of our entrepreneurial vernacular. She is now the founder of online course Business Class and VC fund Trust Fund. What we discuss: How she has evolved since publishing Girlboss If she would write another book Female founders & cancel culture How to deal with negative press What else she wants to accomplish Imposter syndrome Starting a fund Being an introverted VC Resources Female Founder World (podcast) My first interview with Sophia in 2015 Business Class (online course) Trust Fund

Michael Maslansky is a communication strategist and language expert who teaches companies how to effectively connect with customers. As the CEO of Maslansky + Partners, his emotionally savvy coaching has helped numerous Fortune 500s like Pfizer, Starbucks, Bank of America and Microsoft find their footing in times of crisis. His firm’s polling methodologies and in-depth focus groups have frequently been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, 60 Minutes, Nightline and PBS’s Frontline, among others. In this episode we discuss: How to be authentic in your brand messaging & PR The biggest challenges for brands in today's political landscape How to effectively communicate with policymakers and regulators Strategies for navigating "cancel culture" The case study of Bud Light How to communicate brand values while protecting reputation The 4 principles of building trust through communication And more Recommended resources: The Language of Trust: Selling Ideas in a World of Skeptics by Michael Maslansky Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

Samyr Laine is an investor, Olympian, and operator with a background in sports & entertainment. He is currently GP of Freedom Trail Capital, SVP of The Creator Project at Raptive, former SVP of Operations & Strategy at Westbrook, and former Senior Director of Operations at Roc Nation. Prior to working on celebrity ventures for Will & Jada Pinkett Smith and Roc Nation, Samyr worked in the sports industry at Major League Soccer and Monumental Sports & Entertainment. He also competed in the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the triple jump representing Haiti after getting degrees from Georgetown Law & Harvard University.

Rich Antoniello is the founder and former CEO of Complex Networks, a youth culture brand and media company that was founded in 2002 and sold in 2015 to Hearst and Verizon and later in 2021 to BuzzFeed. Find Rich on Twitter and LinkedIn Mentioned in the episode: Collect'd XSET Popchew ⁠Female Founder World⁠

Ahad Khan is the CEO of Kajabi, the leading knowledge commerce platform for creators to monetize their expertise. Check out Kajabi

Rachel Woods is an AI-focused creator with 130K+ on TikTok and the founder of The AI Exchange, a subscription-based hub for AI education. Previously she was the founder of Vinebase, an AI-enabled ecommerce platform, and a data scientist at Meta. In this episode we discuss: What is AI? What is machine learning? What are LLMs? Why AI is exploding now The big players in the AI landscape What is AutoGPT? Current limitations of AI chatbots Tips on prompt engineering Chatbot recommendations How creators & entrepreneurs can start using AI Some of the biggest risks of AI And more Join The AI Exchange here to get 20% off on your first payment

Amanda Bucci is a life coach, content creator, and author of Followed: The Content Creator's Guide to Being Seen, Facing Judgment, and Building An Authentic Personal Brand. In this conversation we discuss: How to stay aligned as a creator How to pivot & reinvent yourself Getting over the fear of being seen Tips for navigating being "cancelled" or called out Setting boundaries as a creator Practices to stay inspired & creative And more. Pre-order her book Find her on Instagram Work with Amanda

Valeria Lipovetsky is a content creator in lifestyle & fashion from Russia & Israel and now based in Miami. She has over 5M+ followers across channels including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. She is also the host of the Not Alone Podcast.

Reflecting on the past 100 days and what's ahead.

Brian Rappaport is the founder & CEO of Quan Media Group, a leading out-of-home advertising agency that has worked with brands like Skims, Daily Harvest, Public, Away, Truff, Recess, Casper, Ouai, Billie, Justworks, and Coterie.

Adrian Alfieri is the founder & CEO of Verbatim, a B2B content studio that has helped 100+ startups like OpenStore, Polywork, Goody, Tydo, Parker, Disco and Settle launch & scale their content functions. He is also the creator of The Proof as well as an advisor and angel investor in early-stage startups and venture funds.

This is the edited recording of a 1-hour live workshop I did on TikTok for Startups 101. Here is the presentation to accompany the workshop.

Jason Yeh is a former VC and startup founder who now helps startups navigate the fundraising process through his coaching, content and programs. Previously Jason was Director of New Media for Major League Baseball, an investor at Greycroft, and cofounder and CEO of the LA-based startup Tape. Learn more: Jason on Twitter Adamant Ventures Funded (podcast) Fundraise with Confidence (course)

Here are 7 resources for learning about business plus 3 bonus tips for how to accelerate this process of understanding a field/industry/vertical.

Here are my 10 principles for living based on an exercise I did to distill how I make life decisions. Sharing in case they're helpful or inspire you to do this exercise for yourself!

Ankur Nagpal is the founder of Teachable which he started in 2013 and sold for a reported $250M to HotMart in 2020. He is also the founder of Vibe Capital, an early-stage venture fund, and most recently Ocho, a fintech startup on a mission to help business owners and creators build wealth.

Here are three mindset strategies I think are even MORE important than specific tactics for becoming a successful creator on any platform.

Andrea Campos is an artist and illustrator who went full-time after a 100 day challenge led her to pivoting from her career in tech where she worked at startups like The Wing to an artist who has worked with major brands and also celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Lopez.