Jake & JZ

It’s the end of Season 1 for Jake & JZ! In this mini episode, we announce that we’re taking a break to publish our new book Click and launch some other cool projects.Shoot, we gave away the content of the episode in the show notes! Still, it’s worth tuning in to hear our conversation about:Jake’s new Elgato teleprompter (not an ad)The iContact Camera (also not an ad)Baby Mama and the gift of uninterrupted eye contactWhy human visual perception is a predictionWhy Zoom calls are so exhaustingVisual ASMRIf you have ideas or requests for Season 2, please send us an email at hey@jakeandjz.com. We’d love to hear from you!Thanks for listening and watching, and we’ll see you soon.📩 Subscribe to our newsletter at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn Blue Sky and X

A conversation with a founder inspired this discussion about maintaining freedom of movement while you build new products and companies. It might be the most important startup thing that nobody ever talks about: The need to stay nimble and not give away your advantages by pre-committing to decisions that steal your freedom of movement.On episode 17 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:How startups beat big companiesIdentifying your unique advantages in a Foundation SprintEight Sleep, but it’s not an ad!New and old sleep tactics that we use every nightRecording the audiobook for ClickAnd much moreHave a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn Blue Sky and X

Two days after recording our last episode about AI, DeepSeek R1 was released, prompting some of you to ask us a set of new questions about how AI will affect the future of work, products, startups, and investing.Jake is off this week, but we invited our cofounder and partner Eli Blee-Goldman back to help JZ answer these questions and — for at least a brief moment — get us caught up on the latest developments in the world of AI.This week on episode 16 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:Why DeepSeek R1 caused such a stirHow AI innovation can come from anywhereOur 3 newest investments at Character CapitalTypes of AI founders (with examples!)Two important lessons from a Character founderDoing it right vs getting it rightThe downside of being able to build so quicklyOur recent Foundation Sprint BootcampHow we get better at sprints by learning from the communityHave a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn Blue Sky and X

Our latest thoughts on AI! At Character Capital, most of our investments are in AI companies. How will recent advancements change how products are designed and startups are built? Our cofounder Eli Blee-Goldman returns to the podcast to share predictions and highlight the importance of human agency in an AGI future.Quick note: This episode was recorded right before DeepSeek R1 came out. We have thoughts, of course 🤓 We’ll record a follow-up soon!On episode 15 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:What stays the same in an AGI future?The importance of agencyThe capabilities gapDoing meaningful work with people you likeSurprising lessons from a Design Sprint with an AI bio startupWhat changes in an AGI future?How AI can close the gap between builders and customersAI ethics and sentienceAnd much moreHave a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, X, and Blue Sky

10 years ago, we learned how caffeine really works, and it changed how we use, consume, and enjoy coffee. Tune in for a Jake & JZ deep dive on caffeine — from working with Blue Bottle, to our current coffee routines, to insights and tactics for making the most of this wonderful substance.On episode 14 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:How caffeine really worksLearning about caffeine from Ryan Brown at Blue Bottle CoffeeGoing deeper for Make TimeTwo surprising caffeine insightsTwo helpful coffee tacticsJZ’s favorite coffee maker: The OXO BrewJake’s espresso machine: The Breville BES870XLBoon Boona CoffeeA great book: Deskbound by Kelly Starrett (not about caffeine, still great)And much moreHave a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, X, and Blue Sky

We wrote a new book!!! It’s called Click and it’s all about the Foundation Sprint, our new 2-day method for kicking off big projects!We are SUPER excited to share it with you all, and this week’s episode is a deep dive into the process of writing the book and how it fits into our investing strategy.Learn more about the book at theclickbook.comOn episode 13 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:How to get early access to ClickThe history of the Foundation SprintBooks that inspired us: Psychology of Money, Power of Habit, Building a Storybrand, The Heath Brothers’ booksWhat we look for when we investWhy we had to share the Foundation SprintHave a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Blue Sky and X

ANNOUNCEMENT: We are hosting a live online event to introduce the Foundation Sprint!! Join us for an early look at our new sprint method and a cool surprise!On the podcast: Character Labs is BACK, so this week we’re sharing a What-Why-How-style deep dive on the program. If you want to hear our best ideas and tactics for starting new projects, OR if you’re just curious about Character Labs, be sure to check out this episode.On episode 12 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:The most important moment for every new projectThat feeling when your product “clicks” with customers for the first timeLenny’s newsletter on How to know if you've got product-market fitThe Founding Hypothesis (every project has one; do you know yours?)Getting just one customerHow AI has changed prototyping in Character LabsAnd much moreHere’s that registration link for the event next week.Have a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and X

We discuss three essential books that help us break through uncertainty and focus on the most important work. If you want to get better at designing products and building companies, we think you should read:Getting Real by 37signals, for how to get real about what mattersGood Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt, for how to give your business an unfair advantageDeep Work by Cal Newport, for staying focused and actually doing the workOn episode 11 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:Why your business needs an enemyInsights from the “survival days” of successful companies (like the Startup Wayback Machine)Crafting strategy based on your unique advantagesWhy strategy is a hypothesisHow to summarize an entire book in 25 wordsMore lessons from journalismBad graphic designHave a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X

Jake gets a bit vulnerable and talks about Perfection Anxiety, which he’s struggled with since childhood. If you ever feel stuck, or worry your work won’t be good enough, be sure to check out this episode — we share a BUNCH of concrete tactics for overcoming Perfection Anxiety and getting started.On episode 10 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:How to run two sprints in one weekWinter in the Pacific NorthwestWhy discipline doesn’t workWorking at newspapersA great podcast episode: Starbucks on AcquiredA great newsletter: Spyglass by M.G. SieglerHave a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X

This episode is about our SINGLE BEST technique for avoiding distraction every day. In part two of our mini series on Make Time, Jake describes the Distraction-Free iPhone — which he started doing 10 years ago!! If you’re looking for a simple, powerful way to block distraction (ESPECIALLY after episode 8’s discussion of the Highlight Method), be sure to tune in.On episode 9 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:Lord Nelson and the importance of proper provisioningAttention ResidueWhy Jake deleted all the distracting apps from his phone (and what’s left)JZ’s experience with a Distraction-Free Phone (and what’s NOT on his phone today)Why LinkedIn is an adult websiteTreating colleagues as friendsA great app: How We FeelA great Netflix series: Starting 5Have a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X

How do you make time for what matters? In this episode, we share a simple habit called The Highlight Method, inspired by the Design Sprint, that we both use to focus our efforts on the most important activities every day. Have a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com.This week on episode 8 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:When it makes sense to use LLMs for writingBeing secret late adoptersThe big ideas behind our book Make TimeThe danger of defaults in our everyday livesHow the daily Highlight worksStrategies for choosing the right Highlight📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X

This might be our most tactical episode ever. If you’re starting something new, check it out! Not to brag, but it’s FULL of proven tactics for making big decisions about new projects.This week we also answered our very first audience question. Thanks 1sam1216! Have a question for us? Send it to hey@jakeandjz.com.On episode 7 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:Our Name Sprint process for naming your company or productA full walkthrough of our Name Sprint for Character CapitalWhy we chose “Character” even though it wasn’t a perfect match for our brand attributesHow to use Design Sprints to test risky non-consensus ideasThe importance of moving from abstract to concrete as quickly as possibleFinding conviction, not consensusAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyAnnihilation by Jeff VanderMeerNPR Tiny Desk ConcertsAnd much more📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and XChapters0:00 Jake finally reads Anna Karenina8:10 We visited Google again and gave a talk at YouTube!11:00 Presenting the Foundation Sprint for the first time14:00 Helping a founder build something new from day 0 in healthcare18:05 Should he go direct to patients?19:30 Design Sprints give you a chance to try something risky and non-consensus20:35 A lot people told us not to write a book, so we prototyped it22:10 Prototypes aren’t just for customers; they give founders a chance to see their idea live!24:30 Our first audience questions!25:20 Audience question: Do you have a method for naming companies?26:05 History of the Name Sprint from Google Ventures28:50 Walkthrough of our Name Sprint for Character Capital29:45 Step 1: Note-and-Vote on themes of potential names34:30 Step 2: Note-and-Vote on actual names (as many as possible)36:40 Jake did not vote for Character37:45 Step 3: Multiple rounds of voting to narrow down the set of names38:35 Step 4: Plotting names on 2x2 charts to evaluate brand fit39:20 We chose Character even though it didn’t fit our abstract brand values41:05 Step 5: Vetting final names with the pub test (aka the shaky cell signal test)42:30 Step 6: Final checks (web test, domain, trademark)44:30 Empty vessel names47:00 Collecting aspirational domain names (including jakeandjz.com!)49:55 JZ’s Wisconsin accent50:30 Lantern Ventures: a free brand for any VCs who love camping51:30 We chose Character Capital because we had conviction, not consensus52:45 A special thank you to Laura Melahn53:30 Jake recommends Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (the book, not the movie)56:00 JZ recommends NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts57:15 NPR Tiny Desk is the new MTV Unplugged

A special chance to meet Eli, the third founder of Character, and learn about the inner workings of venture capital. This week on episode 6 of Jake & JZ we talked about:How Jake got to ride in the very first Waymo (when it was just a prototype on the Google campus)Jake’s rollercoaster of emotion meeting EliEli’s winding path to VC (it led through Botswana!), his famously good intuition, and “Eli-isms”Phaidra: Why we invested, how we work with the team, and the real value of a startup board memberWhy we use blinded scorecards to make investment decisionsJake’s annotated copy of the viral MrBeast production memo (download it here!)The importance of starting at the endAnd much more📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and XChapters0:00 Jake got to ride in the very first Waymo3:35 Jake & JZ’s impressions of Waymo in San Francisco7:55 Welcoming our cofounder Eli Blee-Goldman to the show!8:15 Jake’s rollercoaster of emotion meeting Eli10:35 Eli’s winding path to VC (it led through Botswana!)13:35 How Eli developed his famously good intuition 15:40 How Eli got his first job in VC20:20 Showing up and putting in the work21:50 A fine Eli-ism: The Conviction Punch!26:05 The mismatch between founders and VCs30:40 Why Eli got excited about Phaidra34:00 Wait, what does Phaidra do, anyway?36:15 Why we use blinded scorecards to make investment decisions39:30 How Design Sprints make startups more capital efficient42:15 The role of board members at an early-stage startup47:40 Why Eli decided to start Character Capital50:25 The viral MrBeast production memo52:05 “This is like Sun Tzu, it’s like the Art of War”52:45 Jake walks through his annotated version of the MrBeast memo57:05 Start at the end: Choosing the title and thumbnail BEFORE making the video59:55 Seth Godin: “Marketing is how we create the conditions for people to find what they are looking for”1:00:50 MrBeast and Lightning Demos1:03:00 Clickbait headlines and the feeling of success

This week on episode 5, we talked about:The music you listened to between ages 12 and 20 (and how it’s the best, no matter how old you are)Revisiting the music video for Cannonball by The BreedersSpeaking at a Stanford BioDesign class led by the founder of Cala Health (we ran a sprint with them in 2016!)Lightning Demos, a quick way to gather inspiration for new solutions and a key part of every Design SprintThe amazing cover of Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (and why Jake had a copy within reach!)A study showing how outside inspiration leads to better ideasThe three reasons Lightning Demos work so wellLightning Demo Demos — we do live Lightning Demos of three websitesShiny Object SyndromePlaydate’s hardworking headlineAligning your “why” with your customer’s “why”A great podcast episode: Seth Godin on Animal SpiritsAnd much more📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and XChapters00:00 Musical nostalgia03:40 Technology and pop culture06:08 Speaking at Stanford BioDesign08:15 Lightning Demos14:00 Outside inspiration leads to better ideas17:35 How we used Lightning Demos with Cala Health21:35 Lightning Demo Demos23:04 Lightning Demo: Oura Ring27:47 Lightning Demo: Fathom32:35 Making a palette of Lightning Demos35:33 Lightning Demo: Playdate43:55 Review of today's Lightning Demos45:12 The viral Mr Beast production memo47:27 Seth Godin on the Animal Spirits podcast

This week on episode 4, we talked about:Jake's train stationA disappointing dialog at the end of Diablo 3What’s so incredibly great about hoodiesTeddy Ruxpin, the original edtech product for kidsCuriosity Labs, a Character portfolio company building educational AI companions for kidsThe founding story of YouTube KidsGetting new product ideas from real-world customer behaviorTwo different ways to pitch the same companyShould founders follow “best practices” when pitching investors or try to stand out?Fathom’s Series AHow we found Fathom (and then decided to invest)Authenticity in salesWhy we go out of our way to pitch ourselves to foundersOur Design Sprint with FathomAlmond butter in oatmealA great book: Against the GodsAnd much more📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and XChapters00:00 A diabolical dialog box03:54 The importance of throughline05:45 Where is Jake's sweatshirt?!07:39 How sweatshirts work09:13 Teddy Ruxpin11:24 Building the pitch for Curiosity Labs17:04 How a side project became YouTube Kids22:49 A better way to pitch VCs33:56 How Fathom got to Series A40:30 How VCs do outbound sales45:48 How authenticity shows up in products53:21 Good beans57:14 An extended self-congratulatory ad for Character and Design Sprints

This week on episode 3 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:The Seinfeld Moviefone episode (”Why don’t you just tell me what the product does?”)The Startup Wayback Machine (continued!), our technique for learning from successful companies in their early daysWebsites through the years, including Uber in 2011, iPhone in 2007, Slack in 2014–2017Solving one problem well before you try to solve a bunch of problemsA great LinkedIn post from Kushal Byatnal (founder of Character portfolio company Extend) about selling your product before you build itA fun tabletop analog game called KLASK (check out this epic game on YouTube)A great movie: The Eagle HuntressAnd much more📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and XChapters00:00 Seinfeld and "Moviefone"05:13 The Wayback Machine09:09 Wayback: Uber18:01 Wayback: iPhone25:42 Wayback: Slack

This week on Jake & JZ, we talked about:What Why How, our simple framework for great marketingHow successful companies apply this framework… or don’t! We compared Oura, Fathom, Playdate, Fletch, Meta Quest, and Apple Vision ProHow Nintendo redefined not just themselves, but the entire video game marketWhy founders should start with the story and differentiation, not the productThe Startup Wayback MachineA great book: Pattern Breakers by Mike Maples JrA great article: The Idea Maze is a Useless Idea by Cedric ChinTaking action to generate informationHowever, we did NOT talk about the election 😉📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and XChapters00:00 Nintendo zags when the world zigs04:49 Character Labs05:34 What-Why-How Framework09:18 The Importance of a Clear Story12:28 Examples of the 'What, Why, How' Framework in Action21:39 Crafting Clear and Compelling Messaging23:47 More What-Why-How Examples33:32 Apple Vision Pro vs Meta VR: Marketing43:47 Lessons from 'Pattern Breakers'50:47 Challenging the Idea Maze

This week on Jake & JZ, we talked about:Advantages of remote vs IRL work for startup teamsCharacter Labs, our sprint program for pre-seed foundersWhy some founders feel anxious when they aren’t writing codeOur first exit of a Character portfolio company (Reclaim was acquired by Dropbox)The ongoing quest for a distraction-free phone (Jake ordered the Lightphone III)The story of Nintendo on the Acquired podcastBit Timer, a nice timer for iPhoneAnd much more📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and XChapters00:00 Jake’s Sketchy Business Expense06:39 Introducing This Podcast08:10 Character Labs10:24 Even More About Character Labs22:11 The First GPU? Maybe?23:17 In-Person is Special25:38 Geographic Memory36:25 Dropbox Buys Reclaim40:18 How We Invested In Reclaim42:11 That One Really Long Taylor Swift Song42:35 Reclaim’s Multiplayer Sprint43:35 Sort of a Magic Recipe44:06 JZ Needs a Decent Timer App49:46 $17 Per Week?!51:56 Jake Talks About Nintendo For A Long Time