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Founders

Learn from history's greatest entrepreneurs. Every week I read a biography of an entrepreneur and find ideas you can use in your work. This quote explains why: "There are thousands of years of history in which lots and lots of very smart people worked very hard and ran all types of experiments on how to create new businesses, invent new technology, new ways to manage etc. They ran these experiments throughout their entire lives. At some point, somebody put these lessons down in a book. For very little money and a few hours of time, you can learn from someone’s accumulated experience. There is so much more to learn from the past than we often realize. You could productively spend your time reading experiences of great people who have come before and you learn every time." —Marc Andreessen

Episodes

#228 Michael Bloomberg

What I learned from reading Bloomberg by Michael Bloomberg. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [2:08] Answering to no one is the ultimate situation. [3:02] Twitter thread on Michael Bloomberg by Neckar.Substack.com [5:28] We never made the error that so many others have: mistaking their product for the device that delivers it. [6:27] We knew our core product was data and analytics. [7:01] We were motivated by an idea that we could build ...

Jan 27, 20221 hr 21 min

I read 66 biographies last year— Here are my top 10!

Here are 10 episodes to start with: #168 Driven: An Autobiography by Larry Miller #171 The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune #219 Anthony Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography #223 Unstoppable: Siggi Wilzig's Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend #216 Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans #212 Michael Jordan: The Life #210 Stephen King On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft #193 Arnold: The Educati...

Jan 24, 202212 min

#227 The Essays of Warren Buffett

What I learned from reading The Essays of Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett and Lawrence Cunningham. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [1:39] Founders #88 Warren Buffett’s shareholder letters — All of them! [2:36] Buffet and Charlie Munger built this sprawling enterprise by investing in businesses with excellent economic characteristics and run by outstanding managers. [5:21] Founders #224 Charles de Gaulle by Julian Jackson [5:41] Books...

Jan 20, 20221 hr 57 min

#226 Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle

What I learned from reading Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle by Paul Johnson. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [0:55] I have always had a soft spot for those who speak out against the conventional wisdom and who are not afraid to speak the truth, even if it puts them in a minority of one. [1:20] 4 traits of heroes: 1. Absolute independence of mind. Think everything through yourself. 2. Act r...

Jan 12, 20221 hr 7 min

#225 Winston Churchill

What I learned from reading Churchill by Paul Johnson. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [2:09] Churchill never allowed mistakes, disaster, illnesses, unpopularity, and criticism to get him down. [4:19] The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson. (Founders #196) [4:57] He wrote best-selling biographies on Napoleon, Churchill, Eisenhower, Socrates, and Mozart. [6:39] 3 part series...

Jan 09, 20221 hr 23 min

#224 Charles de Gaulle

What I learned from reading Charles de Gaulle by Julian Jackson. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [6:45] The Winston Churchill episode is #196 based on the book The Splendid and The Vile [7:07] Don’t turn your back on he who will not accept defeat. [7:54] The greatest founders in history have identified a series of ideas that are extremely important to them and they repeat these ideas over and over again. Repetition is persuasive. [12:...

Jan 05, 20221 hr 50 min

#223 Unstoppable: Siggi Wilzig's Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend

What I learned from reading Unstoppable: Siggi Wilzig's Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend by Joshua M. Greene. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- Never give up. Only death is permanent. Everything else can be fixed.I couldn't take such talk about not coming out alive. I didn't want to hear it. Whenever my mind told me I was not going to survive, the Almighty told me to keep going. S...

Dec 29, 20211 hr 15 min

#222 Ed Thorp (My personal blueprint)

What I learned from rereading A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market by Ed Thorp. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- 1. The book reveals a thorough, rigorous, methodical person in search of life, knowledge, financial security, and, not least of all, fun. 2. I learned at an early age to teach myself. This paid off later on because there weren’t any courses in how to beat blackjack, build...

Dec 20, 20211 hr 38 min

#221 Charlie Munger

What I learned from reading Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger by Janet Lowe. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [16:02] I had a considerable passion to get rich. Not because I wanted Ferraris—I wanted the independence. I desperately wanted it. [26:49] I met the towering intellectuals in books, not in the classroom, which is natural. My family was into all that stuff, getting ahead through di...

Dec 13, 20211 hr 25 min

#220 Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine

What I learned from reading Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine by Brock Yates. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [0:01] Editorial writers around the world groped for words to express what Enzo Ferrari had meant. Many tried to describe him as an automotive pioneer, which he was not; others called him a great racing driver and engineer, which he was not. He was, however, exactly what he had repeatedly said he was: an agitator of men. A...

Dec 09, 20211 hr 22 min

#219 Tony Bourdain: The Definitive Biography

What I learned from reading Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [28:32] All the energy he'd put into trying to destroy himself, he put that into building himself back up. All that negative energy became something else. He became so serious, and so driven and focused. He worked really hard. It takes a lot of determination to wake up early in the morning and write, and then go to a...

Nov 30, 20211 hr 47 min

#218 Johan Cruyff (A Life of Total Football)

What I learned from reading My Turn: A Life of Total Football by Johan Cruyff. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- [0:01] I always say you play football with your head; you just use your legs to run. [1:09] I'm not capable of doing something at a low level. [8:45] I'm definitely cunning. I'm always on the looko...

Nov 25, 202158 min

#217 Estée Lauder

What I learned from rereading Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. Watch Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love by Bill Gurley. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----[21:14] I sometimes wonder if I had set my heart on selling tassels, cars, furniture, or anything else but be...

Nov 18, 20211 hr 23 min

#216 Paul Van Doren (Founder of Vans)

What I learned from reading Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans by Paul Van Doren. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- The way we deal with hardship is our legacy. You can accept defeat, or you can overcome it.Quitting Randy's had probably been the biggest stroke of luck in my life. Opportunity is a stra...

Nov 14, 20211 hr 29 min

#215: J. Robert Oppenheimer and Leslie Groves (The General and the Genius)

What I learned from reading The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer—The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atom Bomb by James Kunetka. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- It is clear that nothing short of a full-speed, all-out attempt would be worthwhile.Once Leslie Groves accepted his new assignmen...

Nov 09, 202157 min

#214 Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography

What I learned from rereading Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- 1. He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you.2. He refused to accept automatically received truths, and he wanted to examine everything himself.3. Picasso had a...

Nov 03, 20212 hr 12 min

#213 Michael Jordan: Driven From Within

What I learned from reading Driven From Within by Michael Jordan and Mark Vancil. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- [4:55] Players who practice hard when no one is paying attention play well when everyone is watching.[9:47] It's hard, but it's fair. I live by those words. [12:49] To this day, I don't enjoy wo...

Oct 27, 20211 hr 7 min

#212 Michael Jordan: The Life

What I learned from reading Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- [5:07] His competence was exceeded only by his confidence.[5:58] He worked at the game, and if he wasn't good at something, he had the motivation to be the best at it. [6:33] It seemed that he discovered ...

Oct 23, 20211 hr 38 min

#211 Aristotle Onassis: An Extravagant Life

What I learned from reading Onassis: An Extravagant Life by Frank Brady. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- He became one of the richest men in U.S. history ever to be arrested.The epic life of Aristotle Onassis is as mysterious as a tale from ancient Greek mythology and is a study of paradoxes, altogether gri...

Oct 16, 20211 hr 15 min

#210 Stephen King On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

What I learned from reading Stephen King On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- My earliest memory is of imagining I was someone else.By the time I was fourteen the nail in wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced ...

Oct 10, 20211 hr 10 min

#209 Steven Spielberg: A Biography

What I learned from reading Steven Spielberg: A Biography by Joseph McBride. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----Whatever is there, he makes it work.Spielberg once defined his approach to filmmaking by declaring, "I am the audience.""He said, 'I want to be a director.' And I said, 'Well, if you want to be a dire...

Oct 06, 20211 hr 11 min

#208 Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Andy Grove, Bill Hewlett

What I learned from reading In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World by Rama Dev Jager and Rafael Ortiz. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players. —Steve Jobs There are no shortcuts aroun...

Sep 29, 20211 hr 22 min

#207 Claude Hopkins (Scientific Advertising)

What I learned from reading Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----Individuals come and go, but they leave their records and ideas behind them. These become a guide to all who follow.Genius is the art of taking pains. The best ads ask no one to buy. That is useless. The bes...

Sep 26, 202151 min

#206 Albert D. Lasker (the creation of the advertising industry)

What I learned from reading The Man Who Sold America: The Amazing (but True!) Story of Albert D. Lasker and the Creation of the Advertising Century by Jeffrey L. Cruikshank and Arthur W. Schultz. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----Advertising is a very simple thing. I can give it to you in three words: Salesman...

Sep 23, 20211 hr 37 min

#205 James Dyson (Invention: A Life)

What I learned from reading Invention: A Life by James Dyson. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- This is a story told through a life of creating and developing things, as well as expressing a call to arms for young people to become engineers, creating solutions to our current and future problems.I have tried t...

Sep 18, 20211 hr 52 min

#204 Steve Jobs (Inside Steve's Brain)

What I learned from reading Inside Steve's Brian by Leander Kahney. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- 1. It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don't take the time to do that.2. He remade Apple in his own image. Apple is...

Sep 14, 202159 min

#203 Georges Doriot (Birth of Venture Capital)

What I learned from reading Creative Capital: Georges Doriot and the Birth of Venture Capital by Spencer Ante. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- 1. He was very important because he was the first one to believe there was a future in financing entrepreneurs in an organized way.2. He brought a unique style to ev...

Sep 08, 20211 hr 27 min

#202 A Few Lessons From Warren Buffett

What I learned from reading A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett and Peter Bevelin. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- Big opportunities come infrequently. When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble.Speculation is most dangerous when it looks easiest.Now...

Sep 02, 20211 hr 7 min

#201 Isambard Kingdom Brunel (James Dyson's Hero)

What I learned from reading Isambard Kingdom Brunel: The Definitive Biography of The Engineer, Visionary, and Great Briton by L.T.C. Rolt. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- 1. His career was to him a tremendous adventure.2. I have always made it a rule, which I have found by some years experience a safe and p...

Aug 30, 20211 hr 14 min

#200 James Dyson (Against the Odds)

What I learned from rereading Against The Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson and reading A History of Great Inventions by James Dyson. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- 1. I am a creator of products, a builder of things, and my name appears love on them. That is how I make a living and they are what have m...

Aug 27, 20212 hr 14 min
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