Creator Lab - interviews with entrepreneurs and startup founders podcast

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Episodes

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Creator Lab - interviews with entrepreneurs and startup founders

Conversations with leading entrepreneurs, non-profit founders, award winning designers, educators, artists and everything else in between. We dig deep into their stories, have honest conversations about how they made their ideas come to life and the lessons learned along the way.

Episodes

Zaid Admani // 100mil+ Views, Going Viral On TikTok, Creative Spirit vs. Slave To Algo

Zaid Admani is a creator and part-time Civil Engineer. He creates content on finance and business that is both educational and entertaining. He has built up a following of ~400k people & has generated more than 100 million views across social media. Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j-he_V_V5nY Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:14) - Zaid’s Creator Journey (00:21:04) - Zaid’s Civil Engineering Background (00:32:04) - Zaid’s Content Style (00:43:39) - Creating Viral Content vs. M...

Sep 21, 2023•2 hr•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast

Suneel Gupta // Finding Purpose, Dealing With Burnout, 85% Rule & The Music Mindset

Suneel Gupta is a writer and entrepreneur. He studies leaders from around the world to discover and share simple, actionable habits that enhance performance and deepen ones state of well-being. Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kZwbKcnsdbY Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:49) - Suneel’s Backstory (00:03:35) - What is Dharma? (00:17:38) - The Arrival Fallacy (00:24:44) - The Ambition Paradox? (00:32:51) - Sponsor: LinkedIn Jobs (00:34:02) - Searching for Meaning (00:42:37) - The...

Aug 24, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast

Kallaway // 100mil+ Views, Growing on TikTok & Vertical Video Deep Dive

Kallaway is creator with a passion for producing content centered around tech and cult brands. He has generated over 100 million views and amassed a large following across social media. Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/etQpm_bQJH8 Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:22) - Kallaway’s Backstory (00:17:07) - Distribution is King (00:20:57) - Why Short-Form Video? (00:28:56) - Actionable Advice on Creating Content (00:44:53) - Sponsor: LinkedIn Jobs (00:46:04) - Comedy & Storytelling...

Jul 27, 2023•2 hr 15 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast

Mario Gabriele, The Generalist // Emerging Tech, ChatGPT vs. Google, Contrarian Views & Raising A $15mil Fund

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zJBc0-rsnVo Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Start 00:04:26 - What VCs do & how it overlaps with Mario’s experience 00:08:00 - Why Be A Generalist vs. Specialist? 00:11:32 - Surprising characteristics of “who becomes an entrepreneur”? 00:15:52 - Average age of entrepreneurs - fact vs fiction 00:17:58 - Emerging Tech (AI, Crypto, Health) 00:22:34 - Valuations in 2023 00:24:53 - Feelings After FTX & Luna Crash 0:33:24 - Web 2.5 Companies 00:35:45 - Neo Banks vs...

Feb 27, 2023•2 hr 32 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast

Timo Armoo, Fanbytes // 8-Figure Agency Sale, Influencer Marketing & Expertise Gap Opportunities in 2023

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/c1vgzbouoXY Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:24) - Start Of Interview (00:06:43) - Selling Companies & Expertise Gap (00:15:40) - Expertise Gap in 2023 (00:20:18) - Selling Company: Strategic vs Financial Buyers (00:23:50) - Getting New Clients & Figuring Out Pricing (00:39:29) - Sponsor Break: Virtual Gurus (00:40:32) - Press, Scaling Beyond Yourself & Dealing With Ego (00:56:42) - Best In Class Influencer Marketing (01:04:00) - Priorities & L...

Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast

James DeJulio, Tongal // Future of Hollywood & Advertising, Impact of AI on Creative Work & Who Wins The Streaming Wars?

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FNCgWJNR9ok Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:24) - Start Of Interview (00:01:55) - What Is Tongal? (00:04:07) - Types of Content: Branded, Original + Advertising (00:07:08) - Scale Of Tongal (00:12:14) - Background in Hollywood (00:24:57) - The Company Before Tongal (00:34:54) - Power of Cold E-mail (00:36:53) - Company Origin Story (00:41:12) - Sponsor Break: Virtual Gurus (00:42:12) - Getting First Few Customers (00:46:49) - Finding Product M...

Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast

Ben Tossell, Ben's Bites // AI Hype Cycle, 2023 Predictions & OpenAI vs Google vs Microsoft

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2XHlteP32Sc Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:24) - Start Of Interview (00:02:48) - Zapier + AI (00:05:56) - No Code + AI (00:17:16) - OpenAI vs Google vs Microsoft (00:26:32) - AI assistant (00:39:20) - Sponsor Break: The Virtual Gurus (00:40:21) - OpenAI vs Big Tech (00:46:49) - askmybook.com (00:54:58) - AI Hype Cycle? (01:00:05) - Predictions for 2023 (01:14:11) - End Links Mentioned https://www.bensbites.co https://twitter.com/bentossell Th...

Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast

Danny Postma: OpenAI, GPT-3, AI Business Ideas & His 7-Figure Sale

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4PWqRILYz8U Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:07) - Start Of Interview (00:01:25) - Who Is Danny Postma (00:04:04) - Slowmad Lifestyle (00:06:54) - Early Indie Hacking (00:15:21) - What Is GPT-3? (00:18:18) - Training AI (00:24:07) - First-Hand Experience (00:25:36) - Use Cases (00:28:41) - Should we learn to code to play with AI? (00:34:19) - Jasper and copy.ai (00:38:07) - What Is Open AI? (00:40:05) - Sponsor Break: Shopify (00:41:39) - Spons...

Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast

Tom Osman, Shiny // AI Co-Pilots, Web3 & Online Communities

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/K26L7HwTLcU Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:06) - What Is Shiny? (00:03:48) - Hyperfocused On Being Unfocused (00:06:14) - Shiny Object Social Club + Shiny Token (00:11:09) - Crypto Sentiment & Price Action (00:16:10) - Open AI & What's Driving The Growth in AI? (00:22:08) - Image, Video, Podcast AI + Generative Art (00:27:42) - Jasper - All-in-one Tool + AI Co-Pilots (00:37:25) - Sponsor Break: Shopify (00:38:35) - Sponsor Break: Justworks (0...

Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast

Mike Evans, Grubhub // Building A $2bil Company, Going Public & Leaving It All Behind

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YbEAIBbQA5E Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:25) - Start Of Interview (00:01:56) - How Grubhub Started (00:03:26) - Software Developer to Starting Grubhub & Fixer (00:05:13) - Seven Deadly Sins (00:06:48) - Idea To Reality (00:08:45) - The Evolution (00:13:26) - Knowing When To Go Full Time (00:22:00) - Prioritizing & Managing Time (00:25:25) - Repeat Purchases (00:26:51) - iPhone & The App Store (00:31:03) - Creating A New Business Model (00:3...

Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast

Michael Brandt: Ketones, Stem Cell Preservation, 7-Day Fasts & Micro-Dosing

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8HlTDcNCDxI Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:26) - Start of Interview (00:01:42) - Starting HVMN (Health Via Modern Nutrition) (00:07:48) - Scale Of Business & Google Background (00:13:02) - Ketosis & Keto (00:18:23) - How The Brain Uses Energy (00:21:39) - Exogenous Ketones (00:35:31) - Athletes Using Exogenous Ketones (00:38:55) - Sponsor: Justworks (00:40:01) - Continuation Of Interview (00:45:04) - Ketones Your Body Produces vs Exogenous Ke...

Oct 17, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast

Annie Duke: When To Quit, Monkeys vs Pedestals & The Dark Side of Goals

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EtsZ36eaBPc Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:37) - Start Of Interview (00:01:30) - Annie Duke's Background In Poker (00:03:49) - Growing Up (00:06:11) - How Games Help Your Life (00:09:53) - What Makes A Great Poker Player (00:17:52) - Annie Duke's Role At First Round Capital (00:22:56) - Knowing When To Quit (00:38:39) - Müller-Lyer Illusion (00:49:51) - Sponsor: Linkedin Jobs (00:50:54) - Sponsor: Justworks (00:52:10) - Continuation Of Interv...

Oct 10, 2022•2 hr 50 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast

Elijah: History of UK Grime, Pirate Radio & The Future of Music

Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hXHZLKFpTu8 Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:27) - Sponsor Break: Sendinblue (00:01:17) - Who Is Elijah? (00:07:10) - Sound System Culture (00:09:13) - What's A Reload? (00:12:26) - Origins of UK Grime (00:16:30) - Controversy of Form 696 (00:27:21) - Pirate Radio (00:31:45) - How Musicians Make Money (00:36:07) - How Much You Get Paid Per Stream (00:38:05) - Industry Standards In Music (00:44:15) - Communities, Artists & Gatekeepers (00:51:49)...

Sep 26, 2022•2 hr 58 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast

Trung Phan: Backstory, Writing in Public, Twitter Growth & Power of Memes

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dytmn7fcBxo Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:34) - How The Phan Family Got To Canada (00:07:34) - Trung's Exposure To Writing (00:11:28) - Twitter: The Good & Bad (00:14:29) - South East Asia To America (00:24:42) - Anxiety & Writing Publically (00:27:12) - Growing A Podcast (00:32:04) - Sponsor: Linkedin Jobs (00:33:04) - Sponsor: Justworks (00:34:20) - Cringe Test (00:39:45) - Vanity Metrics & Distraction of Follower Count (00:45:52) - Film Script To TV ...

Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast

Adrian Aoun, Forward + Sidewalk Labs // Smart Cities + The Future of Healthcare

Adrian Aon is the founder & CEO of Forward. They've raised more than $225mil from the world's leading VCs to "build an insurance-free healthcare system from the ground-up”. Before that, he was the Director of Special Projects for Google's CEO & founder of Sidewalk Labs, the startup at Google tasked with re-inventing cities & sold Wavii to Google for $30mil. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IwO12HgtWqw Timestamps (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:31) - Sponsor: Justworks (00:03:21) - Sidewalk Labs (00:...

Aug 15, 2022•57 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast

Kathryn Minshew, The Muse // Future of Work, Attracting Talent + How Job Sites Make Money

Kathryn Minshew is the Founder & CEO at The Muse Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZKOgdHTnKc8 Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:40) - Sponsor Break: AppSumo (00:01:19) - What Is The Muse (00:05:29) - How Big Is The Muse (00:06:46) - Pay-Per-Click vs Pay-Per-Hire Business Model (00:11:38) - Hiring Is The More Important Thing (00:16:16) - The Average Cost To Hiring People (00:22:27) - Kathryn’ s View about Pallet's Approach (00:29:05) - Sponsor Break: The Economist (00:30:26) - S...

Jul 12, 2022•59 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast

Tiago Forte // Building a Second Brain in Practice + Sustained Behavior Change

Tiago Forte is the creator of Building a Second Brain. Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h04N_6tmMeg Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Intro (00:00:40) – Sponsor Break: AppSumo (00:03:23) - How Second Brain Began (00:05:49) - Building a Second Brain (00:13:31) - Multi-Million Dollar Live Courses. (00:16:23) - What Makes People Have Sustained Behavior Change (00:24:15) - 4 Steps of C.O.D.E (Capture, Organize, Distil, Express (00:27:08) - 3 stages: 1) Remember 2) Connect 3) Create (00:29:49) –...

Jun 23, 2022•59 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast

Sam Corcos, Levels // Metabolic Health, CGM Market & Growing A Health Tech Company

Sam Corcos is the co-founder & CEO of Levels Health Subscribe & watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iI331lJkPm0 Timestamps: (00:00:00) Preview (00:00:34) Sponsor - AppSumo (00:01:02) Intro to Sam (00:10:23) Problems Caused by Metabolic Dysfunction (00:15:43) Current Stage of The Company (00:22:49) Alternative Business Model (00:28:47) Product Market Fit (00:39:56) Sponsor: Linkedin Jobs (00:42:17) 10x in Digital Content (00:44:34) Podcasting As A Channel (00:49:17) Partnerships (00:52:36) Transit...

May 27, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast

Colin Sapire, Beast Health + Nutribullet // Scaling To $500mil & Launching A Physical Product Business

Colin Sapire is the founder of Beast Health & Nutribullet. Watch & subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lqSfvL7QHRo Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet 0:00:39 - Sponsor: AppSumo 0:01:07 - Intro + Landing In The US 0:07:45 - Origins Of Nutribullet 0:11:21 - Finding A Differentiator + Landing On Pricing 0:13:17 - Reaching Half A Billion Dollars In Revenue 0:15:57 - Transitioning To Beast Nutrition + Getting Kids Interested In Nutrition 0:18:34 - Motivation After A Massive Business Success + Keeping T...

Apr 28, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast

Ramon van Meer, Alpha Paw // Bootstrapping To $35mil+ Revenue, Buying vs Building + DTC Growth

Ramon is a Dutch immigrant who dropped out of high school before finding an entrepreneurial path. Most recently he acquired a DTC dog ramp business (Alpha Paw) for $300k + which he's grown to $35mil+ in sales. Previously, he grew a soap opera blog to 30mil+ monthly pageviews before selling it for $9mil. In this conversation you'll learn: – why buy vs build – buying a company with little money down – growth levers to ramp up a DTC ecom business – growing through paid acquisition, influencers, whi...

Dec 16, 2021•2 hr 37 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast

Eric Jorgenson // Philosophy of Wealth + Happiness // The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

In this conversation, we explore: Eric's approach to writing a book entirely made up of Naval's words philosophy around wealth + happiness eastern vs western approaches permissionless leverage + ownership why desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy freedom to vs freedom from Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/J7j-5sgDkxQ Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet 0:01:50 - Intro + Figuring Out Transitions 0:08:54 - Who Is Naval Ravikant? 0:15:08 - Unique Approach To Writing...

Nov 15, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast

Future Of Advertising: Google + YouTube Breakdown

Bilal breaks down the secret sauce that makes Google + YouTube two of the greatest businesses of all time. We discuss the ad auction, how Google understands intent better than anyone, the future of advertising + compare YouTube, Netflix + live TV. Subscribe + listen to the full episode on "Not Investment Advice": https://linktr.ee/notinvestmentadvice Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-investment-advice/id1563288568?itsct=podcast_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1 Spotify: https://o...

Aug 10, 2021•37 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast

Mary Grove // Google For Startups + Bread and Butter Ventures

Mary Grove is Managing Partner of Bread and Butter Ventures. She brings nearly two decades of leadership experience in technology, early-stage investing, and startup ecosystem growth. She began her career working on the Google IPO, and went on to lead new business development partnerships, negotiating early-stage product and technology deals worldwide. She was the founding director of Google for Startups, leading the company’s global efforts to support entrepreneurs in over 100 countries. Let us...

Jun 24, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast

Ryan Berckmans // Ethereum Deep Dive, Earning Yield From Staking, Exploring DeFi + Alternatives

Ryan Berckmans is an ex-Amazon + fintech startup engineer. He's been involved with the Ethereum community for many years + invests in the crypto space. He recently published a bullish thesis for investing in ETH at: ethereumcashflow.com Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u3IGTSBzwOk Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi https://twitter.com/RyanBerckmans In this conversation you'll learn about: blockchains, bitcoin + ethereum difference between ethereum + ether (ETH) E...

Jun 10, 2021•2 hr 48 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast

Crypto Crash Recap, Decentralized Social Networks + A Special Guest // Not Investment Advice

Bilal Zaidi is joined by Jack Butcher, Trung Phan & Alex Cohen to discuss the latest in business, technology & memes. Listen to the full convo on "Not Investment Advice": Apple: https://pod.link/notadvicepod.apple Spotify: https://pod.link/notadvicepod.spotify YouTube: https://youtu.be/t1MmZk6aWnI Let us know what you think on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bzaidi http://twitter.com/trungtphan http://twitter.com/jackbutcher http://twitter.com/anothercohen...

May 21, 2021•33 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast

Lenny Rachitsky, Lenny's Newsletter + Ex AirBnb // Growth Engines, Early Traction + Creator Economy

Lenny writes the #1 business newsletter on Substack (Lenny's Newsletter) and previously sold his company, Localmind, to Airbnb. He then spent 7yrs at Airbnb leading product + growth teams and now angel invests + works as a full-time creator. Watch + subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aogsYWWnq60 Get every episode + giveaways sent to your inbox: https://www.creatorlab.fm/subscribe/ Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi https://twitter.com/lennysan In this conversa...

May 06, 2021•2 hr 39 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast

Anti-Life Portfolio, European Super League + Meme School + // Not Investment Advice

Subscribe to "Not Investment Advice": https://pod.link/notadvicepod Watch + Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_pqfAU92ZGw Let us know what you think on Twitter: @bzaidi @jackbutcher @trungtphan Jack Butcher, Bilal Zaidi & Trung Phan discuss the latest in business, technology & memes. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet + What We Cover 0:01:40 - Best Bad Investments + The Surprise Gap 0:05:27 - Anti-Life Portfolio - Trung’s 20s In Vietnam 0:08:33 - Bilal’s 401k Mistake 0:12:33 - Paper Hands 0:15:3...

Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast

Ben Tossell, Makerpad // No Code + Paid Learning Communities

Ben Tossell is the founder of Makerpad, the leading online community for No Code. His company was recently acquired by Zapier, a $5bil+ tech company. Ben is also an educator + investor in the no code space. In this conversation you'll learn about: what it was like to get acquired by Zapier developing the maker muscle by starting + launching projects what it takes to build a paid learning community + knowing when to monetize 80/20 of learning no code evolution of learning + membership models Watc...

Apr 23, 2021•2 hr 37 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast

Trung Phan, Jack Butcher + Bilal Zaidi // Not Investment Advice

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZNFxICgbkuY Let us know what you think on Twitter: @bzaidi @jackbutcher @trungtphan This is an experimental episode w/ Trung Phan & Jack Butcher discussing the latest in business, technology & memes. Expect a raw & uncut convo, mostly filled with silly, fun banter. You'll hear us discuss: behind the scenes look at Jack's recent NFT success & crowdsourced Figma experiment Balaji's convo w/ Tim Ferriss The Future Of Online identity: pseudonymous ...

Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast

Kevin Chou, Rally + Kabam // Evolution Of Gaming, Crypto + The Creator Economy

Kevin is the co-founder + CEO of Rally, a platform that allows creators to launch their own digital currency + build independent economies with their communities. He's also Chairman of Gen.G, an esports enterprise bridging Asia and North America. Previously, Kevin co-founded Kabam, a top mobile gaming company that grew to $400M/yr in revenue, 500+ million players and sold for nearly $1 billion. Watch + subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mlSl5q_n9xU Get every episode + giveaways sent to your ...

Apr 08, 2021•2 hr 44 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast