Creator Lab

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 This Book 0:21:08 - Process Of Writing A Book 0:30:17 - Not Letting The Tools Get In The Way 0:33:12 - 80/20 Of Naval’s Philosophy on Wealth + Happiness 0:39:36 - The Older The Problem, The Older The Solution 0:41:10 - Eastern + Sufi Philosophy, Imam Ali + Nahj al-Balagha 0:45:06 - Western vs Eastern Philosophy - Meditation Example 0:46:49 - Seek Wealth, Not Money or Status 0:51:59 - Ownership, Wage Work + “Do not fear work that has no end” 0:55:51 - Types of Leverage 1:00:17 - Sponsor Break - Nord VPN 1:01:20 - Pe

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://open.spotify.com/show/0Pogh5lcyKxmZVKQnao8zT?si=DSuMCklFTM-mOV9WbltZkg&dl_branch=1 YouTube: https://youtube.com/notinvestmentadvice Join our groupchat on Telegram: https://t.me/notinvestmentadvice Let me know what you think on Twitter: @bzaidi Thank you to my sponsors: AppSumo - the marketplace entrepreneurs trust to buy and sell the products that grow small businesses into name brands: https://www.appsumo.com Space - the easiest way to engage your team over audio: http://www.JoinSpace.co

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 know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi https://twitter.com/marygrove Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/t52IaNs2IYE Timestamps:  0:00:00 - Preview 0:01:52 - Google IPO Team, Google For Startups + VC 0:09:05 - What Changed After Google IPO? 0:12:36 - Figuring Out Your Next Career Step 0:15:03 - Career Mistakes 0:17:19 - Knowing When To Move On 0:20:27 - Google For Startups 0:24:04 - International Startup Hubs 0:29:13 - Only 65% Of The World Has Internet Access 0:31:22 - Thesis To Invest Outside Of

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) ETH 2.0 + the transition from proof of work to proof of stake how to earn 6-20% yield from ETH "staking" applications of DeFi, peer-to-peer lending, smart contracts + NFTs alternatives like Solana + what could still go wrong side chains (Polygon) + layer 2 rollups (Arbetrum) Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet 0:01:18 - Intro To Ryan + What We’ll Cover 0:05:57 - Explaining Blockchain, Bitcoin + Ethereum 0:08:25 - Decentralization 0:13:57 - Difference Between Bitcoin Blockchain, Currency + Example Transaction 0:19:55 - Game

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

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 conversation you'll learn about: – the racecar growth framework: growth engines, turbo boosts, lubricants + fuel – core growth engines: performance marketing, virality, content + sales – examples from Airbnb, Zapier, Superhuman, Wish, Casper + others – benchmarks for user retention + types of virality  – 3 steps to getting early users – growing a newsletter + the differences in approach for creators vs companies   Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet + What We Cover 0:01:28 - Sponsor Break 0:02:17 - Lenny Intro + Background 0:07:38

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 0:15:34 - Immigrants + Property 0:17:21 - Jack’s 20s + Working On Brands 0:18:32 - Working on Ferrari 0:20:57 - “You’ll Never Work In This Town Again” 0:22:40 - Anti Warren Buffet Portfolio 0:27:43 - European Super League 0:39:03 - Meme School On The Blockchain 0:48:46 - Trung’s Comedy Script (Preview) 0:50:29 - Audience Question: Life 5yrs Ago Vs Now 0:54:14 - Jack’s 180 0:56:30 - Trung 5yrs ago vs now 0:59:18 - Useless Dads + Super Moms 1:02:08 - What Changed After Becoming A Dad

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 Watch + subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ONh66pmDUwk 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/bentossell Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet + What We Cover 0:01:12 - Sponsor Break 0:02:00 - Ben Intro + Time In China 0:06:21 - Getting Acquired By Zapier 0:13:06 - Before Makerpad - 50+ Projects 0:17:11 - Knowing When To Move On From Projects 0:21:26 - Role Of Fear 0:25:02 - Motivation, Par

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 vs anonymous vs real names Coinbase going public WeWork documentary Difference between Fyre Fest + Tesla Potential for decentralized social networks + Bitclout The mechanics of memes + what it's like to write a daily newsletter to 1.7mil people Why Jack dubbed Trung "Fiat Phan" Time Stamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet + What We Cover 0:03:08 - Start 0:03:25 - Intros - Trung, Jack + Bilal 0:04:53 - ROI On Jack’s Tweets 0:06:26 - Inside Look At Jack’s NFTs 0:16:48 - NFTs Explained - Visualize Value 0:18:06 - Me

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 inbox: https://www.creatorlab.fm/subscribe/ Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi​ https://twitter.com/kevinchou In this conversation you'll learn about: emerging waves like AI, crypto, climate change + biotech evolution of the gaming industry + its business models rise of social gaming, esports, live streaming + where we're today gartner's hype cycle + how this applies to crypto how Rally is empowering creators to develop their own economies why there's a need for decentralized alternativ

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/noahkagan Subscribe to Noah's YouTube channel & Podcast: https://sleek.bio/noah Watch & Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mAnOqgH0OgA Noah Kagan is the founder of AppSumo, an 8-figure business bringing in an estimated $70mil+ in 2021. He was employee #30 at Facebook, #4 at Mint.com and his popular YouTube channel has over 140k subscribers. In this conversation, you'll learn: the 80/20 of succeeding on YouTube what he's learned from popular YouTubers like Mr. Beast and Ali Abdaal how Noah tests topics, thumbnails + behind the scenes look at the master doc his team uses to manage his channel (watch screen share on YouTube.com/creatorlabfm) growing through partnerships, newsletter swaps + ads we get personal and talk relationships, his formula for freedom + how he invests Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet + What We Cover 0:02:12

Alex Lieberman is the co-founder & CEO of Morning Brew. They're a leading new media startup with over 2.7mil newsletter subscribers, making them one of the largest daily newsletters around. Alex & his co-founder sold a majority stake in the business to Insider Inc for a reported $75mil in Oct 2020. After listening to this conversation, you'll understand: growing from a newsletter to a full-on media business 3 step audience funnel: rented, owned + monetized hub + spoke model how they got their first 1000 subscribers by doing things that don't scale growth stages: from 1k to 10k, 100k and 1mil+ subscribers how to grow through email swaps, paid ads + partnerships a framework to reinvent old formats like Shark Tank or QVC Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi https://twitter.com/businessbarista Watch with visuals referenced on YouTube: https://youtu.be/12KYBLPvEIg Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Preview + What You’ll Learn 0:02:17 - Sponsor Break 0:03:08 - Interview Start 0:03:44 - Gr

Dru Riley is the founder of Trends.vc, a community + newsletter that helps 35,000 entrepreneurs discover new markets + ideas. Trends makes tens of thousands of dollars/month in subscription revenue + was ranked "Product of The Month" on Product Hunt. In this conversation you'll learn about: – the meta-trends behind what Dru writes about, the things that don't change, after studying the things that do change – democratization, positive-sum networks + fractional ownership – trends he's excited about including: DeFi (decentralized finance) + DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) – the 80/20 of his research + editing process, including how he processed 172 podcasts for 1 recent report – we go behind the mind & discuss some of his rules for life, we touch on incentives, stories + courage Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi https://twitter.com/DruRly Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q5rdqLzy-Gw Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Preview 0:02:46 - Intro

Lexi Lewtan the founder of Centered, where she's building the Masterclass for Mental Health. Previously she ran operations for AngelList's Talent Platform, scaling it from zero to $20m in revenue. She has a deep background in the startup world, previously working at Hired & betaworks. In this conversation you'll learn: lessons in recruiting & the 80/20 of hiring the business model behind AngelList Talent & Hired tools to help you deal with focus, anxiety, depression & work stress the difference between CBT & DBT why depression feels like playing life on "hard mode" Let us know what you think on Twitter, I'm @bzaidi and she's @lexilewtan Timestamps: 00:00:00 Preview 00:02:12 Lexi Intro – Betaworks, Hired, AngelList, Centered 00:03:36 Hired Raised $150mil – What Went Wrong? 00:07:23 Moving to AngelList 00:09:34 Superpower 00:12:24 Experiments at AngelList 00:15:50 Hiring Pricing Model – 15% of salary vs flat fee 00:21:30 Lessons In Recruiting 00:23:54 Scraping & Growth Hacking 00:26:5

Jake Gibson is the co-founder of NerdWallet & Founding Partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures, a $75mil venture fund, investing in the future of Fintech alongside Sheel Mohnot. He's been involved in fintech for over a decade. Prior to NerdWallet, he studied math and quantitative finance at MIT and traded interest rate derivatives at JPMorgan. Let us know what you think on Twitter: @bzaidi & @iamjakestream Full video with timestamps on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s-Tcuootl7s In this conversation we discuss: NerdWallet's business model + growing to a $500mil+ valuation the transition from founder to investor + the 80/20 of investing mental models to figure out your next step why "everything is fintech" + examples of this thesis DeFi, NFTs, stock market highs & ideas from a global fintech market Timestamps: 00:00:00 Preview 00:02:20 Intro To Jake + Nerdwallet 00:06:57 Nerdwallet Deep Dive + $500mil Valuation 00:15:02 Opportunity: Nerdwallet Model In Other Verticals 00:18:40 Audience First Business in 2

Ana Lorena Fabrega is an EDUpreneur and former teacher known by little ones as Ms. Fab. She's currently the Chief Evangelist of Synthesis School, an innovative online enrichment club started by the director of Elon Musk’s experimental school at Space X. Synthesis helps students build decision-making & problem-solving skills through games. Let us know what you think on Twitter: @bzaidi & @anafabrega11 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Fo_CM01BNTQ After listening to this conversation, you'll understand: why the current education system needs an overhaul the skills we should be developing in kids unlearning & the future of education the role of technology in learning forest schools, micro-schools & alternatives for parents to consider how games can be good for your kids the lindy effect & ideas that will stick around in education remote vs online education recommended books for kids Ana's Fab Friday Newsletter: https://afabrega.com/ Book Recommendations: Wonder by R.J. Palacio: https://a

Nick Huber is a real estate entrepreneur, self-storage owner & operator. His commercial real estate portfolio is approaching $30mil in assets (as of 2021) & he's built a name for himself by championing "sweaty startups" aka unsexy businesses. Nick has built a 100k following on Twitter by transparently sharing the lessons learned from his time in business & by simplifying concepts in the real estate game. Let us know what you think of this convo on Twitter: @bzaidi and @sweatystartup Watch and subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s9Wgw1GN9-k After listening to part 1, you'll understand: the equation for getting wealthy in the real estate game the difference between creating vs growing wealth categories of real estate beyond what 99% of people invest in, from self-storage, to cemeteries & tiny homes - you'll learn about niche opportunities with less competition how real estate investors can make millions & legally pay little in taxes with depreciation, bonus depreciation & 1031 exc

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is the founder of Ness Labs, a community for knowledge workers to be more productive and creative while taking care of their mental health. She's an ex-Googler and holds a MSc in Neuroscience from King's College London. Her work has been featured in WIRED, Rolling Stone, and more. Let us know what you think on Twitter: @bzaidi @anthilemoon   In this conversation, you'll learn about: focused vs diffused learning common misconceptions about the brain networked thought + idea sex the Feynman technique lucid dreaming + psychedelics how to build a thriving community as an individual creator Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:49 Who is Anne-Laure Le Cunff? 00:06:49 Ness Labs Revenue Breakdown 00:09:18 Transition From Consulting 00:12:09 French Dad + Algerian Mother 00:13:36 London 00:15:31 Knowing When To Leave Your Job 00:17:34 Ness Labs Flywheel 00:20:28 If Starting From Scratch Today 00:22:54 Introvert vs Extrovert 00:25:24 Monetization 00:27:38 Part 2: Behind the Mind 00:27:50 Focused vs Di

Watch the full convo and Q&A on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gSVQHw-da5s This is part 2, the Q&A of the live convo with Jack Butcher from Visualize Value. Listen to the previous episode to hear our live convo on the evolution of the creator economy & unique ways to monetize. Who Is Jack Butcher? Jack is the founder of Visualize Value, a company that builds content, community & courses for building independent income on the internet. His Twitter + Instagram accounts have grown to 400k+ followers in 2yrs & his business earned $1mil+ in 2020. This was Jack's second appearance on Creator Lab. This time, Jack & Bilal co-hosted a live recording with a virtual audience. To join the next one, sign up at: https://www.creatorlab.fm/live Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bzaidi https://www.twitter.com/jackbutcher Q&A Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:40 "A Niche Picks You" 00:02:55 Personal Brand vs Company Brand 00:04:21 Repurposing Across Platforms 00:13:21 Photo

Watch the full convo and Q&A on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gSVQHw-da5s Jack Butcher is the founder of Visualize Value, a company that builds content, community & courses for building independent income on the internet. His Twitter + Instagram accounts have grown to 400k+ followers in 2yrs & his business earned $1mil+ in 2020. This was Jack's second appearance on Creator Lab. This time, Jack & Bilal co-hosted a live recording with a virtual audience. To join the next one, sign up at: https://www.creatorlab.fm/live Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bzaidi https://www.twitter.com/jackbutcher After listening to this conversation, you'll understand: the evolution of the creator economy from 1000 true fans to 100 true fans importance of "1 true fan" content/product machine + "the factory is the product" why an audience is like a stem cell unique examples of creator monetization the importance of packaging, owning phrases & outcome-based marketing Jack's 2020 revenue