The advice I most often give to anyone building consumer products: Reduce time-to-magic. Your product can be complicated under the hood, but to the user it should feel simple, delightful, and magical — as fast as possible. Some examples: • Tik Tok allegedly boosts a user’s first post, making the user feel the magic of distribution without the pain of building a following. • Uber subsidized the supply side of the market so that a user could hail a car in minutes. • Tinder first populated the app at USC by paying Sorority members to create profiles, overcoming the empty-room problem. A good way to improve time-to-magic is to ruthlessly reduce friction in your onboarding. Try to give as much value as possible upfront.

Nice and kind are not the same. Nice: short-term pleasant; discord avoidant. Kind: long-term considerate; even if short-term unpleasant. It’s more helpful to be kind than nice.

I’ve raised $12M+ from top venture investors and want to share what I’ve learned. Fundraising is confusing , intimidating, and often unfair, especially for first-time founders. Some tips and link to full post 👇

It’s fun to build in public when things go as hoped; it’s terrifying when they don’t. #founderispublic is my attempt to normalize being public about both the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. Last week, with $985,347 in the bank, I let go of half my team... 🧵👇

Happy life update: I’m stepping into a Partner role at @pearvc and will be focusing on pre-seed and seed consumer investing. Why consumer? Consumer spending accounts for 68% of the US economy and yet only 7% of venture funding went to consumer businesses in 2023 (down from 14% in 2019). With AI’s potential to transform daily life and demographic changes on the horizon, I believe we’re on the cusp of a new crop of generational consumer companies. A few themes I’m especially excited about in the near term: 🚀 Privilege expansion: How can technology democratize privileges once reserved for the wealthiest? 🎯 Increased personalization: The one-size-fits-all era is ending. How can hyper-personalization transform education, productivity, healthcare, and more? 🛠️ Economic tooling: How can we empower more people to earn more from their time, assets, and creativity? If you’re working on a big idea at the pre-seed or seed stage that could transform how people live, work, or play, I’d love to hear from you!

Seed round tips: Befriend funded founders Have compelling vision to be $1B+ Record pitch and listen to your audio Get hot intros Pitch many firms at once Start + end with BIG vision Aim for multiple term sheets Diligence VC; esp. w/ founders not on references Other tips? 👇

Happy personal + professional news: Knowable has been acquired by @Medium. Knowable will live on as a standalone product, and the Knowable team will lead audio initiatives for Medium as well. What, why, how… 🧵👇

Hot take: early-stage founders should spend less time on their deck and more time on their blurb. Good investors get a lot of meeting requests, and they'll typically look at a blurb before deciding whether to look at a deck. A good blurb provides a concise overview of your product, team, and funding status. It conveys clarity of thought and piques curiosity. A bad blurb has unnecessary words and doesn't convey the necessary information. It piques curiosity, but not in the right way. Here's a blurb template I like: About: What's the product? Who's it for? How might this be a big business? If you have traction, mention it. Team: Who are the founders? What about their backgrounds makes them likely to succeed? Link to LinkedIn profiles. Financing: How much has been raised so far and when? Any notable existing investors? How much are you looking to raise? Link to deck. Example blurb attached.

Attention is the world’s most valuable resource. Yet few people think of their own attention as valuable. That’s a mistake. Notice what takes your attention. Spend wisely.

Advice from page 18 of Benjamin Franklin’s autobio: Read books Eat plant based Improve writing skills Save money for books Skip church to read books Fast intermittently for clearer thinking Self improvement OG... he would have crushed on Twitter.

I love seeing people build in public, but am naturally shy. Nevertheless, in the interest of sharing knowledge real time, I'll be live journaling some highs and lows of being co-founder and CEO of VC-backed @knowablefyi I hope it's helpful to other founders...

Had the privilege of attending the #UpfrontSummit in LA yesterday. @msuster is the best in the world at bringing together fascinating people from across media and tech. Thanks for letting me join. And thank you @ParisHilton for the masterclass on how to take a selfie.

Being a founder is a privilege but can also be lonely and daunting, especially in consumer, where the odds of finding early product-market fit are challenging. That's why I'm excited to announce a new community where consumer founders can learn from and support each other: Pear Consumer Club. It’s the kind of community I wish I had when I was starting as a founder. Our first in-person event will be on 8/21 at Pear Studio SF, featuring @samchaudhary_ , co-founder and CEO of @ClassDojo , a D2C platform loved by more than 50 million parents and students. Future events will feature Eddy Lu, co-founder and CEO of GOAT, @ccheever, co-founder of Quora, and @vladtenev, co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, among others. HOW TO GET INVOLVED: - If you're in the Bay Area on 8/21 and think you're a good fit for the community, sign up at the link in the comments below. - We'll also be opening an online community for consumer founders. Space is currently limited to founders who have raised a pre-seed. Please comment if you’re interested or tag someone you know who might be a good fit. - If you’re an early-stage founder, check out PearX, Pear’s small-batch accelerator. Applications open on 8/20. We’re running a dedicated track for B2C and B2B2C founders. Thank you to all the builders and dreamers working on ideas that could benefit more people. Hope to see many of you IRL in a couple of weeks! And a special thank you for early feedback and support to: @abenzer, @ajaykam, @startupoppa, @AndyBauch, @ccheever, @DanielleJing, @Jad_AE, @jillianpuente, @jasalone, @kevinxu, @liorcole, @MarHershenson, @meaghanroses, @pejmannozad, @samchaudhary_ , @quxiaoyin

Knowledge comes from experience, but it doesn’t have to be your experience. - @Gautam__Baid 👏

Key mistakes: Hiring based on expected growth Broadening customer type too early Spending too much time talking with investors vs. customers Not building customer acquisition into the DNA of the product Also: Covid hasn’t helped audio; less commuting time.

Any first-time founders want to join me for a free live presentation + AMA on fundraising? I’ve raised $12M from top firms like A16z, Initialized, and more. This is a dry run for a Knowable course. Also, it’s Simpsons themed. Monday 11am PT 👇 lu.ma/re6aphb9

I’m sharing because I believe that if everyone shared their behind-the-scenes lows, we’d all learn faster + have more collective highs. Laying someone off despite their individual performance is stomach-wrenching and painful. It’s even worse for the person affected.

Hi fellow X people. Happy personal update: after 2+ years at Medium, I’ve decided to start my next chapter. Collaborating with a talented, mission-driven team on a platform used by over 100M people per month has been an honor, and I’m grateful to @ev for bringing in my last start-up and trusting @abenzer and me with so much responsibility. I learned a lot, and am proud of the impact our team had on Medium’s turnaround, including making 75M articles listenable, growing revenue by 40%, and driving millions of dollars in operating efficiencies. As for what's next: I’ve loved scouting for A16Z, and am doubling down as an early-stage investor. More details to come after some travel time with my fam, but as a 3x founder I feel especially energized sharing my learnings — both from the successes and the stumbles — and supporting a new generation of dreamers and builders. If you’re setting out to build a generational company and you think we’d enjoy working together, please reach out. I’m particularly interested in investing in teams that leverage unique data, expand privilege for more people, and demonstrate fast time-to-magic. Thoughtfulness on customer acquisition is a strong plus. There’s no shortage of problems in the world, and I’m looking forward to supporting more founders on their journey to solve them!

Founder high: just pressed “Publish” on Chris Paul’s exclusive Knowable audiocourse. Chris is a 10x NBA All-Star, a leader on racial justice, + a personal role model. Here’s my announcement email to 31,471 ppl, and how/why I sent it... 🧵👇

Full post and details here: link.medium.com/xBnBAK9kVjb Summary below.

1. Know that VC is unfair VC is dominated by white males who primarily fund white males. Many are thankfully trying to change this. E.g. @MacConwell, @OfficialBBrooks, @myfriendjanine, @dunkhippo33, @karanortman, @MoniqueVilla

With the slowdown in venture financing, many CEO's are likely eyeing acquisition as a rational exit path. I’ve led the sale process of 3 venture-backed companies + worked in banking and private equity before becoming a founder. Some insights learned: * Deals close because of fear or greed, usually both. Your counterparty must see a positive ROI from the investment and ideally is afraid that if they don’t get the deal closed, their competitor will. Or, that you’ll become/remain their competitor. * Create a target list and build relationships with decision-makers — product leaders and/or CEO's — as early as possible. A deal can take 6 months+ from the first meeting to Close. Note: Corp Dev typically needs an internal champion inside the acquirer to sherpa the deal. * When mapping potential acquirers, don’t just think about who’s similar to you, think about whom you’re complementary with. For example, my last company, Knowable, was an audio-first learning platform. We thought another audio or learning company would want to buy us, but our best offer came from Medium, which was looking to accelerate its efforts in both categories. * Maximize your runway asap. The less cash you have in the bank, the less leverage you have as the deal progresses. Your acquirer will know your cash balance and burn. * Run a process. Just like with raising capital, you want to talk with several potential buyers around the same time. Ideally you're officially for sale only once you already have at least one interested buyer. The longer you’re perceived to be in market, the less attractive you become. * Understand your buyer's problems and what they're trying to solve for. You’re no longer selling your vision for the future, but complementing someone else’s. This is hard for many CEO's to accept. * Don’t name your price. Once you name your price, you cap your upside. Especially for a strategic acquisition, you want to be paid based on your value to the acquirer, not the value you'd accept. The acquirer knows the former better than you do. * Use occasional humor to indicate confidence. For example, if someone presses you to name a price, you can respond with something like: we're willing to accept something less than $1 Trillion :) <= doesn't apply to you, Tim Cook. * Read the term sheet very carefully! Don't expect your lawyer to catch everything, and don't be afraid to ask your lawyer dumb questions. Be especially mindful of ambiguous phrasing. For example, one term sheet I saw offered a retention bonus "up to $XM" for key employees without detailing how the bonus would be decided upon. The words "up to" needed to be struck. Once you sign the term sheet + grant exclusivity, you lose leverage. * Keep the momentum going even after you sign a term sheet. Deals can get sidelined for a variety of reasons. Time kills deals — it's not done until the money is in the bank. Selling your company is stressful and challenging, even when it's a great outcome for everyone involved. I hope this post is helpful.

I hope this thread is helpful to other entrepreneurs and builders. I learned from @StationCDRKelly’s Knowable course that effective leaders own their mistakes — they take the blame and share the credit. Nonetheless, I’m scared to press “Tweet all.”

Having a kid is like having a startup: • Both begin as a bet on the future. • You’re often thinking of how to get them more capital. • You easily confuse your identity with their level of success. • You get a crash course in time and emotion management. • You often dream of the exit — IPO or college. • You always feel guilty when you’re not focusing on them. • They’ll bring you great joy and great suffering — often in the same day. • You feel lucky for the experience, even on the hard days. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers / father figures / creators out there investing toward a better tomorrow.

Being an entrepreneur is a privilege, but it’s also lonely. My #1 tip: invest in a good coach. Why + some personal lessons.🧵👇

My team continues on our mission to make actionable learning as addictive as social media. Thank you if you support this effort, regardless of whether you’re a Knowable member. Join the Early Adopter Club? Code for 25% off: Learn Knowable.fyi Questions? AMA!

5. Make founder friends Founder friends are helpful not just for raising capital, but for the entire journey as an entrepreneur. Start investing in others before they’re successful.

Dispo has become my default camera — super effective way to stay more present and enjoy the moment. Thank you @DispoHQ! 👏

Biz idea: Copilot for negotiations. Problem: Most people suck at / dislike negotiating, but it’s one of the highest leverage activities. Solution: Get a buddy who’s great at negotiating and can help you optimize your outcome. Anyone working on this?

Agreed. I also think we'll see an acceleration of privilege expansion for consumers beyond having AI friends -- think AI tutors, coaches, nutritionists, travel agents, stylists, home managers, financial advisors, therapists... Just like Uber increased the number of people having access to a private driver, we'll see market expansion in many of these consumer categories as well. Exciting time to be in B2C!

11 tips for live audio. What I’ve learned so far from the audio greats about how to suck less as a moderator. 🧵👇

Know anyone who wants to launch a startup in 2021? Tag them for this newly-FREE 6+ hour course, led by @alexisohanian, plus the founders of @Everlane and @goatapp, among others. It’s the A to Z, no-BS primer I wish I would have had. Plus resources. Free until Jan 8th!

I feel anxious about pressing the "Tweet all" button. A button I've never pressed before! But I'm thankful to the people who share their vulnerabilities with me, and hope this thread will be helpful to at least one other person. 🙏

The co-founder and CEO of DoorDash, Tony Xu, recently spoke at @pearvc. Key takeaways: 1. Deep customer insight wins. Before launching their MVP, Tony and his co-founders met with over 100 restaurants in Palo Alto and discovered that most restaurants received delivery inquiries, but less than 5% could fulfill them. With 1M+ restaurants in the U.S., they saw a clear opportunity to expand the market. DoorDash is now valued at $73B. 2. Early hustle helps. In DoorDash’s early days in 2013, Tony and his co-founders personally delivered orders and printed flyers using Stanford’s printers to save costs. Fun fact: the company’s first name was "Palo Alto Delivery." 3. Some of the biggest outcomes aren't obvious. Much like Airbnb, DoorDash was initially underestimated — it wasn't ranked in the top half of its YC batch. 4. Choose optimism—and have a plan. Despite years of skepticism, Tony and his team focused relentlessly on over-delivering for customers, leveraging insights from their hands-on market research. 5. Retention is the key metric. DoorDash's persistence wasn’t just about grit—it was backed by data. Drivers and customers kept returning, and the team successfully cracked markets their competitors couldn’t.

4 months ago I got to share that my startup, @knowablefyi, was acquired by @Medium and that our team was working on ways for Medium to expand into audio. Today I’m thrilled to share that all posts on Medium are now listenable! Check it out: blog.medium.com/sound-on-now…

Key accomplishments so far: Sign ups: 27,475 Revenue: $125k+ Teachers signed: 233 Hours listened: 11,033 Paid subscribers: 3,108 See chart for more

Can we retire the phrase “Can I pick your brain?” It sounds... invasive. And one-sided. Alternative: Can I get your input? Also considerate to add: I’d love to hear your top goals for this year and learn how I can help.

Met Li ~2 years ago when raising for @knowablefyi. Her passion for the creator economy was a key reason we chose to partner with @a16z. When she left to start her own fund, I was honored and fortunate to invest. One of the easiest decisions I've ever made. Great human 👇

What if... you replaced your inner critic with an inner friend?

Ever thought of writing a book? Here are the key insights from my Clubhouse interview with @stephsmithio, who wrote her book in 49 days and has earned > $70k in < 6 months. 📚🧵👇

After my last startup was acquired by Medium, I’ve had the incredible privilege to spend more time advising and investing in early stage founders. One of my first investments was in @KoBold_Metals, which uses AI to identify metal deposits critical for EV batteries. KoBold just announced a $195M follow-on funding from Bill Gates + others. Big congrats to the Kobold team on the continued traction, and thank you @kurtzhouse for letting me join the ride. If you’re a seedish-stage founder using/building unique data sets + AI in a world-positive way, I’d love to learn more and support however I can. DM or comment below 🙏

So much energy and talent at yesterday’s @pearvc + @OpenAI hackathon. It never ceases to amaze me how much a small, focused team can accomplish in a short period of time. Congrats to the 41 teams that participated!

Is this inappropriate for LinkedIn?

Minimize spending your time; maximize investing your time. Ideas: Read Write Learn Teach Exercise Meditate Make something Add value to others Explore new places and ideas Notice who/what gives you energy

Strongly agree. AI can accelerate privilege expansion for billions of people -- think AI tutors, coaches, nutritionists, travel agents, stylists, home managers, financial advisors, therapists... Just like Uber increased the number of people having access to a private driver, we'll see market expansion in many of these consumer categories as well. If you're building in B2C, we're running a consumer cohort as part of Pear's small-batch accelerator, PearX. Applications are open!

Reminder: Alexis’s 6 hour course on launching a startup is free on @knowablefyi for the next week only... It’s an A-to-Z guide on going from an idea on the white board to a seat in the boardroom. Please share with any aspiring founders in your life. 👇

My first priority is to help my affected teammates land on their feet as quickly as possible. With their permission I’m sharing their resumes with my network.

Founder high this am: walking my newborn and listening to a Knowable course on branding led by the founders of @CURLShaircare and @RobinhoodSnacks. It's really good. I'm getting actionable learning while also spending time with my son! I'm so proud of the Knowable team.

My co-founder @abenzer is amazingly supportive. Me: I feel guilty, you're doing more work than me. Alex: Don't. We're both doing our best. Me: Damn, I have the best co-founder. Alex: I feel the same. Better you at half-time than anyone else full time. Me: 🥲

3. The closer you are to product market fit, the better PMF is what you really want, but sometimes you need to raise capital to find it. So, fundamentals are important, but not everything…

Podcasting power insights from my interview today with audio legends @adamdavidson + @smc90: CAC: ~20x more expensive now vs. 2013 ($2 today) $: Very few shows profit from ads. Podcasting largely top of funnel game. Costs: Serial, Radiolab are $25k+ per episode. But... 🧵👇

It's Tuesday afternoon. I haven't showered. I have a newborn. My third kid in 4 years (Ru, Theo, and now Siggi, born election day). My company has ~7 months of runway. I'm anxious. I run anxious. I feel guilty for taking paternity leave, even though I know it's right.

I learn from @NickOfNewYork and @TBOYjack that @elonmusk Musk has way more followers than Tesla. Same for Bill Gates and Tim Cook, etc. "People care more about people than they care about brands." One of those profound insights that's so obvious in hindsight.

Stepping on stage in front of 100+ top investors to pitch your nascent company isn’t easy. Congrats to all the PearX teams who have taken the leap as entrepreneurs. Truly inspiring to see so much audacity and talent in one group.

Also, please let me know what questions you have. I’ve benefited so much from other founders before me publicly sharing their hard-earned lessons. Eager to help emerging founders, and especially underrepresented founders, better navigate VC. 🙏

Q1 priority: focus on our core customer, millennial professionals, and obsess over adding value. We’re also seeing early traction on the enterprise side, which solves our biggest current challenge: cost effective awareness.

App I love: @futurefitapp It’s an asynch fitness app with personal customization + social accountability that’s expanding the market of personal training. Smart. I have a couple of guest passes if anyone wants lmk 👇

4. Every unicorn starts as a fantasy You don’t have to have killer metrics to raise your first round. But the more you can de-risk, the better (especially for you).

Honesty and integrity are not the same. Honesty: telling the truth. Integrity: doing what you say will do.

Live Journal #3. 1st day back from 4 week paternity leave. Part-time nanny sick — she’s getting Covid test. 🙏 New priority emails: 540 Longest continuous sleep last pm: 3 hrs Cash raised: $3.75M Cash left: ~$1.2M Anxiety level pre-run: 7 Anxiety post: 3 👇

Weird side project idea: Digital Brownies. Create a digital collection / savings account based on the things you’re tempted to buy but don’t. Instead of buying a $5 brownie you get a digital brownie and move $5 into a savings account. Testing in the leanest way possible:

Backstory: @abenzer and I raised $3.75M and launched the world’s first audio-first learning platform, @knowablefyi, on 10/1/19. We quickly de-risked our riskiest hypothesis: people will happily pay for premium audio-first learning. Knowable.fyi/testimonials

Ultimately I decided on the latter for the following key reasons: In success we can offer to re-hire. We have enough cash to give everyone affected a generous severance. Fewer people helps us move faster.

Conventional wisdom: podcasts and radio are free, so no one will pay for audio. But: TV was free too! And now: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, etc... And... education provides an ROI. We decided to skate to where the puck is going, rather than where it is today.

2. Know what motivates VC’s Hint: greed and fear (mostly) VC’s typically want to invest in businesses that have a relatively high chance of being worth over $1B. And they don’t want to let their competition beat them to it.

And a big thank you to Knowable’s investors. Founders, if you can, work with these people: @gregbettinelli @conniechan @topherc @robhayes @katelin_cruse @willhsu @ljin18 @ChrisLyons @Mazzeo @alexisohanian @ersf @msuster @garrytan @samteller

Doing an audio AMA. Anything I can answer for you? VM me: 61-KNOWABLE (615) 669-2253 Or DM, or reply below!

With less runway than I had modeled, I faced a painful decision: Keep 10 FTE’s and hope we can demonstrate sufficient growth to raise more capital within 6 months. Reduce costs and have 2x runway to remedy aforementioned regrets. I agonized over the decision. I still do.

You know that book you’ve been thinking of writing? Hear the self-publishing lessons from @stephsmithio, head of Trends @TheHustle. She wrote her book in < 3 months and has earned $70k in < 6 months via @gumroad. clublink.to/event/PYlo1k03?r…

Most successful consumer companies started as “bad” ideas. • Oura at pitch: “A $400 ring to tell me what I already know—that I slept badly?” Last valued at $2.6B • Airbnb at pitch: “Wait, you want people to sleep in a stranger’s house? Sounds more like a horror movie than a business.” Now worth $86B • Facebook at pitch: “So, it’s a website where college kids share photos and poke each other?” Now worth $1.5T Here are some ways I try to tell the difference: • Does the team ship fast? Are they executing with a sense of urgency and making progress between every interaction? • Potentially huge? Might millions of people love this? • Defensible? Are there network effects, strong IP, or a unique insight? • Organic growth: Are early users telling their friends about you? • Clear “why now”? The biggest companies ride changes in technology, culture, or both. • Time-to-magic: Is the team obsessed with delighting its users? If your idea sounds “bad” to most but you check all these boxes, I'd love to hear from you. @pearvc is actively investing in consumer companies at the pre-seed and seed.

If you work in product — or want to — and you're not reading @lennysan's newsletter, you're missing out. Hard-earned insights + data every week. Wish I had this newsletter when I was starting out.

Who's building an AI tutor for kids? Asking both as a parent and an investor. 1:1 instruction is widely considered the most effective way to drive outcomes for learners, but private tutoring is prohibitively expensive for most families. Excited to see this change.

My next priority: reassure my remaining teammates that I’ve learned from this experience and that we all feel good about our revised growth plan. We’re all looking at all numbers every week; including cash in bank.

Huge congrats to @alexisohanian, @katelin_cruse, and @GarvinLissie on their new fund, @sevensevensix. These 3 are truly raising the bar on what it means to be a value-add investment fund. Founders, if you have the opportunity to work with these wonderful humans, take it!

Some others who are working hard to level the VC playing field: @ChrisLyons @katelin_cruse @alexisohanian Who else?

While on paternity leave last month I pursued an accelerant round of financing with an inbound investor. The deal fell through. 💔 Also, it became clear that we would fall far short of our 2020 OKR: 10,000 paid subscribers. We’re at 3,100.

Every decision is an investment decision. You’re deciding where to invest your limited time and attention. Invest in positively compounding decisions to maximize returns over the long term, e.g.: Learning Relationships Health (exercise, diet, rest)

Investor Intros — 🧵 Hot intros to investors are a great way to start a fundraise. But, how do you get connected + optimize your first impression? Suggestions and examples 👇

Used up my "me time." Back to family time shortly. Helpful advice I got from the founder of a Sequoia-backed company, @patrickkann: "You can be a great parent and a great founder. Becoming a parent just forces you to become more efficient." I think/hope he's right. TBD.

Most people cringe at the idea of negotiating. But negotiation is simply communication with results. It's about getting what you want from and WITH other ppl. Other tips + insights inspired by @VossNegotiation this week on @knowablefyi.

Excited to see what you do next, Li. Humanity is lucky to have you!

Organizing a dinner for pre-seed consumer founders in NY on 9/9 and have a few more spots, who should I add? Also scheduling office hours for a broader group to whiteboard on product, growth, and fundraising. Lmk? 🙏

Moderating a discussion this Friday about mental models — frameworks people use to make optimal decisions. New Yorker writer, author, and Planet Money co-founder @adamdavidson is on as well, among others. Join! joinclubhouse.com/event/xBJZ…

Best productivity tool ever invented? The deadline.

Chutes + Ladders Founder Edition: ⬆️ Eureka big idea! MVP front pages on reddit! Sequoia “loves your vision!” TechCrunch! Term sheets! Etc... ⬇️ Site crashed Poor retention CAC increasing Investor passed FB launching clone Etc... Tip: Focus on adding value to people.

Then an hour later.. founder low: investor that preemptively offered to lead our next round texts: "can't get partners across finish line." I kick myself for ignoring the advice of my advisor, @yanda. Founders: don't let investors preempt your process. Protect your time!

What if your favorite class and your favorite audiobook had a baby? That question led to the birth of @knowablefyi. Feeling grateful to work on this company with so many talented, mission-driven humans. Big announcements soon!

Just wrapped a Medium company offsite and am feeling so excited about all the improvements we’re making. If you’re a remote-first company, I can’t recommend an offsite enough. Suggestions here: coachtony.medium.com/how-to-…

My top 2020 non-fiction: Indistractible @nireyal Endurance @StationCDRKelly Do Nothing @CelesteHeadlee Perennial Seller @RyanHoliday Compounding @Gautam__Baid Passion Economy @adamdavidson How to be an Anti-Racist @DrIbram Who is Michael Ovitz? @MichaelOvitz Yours?👇

3 steps to feel better: 1. Find a stranger. 2. Help said stranger. 3. Tell no one what you did. Ever. Repeat.

📚 for founders: 7 Habits Endurance Indistractible Perennial Seller Miracle Morning Elements of Style Secrets of Sandhill Delivering Happiness Feeling Good Together How to be an Anti Racist Let My People Go Surfing Hard Thing About Hard Things Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Tmrw 2/22 here on Twitter Spaces: 1 PT: Planet Money co-creator and audio OG @adamdavidson Q&A on the fast-changing audio space. 130: Record-holding astronaut @StationCDRKelly shares learnings from actual space, and more. Join and/or drop questions below!

Today I got to hear @shl share his insights on minimalist entrepreneurship for his upcoming Knowable lessons. Feeling very lucky that my job is to help smart people share their insider knowledge with the world.

Thank you to my teammates, @abenzer, @idleping, and @duffycommaryan for making Knowable the success that it is. A big thank you to our friends, family, and advisors, in particular @yanda, @mattmuns, and @arsachs.

Yesterday after good medical news the doctor offered me his hand. I stared at it, confused. Then eventually: oh right, handshakes! It felt... embarrassingly good. May have hung on to his hand too long. 🤷‍♂️ Very excited for all of us to shake off the Covid cobwebs!

Best thing about school 1.0: classmates. So, new initiative at Knowable: Group Based Learning. Get the app and join me next week?

Notice who and what gives you energy. More time here. Notice who and what takes energy. Less time here.

Prediction: Personal energy management = the new personal time management. Notice who/what gives you energy... optimize your calendar accordingly. It’s not just about getting stuff done, it’s about getting the right stuff done.

Live with @adamdavidson on Clubhouse in 2 mins to talk about learnings from these books and more. @bjfogg @JamesClear @Gautam__Baid Feel free to drop in! joinclubhouse.com/event/m2QZ…

Only person worth competing with: Your yesterday self.