Magic Minds

In this episode of the Magic Minds podcast, James introduces David Ludwig, a cherished member of their community for over two decades. David's roles as an educator, father, neighbor, and baseball coach have deeply impacted many lives, including those of the host's own children who attend the school where David teaches. However, earlier this year,[...]

Join James Beshara on a riveting journey into the mind of Dr. John Vervaeke, whose work at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy is setting the internet ablaze. This episode, recorded live in Venice Beach, explores the "Awake from the Meaning Crisis" lecture series, offering profound insights into how we understand and navigate our[...]

Bestselling author Steven Pressfield joins James Beshara on Magic Minds for a compelling discussion about overcoming creative blocks and achieving flow state. Pressfield, known for his influential book "The War of Art," shares invaluable insights for creators facing resistance, all in the vibrant setting of Venice Beach. Dive into "Magic Minds" with host James Beshara,[...]

In this thought-provoking episode of Magic Minds, James Beshara jumps into the fascinating work of Dr. Donald Hoffman, a visionary challenging the very fabric of our perceived reality. With groundbreaking mathematical and scientific models, Dr. Hoffman proposes that our perceptions of reality are fundamentally flawed, sparking a captivating discussion on the nature of existence and[...]

In this inspiring episode, James Beshara sits down with Talitha Phillips, CEO of Claris Health, to explore the transformative power of support and service. Talitha's journey from receiving help to leading an organization dedicated to aiding impoverished mothers in Los Angeles is a testament to the impact of compassion and community. Dive into "Magic Minds"[...]

In a delightful blend of humor and depth, James Beshara chats with comedian Pete Holmes, a Magic Mind enthusiast who brings a unique fusion of comedy, philosophy, and theology. Discover how Pete's quest for meaning and his love for Magic Mind have intertwined, making for an episode that's as enlightening as it is entertaining. Dive[...]

In today's episode James discusses his next chapter, The Daily Vedantic. The Daily Vedantic is a daily podcast and YouTube channel dedicated to the timeless wisdom of the Upanishads (thedailyvedantic.co). Dating back to over 5,000 years ago, the source of nearly all Eastern Philosophy, and loved by Western giants from Emerson to Thoreau to Carl[...]

A friend’s brother died by suicide last week. There are many resources online about how to avoid a mental health tragedy, but after losing my sister to major depression and suicide nearly twenty years ago, I’ve never come across a resource on how to navigate life after such a tragedy. And with estimates suggesting 1[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  Dr. John Vervaeke is an associate professor at the University of Toronto, where he teaches courses on thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and cognitive development. He also frequently teaches a course on neuroscientific cognitive scientific theories of consciousness. In addition to his work in cognitive science, Vervaeke is also interested in bridging the gap between[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine On today's show, James Beshara is joined by friend and fellow founder/investor Ajay Mehta to play some word association and share what comes to mind when they hear the words, 'ETH', 'GPT3', 'Recession', 'India', 'Failure', and 'Elon'. Follow Ajay: https://twitter.com/ajaymehta GPT3 Support Our Sponsors Magic Mind https://magicmind.co Chargebee https://chargebee.com/partners-signup and use promo code BTL[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  On today's episode, James is joined by Dr. Dan Engle. Dan Engle is a psychiatrist with a clinical practice that combines aspects of regenerative medicine, psychedelic research, integrative spirituality, and peak performance. Dan was also a Co-Author on James' book, Beyond Coffee. James and Dr. Dan dive deep into Neurological Healthcare, concussions, and what[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Vance Roush is the Co-Founder and CEO at Overflow, an app that helps nonprofits and churches accept donations of publicly-traded stock. Vance talks with James about being a pastor and how initially he would avoid talking about his faith when looking for investors but eventually saw the benefits when he embraced it. They[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  On today's episode, brothers and co-founders J.P. and Justin Alanís join James to take a deep dive into the world of DAOs, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. J.P. and Justin also discuss their recently launched endeavor, Story DAO. Story DAO is a new kind of blockchain-based production platform where individuals have the opportunity to collaborate with[...]

Comedian Shapel Lacey sits down with James Beshara to talk about his decision to move to LA, dealing with the loss of young ones at a young age, making the choice to quit drinking, and how daily journaling has been pivotal in his pursuit of clarity. He also talks about the strategy of looking at[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  In today’s episode, James is joined by his good friend Ajay Mehta to take callers from listeners.  00:21 Intro 11:20 Question 1: Is Tech heading for a bear market? 37:52 Question 2: One piece of advice that keeps returning in your career? 48:46 Best Piece of advice ever given to james 58:04 What is[...]

For profitable, large businesses, a downturn can be great for recruiting and retaining talent as there is a flight to safety and security. For small businesses that have focused maniacally on profitability from day one, a downturn in the market is also managed relatively well.  This is in contrast to technology startups that often have[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  Today's episode is with Duncan Trussell. A brilliant man in many facets of life. We touch on cold dips and how they equate to philosophy.  Duncan opens up about his early use of psychedelics and how they help him realize his own consciousness. We then go even deeper into how psychedelics have affected the[...]

Langhorne Slim is one of the most talented singer/songwriters of the last 20 years. James talks with him about his struggle with addiction, what it was like for a musician not touring over the pandemic, and how he coped with that. Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the show at[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine Dr. Molly has worked as an independent advisor & strategy consultant to over 45 technology companies in San Francisco & Silicon Valley needing help with clinical strategy, scientific marketing, medical research, & product development. She also regularly speaks at conferences and with wellness travel companies across the globe on topics such as the future[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  Today's guest is Julien Smith. Julien is the co-founder and CEO of Practice, a business management platform for coaches. He is also New York Times bestselling author of three books. James and Julien dive deep into how daily rituals can help you tremendously. Something as simple as keeping a journal can help free mindspace[...]

]Today’s episode is with stand up comedian, actor, and podcaster Pete Holmes. James and Pete dive into the repulsion you feel in your early life that forces you away from things that aren’t intended for you. From leaving Massachusetts at an early age to finding his voice in comedy, Pete explains the feelings he had[...]

On today's episode James and actor, comedian and podcaster Bryan Callen dive deep into Bryan's early years of creating and why he started studying philosophy. He explains his fascination around fighting and why it has helped mold his brain into certain ways of thinking. Bryan also explains how he overcomes adversity and what it is[...]

Today’s episode is with Biz Stone, the Co-founder of Twitter. A man who early in his career knew nothing about tech but found a way to design websites which in turn started his own blogging career. He was then hired by Evan Williams, at Google working on Blogger, forming a bond which would go on[...]

Description: In today’s episode, James is joined by his good friend Ajay Mehta to take callers from listeners. James starts the episode by talking about his experience on the Duncan Trussell podcast and how he originally got to know Duncan. The first caller, Rev from LA askes, What are some big realizations or new insights[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Karen X Cheng is an award winning director who has reached over half a billion views across all platforms. Some would say she is the queen of going viral on the internet. In today’s episode she explains to James how her first video that went viral was by accident. After that video, she[...]

In today's episode, James invites his friend Ajay Mehta on to take questions from listeners. The first caller, Sean from North Carolina, askes "What are the best tools or apps to become more productive?" Ajay and James dive deep into their career timeline and talk through the tools they have used in the past and[...]

Today's episode is with one of the greatest business authors ever, Jim Collins. Jim is one of the most inspirational figures in James' career. Not only did he inspire James, but he also is one of James' fathers, favorite authors. This has formed a bond at a young age between the two and has helped[...]

Today's episode is with the brilliant, Kevin Gibbon. Kevin is the Founder and CEO of Airhouse. He was previously the Founder and CEO of Shyp. Kevin opens up candidly about his experience in Silicon Valley and explains what it was like moving to the USA to pursue his dream of owning his own company. James[...]

In today's episode, James gets a voicemail from a caller asking "What is Vedanta?" James, has talked a lot about Vedanta in pervious episodes and today explains what it means to him in his own words. He has credited some of his success and peace in life to this philosophy.  Vedanta is a philosophy taught[...]

On today's episode, James takes voicemails from listeners. He invites his good friend Ajay Mehta on to discuss the topics from the callers. Ajay previously worked with him at Tilt and has founded two companies since, Birthdate Co. and Therapy Notebooks.  The callers asks wide range of questions all centered around the lifestyle of being[...]

Hiten Shah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nira. A company that specializes in protecting companies documents from unauthorized access. Hiten has been working remotely for close to 18 years. Today he joins James to talk about The Remote Workspace Utopia. James and Hiten start the episode by giving listeners insight into all the technological[...]

This episode premieres on the day our guest Nader Al-Naji's "Deso" launches a $50 million fund for a fully decentralized eco system. The Octane Fund will fuel development of early-stage social media projects for the blockchain. Nader Al-Naji, also known as "DiamondHands" is the creator of Bitclout and the blockchain DeSo. In today's episode, Nader[...]

Jeff Jordan is a managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He was previously CEO and then executive chairman of OpenTable as well as Senior Vice President and General Manager of eBay North America. James refers to Jeff as one of the Best Venture Capitalist in the last ten years and one of his favorite mentors. Jeff[...]

Brad Feld is a Founder and renowned Blogger in the entrepreneur space. If you have been in technology, or an entrepreneur, over the past ten years you have probably read many of his blog posts. From selling his first company for a million dollars to now managing over a billion dollars with Foundry Group, Brad[...]

Chris Voss was a FBI negotiator for 30 years in New York. He handled situations like bank robberies and terrorist organizations when it came to negotiating deals with them. Chris has now turned those lessons and skills he learned during his time with the FBI into a master class called "The Black Swan Method" for[...]

Debbie Millman is named one of the most creative people in business. She is a designer, podcaster, author and educator. In today's episode, James and Debbie speak about her career arc of overcoming failure at one job and how it launched her into a better job and mindset. They also speak about how rejection is[...]

Todd Kramer is one of the key pieces of the Art world today. He currently owns multiple Galleries, with his partner Ryan Ross, they have created a well know space for artists to grow their work. In today's episode we take a deep dive into the Art world. James and Todd speak about how Todd's[...]

Randy Hetrick is a Navy Seal turned into an Entrepreneur. He is the founder of TRX and now OutFit Training. From Navy Seal to 100 million in sales is the best way to describe Randy. In today's episode, James and Randy dive deep into the life of a Navy Seal and the process of becoming[...]

Bill Maris is the founder of Section 32, a venture capital fund investing at the frontiers of technology and healthcare. Prior to Section 32, Bill spent almost a decade at Google as the founder and first CEO of Google Venture. On today's episode, James and Bill take a deep dive into what it took bill[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Michael Burns is an Entertainment Executive and Vice Chairman of Lionsgate. He is an Original Co-Founder of Lionsgate when it was first started in 1999. Michael is also James' neighbor and was his first friend when James moved to Los Angeles. On today's episode, Michael talks about how the short squeeze in AMC[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Chris Powers is an entrepreneur with more than 16 years of real estate development and investment experience.  He was also one of the first people to invest in host James Beshara's payment company tilt. In today's episode Chris and James speak about investing in your mindset, and the mistakes you can make when[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the show at 424-272-6640, email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline    Support Our Sponsors Magic Mind https://magicmind.co About your host, James:  James Beshara is a founder, investor, advisor, author, podcaster, and encourager based in Los[...]

Justin Kan is an entrepreneur who is the co-founder of Justin.tv which is now Twitch.tv. He has now turned to creating more content online like vlogs and podcasts. Justin is also an angel investor, which is how James and Justin met. Justin was one of the first investors in James former company, Tilt. On todays[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Seth Godin is a best selling author, entrepreneur and public speaker. Seth has wrote over 20 best selling books around the world. On this episode, James and Seth, talk about his new book  "The Practice: Shipping Creative work" and what goes into "The Practice." In many ways, Seth is an antidote for all[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Garrett Brown and Colin Coggins are two adjunct professors at University of Southern California at The Marshall School of Business. Garrett and Colin are so brilliant, their class has now became one of the most popular classes on campus. In this episode, James takes a deep dive into the world of sales. Garrett[...]

Ryan Miller is the lead singer of Guster. After meeting James in a Clubhouse meeting, Ryan decided to come on the podcast and share his life experiences in a music career as a creator. In this episode, James and Ryan, speak about his ability to create new friendships wherever he goes based off energy. Ryan[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    James talks about the importance of the concept of MVP or Minimum Viable Product is when starting a company. Even Nike started out with a single shoe. Launching earlier than your instinct may tell you is pivotal for 2 reasons:    1. It allows you to get invaluable early feedback 2. Build grassroots[...]

Steven Pressfield is a best selling famed author that has influenced many creator's mindsets. in this episode of Below The Line, James and Steven talk about how the "The War of Art" and resistance has had a huge effect on both of their journeys. Steven sold his first book at 53 years old, James and[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Fear is essentially a prerequisite at the start of any creative journey. On this week's episode, James explains how allowing yourself to become at peace w/ "the worst case scenario" can allow you to manage that fear & avoid the self sabotage that often follows Hit the show hotline and leave a question[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Rick Doblin is the founder of MAPS - the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. He created this non-profit to help bring psychedelics to the public. MAPS was created in 1986 during "The War on Drugs." In this episode, Rick talks about his journey with creating MAPS and also his personal experiences with psychedelics.[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    In June of 2020, James Beshara wrote a popular essay on the subject of "Mental Wealth", or the concept of investing in your mental well being. Caller Williams adds what James would add as a 6th pillar to his 5 existing pillars of diet, exercise, stress management, and exogenous compounds. James talks about[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Adam Robinson is a famed best-selling author, the founder of Princeton Review, a leading advisor to some of the largest financial institutions in the world, and a rated chess master, among many other titles. He also one of the clearest thinkers James has ever come across.    In Part 2 of this wide[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    James addresses the two biggest critiques against Bitcoin in the world right now.   Article Referenced https://coinshares.com/insights/beware-of-lazy-research-bitcoin-mining-update Bill Maher on Bitcoin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaJpYjO136o Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the show at 424-272-6640, email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/gobelowtheline    Check out[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine Adam Robinson is a famed best-selling author, the founder of Princeton Review, a leading advisor to some of the largest financial institutions in the world, and a rated chess master, among other things. He also one of the clearest thinkers James has ever come across. In part 1 of their wide ranging conversation, James[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Hiring new employees can be nerve-racking, but having hired 170+ employees, James gives 3 essential traits you should look for before adding the next member of your team.   Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the show at 424-272-6640, email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Maurice Ashley is a Jamaican-American chess grandmaster, author, and commentator. In 1999 he earned the grandmaster title, making him the first black person to attain the title of grandmaster. This heavy hitting conversation focuses on honing the ability to maintain attention, the skill of being able to deal with uncertainty, and a devastating[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine The rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have familiarized many with the concept of decentralized money, but can BitClout become the first main stream decentralized social networking platform? James Beshara explains the benefits of the crypto based platform, and spells out just why it might end up being so revolutionary. More from James on BitClout:[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine Sarah Jakes Roberts is a Public Speaker, Author, and co-pastor of The Potter's House at One LA and The Potter's House Denver. She is redefining what it means to be a modern woman of faith. She and James talk about how Sarah ended up public speaking despite it being that last thing she ever[...]

As an angel investor deeply embedded in the tech world, James Beshara hears the next craziest idea he's ever heard every 5 minutes, but which of these are actually plausible, and could have an everlasting impact on the way we govern ourselves? James explains dives into the concept of "Crypto Countries" or sovereign states founded[...]

Balaji S. Srinivasan is an angel investor and entrepreneur. Formerly the CTO of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, he was also the cofounder of Earn.com (acquired by Coinbase), Counsyl (acquired by Myriad), Teleport (acquired by Topia), and Coin Center.   Balaji and James discuss the 3 most impactful moments in Balaji's crypto journey, moments[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Achieving the proper work/life balance is a difficult task for determined creators and founders. James explains how setting firm boundaries in both your work and personal life will lead to a level of consistency that breeds the balance we are all looking for. Boundaries lead to routine. Routine leads to consistency. Consistency leads[...]

Elad Gil has been an angel investor for 30 (nearly 1 in 5 of his investments) different billion dollar companies. Elad gives 3 tips for anyone starting out in investing, and he and James dissect the recent trends Elad is currently noticing in technology, and the theoretical implication of those trends on society.   Find[...]

James was the first investor in the consumer app Clubhouse that has climbed in private valuations to over 100x his original investment in just over a year — but what goes into a private company valuation like Clubhouse?   To submit a question to Below the Hotline call and leave a voicemail at 424-272-6640, email[...]

Logan Ury is the best selling author of the book "How to Not Die Alone".  James and Logan talk about finding long term happiness and long term relationships, and they relate that to aspects of the professional world like finding the right cofounder, and navigating manager/employee relationships. They also talk about Logan's decision to leave[...]

Dr. Uma Naidoo is a a Harvard trained psychiatrist, Professional Chef graduating with her culinary schools’ most coveted award, and a trained Nutrition Specialist. James has a fascinating conversation with Dr. Naidoo about how it's now proven that 90% of serotonin receptors are in your gut, what foods we should eat and which to avoid,[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    James breaks down what exactly a non-fungible token is, why they have value, and what they can and will be used for, while highlighting some recent examples of sales of NFTs going for exorbitant price tags.   Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the show at 424-272-6640, email[...]

Newsweek named Rabbi David Wolpe the most influential rabbi in America. James talks with Rabbi Wolpe about whether or not he ever doubts his faith, the importance of rituals, and just what is exactly is going on in the world right now.   Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the[...]

Philip Clayton is a contemporary American philosopher of religion and philosopher of science. His work focuses on the intersection of science, ethics, and society. He currently holds the Ingraham Chair at Claremont School of Theology and serves as an affiliated faculty member at Claremont Graduate University] Clayton specializes in the philosophy of science, philosophy of[...]

This episode features a mind-blowing conversation with Dr. Donald Hoffman, a professor of cognitive sciences at UC Irvine who has proven the chances that we are seeing and experiencing reality is essentially zero percent. He and James talk about the emergence of consciousness, the differences between Dr. Hoffman’s viewpoints and nondualism, and the evolving implications[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine Spencer Rascoff started Hotwire and Zillow and eventually turned them into $750 million and $30 billion companies respectively. He joins James to talk about the history of those two companies, relocating to LA,  and what makes a good founder. They wrap the show with a very digestible explanation of SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies)[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine    Jeff Goodby is advertising executive who co-founded and serves as co-chair of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco. Goodby is also a director and illustrator whose work has appeared in Time and Mother Jones, and he created the "Got Milk?" campaign. This year his agency had 5 commercials in the Superbowl. James[...]

Lee Jacobs is an entrepreneur and investor based in San Francisco who was one of the early supporters of Angel List, and is currently a general partner at long journey capital. James talks with Lee about what starting a VC firm looks like, the similarities and differences between starting a VC fund and a startup,[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the show: 424-272-6640, email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline James opens the show giving the #1 piece of advice he would give to founders to multiply their chances of startup success 10 fold. He then takes[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  Diana Chapman is one of the most sought after corporate advisors in the world. James & Diana open the show revisiting Diana’s groundbreaking book “The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership”, and summarize a few of the commitments and their meanings.  Diana then explains what it means to take “radical responsibility” , and delineates the[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine  James talks with the CEO and founder of mindbloom CEO Dylan Beynon about how his intimate familiarity with mental illness was in many ways the catalyst of his drive for success, and how experimenting with MDMA 11 years ago ultimately led him to the forefront of the research and legalization of psychedelics. James and[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine The historical giant and creator of analytical psychology, Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, joins James to discuss his life, his work, and what might’ve been different if he had a little bit more of both. The staggering genius of Jung has given us the modern concepts of extroversion/introversion, synchronicity, the collective unconscious, individuation, archetypal phenomena,[...]

https://bit.ly/Go_BelowtheLine James talks with Tara Viswanathan, the CEO, and Founder of Rupa Health, whose goal is to make functional medicine more accessible, affordable, & available to patients everywhere. They talk about the outward appearance of everything you want in a start-up, how struggles have still persisted throughout the life of the company, as well as[...]

https://bit.ly/Dive_further_BelowtheLine  Hit the show hotline and leave a question or comment for the show: 424-272-6640   "The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author   Instagram account mentioned in this episode: https://instagram.com/tiltquarters   James shares a story of his pursuit of another one of his passions in[...]

https://bit.ly/Dive_further_BelowtheLine "The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author James is joined by fellow former Airbnb Execs Larry Rachitski and Marc Mccabe for this #deepdive on the impending and highly anticipated Airbnb IPO.  The conversation begins with Lenny, Marc and James sharing their respective journeys that[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Books: On Writing Well - https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548 Writing Down the Bones - https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Down-Bones-Freeing-Writer/dp/1590302613 Draft #4 - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18194765-draft-no-4 Top Posts: How the biggest consumer apps got their first 1,000 users - https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/p/how-the-biggest-consumer-apps-got How to Kickstart and Scale a Marketplace Business[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with British poet, author, and Zen master Henry Shukman. Henry is able to touch on so many different topics with a brilliant articulation that one would expect from a poet. We cover many different topics[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with one of the more profound thinkers, writers, and speakers in human history. It's with Alan Watts. I've said in previous episodes that I think he'll be known as one of the most influential philosophers[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Links referenced in this episode: + Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE + Forbes Magic Mind Article: www.forbes.com/sites/chasefeiger/2020/08/24/how-this-entrepreneur-moved-from-software-to-create-silicon-valleys-new-morning-elixir-magic-mind + The Multi-path Career (essay by James Beshara): https://jjbeshara.com/2020/05/25/the-multi-path-career/ + The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE Joseph’s Podcast Series: https://anchor.fm/joseph-emmett Today's episode is with a friend of mine, Joseph Emmett, who is just an interesting cat. He is someone that I chat with once a week. Every Thursday,[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE Today's episode is with Andrew Dudum. He’s a co-founder of Hims & Hers; one of the fastest growing companies in history. They are two and a half years in and are valued[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE Today's episode is with Ravi Patel, a consummate multi-hyphenate creator, people... He’s a writer, director, actor, and entrepreneur among other things. From starting businesses to his brand new project on HBO max[...]

Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE "The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author This plog (podcast+blog post mashup) is called “Ready, Fire, Aim”. Early on my career, I would create really detailed business plans for a company or product launch, months and sometimes years before[...]

Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE "The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author This plog (podcast+blog post mashup) is called “The Secret to Getting Mentors”. Alright, we are back with another plogging episode and this one is “The Secret to Getting Mentors”. First-time founders and[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE Hello listeners and Below The Line fanatics! Today's episode is with Scott Kelley, a restaurateur in a town of 1000 people in the buzzing city of Ennis, Montana. I have always wanted[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Get your free Endel subscription: https://code.endel.io/?code=BELOWTHELINE Links from this episode: +How to Read Medical Research Papers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhyCDAi6NKM +Dr. Weil's List of Integrative Health Professionals: https://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/alumni.html +Kevin Rose' Podcast Interview with Henry Shukman: https://podcast.kevinrose.com/the-mysteriousunsolvable-zen-koans-henry-shukman-associate-zen-master/ +Henry's Book: https://www.amazon.com/One-Blade-Grass-Finding-Memoir-ebook/dp/B07N8ZGFQB Today's episode[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Favorite product of 2020: Endel — code.endel.io (use the code “belowtheline” for the free trial they have given listeners) This is another plog (podcast / blog post) about encouraging future entrepreneurs to continue creating, and why the impact[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Endel Link: code.endel.io (use the code “belowtheline” for the audio) This is another plog (podcast / blog post) about giving yourself permission to feel what you are feeling... the good and the bad — And to reach a[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is another deep dive. It's in the world of startup PR. My guest today is Ed Zitron. Ed went from being a journalist to a PR professional within a large firm to start his own firm,[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author This is another plog (podcast + blog post) about a shift in perspective on how we think and talk about mental health. One that takes us from synonymizing mental health with mental illness, a distinction we already have[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is another check-in episode. For this episode, I’m going to talk about the below the line, unscripted version, of what’s going on my side of things. I share the details about the reason why we decided[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Rahul Vohra is a founder a couple of times over — with his last company Rapportive getting bought by LinkedIn in 2012. His next company, the one in which I became a customer of (and a major fan[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is a deep dive into the space technology sector. It's with the Y-Combinator backed Momentus founder and CEO, Mikhail Kokorich. Momentus is one of the most exciting space tech startups in the world right now —[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Immad Akhund who is a serial entrepreneur and serial investor. He has been through Y Combinator a couple times, and his current business, Mercury, is a bank built for startups. But really, it's a[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today’s episode is with one of the world’s best venture investors coming from perhaps the world’s best venture firm… My guest is Alfred Lin, who is a partner at the famed venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. Alfred is[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's deep dive is with Brianne Kimmel where we discuss her (persistent) path to angel investing in technology startups. From purposefully connecting with the investor of the company she began working at (within months of starting) to hosting[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author John’s monthly “Global Guerillas Report”: https://www.patreon.com/johnrobb Today's episode is with John Robb, a former aeronautical engineer, special-ops soldier, and then the first internet analyst in the 90’s (followed by becoming an extremely successful entrepreneur). He chats with us[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Andrew Wilkinson. I've been really anticipating meeting Andrew for a few years now. I'm a big fan of his agency, MetaLab, his firm, Tiny Capital, and his original views on investing and running technology[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author This plog (podcast+blog post mashup) is called “The Wisdom of Insecurity”...“The desire for security is the same thing as insecurity” — Alan Watts. On my blog, podcasts, and even in my music, I reference the philosopher Alan Watts.[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author I am really excited about today's episode with none other than Hiten Shah. This is a topic that many people are thinking about, myself included — which is how to work from home productively and efficiently. I've been[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Taryn Toomey, one of my favorite founders in the world, and though I am an investor in her company (called The Class), that isn’t why she’s one of my favorites… Her company is a[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode was originally recorded near the end of February, and we usually take a week before releasing a recorded podcast. But with the exponential disruption that the Coronavirus was unleashing in many places around the world in[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode was originally recorded on February 26th. We usually take a week before releasing a recorded podcast, but with the exponential growth and disruption that the coronavirus has been unleashing on the world, we wanted to hold[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Mentioned in the podcast: SchoolClosures.org Ben Horowitz on Layoffs HelpwithCOVID.com From our individual to our community-wide responsibilities, I chat with best-selling author, founder, and investor Eric Ries about what might be, what could be, and perhaps what should[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Mentioned in the podcast: https://twitter.com/shl/status/1229844208959152128 Today we've got another deep-dive episode and this one is on monetizing your creativity. It's with Sahil Lavingia, who is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, who's been on the podcast before. A[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Companies mentioned: Nori - https://nori.com/ Indigo - https://www.indigoag.com/ Joro - https://joro.tech/ LiveGreen - https://livegreen.io/ Sinai Technologies - https://www.sinaitechnologies.com/ Project Wren - https://projectwren.com/ Prometheus Fuels - https://www.sciencemag.org/ Solugen - https://www.solugentech.com/ C16 Bio - https://www.c16bio.com/ Heart Aerospace - https://heartaerospace.com/ Wright[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author This plog (podcast+blog post mashup) is called “Routines & How to Avoid Stupidity”. A little over a year ago, a really smart investor, Adam Robinson, was speaking with Shane Parrish on his podcast. He defined stupidity really clearly[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today, I’m going to be trying out something that I’ve been starting on an app called TalkShow where I record short daily plogs. It’s basically an audio post instead of a written blog. This will be anywhere from[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Ben Witte. He's the founder and CEO of Recess. You might not have heard of Ben or Recess but it is perhaps the fastest-growing beverage in the country over the last year. You can[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today’s episode is with Vlad Magdalin, co-founder and CEO of Webflow. We sat down and chatted about his insane story of failure that spanned for 15 years before getting it right, his early experiences that shaped him as[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today on the program, we've got Sarah Tavel. She’s a venture capitalist at the legendary and enigmatic venture capital firm, Benchmark Capital, which is one of the most renowned firms in the world. We covered a whole range[...]

Today's episode is another deep-dive (meaning it's a little bit different than the regularly scheduled episodes), and it is with a founder, Diego. This was recorded as we met and chatted about his startup. About three minutes into meeting / him pitching me his company, I said, “Hey, hold on, hold on. Could we record[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Kamal Ravikant, the author of the best selling books “Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It”, “Live Your Truth”, and “Rebirth”. Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It”, a self -published book[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is another deep dive with Dr. Peter Carnochan, who the coach to some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. He spent 25+ years as a psychologist and psychoanalyst before becoming an executive coach. I love[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Serena Dugan is a founder, an artist, and a delight to chat with — This episode is a founder story that isn't like many founder stories. She didn't set out to create a world-renowned brand. She actually just[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with an anonymous guest. We're going to call him John Doe. John and I talked about the “below the line” version of the story of being a police officer. We also covered what has changed[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today we have another deep dive and this one is a really hot topic in the startup ecosystem and yet so little is written, discussed, researched, and talked about when it comes to how to build marketplace businesses.[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Matt Mullenweg. The founder of Automattic, the parent company of WordPress (which powers an unbelievable 34% of the internet as of recording!). We talk about the beginning of WordPress, about getting started as a[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author When it comes to productivity, there aren’t many things we do today that we did 200 years ago. We send emails instead of post mail, drive cars instead of horse-drawn carriages, and look up things on our phones[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil has been called “the medical Nostradamus” for his foresight into what’s on the healthcare horizon. He is a world-renowned pioneer in the medical and healthcare space — leading Western healthcare toward an integrative, healing and[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode was actually a live recording with a good friend, a former investor and a continual mentor to me (and dozens of entrepreneurs who I also love and respect). His name is Justin Kan, and he was[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author  A R I Z O N A, the band not the state, is one of the top 100 streamed bands in the world in the last two years, with over a billion streams of their music since their[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Paul Austin, a social entrepreneur in a very unique space, the psychedelic space. He has been featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Economist, Forbes, and others for his pioneering work regarding[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Welcome back to another episode of Below The Line. Today's episode is with Leah Busque Solivan who is the founder of TaskRabbit and now a venture capitalist in Fuel Capital. We talk about the low points of her[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is one of my favorite conversations I’ve had. It’s with Nir Eyal, who is a founder, an investor, and a best-selling author. His first book “Hooked” came out about five years ago and pretty much every[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Ann Miura-Ko a co-founder of Floodgate, one of the original seed stage investment funds here in Silicon Valley. Floodgate has been an investor in Twitter, Twitch, Lyft, Cruise, Okta, TaskRabbit, and a bunch of[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Christopher Lochhead, a marketing legend and best selling author of “Play Bigger” and “Niche Down”. He is also the podcast host of “Follow Your Different” and “Lochhead on Marketing”. This episode is a really[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author  Today's episode is with the founder and lead pastor of Reality SF, a church where my wife and I attend in San Francisco. Unlike the many founders that I've invited here on Below The Line, what Dave Lomas[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today we chat with Sam Parr, founder of “The Hustle” one of the fastest growing media companies here in America. They have talented writers who create amazing newsletters and compelling content on the most important business news and[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Calvin “Cal” Fussman is a world famous interviewer, a New York Times bestselling author, public speaker, and the creator of the podcast called Big Questions. He was the Writer-at-Large of Esquire, interviewing everyone from Richard Branson to Muhammad[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author “Attach, you lose, detach, you gain”. That simple phrase and along with the phrase “Yoga for the intellect” on a little pamphlet in a hotel in Southern California caught my eye. I was there with my wife for[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is another deep dive experiment into a topic that every founder dreads thinking about — fundraising. Similar to what we recently did regarding a deep dive on remote work, this episode goes deep (like super deep)[...]

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is a deep dive — Something we're trying out where we go deep into certain topics that people have been asking about, and today is with an expert (maybe the expert?) on the subject of remote[...]

Today's episode is a really special one. It is with Dr. Peter Carnochan, a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, and executive coach. He quickly became one of the best executive coaches in Silicon Valley in the last few years with his deep understanding of the psychological journey of a founder. I was introduced to Peter years[...]

Kelly Starrett is one of the most widely followed individuals in the health and fitness space. He is a NY Times bestselling author, a physical trainer, physical therapist, and mobility expert. That last thing I mentioned, mobility expertise, is one of the more fascinating parts of Kelly's work in the health and fitness world —[...]

BTL Hotline: 510-214-3717 In celebration of 40,000 downloads, we’re going to take a few calls and answer the questions from listeners directly. This episode covers some great questions from listeners as well as a note James wrote to himself while going through perhaps the toughest time in his career. Check it out and let us[...]

fnnch is perhaps the most recognizable name in street art in San Francisco with his mega-size honey bears, pop-art lips, poppy flowers and poodles gracing our city in the unlikeliest of places. He wasn't always pursuing a passion in art, much less attempting a career in it. And he rarely speaks publicly about what it's[...]

Chris Powers is the only real estate mogul I know who has been selling real estate half his life. He began buying and fixing up homes when he was only 17 years old as a freshman in college, was a self-made millionaire by 23, then became a venture capitalist by 24. And today he is[...]

Dr. Emily Anhalt is a clinical psychologist that focuses specifically on entrepreneurs and what she calls emotional fitness. It is a bridge between psychology and business that helps with your personal productivity and your personal psychological approach each day.  In this episode, she will share with us her invaluable seven characteristics of emotional fitness that[...]

Burt Blackarach is a Grammy-award winning composer, producer, DJ, and sound engineer. You may know his work in producing for iconic groups like Public Enemy. Born into a creative family, Burt got to see his father (legendary soul and rock keyboard player and songwriter William D. "Smitty" Smith) collaborate with everyone from Bob Dylan to[...]

Kevin Rose is one of the most recognizable individuals in the startup world. As a founder, he and his team created the news aggregation site Digg, which became a household name, putting him on magazine covers around the world and creating an iconic brand in Silicon Valley — but it wasn’t a story that ended[...]

My favorite thing about being a founder is the ability to make your own decisions and have to live with them, and thus have to learn from them. I am constantly introspective about my thoughts: What am I thinking? Where did it come from?  The desire to be “liked” is probably the most selfish thing[...]

Eric Ries, NY Times best-selling author, and startup sage comes back to the podcast for part 2 of our conversation we started in episode 3. We cover everything from sustainable productivity of teams, unleashing creativity, and about his (insanely) audacious company that is 8 years into their “beginning” with the Long Term Stock Exchange. It’s[...]

Alex Snodgrass, aka The Defined Dish, has built a social media following that would make any brand jealous, with over hundreds of thousands of followers engaging around her simple and incredibly tasty whole30 and paleo dish recipes every day. She has all the social media (and in real life) love that creates a pretty pristine[...]

Matt MacInnis is a founder and investor in Silicon Valley, and he’s widely seen as one of the best personal angel investors out there — combining his experience as a founder (and knowing what made his investors actually helpful and others unhelpful) with the insight into what spaces and products are on the rise. That’s[...]

Diana Chapman is a best-selling author — her book “the 15 commitments of conscious leadership” is one of my all-time favorites — She is also an advisor and executive coach who has worked with over 1,000 organizational leaders, as well as a founding partner of Concious Leadership Group. Her incredibly powerful book has a great[...]

Sahil Lavingia is the CEO and Founder of Gumroad, a platform to help creators create more through simple e-commerce and audience tools. He is also known for insightful and refreshing points of view on Twitter and Medium. To round it out, he’s also a designer, painter in addition to being a technology CEO and writer.[...]

 Ryan Hoover is the founder and CEO of ProductHunt — the most popular way to discover new products and services on the web. In 2016, ProductHunt was acquired by AngelList, the worlds’ most popular way to invest in startups. It was a match made in heaven, but it’s hard to say the path to that[...]

Peter Carnochan is my guest today. Peter is a psychologist, psychoanalyst, and executive coach here in San Francisco — he is also my executive coach. He was first introduced to me in 2014 by Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder or Reddit, who said I needed to meet his executive coach... and that I might benefit from[...]

Ryan Caldbeck and his co-founder Rory Eakin founded what has become one of the most innovative investment platforms I’ve ever seen with their award-winning company, CircleUp. In short, they use machine learning analysis to find and fund amazing companies in the consumer packaged goods space, companies like Halo Top, Rebbl, Smarty Pants vitamins — and[...]

Hannah Willson is an executive, a mom, and has made the jump from large public company to the world of fast-moving startups — and she’s one of my neighbors. This podcast is an exercise of going below the line with founders, leaders, creators of all kinds, and for any startups that make a dent in[...]

Corby Davidson is a radio personality from James’ hometown of Dallas, Texas. At age 23, Davidson knew he wanted to “do what Howard Stern does,” and eventually became the award-winning co-host of one of the country’s most-listened to radio station. Corby and James discuss what it’s been like to pursue this career type, the stories[...]

Bill Gates refers to him as his “favorite economist” for the work he does with his organizaiton “Our World in Data” (www.ourworldindata.org). Today’s guest is Max Roser — and he and his team have influenced several best-selling books, countless news articles, and spurred some of the most important discussions in recent years with his simple[...]

Kathryn McCarron is a San Francisco-based fashion designer and founder of her namesake ethical cashmere line, featured in stores from Bergdorf Goodman to Neiman Marcus to Lord & Taylor, from New York to South Korea... From being featured in New York Fashion Week at 25 to the cover of Cosmo, she is as humble as[...]

Eric Ries, New York Times best-selling author and CEO/Co-Founder of one of the most ambitious ideas on the planet right now (Long Term Stock Exchange) talks about the movement he started with his best-seller The Lean Startup and why the narratives need to change when it comes to building companies. He also shares his personal[...]

Mike Maples is one of the original seed investing gangstas. Seriously. He was the first investor in Twitter, along with investments in other world-changing companies like Cruise, Lyft, Okta, Twitch, and more back when “seed investor” was barely a term.  He is consistently named as one of the best investors in Silicon Valley and is[...]

Justin Kan is the exceptionally talented Silicon Valley founder and investor that’s co-founded companies like Twitch, SocialCam, Exec, and Atrium (with over $1bn in exits). He is also a former partner of the famed accelerator Y Combinator and a personal investor in dozens more startups.  Today’s conversation covers everything from his near death experience that[...]

What is the optimal psychological approach to your career each day. Is it “aim as high as possible” or is it “detach from results?” Is it to be content where you are or to always strive for “better”? We now know a lot about the field of sports psychology — but what can the best[...]