Goofing around with Sacca and his afro.
“Fuck it… I’m just not going to play this traditionally anymore.”
– Chris Sacca
Chris Sacca was recently the cover story of the “Midas Issue” of Forbes Magazine.
The reason: He is a newly-minted billionaire and the proprietor of what will likely be the most successful venture capital fund in history: LOWERCASE I of LOWERCASE Capital.
He’s an early-stage investor in companies like Twitter, Uber, Instagram, Kickstarter, and many more.
In this interview, we discuss unfair advantages, how Chris chooses founders and investments, stories of missed opportunities, the styles that differentiate Wall Street from Silicon Valley investors, and how keg parties can liberate law students from the tyranny of class (Chris completed law school without attending any classes).
Enjoy!
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as”.
This episode mentions the incredible Matt Mullenweg. Matt, who’s also been on this podcast, was a lead developer behind WordPress, which runs about 23% of the Internet. You can listen to our booze-infused conversation here, in which we discuss polyphasic sleep, tequila, and building billion-dollar companies like his current gig (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What’s the best investment advice you ever received? Or worst? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- A partial list of Chris Sacca’s investments.
- Want to skip an MBA program? Check out Feld Thoughts
- Not Fade Away: A Short Life Well Lived by Laurence Shames and Peter Barton
- Watch Chris Sacca’s commencement speech to University of Minnesota
- I Seem to be a Verb by Buckminster Fuller
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
- The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert by Richard Betts, Wendy MacNaughton and Crystal English Sacca
- Follow Chris on Twitter – @Sacca
Show Notes
- What is Chris Sacca best known for? [6:10]
- Total Immersion swimming and how to invest like Chris Sacca [8:40]
- Pieces of advice given to Chris Sacca on early-stage investing [11:55]
- What disqualifies startup founders in Sacca’s mind [16:05]
- Travis Kalanick and Nintendo Wii Tennis [18:55]
- Traits of founders for whom success, at massive scale, is predestined [22:00]
- The whales that got away: GoPro, Snapchat, and more [27:40]
- On letting the negative case dominate one’s analysis for whether to invest or not [29:55]
- Differences between venture capitalists and private equity [35:15]
- Books for investing and cultivating emotional intelligence [41:00]
- Thoughts on modeling what it is to be successful [49:30]
- What Chris Sacca’s parents did when he was a kid [53:50]
- What Sacca looks for when hiring [58:25]
- What historical figure Sacca most identifies with? [1:01:15]
- Early collecting habits [1:04:25]
- The story of the prophetic notebook [1:10:10]
- The two differentiators that shifted the nature of Sacca’s business [1:19:10]
- Advice to founders or would-be entrepreneurs [1:27:40]
- Most readily quoted movie [1:31:10]
People Mentioned
- Mike Maples Jr.
- Josh Kopelman
- Tony Conrad
- Hans Swildens
- Kevin Systrom
- Evan Williams
- Patrick Collison
- John Collison
- Travis Kalanick
- Nick Woodman
- Brad Feld
- John Doerr
- Michael Moritz
- Brian Sacca
- Buckminster Fuller
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with over 500 million downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Would love to see Gary Vaynerychuck on the podcast!
His email: Gary@vaynermedia.com
I’m a big fan of Gary’s as I am yours and know that every minute of his day is preoccupied but there’s a large 16-18 hour time frame he works within that I’m sure you guys could organize for a 2 hour interview 🙂
+1 for Gary
+1 for gary (again)
Agreed. Would be a huge hit.
Also would love to see a conversation about success moderated by Tim with Gary Vee and James Altucher. =)
As mentioned before by people like Tim, these people don’t have every minute of their day mapped out. They don’t have each minute pre-occupied as you mentioned.
Both Tim and Gary have said they don’t want to do “follow me around” interviews because so much of their day is unstructured and would be perceived as lazy.
Hi Tim,
In your podcast episode with the Facebook #30 employee you talk about wearing zero-drop shoes. Have you ever tried Vivobarefoot shoes (www.vivobarefoot.com). I think they are the best on the market now, both in style and feeling. I bought my first pair one year ago and now I owe over 15 pairs for any business, casual and sport activity. My lower back pain gone, my feet ache when standing for hours gone and a lot of pleasure and joy at every step. I threw away all my (very expensive) normal shoes. Maybe you can find something interesting in them as well. The guys from the customer service are very friendly, I proposed to translate their website in Italian and they sent me free shoes as a reward, I think you can get a free pair if you mention them in your podcast. Let me know what you think and should you need any advice just ask.
Take care and thanks for the great work you’re doing !
Marco
Best investment advice I’ve ever had is.
“Invest In Yourself”.
Better to stick with index funds, if u don’t eat breath think this stuff daily.
Hi Tim,
Chris made billions because he WAS different, and is.
Think outside of the box. Serve in a way nobody else has. Rock it out.
This guy is a champion! Really inspiring.
As for investing I don’t do it much anymore on a short term basis, but do the long term bit with my retirement accounts. Just let ’em ride and over the long haul you will see increasing returns.
Ryan
Seriously enjoying what I can pull out from these podcasts!
Btw if you want to earn a Billion (which is pretty boring imho, it’s just money after all – it’s what you can do with that money) – solve a billions peoples problem: http://www.inc.com/graham-winfrey/peter-diamandis-billion-dollar-problems.html
Gebtle nerd… Preach my brother!! So on point with your comment. What YOU DO with the money to enhance and make use of a greater good is truly the only thing that speaks volumes. Excellent observation. Love you Bro. and Thank you also to Tim F well done fellas…. -M.A. Rasheed @realliferenewalnetwork@gmail.com
WORST. To never sell an investment, ESPECIALLY if it’s going against you. Happy to say this was given to me by a friend’s dad when I was in high school and is something that was quickly dismissed.
BEST – from Paul T – to think you are wrong everyday and to constantly be objectively checking your conclusions and assumptions.
Cheers and love the new show
Outstanding thoughts of a brilliant guy!!!
Tim, it sounded like the “feeling of knowing it will work out” as a must to even start something is not a condition you agreed completely. If I have a strong gut feeling for some idea but have to hope it will work because it is something new of course I will question it on order to improve.
I guess success leads to more success and you develop this “knowing it will work” – until you fail.
What is your thought on this?
Round 2 please!
I agree that there are more types of people than just founders and employees.
What are some other paths you guys can think of?
Tim, your input would be appreciated since you mentioned that in the interview 🙂
Totally agree! I want a Round 2!
Some of my best investment advice was invest in yourself first. I believe this goes two ways, intrinsically in what you do daily and how you practice habits that help define your purpose and also financially as Robert Kiyosaki says paying your asset column first and I think many Americans including my 1-year former self don’t know about.
Tim, I thoroughly enjoy your podcast and you have been such an inspiration to me and my growth. I have quit my job and chased my dreams on your book. At this point, I know I’m going to be successful so I thank you for that.
You coming Downunder Tim!? Just a word of warning, watch out for Dropbears, they’re active this time of year!
Chris, thank you kindly for being so humble, it’s very refreshing.
I loathe podcasts and am unsubscribing. Thanks.
I love that some people can pull off being what they want to be when they decide to be it and it just doesnt happen for the vast majority of us – for exactly the reason that Tim noted in the 4 hour workweek – we never try. It’s scary to try because we expect to fail – its life – it beats you down over years and decades to where you have just been pounded into the peg hole you fit in the machine. All the parts that dont fit into the round slot get beaten and pounded down or off so that you fit what is expected from you. you family will do it. your friends will do it – society definitely conspires to make people mediocre and to kill dreams. It is that exact reason that the people who DO follow thier dreams are so wonderful – they have beaten the odds!
Tim, I’ve been on Alpha Brain for 2 days. Thanks for the suggestion. I bet a lot of your listeners have been wondering about that “genius pill” that pops up in ads associated with Facebook. Any info on this? thanks! witskis with the Leave Podcast.
Why has Elon Musk not been on the show yet? He would seem like a great person to have interviewed and maybe even intensely studied for his insane work ethic and productivity. I would love to see him on the show!
+1 for Elon Musk
Would also like to hear what you guys think about current world events, AI, colonizing Mars, etc
One of the best episodes ever! I loved that it was really personal. Chris shared so many things from his past, his family life, his childhood, his life adventures – it helps to understand what shaped a mind like his that created the life he has. Round 2 is a must! Maybe based on listeners’ questions? Thank you Tim for making it happen!
This guy has some pretty impressive accomplishments… most impressive is being Brian Sacca’s brother, awesome!
https://www.youtube.com/user/peteandbrian – love these guys 🙂
another great ep Tim, keep it up.
You have a big audience and, as Chris says, not all of us are ‘founder’ material (I’ve worked for one guy through 3 successful startups – and I’m not him). I suspect that the majority of your audience fall in to this broader category.
What advice would you give to someone who currently earns good money as an employee, has a mortgage to pay and a family to support – but also has an entrepreneurial spirit, a great idea but perhaps isn’t the person who can single-handedly give birth to and grow that business (having with no funds, family commitments and a low risk threshold)?
I know my first steps are to 1) prove that there is a market; and 2) do the math to confirm it is a viable business. Once I’ve done that what advice would you give? Maybe that advice includes:
+ finding the ‘founder’ who has the drive and connections to make it happen
+ building the right team without funds (i.e. finding people who share the vision and have expertise)
+ obtaining financial backing
+ etc
The scale in which Tim and his podcast is changing my business is just unbelievable…first it was Tony Robbins and Arnold, then there was Matt Mullenweg and Glenn Back…and now, Chris Sacca…
I first heard Chris Sacca’s name when the Forbes did a cover story and it inspired me a lot, so when I saw the title of this episode, I simply had to find a moment to listen to it. And it was indeed – exceptional.
Round 2, please!!!
Tim – thanks for this podcast. You and your guests are great motivation to go out there fuck things up. Very empowering. It’s like gangster rap for business.
Unless anyone else has commented….the “Stream” and “Download as…” links seem to be mixed up.
Hi Tim,
At 1:31, you mentioned that there are multiple ways to amass financial fortune. Can you please elaborate methods/ways that people can generally take towards that step without being a founder?
that’s what I wanted to ask too!
Really enjoyed this episode. In my top 5. A key takeaway was “playing offense” with your life. That is one of my favorite themes of your podcast in general.
Would very much enjoy a part 2, and ideally one that brings about the transition period(s) that lead Chris Sacca from his Georgetown & study abroad days to where he is today.
By the way, just checked Amazon and “I seem to be a verb” is going for $999.11 USD.
New poster, avid listener, I love your show. This particular podcast was awesome. I was laughing at several moments. The power move of taking off your trunks to reveal the speedo… bahaha.
Great podcast, and also love Chris’ prospecting notes here: http://lowercasecapital.com/prospecting/
Damn…another great podcast! I really enjoyed Chris Sacca on this episode and look forward to the next.
Inspire on, Tim!
Darren
Hi everyone.
I am so thrilled that I got familiar with Chris Sacca in this wonderful episode of the Tim Ferriss Show! Thank you Tim for the opportunity. I really enjoyed Sacca’s way of thinking, and have found that many of his pearls of wisdom resonate with me.
I really liked Sacca’s approach that as an adventurer in the business world, you just got to know in your very essence that your project is going to be successful; you don’t pray for it, you just know it in all of your being.
This really speaks to me as I am currently trying to get my Indiegogo campaign – Destiny’s Vortex – to be as successful as I hoped it would be. I am currently still struggling with the labor pains of the project, but Sacca’s approach gets me so deeply joyful, as I know deep down in my heart that my book project will be an exceptional success. I believe so much in my ideas for the book.
So thank you, Ferriss & Sacca for keeping me going!
Alway s enjoy your podcasts. You mentioned heading down to Oz. If you want a hook up with a crew of top notch rock climbers,(I know you love doing stuff with guys who are pushing limits) they live at the grampians and near mt arapiles. Just let me know would be happy to make the introduction. Len
1. Buckminster Fuller, I Seem to be a Verb is being reissued this summer, so you can get it for ~$12.
2. The speedo is great stoic wear. You could wear a burlap sack in SF and none of your friends would bat an eye, but swim in a tight swimsuit and they get giggly thinking about their own insecurities. Seneca would approve.
This was insane on so many levels. Took away just as much in the realm of parenting as anything else. PLEASE sit down again and release Part 2!
Hey Tim, You mentioned you’re on your way down-under, when and where?
Guys, does anyone know what’s the name of the book Chris mentioned written in 2nd tense? I thought it would be in episode notes and didn’t write it down. Thanks!
The second book Chris Sacca mentioned about gaining empathy was “How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia: A Novel” http://www.amazon.com/How-Filthy-Rich-Rising-Asia/dp/1594632332
This is one of the best podcasts I’ve heard ever. I have come to respect Chris Sacca very much through his rules on investing, especially the “I don’t want to tell my kids I made money on this”-rule. Though he can seem down-to-earth, chill and well-mannered, it also shows in this interview that there is a ferocius investor underneath. However, one that does follow a set of well-defined – financial AND moral rules.
Thank you for this interview, Tim. Really inspiring!
BAKED!!! Haha and you still pulled it off. Decent podcast, but it got a little mellow there in the middle.
Really loved this podcast. I could listen to Chris talk for hours. He has such an ease in which he shares his experience without being pretentious. Just watched his University of Minnesota’s speech – awesome. Please do a follow-up with Chris!
Tim – question that I wish you would have asked Chris – “Is the successful (angel) investor the person who says yes to the right opportunities (the yes / no decision)? Or is the successful (angel) investor the one who hustles to get the right meetings?” In my opinion, its the latter by a longhsot. Even though we all know hindsight is 20/20, some of these companies (Twitter, Uber) should be pretty obvious yes’s. For example, I would say 90/100 angel investors would have said yes to Uber. But only 5/100 have the hustle and network to even be invited to the meeting in the first place. It’s not like Uber sent an email pitch to 10,000 angels and only 6 showed up. To me the impressive part is putting yourself in a position to even take those meetings. I wish you explored the “hustle” side of the equation to be in the same room as some of these companies. Great podcast.
In the past couple of months I’ve discovered your blog and have been religiously catching up on podcasts each day. All around quite good. I listened to the Sacca episode this morning and it was exceptional. Thought provoking and inspirational. To the point that I am leaving my first ever online comment on a website. Shocking but true. Thanks for the motivation.
I binged on every episode of your podcast in the month of May (while I worked) this is hands down the best episode you’ve done. I would love to see Chris back on the podcast, sooner rather than later.
Tim — Have you considered doing a Podcast with Casey Neistat? Awesome guy. You two seem to run in the same circles. It would be awesome to hear you two chat.
Thanks for all you do!
Lee
Really awesome podcast, Tim! I think it might be my favorite or at least one of them. Inspired me to say thank you for making it happen!
Question for everyone:
I read the 4 hour work week in 2007. Have been a fan since. I started a few small businesses but none successful enough to leave my job. I now have gotten a position as a financial advisor so I need to be in the office to meet with clients and get referrals from the appointment setters but I will be able to work from home as well. What would be the best way to apply 4HWW principles to work less on my job while I work from home so I can focus more time on building the business?
Another awesome podcast Tim! Thanks for doing these and I hope you will continue to to them for years to come! I also vote for a round 2 with Chris.
Hi Tim
In this ep you mention that the Bucky book is going to be hard to obtain. Just so you know, Amazon UK are re-releasing it in paperback in August this year 😁
Hey I was wondering about that author ‘Bucky’? I’m not a native english speaker and couldn’t catch his name. Could someone educate me here and perhaps advise one of his best books? In advance, thank you.
Hi! I couldn’t quite catch that author’s name: “Bucky”? Could anyone get me the full name? I’m interested in reading some positive futuristic science 🙂 Thanks in advance.
-Jules
This is awesome. I was inspired by Time Ferriss to start up my own website so that I can spend more time traveling [Moderator: link removed]
Chris is an inspiration, never be afraid to be different and unique. A lot may not and will not understand but never be afraid to be an original, it does pay off. It may not be instantaneous but it will come. Had fun listening to you guys, inspiring and informative, keep it up!
Investing in yourself is a thumbs-up in this podcast. You can never say it better than investing all the things that yourself needs and maintaining it. Thinking outside of the coin helps you understand better the situation.
Best advice I have ever gotten:
“Choose the lifestyle you want to lead, and find a career that facilitates that lifestyle.”
My good friend is a cosmetic dentistry specialist, and his goal coming out of college was to ski no less than six weeks per year. Dentistry was a good choice, because the office runs without him, doing general cleaning and simple things, and when he is in town he does the specialty things that really generate revenue. He’s only missed two years where he didn’t ski six weeks; one he had mono, and the other he got injured in the second week and didn’t get back on the slopes that year.
PS…he’s 66 now, and still going strong.
Darren
Got a copy of “I Seem to Be a Verb” though my university library. They had to get it shipped in from another library because our copy was mysteriously “missing.” Can’t wait to read it this weekend! Great podcast.
I can just say WOW! Superinspiring, Tim. Thanks for this podcast!!
Tim, great content. We’d like to invite you to be part of our interview series called Modern Entrepreneur. Here’s a sample with Seth Godin: http://blog.ontraport.com/entrepreneurial-life/seth-godin-interview. I will hit you up on twitter as well, but let me know if this interests you and we’ll schedule you in…J
As usual, another great episode. So cool and informative. The only thing that seems to get lost on me with you Tim is the emphasis on success only equalling the amount of money earned. You always mention that you’re “impressed” with what someone has accomplished or that they are an “influencer” because they’ve traveled in big circles and connected people who gone on to admittedly very worthwhile things. However, is the humble gardner who loves his family and leads a decent life not a success in your book? Or the elementary school teacher you’ve never heard of? My point is that the path of the heart is just as valuable as the path you’re always promoting.
I think you should interview Dan Bilzerian – that would be a really fun podcast =)
Amazing insights for ventures!
Listen it!
Thanks again for the inspiration.
Its amazing when one can actually achieve what we have put our minds to. It doesn’t happen everyday and definitely not with everyone!
Tim Ferris is a prenatal Abductee. I just had to see the ears in a picture. That mean he would be useful to connect to Russell Anderson. We have special powers resulting from the intervention while we were buns in the oven and our mothers were made shellshocked about the free ride and alien obstetrics but something extra is usually in expense of something left out. I am trying to network us into something productive instead of being about as useful as a meteor strike. Russell can build faster than light spaceships. I know so much it gets impossible to catalogue it. There are clubs for lonely space contactees but we are very social and active and doing intervention. Well time to begin round Robin introductions. Each of us knows a heck of a lot more than is social or polite to open up we better just be able to label each other as experts that makes possible a consultation network and problem solving team.
I think one of the potential investments for the future is Bitcoin. However, governments could also destroy it, because it returns the power of money from the central banks to individuals. Many people who invested in Bitcoin became very rich. Every investment is a risk and only people who take no risks stay where they are. Thanks for your helpful article!
Had to leave a comment after the Sacca interview…This was your most interesting podcast to date…Sacca reminds me of guys i know from school days, maybe its the age, maybe its the calm moxie. Thanks for the swim site recommendation, i definitely have a kick time problem. All the best.
If Tim Ferris is the man with the widely spaced eyes and the odd ears, I want him to meet Russell Anderson at Searl Aerospace and maybe futurely myself and Nick King. We all have the odd ears. Our mothers were abducted while pregnant. The gestations took ten months. With odd ears comes a knowledge obsession I think some growth inducer is put into one side of the brain and affects ear development. We are not man made it is not exactly hereditary and not the product of education but of alien bioengineering. Earth is GALACTIC RIM so these fox holes in organic territory are being dug either by the incumbent Reptilian forces with a king dinosaur who likes to snack on screaming humans, or the Andromedans the nearest likely neighbours wanting a free lunch at Milky Way expense. Anyway we get extra marks in Science and English. We are thought weird. We over achieve. WOULD IT BE ILLEGAL TO ISSUE A JOB DESCRIPTION MUST HAVE ODD EARS? Well forming an association of partly human beings with extra thinking ability for the short term is likely to make money. I need to get the Inventors talking LESS and the financiers listening MORE and some sort of legal quality testing that customer might be a human idiot but he is legally entitled not to be accidented to death by contempuous manufacture of the product. I seem however weakly to be trying to corral us space freaks into a functioning herd. Russell has big trouble selling and Nick has big trouble understanding. I am sure I do something wrong apart from postponing a shower to do more computing. I suppose I need to be kidnapped stripped and thrown into a spa. Well pull the wires out of me first. Now one thing for sure we don’t tolerate each other so it will be a useful brawl. Nick might learn to listen up Russell might learn to shorten it and I could learn to care what I smell like. I don’t know what Tim is allowing himself to get away with but he would not be doing it after we got onto him. So what is in the works. What about $ ∞.00¢ YES I AM TALKING SPACE TRADING. There are infinity house lots on other planets. There is infinity food demand on other planets. There are infinity transportation fees BETWEEN other planets. Think of all those stars in the sky as the dot in your bank balance in even Googols of spacecreds. Give your children a new planet each for Christmas.
Let Russell tell you how he understands EXACTLY how to travel faster than light. I just spot interesting morphs including my star character Bill Durks (what a three eyed man would do in watchmaking!) And of course null telepaths scanner telepaths and killer telepaths. It gets like reading the bar codes on electrical resistors only these are derived from human beings which does not rule out organizing them into circuits. I am getting skilled at handling part human beings. Now this has to be a bit freaky and teaching skills to humans can be bad for them. So each of has some extra thing and what about organizing these abilities and see what can be made if we stop doing all those bad habits and stop calling each other names and work out a rescue here or there I tell you very rarely should an inventor try to sell his stuff. The customer is not SOME LOWER IDIOT he is ALWAYS RIGHT. We got to learn to be better human being tamers. We got to make ourselves actually understand some stuff that takes more than one study session. You try to learn antigravity. It involves mass and electric charge, atomic number, spin couples, and so on. You can go and build a canoe without reading Archimedes Principle and for that matter fly a correctly built flying saucer you built with your own hands. Design, testing, and safety require you to actually know what you are doing not just do it quickly. I am trying to port an app to make mobile phones photograph thoughts. You could just look at one like the image press SEND (or maybe just THINK send). So the sensor needs refining a bit of techo stuff. Next thing people will snap that PIN number on cam when somebody THINKS it. RUCTIONS! LAWS! BANS! WELL I CAN STILL THINK NAUGHTY PEOPLE CAN’T PHOTOGRAPH IT (YET). THIS IS GETTING TOO LONG AGAIN. I GOT TO BE LIKE RUSSELL OUGHT TO BE AND GET THE BRIEF TO STOP THE GRIEF.
Thanks for the great interview! One of my biggest takeaways (of many) regarding persuasion of investors: I look for inevitability. Not the founder convincing himself. Speak with confidence and inevitability. Not “if” ->
“So when we get to 50 million users we’ll roll out this..
You know Tim’s podcast has in impact when Amazon is grouping @sacca ‘s book recommendations together, “I seem to be a verb,” “Not Fade Away,” and “Scratch and Sniff guide to tasting wine.” To be honest, I’ve listened to the episode 4 times. Great insights and a refreshingly honest assessment of the VC investing game.
“I seem to be a verb” has some strange pre-order status on Amazon and is available for $11.88 in paperback if anyone else is interested.
This is by no means a pun, but rather something I struggle with myself. How does one be truly empathetic toward another in need when that person is perceived as a potential fatal threat? (i.e. 1 in 6,000 of this type of homeless will kill me) It seems technology can be a mitigation measure to these kinds problems at best. How does one rationalize empathy? Here is my personal paradox: I obsess over this app idea I’m developing that can help alleviate homelessness, but just 15 minutes ago, a stinky homeless man asked me for a ride to the bus stop and I refused. Now I am perplexed. What does it take for me personally to give unconditionally? I consider myself to be a pretty bold person and even I chose not to give my service in that situation. What does it take for someone to give? You, me, and everyone else.
Small note: another book written in the 2nd person apart from “How to Get Rich in Rising Asia” is Italo Calvino’s “If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller”, which is also written in the future tense.
Thanks, Tim, for this episode and the years of quality evergreen content, MED tips/advice, and inspiring by example. I’ve been a big fan for a long time.
Takeaways:
1) Listening well is one of the greatest commonalities between successful founders.
2) Expanding your worldview geographically or socioeconomically is immensely important.
3) Don’t let the negative case dominate your perspective (or at least be aware of that as a possibility)
Best Investment advice:
Invest in yourself.
Give of time/money to others.
Taleb’s Barbell Strategy + Buffet’s Index Funds
Don’t you think Tim Ferris looks like a prenatal abductee?
Listening to Sacca is an education in what white privilege can do for you. The man is dripping with white male privilege. As a colored entrepreneur listener, there is no way I can relate to this.
I would disagree with your comment and think his message is appropriate for all. He mentions White Privilege not by name but clearly see’s the advantage it gives. He also mentions giving service to your community, travel, working in Africa, thinking about others less fortunate than himself and making the world a better place which a lot of hugely successful people do not. He also mentions his politics which many successful people do not which I admire as it shows a man with strong principals weather you agree with them or not.
I think you need to carry a plastic sheet to put over your seat for stinky passengers and also have a can of disinfectant spray and one of insecticide you got lice and bacteria to think of. When you get your car home you might steam clean where your passenger was sitting. That should keep you 99% as safe as refusing the passenger. You might contact a refuge professional handling would be the way to go his clothes need washing and he might have lice and scabies. I can sympathize I have skin problems without the bugs. Maybe people could stand to pay 1% more tax and have the problem fixed. I have terrible facilities for bathing here but it is indoors and I can make a difference. One thing you could do is buy the man a Lynx spray.
WORST. To never sell an investment, ESPECIALLY if it’s going against you. Happy to say this was given to me by a friend’s dad when I was in high school and is something that was quickly dismissed.
BEST – from Paul T – to think you are wrong everyday and to constantly be objectively checking your conclusions and assumptions.
Cheers and love the new show
i think we all agree that investment is worth to sell as it provitable, i am sorry for bad english but
I publish Adverse Tables which can be used for my purpose quake prediction and saving lives but also can be adapted to stock market dips and pinpoint buy signals to ride your money back to the top.
Tim,
I have been following your content closely since about 2010 and am a big fan of your work. In several recent episodes of your podcast, I noticed a trend of you asking some pointed questions about how to make great hiring decisions.
Since you have given me so much to think about and chew on over the years, I thought this may be an opportunity for me to give back a little. My background is in recruiting engineering and operations professionals for the last 6 years. I have averaged placing around 45 people in those skill sets per year since 2010.
I’m happy to help you put together a strategic plan for helping to qualify your next hiring need, identify your target candidate/audience, effectively advertise your next position (I read your last one and noticed some opportunities), offer advise on screening CV’s, interviewing strategies, checking references and closing/structuring the deal with potential hires.
Here are a couple of things to think about initially:
-Do you have a specific need that you have forecasted to fill in the next 6-12 months?
-If so, what is your game plan to find and attract the person you want, because odds are the most qualified person is working and not actively looking for his or her next opportunity.
-If not, strategically what would be the next person you would want to hire or could most easily lose and have to backfill?
I recognize that your time is in short supply and that with a great network of smart people you may not need this resource at all. If you are interested now, in six months or next year I’m happy to help you put together a plan pro bono. Just shoot me an email or tweet me.
Tim
I wasn’t sure where to post this, but it relates to investing, productivity and your interviews with interesting people, so I opted for your the most recent investing-tagged post.
I’ve tried using your “Fail Better” and “5 Tips for Emailing Busy People” techniques to contact Dr. Michael Burry, (the investor at the centre of Michael Lewis’ The Big Short), as he (like you) has been an indirect mentor to me, and I wish to ask him a particular question given his life experience and talents. I managed to find his personal email after much digging online, and contacted him but without any success. I believe he is extremely private as well as busy, and is virtually impossible to cold-contact.
However this got me thinking – and far-be-it from me to suggest to you who you should interview for your podcast or otherwise, but I believe Dr. Burry would make for a fascinating interview. His story is both unusual and inspiring, having found a backdoor to Wall Street via blogging about investing (before blogging was invented) at night when he was a neurology resident at Stanford. I believe he could offer some fascinating insights on productivity and effectiveness in learning and pursuing ones goals (I include a very brief extract from The Big Short below to illustrate what I mean here)
Anyway this is just a suggestion – perhaps you would have more success than me in connecting with Dr. Burry, if you felt this was of interest to you and your readers/listeners. Thanks for taking the time to read this and please keep sharing your insights with the world.
Best regards,
Conor.
Dr. Michael Burry on Productivity:
“Time is a variable continuum,” he wrote to one of his e-mail friends one Sunday morning in 1999: “An afternoon can fly by or it can take 5 hours. Like you probably do, I productively fill the gaps that most people leave as dead time. My drive to be productive probably cost me my first marriage and a few days ago almost cost me my fiancée. Before I went to college the military had this ‘we do more before 9am than most people do all day’ and I used to think I do more than the military. As you know there are some select people that just find a drive in certain activities that supersedes everything else.”
Love Sacca’s thoughts. Great on TWiST with Jason Calacanis as well.
I look like getting a launch into something with contacts in Nepal.
Love hearing Sacca’s story– never gets old. Can’t help but think his background and experience in operations and sales primed him so well for VC investing. He can work through business models so much more in-depth and 20-steps ahead of someone who doesn’t have that same experience.
Was with Chris right up until his asshole and hypocritical comment about Republicans in NV. His dismissive attitude of anyone with a different political opinion aligns perfectly with today’s leftist group think. Doesn’t matter how much I have, I should be able to decide how much you get to have.
Recommended reading by Michael Burry
[Moderator: link removed]
Chris you are the man! Your story reminds me of the Poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. I love how grounded and family oriented you are! You are truly inspiring brothaman!
Really inspiring Tim! I like the way you guys converse, you can tell your really friends. Awesome!
I was thinking about this podcast earlier and Chris Sacca mentioned that he could learn more about business by following specific blogs instead of pursuing an MBA. I was curious if anyone can point me in that direction or if anyone has any suggestions.