Ep.211: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Eric Jorgenson (@EricJorgenson).
My guest on this episode is Eric Jorgenson. Eric became a close friend while my wife and I lived in Omaha. I love the energy and enthusiasm he brings to whatever he’s doing, whether it’s investing in tech startups, writing books like The Almanack of Naval Ravikant and The Anthology of Balaji, hosting his Smart Friends podcast, or telling you about the latest innovations in sandwich making. And as of last summer he is the CEO of Scribe Media, a book publisher where the author retains full creative control and financial upside from their creations, and in my opinion, is the perfect business for Eric to run.
In this episode, we talk about the publishing business, the power of books over other creative mediums, his new role as CEO of Scribe, and what he’s learned as an author himself.
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Links:
Eric's books
Scribe
Smart Friends Podcast
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:18) - The power of writing
(00:06:27) - The business side of being an author
(00:12:44) - Is there a ‘right’ time in someone’s career to write a book?
(00:18:46) - The business of Scribe
(00:27:06) - Podcasts vs. books
(00:31:22) - The story of Enduring Ventures stepping in to buy Scribe and making Eric the CEO
(00:38:59) - Learning how to be a CEO
(00:44:51) - What are some publisher benchmarks to compare Scribe to?
(00:50:22) - Do you see large publishers trying to replicate your model?
(00:55:22) - Who would you be excited to write a book about?
(00:57:18) - What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your time as CEO?