Phasic vs. Tonic Dopamine Explained

Why are we wired to chase quick wins instead of lasting breakthroughs—and how can investors reprogram that bias? In this third solo episode, David Weisburd unpacks the neuroscience of decision-making and how understanding dopamine can dramatically change the way you operate as an investor, founder, or builder. Drawing on insights from his conversation with Dave Fontenot of HF0, David explains why long-term rewards (“slow dopamine”) create compounding advantages while short-term hits (“fast dopamine”) destroy focus. He shares tactical strategies for building “monk mode” systems that protect deep work, how to avoid the illusion of productivity, and why the most valuable ideas require discomfort and delay before payoff. This episode is about rewiring your brain for compounding—not con

Highlights:

• How fast dopamine (short-term gratification) undermines long-term focus
• Why slow dopamine is the neurological key to compounding performance
• How to structure your day for deep work and “monk mode” productivity
• Why checking emails or chasing small wins creates addictive behavior loops
• How to identify the most important, non-urgent tasks that create 10x leverage
• Why most founders confuse activity with progress—and how to fix it
• The mental models behind HF0’s ability to 20x ARR in just 12 weeks
• How to replace short-term dopamine hits with long-term focus triggers
• What Ryan Hoover’s automation philosophy teaches about time leverage
• How to act “slow” in a world addicted to fast—and win over decades

Host Bio:

David Weisburd is the founder of Weisburd Capital and the host of the How I Invest podcast. Previously, Mr. Weisburd was a Partner and Head of Venture Capital at 10X Capital, where he led notable firm investments into Robinhood, Honeybook, Palantir, and DraftKings. Mr. Weisburd founded Growth Technology Partners, a solo-GP venture firm, which was acquired by 10X Capital.

Prior to his venture capital career, Mr. Weisburd was on the founding teams of two venture-backed technology startups, iSocket (acquired by Rubicon Project (NYSE: RUBI)) and RoomHunt (acquired by RentLingo).

Mr. Weisburd served as a member of the board of directors of 3 publicly-traded companies.

Mr. Weisburd received an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, and a master’s in psychology from Harvard University.

Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com.

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Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com.

(0:00) Introduction (3:50) Aligning business goals with slow dopamine and differentiating career paths (4:59) Ryan Hoover's approach to problem-solving and long-term efficiency (6:53) Dramatic upside of slow thinking and human evolution (7:08) Closing remarks