The CTO Show with Mehmet Gonullu #444 From MIT to IPOs: John Cousins on Mastering Money, Startups, AI, and the Future of Learning
In this episode, I sit down with John Cousins, a serial entrepreneur, investor, and educator, to discuss financial literacy, startup success, AI’s impact on learning, and the future of solopreneurship. With experience spanning MIT, IPOs, hedge funds, and AI-driven education, John shares powerful insights on navigating the world of business, investment, and entrepreneurship.
🔹 Key Takeaways from This Episode
✔️ The Power of Financial Literacy – Why schools fail to teach financial basics and how to take control of your money.
✔️ Startup Success – The traits that define successful entrepreneurs and why execution matters more than ideas.
✔️ Angel Investing & Hedge Funds – What John looks for in founders and how to evaluate great investments.
✔️ AI & Business Education – How AI is transforming the way we learn, create, and run businesses.
✔️ The Future of Solopreneurship – Why AI-powered one-person businesses are the future.
✔️ Building a Learning Habit – The secret behind writing 63 books and educating 30,000+ students.
✔️ Actionable Advice – How to take control of your finances, career, and entrepreneurial journey.
🔹 About John Cousins
John Cousins is an investor, tech founder, and bestselling author of Corporate Finance A$AP and over 60 other books.
John is the founder of MBA ASAP, which provides training to individuals, over 30,000 students in 165 countries, and corporations including Adidas, Apple, General Mills, Kaiser Permanente, Lyft, PayPal, Pinterest, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.
John has taught MBA students at universities worldwide.
Currently General Partner at Tetraktys Global, a quantitative hedge fund, he is an early investor in many successful tech companies and crypto protocols.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncousinsiii/
🔹 Episode Highlights & Timestamps
⏳ [00:01] – John’s Background: From MIT and electronic music to entrepreneurship
⏳ [00:06] – Taking Companies Public: John’s experience with IPOs and running a hedge fund
⏳ [00:12] – The Financial Literacy Gap: Why schools don’t teach finance & how to learn it yourself
⏳ [00:17] – 30,000+ Students Across 167 Countries: How MBA ASAP is making business knowledge accessible
⏳ [00:22] – AI in Learning & Business: John’s AI-driven negotiation course and multi-language digital learning
⏳ [00:28] – Investment Strategies & Startup Traits: What investors look for in founders & businesses
⏳ [00:36] – Solopreneurship & AI Tools: How AI is enabling individuals to run entire companies
⏳ [00:42] – The Future of Work: AI agents, automation, and the rise of one-person empires
⏳ [00:48] – John’s Writing Process: How he has published 63 books and distilled complex ideas