American Kingpin tells the story of Ross Ulbricht, a libertarian-leaning programmer who built the Silk Road, an online marketplace for drugs and other illicit goods on the dark web. The book details Ulbricht's transformation from a college dropout to the mastermind behind a billion-dollar drug empire, and his eventual capture by law enforcement. The narrative is filled with twists and turns, including the involvement of crooked FBI agents, murder-for-hire plots, and the complex interplay between technology, libertarian ideology, and law enforcement.
In 'Hatching Twitter,' Nick Bilton chronicles the tumultuous birth and rise of Twitter, focusing on the quartet of founders: Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. The book delves into the personal conflicts, betrayals, and high-stakes power struggles that marked the company's early growth. Drawing on extensive research, including hundreds of sources and internal documents, Bilton provides a gripping narrative that reveals the complexities of technology startups, venture capital, and Silicon Valley culture. The story underscores the importance of resilience, adaptability, and collaboration in bringing a groundbreaking idea to life.
Episode 680: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to Nick Bilton ( https://x.com/nickbilton ), investigative journalist and author of American Kingpin and Hatching Twitter.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) Intro
(7:03) Inside a criminal mind
(12:57) Getting people to open up
(20:49) The real story behind Twitter
(29:40) The auras of Trump, Bezos, Musk
(33:13) Becoming a journalist
(37:24) Steve Jobs' reality distortion field
(43:16) Who has it all in Silicon Valley?
(49:43) Being a professional asshole
(57:56) Nick's next story
(1:03:38) Storytelling
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Links:
• American Kingpin - https://tinyurl.com/yckc6smh
• Hatching Twitter - https://tinyurl.com/3ah2j9ym
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Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com
• Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire worldwide talent like Shaan and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than US equivalents.
• Mercury - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies!
Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC
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Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That - https://copythat.com
• Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth
• Sam’s List - http://samslist.co/
My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano
My First Million 
