Founder's Journal

Jonathan Swanson on Building a Unicorn and Delegating 90% of Your Life

Jan 24, 2023

53:27

Episode guests

Jonathan Swanson

AI Summary

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Receiving a $100 million investment offer validated the founders' potential and shattered doubts from naysayers.

Delegating tasks with EAs transitioned Swanson to time abundance, optimizing personal and professional growth.

Swanson's decentralized scout model empowers founders to invest in other startups, amplifying deal flow and technical expertise.

Deep dives

Validating Potential Through Investment

Receiving a surprise $100 million investment offer from Google Capital validated the founders' potential and shattered the perception that they lacked the capacity others claimed. The moment signified a belief in their vision and capabilities, contrasting with previous doubts from naysayers.

The Pros and Cons of Being a Technical Founder

00:57

How Nose Became a Successful Networking and Marketplace Company

01:16

What Keeps You Sustainable?

02:06

Founders Backing Venture Fund

01:53

Introduction

2min

The Crazy Ones Interview With Jonathan Swanson

4min

How Did Thumbtack Come to Be?

3min

What Was the Biggest Reason People Don't Want Your Investment?

5min

I Want to Be an Entrepreneur Like This Is the Job for Me

2min

What Are the Most Intentional Things You Did Over the Life of the Business?

3min

How Do You Like Coach Someone Else to Change Their Relationship?

2min

The Most Incredible Quote Ever

5min

Do You Think We're Doing This or That?

2min

10.

The Power of Proofreading at Thumbtack

3min

11.

Thumbtack - The Next Chapter

4min

12.

The Cardinal Sin of Delegation

3min

13.

The Maslow's Hierarchy of Delegation

5min

14.

Founders Backing Venture Fund

2min

15.

The Pyramid of Delegation

3min

16.

The Team Helps You Build Relationships

5min

17.

What Keeps You Sustainable?

2min

Episode 17: Today, hosts Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) and Jesse Pujji (@jspujji) are joined by fellow startup entrepreneur Jonathan Swanson. Jonathan is the co-founder and chairman of Thumbtack—a massive technology leader building the modern home management platform. In this episode, Jonathan tells Alex and Jesse all about how he and his co-founders came up with the idea for Thumbtack, the turning points and oh-sh*t moments of growing the business, and his genius delegation tactics that save him hundreds of hours over the course of a year.

Time Mapping:

(00:50) - Intro

(01:51) - Start of Jonathan Swanson interview

(04:04) - What keeps Jonathan motivated, even after all of his career success

(05:21) - Jonathan Swanson’s upbringing and background

(06:20) - Why Jonathan decided to pursue entrepreneurship

(09:23) - The early days of starting Thumbtack

(15:48) - The moment that changed everything for Thumbtack

(17:09) - How Jonathan navigates his co-founder relationship

(22:00) - The event that almost killed Thumbtack

(27:00) - The overseas employee that changed Jonathan’s trajectory

(30:20) - Jonathan’s career path after Thumbtack

(33:40) - Jonathan’s tips for how to delegate as a leader

(41:21) - Jonathan’s other businesses

(45:00) - How Jonathan hacks his personal life

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Founder's Journal

Jonathan Swanson on Building a Unicorn and Delegating 90% of Your Life

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Validating Potential Through Investment

Championing Delegation and Time Abundance

Revolutionizing Delegation in Business

Enhancing Relationships and Health through Delegation

Futuristic Endeavors in Entrepreneurship

The Pros and Cons of Being a Technical Founder

How Nose Became a Successful Networking and Marketplace Company

What Keeps You Sustainable?

Founders Backing Venture Fund

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts