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20VC: It’s Time To Talk About Drinking; How To Stop, The Impact It Has, How Life Changes Post-Alcohol and The Biggest Misconceptions on Drinking with Ryan Petersen, Founder @ Flexport, Justin Kan, Founder @ Twitch, Matteo Franceschetti, Founder @ Eight

Jun 1, 2020

In this engaging discussion, guests Justin Kan, founder of Twitch, Matteo Franceschetti, CEO of Eight Sleep, and Steve Schlafman, coach and investor, share their personal journeys with alcohol. They reflect on their realizations about the need to stop drinking, the emotional struggles it masked, and the powerful transformations they experienced post-alcohol. The conversation emphasizes the importance of community in recovery, the tools that helped them, and offers insight into how sobriety has positively impacted their lives, both personally and professionally.

34:45

Creator website

Episode guests

Steve Schlafman

Matteo Franceschetti

Justin Kan

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

Paths to Sobriety

4min

Journey to Sobriety: Confronting Anxiety and Alcohol

14min

The Journey to Sobriety: Personal Experiences and Insights

7min

Navigating Parenthood and Leadership Transformations

2min

Transformations in Sleep Patterns and Investment Dynamics

2min

The Importance of Community in Sobriety

3min

Ryan Petersen is the Founder & CEO @ Flexport, the operating system for global trade with over $1.3Bn in funding from the likes of Softbank, Founders Fund, DST, GV and First Round to name a few.

Justin Kan is the Founder @ Atrium and Twitch (acq by Amazon for $1Bn). Justin is also a prolific angel with a portfolio including the likes of Scale AI, Digits, Cruise and Triplebyte to name a few.

Matteo Franceschetti is the Founder & CEO @ Eight Sleep, the #1 Smart Mattress, designed to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep. To date, Matteo has raised over $70M from Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Craft Ventures, Kevin Hartz and Ryan Petersen to name a few.

Steve Schlafman is a Coach and Investor @ High Output. Previously Steve was a Partner @ Primary Ventures in NYC and before that Principal @ RRE.

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In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) What was your realisation moment for stopping drinking? How did it come about? What was your prior relationship to alcohol like?

2.) For me I always found an excuse to not stop drinking, when you think about your attempts to give up, what excuses did you provide as reasons for continuing to drink? What insecurities and vulnerabilities did drinking hide and mask for you? How did it impact them?

3.) From a literal standpoint, how did you approach giving up the act of drinking? What tools did you find most helpful? What resources do you recommend? How has your life changed since you stopped drinking? Matteo, you have the data from Eight Sleep, what does the data say about how stopping drinking truly impacts your sleep?

4.) People often say that stopping drinking kills your social life, what would you respond to that commonly held belief? What other core misconceptions do you find people hold towards drinking? To those considering giving up drinking, what would you advise them? What do you know now about alcohol that you wish you had known earlier?

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Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.

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