Jason Cohen on Missionaries vs Mercenaries and The Impact of Passion in Business

Welcome to 2024's 1st episode of the Build In Public Podcast! 🎉

Today's episode features Jason Cohen, four-time entrepreneur across 24 years who has built both bootstrapped and VC-funded businesses in his career. He had two exits and two unicorns and has been writing for 17 years on the Internet. You may have seen him on X as @asmartbear or read one of his articles at this blog: asmartbear.com

Jason is currently the Chief Innovation Officer of WP Engine which is a startup unicorn that he started in 2010. The company raised over $300m in funding, has over 1,200 employees globally and serves billions of web requests daily for 200,000 customers as one of the top-ten largest web platforms in the world. 

In this episode, Jason and KP discuss the significance of passion, the role of writing in personal growth, and the story behind Jason's beef with the term "MVP" in startups :) The conversation touches on challenges entrepreneurs face, the difference between missionaries and mercenaries in business, and strategies for finding great startup ideas.

The list of topics covered and relevant timestamps are:

00:00 Intro
05:26 Jason's Writing Routine
08:34 Redefining Product Development: From MVP to SLC
23:25 The Power of Being Mission-Driven in Building a Company
27:48 Finding Great Startup Ideas
30:48 How to Select Between Multiple Business Ideas Effectively
40:48 Finding the Perfect Work Companion: Balancing Strengths and Weaknesses in Hiring
41:38 Tips for Maximizing Productivity and Authentic Engagement on Twitter
51:38 Wrap-Up

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Note: If you loved the conversation or had questions/comments to share, please post on X or DM me directly :) Always hungry for feedback. Thank you!

Links:
Jason's handle on X: https://twitter.com/asmartbear
Jason's blog:  https://longform.asmartbear.com/
KP handle on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP