rational vc
#040 - Eric Jorgenson: Navalmanack, Leverage, Building Wealth & Judgement, Angel Investing, Web3, Publishing Content, & Productising Yourself
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Utilize leverage in various forms such as tools, capital, technology, and people to enhance efficiency and productivity.
- Begin the book writing process by collecting ideas, conducting thorough research, and structuring content from general to specific.
- Balance quality and cadence in publishing essays by considering audience impact, blog goals, and depth of content.
- Commit fully to self-publishing a book, acknowledging the timeline, accountability, and iterative writing cycles necessary for success.
- Use writing as a tool for personal growth, impact, and continual learning, focusing on synthesizing complex ideas for audience engagement.
- Embrace different forms of leverage to amplify output and achieve desired outcomes, combining media, capital, labor, and code judiciously for effectiveness.
Deep dives
Leverage: Doing More Work with Every Hour
Leverage is the art of accomplishing more with each incremental hour. It involves utilizing tools, capital, technology, and people to increase impact and output. Examples like a lumberjack with an axe or chainsaw showcase leveraging tools to improve efficiency. Achieving various forms of leverage involves considering media, capital, labor, and code.
Navigating Writing Process and Research Collection
When starting a book, begin by collecting ideas in a dump dock relating to the topic of interest. Research involves sifting through vast sources like podcasts and articles to distill and stitch together key concepts. Utilize a mental model of moving from general to specific to organize and structure the content effectively.
Maintaining Quality vs. Cadence in Publishing
Balancing quality versus cadence in publishing essays can be a challenge. Consider your goals for the blog and audience impact in deciding on frequency and depth of content. Crafting high-quality essays may require sacrificing cadence for improved depth and narrative coherence.
Self-publishing Process and Accountability
When self-publishing a book, commit fully to the process without underestimating the timeline. Transform naivety into dedication to ensure completion of the project. Maintaining accountability, setting clear expectations, and embracing iterative writing cycles are critical for successful self-publishing.
Striving for Impactful Writing and Learning
Approach writing with the goal of impact and continual learning. Use writing as a tool for personal growth and expression. Strive to synthesize complex ideas in a compelling narrative that resonates with both personal interests and audience engagement.
Balancing Work Ethic and Creativity in Writing
Juggling work ethic and creativity in writing means understanding the two types of hard work: focused effort and clarity-seeking breaks. Recognize when to push through editing challenges and when to step back for fresh perspective. Crafting a final product often involves revisiting, reorganizing, and refining content through iterative cycles.
Exploring Diverse Forms of Leverage
Embrace different types of leverage, including media, capital, labor, and code, to maximize impact and efficiency. Each form of leverage plays a vital role in amplifying output and achieving desired outcomes. By leveraging a combination of these elements judiciously, individuals can enhance their effectiveness and success.
Setting Expectations for Writing Process
Establish realistic expectations for the writing process, acknowledging that high-quality work requires time and effort. Recognize the iterative nature of writing a book, from idea collection to distillation and finalization. Balancing the desire for perfection with the need for completion is crucial for successful self-publishing.
Embracing Iterative Writing Cycles for Growth
Value the process of writing as an opportunity for growth and exploration of ideas. Embrace iterative cycles of content creation, allowing for continuous refinement and expansion of knowledge. Recognize the importance of setting and exceeding personal writing goals to sharpen skills and deepen understanding.
Enhancing Narrative Coherence and Depth in Essays
Prioritize narrative coherence and depth in essays to engage readers and convey complex ideas effectively. Balancing frequency and quality of content publication is key to capturing audience attention and retaining interest. Crafting thoughtful and insightful essays may require compromising on cadence for improved impact and meaningful engagement.
Navigating the Evolution of Content Creation and Publishing
Content creators like David Perell transition from high publishing cadence to deliberate topic selection and longer content, exemplifying a natural evolution of creators towards more deliberate approaches, impacting audience satisfaction and content depth.
Unveiling the Advantages of Rolling Funds in Venture Capital
Rolling funds, such as 'Rolling Fun', revolutionize traditional fundraising by allowing ongoing capital acceptance and deployment with low overhead. They enable personal angel investors to scale up, write larger checks to entrepreneurs, gain global investment access, and ensure predictable capital deployment for LPs.
Exploring Web 3.0 and Its Implications for Future Innovations
Delving into the genesis of Web 3.0 unveils a landscape teeming with innovators seeking to decipher the signal amidst the noise in early-stage companies. The ethos revolves around survivability, focusing on crypto-native, digital-first infrastructures, and serving niche segments to propel the industry forward amid rapid evolution and transformative technological shifts.
Eric Jorgenson is an author and the creator of "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" book. He is also an Angel Investor and Entrepreneur. Eric recently launched his rolling fund on AngelList. He was on the founding team of Zaarly, and has been publishing online since 2014. His blog has educated and entertained over a million readers. The guys discuss everything from Building Wealth and Judgement, to Leverage, Naval, Balaji, Angel Investing, Web3, writing books, content creation, and much more.
You can also watch this episode on youtube at: https://youtu.be/_LMoWRF-q3E
Eric's website: https://ejorgenson.com Eric's Twitter: https://twitter.com/EricJorgenson Eric's rolling fund: https://rolling.fun Navalmanack free download: https://navalmanack.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Teaser 00:48 Intro chit chat 03:12 Eric's roots 04:56 Why Eric wrote the Navalmanack 07:23 Babak Nivi and Venture Hacks 11:28 Building wealth, judgement, and happiness 13:52 Improving decision making 17:33 Productise yourself 25:53 Authenticity vs. views 30:44 Leverage and social media 34:24 High leverage side projects 38:03 Leaving the conventional path 43:33 Process of publishing a book 53:02 Writing essays online 58:26 Launching a rolling fund / investment thesis 1:06:57 Angel Investing 1:11:23 Crucial to be an operator before investing 1:15:27 Mindset in private markets vs public markets 1:17:33 Balaji Srinivasan's big ideas / balmanack 1:24:05 The Web3 discussion 1:35:39 Resources that have shaped Eric's world view 1:37:57 Outro chit chat
--
Rational VC provides regular content on technology investing and technology building. We also write long-form memos. You can sign up for these monthly memo newsletters on the website: https://www.rationalvc.com/ We break everything down to first principles, to simplify the complex technology world. We aim to bring you content that is insightful, logical, and rational. We cover tech products and tech companies across the lifecycle, from pre-seed to seed, Series A to D+, to IPOs and beyond. We also cover all investing methods including Angel Investing, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Public Markets, etc. For more information on Cyrus, Iman and the channel, check out: https://www.rationalvc.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyrusyari/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/imanolya1/ https://twitter.com/CyrusYari https://twitter.com/iman_olya
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rational-vc/id1537462327
Your feedback and comments are very welcome. We hope you enjoy listening as we embark on a journey to understand this space; clearly, and rationally, of course. ---
Disclaimer: The content and materials provided are solely for informational purposes and do not constitute investment or legal advice. All opinions expressed by hosts and guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of their employer(s). No copyright infringement intended.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
