Magic Minds

Today's episode is another deep-dive (meaning it's a little bit different than the regularly scheduled episodes), and it is with a founder, Diego. This was recorded as we met and chatted about his startup. About three minutes into meeting / him pitching me his company, I said, “Hey, hold on, hold on. Could we record this? Could we actually sit down and record this as a podcast episode and just release it to the world so that people could see what it was like to have an angel investor coffee.” Many people think that these things are like a shark tank pitch — and that it's adversarial or that the investor sits there wanting to poke holes to fluster the founder. But for angel investors and very early stage investors, even through series A or B investors, they want people to understand that they're not trying to poke holes to try to undermine the founder or try to catch them in a crazy scenario. Great investors want to imagine what the world could be like with that founder. That was what I loved about my favorite angel investors, like Naval Ravikant or Sean Parker, and it's how I approach meeting with founders as well. So I thought, “Man, I've never come across an actual investor founder conversation. recorded before so I would love to record this” and because of time and not wanting to condense the coffee down to around 30 minutes that day, I invited him to do this episode with the right podcast equipment the next day. Diego was really kind enough to do this and to allow it to go out into the world publicly. This was recorded six months ago because he asked for it not to be released until they had formally launched their company, Panchama. You can read about their eventual public launch here: https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/03/pachama-launches-to-support-global-reforestation-through-carbon-markets/ You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Kamal Ravikant, the author of the best selling books “Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It”, “Live Your Truth”, and “Rebirth”. Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It”, a self -published book that became a phenomenon (selling over 400,000 copies world-wide, all without a publisher), is now reprinted, updated, and re-released this month. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend it. This episode talks about where Kamal was in his life right before writing the book, the stories that shaped him, and his experiences that then shaped what became “Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It”. There’s a phenomenal message within the book, and it might sound like you've heard something like this story before — or that it is just another book in the self-help section — but this one is really special, and you'll get to hear a little bit of why during this episode. So go check it out after listening to this episode. It is very rare for a self-published book to become a best-seller that sold over 400,000 copies. And it can only happen if the book’s message resonates so strongly with people (like it did with me and like it has with others around me here in San Francisco). You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is another deep dive with Dr. Peter Carnochan, who the coach to some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. He spent 25+ years as a psychologist and psychoanalyst before becoming an executive coach. I love getting Peter's key takeaways from the psychological side of things from recent guests. So today we covered Dr. Andrew Weil’s episode and the topic of death, Paul Austin on psychedelics, Cal Fussman on storytelling, Ann Miura-Ko on investing, Joseph Emmett on yoga for the intellect, Justin Kan on the inner journey of being a founder and creator, and many other areas where Peter shared his insights. Enjoy. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC.

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Serena Dugan is a founder, an artist, and a delight to chat with — This episode is a founder story that isn't like many founder stories. She didn't set out to create a world-renowned brand. She actually just walked into a small local shop, and before she knew it, she was meeting with the shop-owner the next day... and from there, they were planning world dominance. They ended up creating Serena and Lily, the famous home decor brand. If you don't know about home decor brands, ask anyone who does, and they'll tell you that Serena and Lily is perhaps the most respected brand within the space. But that didn't happen overnight. Serena talks about the honest version of creating Serena and Lily. She also talks about the life experiences that have helped shape who she has become, beyond just an artist and founder. From a consultant to an artist, then to a co-founder, and now back to art... Every time that we have artists on, it's just a very different perspective. A very different take on entrepreneurship — bringing something into the world in a different way than a tech founder story. Her candor and warmth are infectious. And within minutes, I think you will see why people would want to work with here. I enjoyed it immensely, and I think you will too. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with an anonymous guest. We're going to call him John Doe. John and I talked about the “below the line” version of the story of being a police officer. We also covered what has changed in San Francisco, some for the better, some for the worse, over the years. There's no doubt there are many good things that have happened in San Francisco in the last few decades. There are also some really strange and unfortunate things in his estimation, and we talked about the root causes of that in his opinion. As a life-long San Franciscan, who has seen the underbelly while living here for 50+ years, it’s a fascinating take on the city. We also covered why he became a police officer in the first place, what he didn't expect to see and experience, and a whole lot more. This is one of the most interesting conversations we've had on the podcast. And we certainly talked about a world you don't get to hear much about — So I think you're going to enjoy this one. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today we have another deep dive and this one is a really hot topic in the startup ecosystem and yet so little is written, discussed, researched, and talked about when it comes to how to build marketplace businesses. So after spending seven years at Airbnb, Lenny Rachitsky has been advising marketplaces around the world in 2019. He took that experience, and said his own experience at Airbnb wasn’t enough — and so he had conversations with dozens of other people from 17 of the biggest marketplaces out there and consolidated all of his research into what has just dropped this week, which is about a 50-page amazing deep-dive on what makes these marketplace businesses tick. And this episode is the audio complement to this comprehensive (yet simple to understand) compilation of what he has found. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC.

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Matt Mullenweg. The founder of Automattic, the parent company of WordPress (which powers an unbelievable 34% of the internet as of recording!). We talk about the beginning of WordPress, about getting started as a founder and organizer, about attachment theory, about what’s in his backpack at all times, his hardest days running WordPress and Automattic, and a whole lot more. We also talked about what it's been like raising $300 million for Automattic just last month, valuing the company in the billions. He also shared with us what he learned in Houston as a kid growing up there and why he still makes it his home base. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author When it comes to productivity, there aren’t many things we do today that we did 200 years ago. We send emails instead of post mail, drive cars instead of horse-drawn carriages, and look up things on our phones instead of traveling miles to the nearest library. However, when it comes to our morning routine, 80 percent of the world consumes caffeine each day to wake them up and give them a boost for their daily tasks. Whether it’s black tea or coffee, most of us consume the same ingredients we consumed 200 years ago without realizing two important facts. First, coffee beans and tea leaves are not the only sources of energy that nature provides us. Second, productivity is more than just wakefulness. Its energy, focus, creativity, decreased stress, and improved sleep, among other things. What can nature, science, and global access to different ingredients tell us about optimal productivity? And which ingredients are scientifically proven to be effective and safe? Backed by over 240 scientific studies, Beyond Coffee is a simple guide that answers these questions. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil has been called “the medical Nostradamus” for his foresight into what’s on the healthcare horizon. He is a world-renowned pioneer in the medical and healthcare space — leading Western healthcare toward an integrative, healing and prevention-based approach to health, decades before it was en vogue. His resume could go on for another few pages, and it still wouldn’t do it justice. He’s the best-selling author of over a dozen books, founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, and the co-founder of one of my favorite restaurants (and my wife’s all-time favorite) True Food Kitchen. He’s also a massive matcha tea fan. He was one of the earliest healthcare professions to openly write about diet and nutrition, openly criticize the over-prescription of pharmaceuticals, popularizing themes like healthy aging, mind-body connection, breathing techniques... all years (and sometimes decades) before the rest of the medical community started to take them seriously. I asked him after the episode something I wish I had asked him on-air, but he gave me permission to mention it here — and that was his dietary and healthcare advice for founders, leaders, and creators in high-stress jobs. His response was that his “first, second, and third piece of advice” would be to watch his short video on youtube on the 4-7-8 breathing technique. Breathing is one of the only activities that is both voluntary and involuntary, one of the only activities we can do to communicate back to the involuntary parts of our physiology that can get out of whack while stressed — like spikes of cortisol or increased heart-rate — which can be remedied by something as simple as practicing the super short breathing technique he talks about on that video for 4-6 weeks. YouTube video on Dr. Weil’s free advice and free remedy for anyone in a high-stress job or circumstance in life. https://youtu.be/YRPh_GaiL8s You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode was actually a live recording with a good friend, a former investor and a continual mentor to me (and dozens of entrepreneurs who I also love and respect). His name is Justin Kan, and he was episode number one for Below The Line. Justin is a founder and investor based in San Francisco. He has been building startups for close to 15 years now, and he's seen pretty much everything there is to see when it comes to the founder’s journey. He's also a former partner at Y Combinator and has invested in dozens of companies, giving him a unique perspective on both sides of the table. He is the co-founder and CEO of Atrium, a full-service corporate law firm that uses modern technology to serve startups all around the world in a fast, transparent and price predictable way. It's phenomenally useful. I've used it and so has a number of founders that have been on the podcast. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC