Magic Minds

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is another deep dive experiment into a topic that every founder dreads thinking about — fundraising. Similar to what we recently did regarding a deep dive on remote work, this episode goes deep (like super deep) into the weeds on fundraising strategies, tactics, and mistakes to avoid. This is always one of the most asked about topics, and I thought it'd be fun to do an episode with Marc who has helped founders raise over $100m in the last 12 months alone. He shares a lot of nuanced insight on the entire process of getting investors to give you millions of dollars, and getting time with him is not cheap, so I'm glad that he's able to spend a few hours with us for free — enjoy this deep dive with Marc and shoot us notes on any other deep dives you want us to do. 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 a deep dive — Something we're trying out where we go deep into certain topics that people have been asking about, and today is with an expert (maybe the expert?) on the subject of remote work (work that is distributed by many team-members in different geographical locations instead of all under one roof). This is a trend that seems to be here to stay... so we might as well learn as much as we can about the pros, cons, and best practices from someone like Hiten. More on Hiten: He has been building companies for 15 years, solely with distributed workforces and people who work from home. He has built some pretty big businesses this way. He's become one of the experts whom people reach out to learn more about building a remote team, remote business, or remote culture. And today, they've just published perhaps the most comprehensive data driven report and research on remote work.  I'm really excited to have him back on the podcast. This time, we’ll talk about the research that they just posted and dive into the topic of remote work including the pros, cons, and tips to get the most out of the trend that seems is here to stay.  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.

Today's episode is a really special one. It is with Dr. Peter Carnochan, a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, and executive coach. He quickly became one of the best executive coaches in Silicon Valley in the last few years with his deep understanding of the psychological journey of a founder. I was introduced to Peter years ago by Alexis Ohanian, one of the co-founders of Reddit, and ever since then he's been my executive coach (and compatriot) through a pretty tumultuous journey of creation at various points. I felt like it would be great to have him on the podcast every so often to go over his key takeaways from the previous episodes. We did about 10 episodes and listeners loved it so much that I'm doing it again, and we'll probably keep this cadence of about every ten episodes where we’ll have him talk about his insights from the previous episodes. So let's get into it with Dr. Peter Carnochan. 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.

Kelly Starrett is one of the most widely followed individuals in the health and fitness space. He is a NY Times bestselling author, a physical trainer, physical therapist, and mobility expert. That last thing I mentioned, mobility expertise, is one of the more fascinating parts of Kelly's work in the health and fitness world — where just about everyone is so focused on the results... the look, the tone, or the strength that one is going for.  However, his work is dedicated to the foundations: posture, mobility, daily habits. And that is perfect for a “below the line” look on the foundations for excellence. The other reason I'm pumped to talk to Kelly is because many founders, creators, leaders, etc (just about 95% of people I know) don't put enough time and attention to our physical health; the ultimate foundation to personal progress. And I'm a big believer of the old phrase “:train the body and the mind will follow” rather than the opposite. So let's get into it with the man that thinks about foundations perhaps more than any other person I know. 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.

BTL Hotline: 510-214-3717 In celebration of 40,000 downloads, we’re going to take a few calls and answer the questions from listeners directly. This episode covers some great questions from listeners as well as a note James wrote to himself while going through perhaps the toughest time in his career. Check it out and let us know what you think of this experiment at twitter.com/gobelowtheline — And call 510-214-3717 to ask a question, any question, and we will do this every time we pass another 10,000 downloads (should be around every 2 weeks at this rate).

fnnch is perhaps the most recognizable name in street art in San Francisco with his mega-size honey bears, pop-art lips, poppy flowers and poodles gracing our city in the unlikeliest of places. He wasn't always pursuing a passion in art, much less attempting a career in it. And he rarely speaks publicly about what it's like to be him. He is also known for being the only anonymous TED speaker to date, and this episode goes deep into the “below the line” version of someone that has very little “above the line” outside of his public work that —by design— is through the medium of street art so that everyone can enjoy the aesthetic upgrade in and around the city. We talked about that very illegal act, and the acute fact that not everyone enjoys it. We chat about how he's taken the risks and intentional, exceptionally hard-working steps to become the prolific creator he is, as well as riding lucky waves to become one of the rare artists to make a living from his art within just a few years of picking up a spray-paint can. Enjoy this episode with fnnch. 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.

Chris Powers is the only real estate mogul I know who has been selling real estate half his life. He began buying and fixing up homes when he was only 17 years old as a freshman in college, was a self-made millionaire by 23, then became a venture capitalist by 24. And today he is a real estate force helping define the future of the small-but-up-and-coming city of Fort Worth, Texas. We talk about how he began his career in real estate while everyone was thinking about fraternity parties and the influences in his life that made him decide to invest in tech. He's a unique guy — and 100% himself throughout this interview. Those two things are probably two of the biggest reasons why he has seen success early in his life. Let’s get into it with Chris on Below the Line with James Beshara. 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.

Dr. Emily Anhalt is a clinical psychologist that focuses specifically on entrepreneurs and what she calls emotional fitness. It is a bridge between psychology and business that helps with your personal productivity and your personal psychological approach each day.  In this episode, she will share with us her invaluable seven characteristics of emotional fitness that she has given workshops at companies from Google to GitHub to TED, and a bunch in between. Let's get into it with Dr. Emily Anhalt. Email James questions at askbelowtheline@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC.

Burt Blackarach is a Grammy-award winning composer, producer, DJ, and sound engineer. You may know his work in producing for iconic groups like Public Enemy. Born into a creative family, Burt got to see his father (legendary soul and rock keyboard player and songwriter William D. "Smitty" Smith) collaborate with everyone from Bob Dylan to Rick James to Fleetwood Mac — and it ignited his love of creating music as well. But what is it like to heed the call to adventure in creating music for a living? What is the inner journey like for someone as accomplished and established as Burt? Let’s get into it with Burt on Below the Line with James Beshara. Email James questions at askbelowtheline@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC. 

Kevin Rose is one of the most recognizable individuals in the startup world. As a founder, he and his team created the news aggregation site Digg, which became a household name, putting him on magazine covers around the world and creating an iconic brand in Silicon Valley — but it wasn’t a story that ended in champagne and ringing an IPO bell... As an investor, his list of angel investments is next to impossible to beat: Twitter, Facebook, Square, and NextDoor to name a few.   He also was podcasting back in 2004 when the world was still just learning how to pronounce the word iPod... so suffice it to say, if he is into it, there’s a very likely chance it’s about to become a very big deal. He is not only incredibly honest and open about his successes and failures, but he’s enthusiastically trying to get others to share just as openly.   We go below the line on what it’s like to build something to hundreds of millions of dollars to then see it crumble, on how we tend to overcorrect after failure, the necessary side of experiences that help us mature, spouses and their integral part in the equation as an entrepreneur, and more. Enjoy this episode with the incomparable Kevin Rose.