Outliers with Daniel Scrivner: Explore the Greatest Innovators, Founders, and Investors

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s 20 Minute Playbook episode featuring Howie Schwab of Driehaus. In it, Howie shares his favorite books, tools, habits, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #104, we explore emerging markets and the great pendulum shift. We’re joined by Howie Schwab, Lead Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Growth at Driehaus. We cover the lure of emerging markets, a behavioral focus on investing, and the impact of shifting voting demographics. “I think it's true everywhere, but data shows it's particularly true in emerging markets, which is that the persistence of risk is generally higher than the persistence of return.” – Howie Schwab EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/driehaus-capital-investing-emerging-markets-howie-schwab-spotlight-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/driehaus-capital-investing-emerging-markets-howie-schwab-spotlight-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to emerging markets and the great pendulum shift. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:20) – Howie’s background and work at Driehaus Capital (00:06:52) – The lure of emerging markets (00:12:20) – A behavioral focus in investing (00:19:30) – Seeing patterns and avoiding fraud (00:24:12) – Researching and publishing market analysis (00:43:21) – The state of financial assets today (00:49:41) – The future and financial repression (00:56:42) – The shift in voting demographics and its economic impact (01:02:14) – Advice for investors ABOUT DRIEHAUS Howie Schwab manages more than five billion in emerging market growth for Driehaus, which is based in Chicago, and it's where Howie has worked for the last 20 years. At Driehaus, Howie is the lead portfolio manager for the Emerging Markets Growth, and he's a portfolio manager for the Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity and Emerging Markets Opportunity Strategies. I've learned an enormous amount from Howie, both as an investor and a macro thinker, since I first met him, and I am beyond thrilled to have him on the show to share what he's learned managing many of the world's best performing emerging market funds over the last 20 years. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Driehaus Capital with Howie Schwab Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #105, we deconstruct Gokul Rajaram's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Gokul is an angel investor and Product and Business Helper at DoorDash. We cover crypto, international investing, and habits and routines. “I always believe the hierarchy of anyone, any individual should be health, then family, then work. Why not family before health? Because if you're not healthy, you become a burden to your family and you can't help them. So, your health is actually very, very important.” – Gokul Rajaram EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/angel-investor-gokul-rajaram-playbook-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/angel-investor-gokul-rajaram-playbook-transcript  CHAPTERS In this episode, we deconstruct Gokul Rajaram peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. In it we cover: (00:01:21) – The evolution of crypto (00:02:44) – Superpowers and struggles (00:06:08) – Inspirations and the importance of exercise (00:08:24) – Recommended books (00:10:19) – Tools and routines (00:12:26) – Defining success (00:14:32) – International investing ABOUT GOKUL RAJARAM Gokul Rajaram is a prolific angel investor in over 300 companies and counting, and an executive at DoorDash, which he joined after DoorDash acquired Caviar from Square in 2019. I was fortunate enough to get to work with Gokul at Square, and I am beyond thrilled to have him on the show today. In this episode, Gokul shares what he thinks his investing superpowers are, why he loved Marc Andreesen's interview on the Good Time Show, why he loves Andre Agassi's book, Open, and the advice he'd give his younger self if he could go back 20 years to the start of his career. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s 20 Minute Playbook episode featuring angel investor Gokul Rajaram. In it, Gokul shares his favorite books, tools, habits, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The best product leaders coach people across the company, not just in their team, and help develop them into the future leaders of the company.” – Gokul Rajaram EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/angel-investor-speed-small-teams-product-management-decision-making-gokul-rajaram-spotlight-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/angel-investor-speed-small-teams-product-management-decision-making-gokul-rajaram-spotlight-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to product management in small, speedy teams. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:26) – Gokul’s background in product management (00:06:58) – Applying a computer science background to product management (00:10:26) – What great product vision looks like (00:16:32) – The product analyst role (00:23:11) – Focusing on controllable inputs (00:26:07) – Experiment design (00:34:54) – Editing vs. managing a product (00:42:50) – S.P.A.D.E. decision making (00:55:18) – Speed in product creation ABOUT GOKUL RAJARAM Gokul Rajaram is part of a new wave of solo capitalists, like Elad Gil and Lachy Groom, that play an outsized role in funding and helping many of the world's best startups. As Gokul says in this interview, his goal is for every founder he backs to say that he's the most helpful investor on the cap table. And if there is another thing that Gokul is known for, it's his expertise around product management and decision making, including the Spade framework he created at Square for making transparent decisions at the highest levels. Spade is now used by many of the world's best startups for large, important, and strategic decisions that need to be made transparently so the whole company understands why the decision was made. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Gokul Rajaram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore inflation, retail investors, precious metals, and Bitcoin. We’re joined by Luke Gromen, Founder of The Forest for the Trees. We cover Luke’s perspectives on inflation, investing in alternative assets, and interpreting investment data. “My sense of where we are is... we're basically in the first bursting global sovereign debt bubble in 100 years.” – Luke Gromen EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/perspectives-data-analysis-inflation-fftt-luke-gromen-ig-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/perspectives-data-analysis-inflation-fftt-luke-gromen-ig-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to inflation, retail investors, precious metals, and Bitcoin. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:02:02 – Luke's experience as an analyst at investment research firms 00:09:37 – Interpreting and presenting investment data 00:12:05 – How Luke started The Forest for the Trees 00:17:22 – Luke's take on the current financial climate 00:20:34 – The importance of owning assets in today's climate 00:23:58 – Perspectives on inflation 00:41:15 – Investing in alternative assets 00:50:54 – Gold and Bitcoin 00:54:53 – Recommended books and resources ABOUT THE FOREST FOR THE TREES Luke Gromen publishes a weekly macro research report read by institutional and individual investors alike, called Tree Rings. And he's also the author of Mr. X Interviews volume one and two. After working as an analyst for 20 plus years, Luke founded the Forest for The Trees in 2014. Luke is known as one of today's best macroeconomic thinkers. His view is that as data becomes increasingly commoditized, free thinking becomes priceless. And that's exactly why I wanted to have him on the show. After an incredibly tumultuous 2021, I wanted to sit down with Luke to get his thoughts on the last year, the road ahead, and some of the toughest challenges we're facing today, from a multi decade high in inflation to shifts in how we collectively think about money.  💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We deconstruct Luke Gromen's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Luke Gromen is the CEO and Founder of The Forest for the Trees. We cover cognitive dissonance in today’s economy and the benefits of early morning writing. “The ability to make the data useful, to interpret the data, to make music out of the data, if you will, I think you're seeing that dynamic across a lot of different sectors and in the economy.” – Luke Gromen EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/fftt-luke-gromen-20mp-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/fftt-luke-gromen-20mp-transcript  CHAPTERS In this episode, we deconstruct Luke Gromen's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:44 – The cognitive dissonance in today’s economy and connecting the dots 00:04:07 – Moving too quickly to the second derivative 00:05:35 – Daily walks and early morning writing 00:10:30 – Learning from Grant Williams and Kiril Sokoloff 00:12:02 – Architecture school and f*ck you money ABOUT LUKE GROMEN Luke Gromen is the CEO and Founder of the Forest for the Trees. Luke publishes a weekly macro research report called Tree Rings, and he's the author of the world renowned Mr. X Interviews Volume 1 and 2. After working as an analyst for 20 plus years, Luke founded the Forest for the Trees in 2014. Luke's Gromen as one of today's best macroeconomic thinkers. His view, which I love, is that as data increasingly becomes commoditized, free thinking becomes priceless. And he's a regular guest on real vision and has been published in a number of newspapers, including the financial times. As someone who's followed Luke's work for years, it was a thrill to finally have him on the show. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore why and how to invest in gold. We’re joined by Simon Mikhailovich, Co-Founder of The Bullion Reserve. We cover cycles of financial euphoria, the three ways to get out of debt, and whether people should invest in gold ETFs. “The most important thing is that technology evolves, but people don't. That's the biggest lesson of history—humans don't change.” – Simon Mikhailovich EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/simon-mikhailovich-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/simon-mikhailovich-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to why and how to invest in gold. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:32) – Simon’s thoughts on gold’s role in the current financial market (00:08:37) – Why gold is important at this moment in time (00:15:48) – Cycles of financial euphoria (00:20:33) – The three ways to get out of debt (00:26:31) – Why holding physical gold is different and better than savings in other forms (00:32:12) – Gold is the ultimate insurance for bad financial outcomes (00:38:42) – Gold vs. other precious metals, and how gold is nature’s Bitcoin (00:46:42) – Gold has no impairment risk or counterparty risk, and making money vs. preserving wealth (00:59:01) – How Simon has maintained an outlier point of view over time ABOUT THE BULLION RESERVE The Bullion Reserve enables investors to hold physical gold in secure locations all around the world.  💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices