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

In Episode #135, we deconstruct Abby Miller Levy's peak performance playbook—from their favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on their life. Abby is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Primetime Partners. We cover the hundred year life, lessons from Alan Patricof, and the nonlinear career path. “If you were guaranteed a hundred year life, what would you do differently? How would you think about it? How would you plan for it? How would you live it?” – Abby Miller Levy EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/abby-levy-playbook/  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/abby-levy-playbook-transcript/  CHAPTERS In this episode, we deconstruct Abby Miller Levy’s peak performance playbook—from her favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on her life. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:29) – The Hundred Year Life (00:03:57) – Lessons from McKinsey, OXO, and Alan Patricof (00:07:09) – Zeroing in on the key issues and leaping into VC (00:15:15) – Investing as an operator, and the nonlinear career path (00:19:02) – Expertise vs. generalism ABOUT ABBY LEVY Abby Miller Levy is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Primetime Partners, which is a venture capital firm that Abby co-founded with venture legend Alan Patricof of Greycroft and Apex Partners fame. Primetime specializes in what they call AgeTech, or technology around the future of how we age. Before founding Primetime Partners, Abby had an epic career. She worked at McKinsey. She's worked at OXO. She led growth at SoulCycle, and she even co-founded Thrive with Ariana Huffington. 💌 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 Abby Miller Levy. In it, Abby shares her favorite books, tools, habits, and more. 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

In Episode #13, we explore silence, philosophy, and summiting Mount Everest. We’re joined by Erling Kagge, famed explorer and author. We cover Erling’s expeditions across the Atlantic and to the North and South Poles, how he dove into philosophy, and his foray into book publishing. “Experience is the best education you can have, but it's very costly.” – Erling Kagge EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/erling-kagge-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/erling-kagge-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our guide to Erling Kagge’s experiences with silence, philosophy, and summiting Mount Everest. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:57) – How Erling’s daughters inspired his book about silence (00:07:36) – Erling’s experience walking solo to the South Pole (00:13:34) – Erling’s expeditions across the Atlantic and to the North and South Poles (00:21:15) – Erling’s struggle with dyslexia, and how reading became an important part of his life (00:24:23) – How Erling dove into philosophy (00:29:51) – On how Erling got into book publishing, the publishing process at Kagge Forlag (00:47:55) – Why moving slowly is better than speeding through life, and how walking plays into that (01:01:01) – Erling’s daily rituals ABOUT ERLING KAGGE Erling Kagge is a man of many firsts. The New York Times has described Erling as a philosophical adventurer, or perhaps an adventurous philosopher. In 1990, Erling and his expedition partner Børge Ousland became the first people to ever reach the North Pole unsupported. Over the course of 58 days, they covered nearly 500 miles on skis, pulling hundreds of pounds of supplies behind them the entire way. In 1993, Erling became the first person to make a solo, completely unsupported expedition to the South Pole, where he covered over 800 miles in 50 days without any contact with the outside world.  And in 1994, Erling summited Mount Everest, completing what's called the “Three Pole Challenge” by making it to both the North and South Poles, as well as the summit of Mount Everest. Out of those experiences, he's published multiple best selling books, including two of my all time favorites, Silence: In the Age of Noise, and Philosophy for Polar Explorers: What They Don't Teach You in School. 💌 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

In Episode #134, we deconstruct Chris Sparks's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Chris Sparks is the author of Experiment Without Limits. We cover applying game theory to life, maintaining systems, and the self-signaling effect. “I think it really all comes down to trusting the process that accomplishing anything just takes a lot of time and iterative effort.” – Chris Sparks EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/chris-sparks-playbook/  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/chris-sparks-playbook-transcript/  CHAPTERS In this episode, we deconstruct Chris Sparks’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 (00:03:15) – Applying game theory to life (00:05:52) – Focusing on your thought process rather than the result (00:10:12) – Deciding the game you want to play (00:15:05) – Maintaining systems and avoiding habit debt (00:19:39) – Optimizing for your top value (00:31:05) – The self-signaling effect (00:33:43) – Looking for superpowers in others (00:45:56) – Trust the process and stay in the game ABOUT CHRIS SPARKS Chris began his career as a high stakes poker player and became one of the Top 20 Online Poker Players in the world. To achieve that, he studied elite performers across disciplines and started optimizing every area of his life. Which led Chris to found Forcing Function and begin working with the world’s best founders, investors, executives, poker players, and even artists, to optimize their own performance and move more quickly toward their goals. If you're ready to become an elite performer, consider applying for Chris Sparks's group coaching program, Team Performance Training. In Team Performance Training, Chris will teach you how to optimize your productivity, increase your personal leverage, and show up as your best self every day. There are fifteen spots available in Cohort 4 with applications open until the 27th of September. Learn more at teamperformancetraining.com. 💌 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 SCRIVNEROutlier 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 Chris Sparks. In it, Chris shares his favorite books, tools, habits, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #133, we explore achieving peak performance through experimentation. We’re joined by Chris Sparks, author of Experiment Without Limits and Founder of Forcing Function. We cover productivity vs. peak performance, eliminating dissonance between goals and reality, and writing your personal vision statement. “Rather than thinking about these tactics and how they can work harder, are you working on the right things? This comes back to some of the questions we've been asking today, what do you value? What are you optimizing for in your life? What is your vision? What are you trying to create?” – Chris Sparks EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/experiment-without-limits-chris-sparks  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/experiment-without-limits-chris-sparks-transcript/  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to achieving peak performance through experimentation. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:36) – From poker pro to peak performance (00:06:25) – Productivity vs. peak performance (00:09:51) – Team Performance Training (00:19:33) – Understanding your own values (00:25:16) – Dissonance between goals and reality (00:37:51) – Writing your personal vision statement (00:51:31) – The plan, experiment, reflect flywheel (01:07:08) – Systems minimize downtime (01:21:25) – Maximizing attention and energy ABOUT EXPERIMENT WITHOUT LIMITS Almost exactly two years ago Chris Sparks joined me as our very first guest on Outlier Academy. In this episode he’s back to explore his peak performance and productivity coaching work at Forcing Function. This time, to decode how he works with elite founders, investors, and even artists, to optimize their performance, clarify their goals, and make more progress each day. Chris works with elite founders, investors, and operators in his twice-yearly program, Team Performance Training, which accepts fifteen students at a time and takes them through his ten-week program. If you're ready to become an elite performer, consider applying for Chris Sparks's group coaching program, Team Performance Training. In Team Performance Training, Chris will teach you how to optimize your productivity, increase your personal leverage, and show up as your best self every day. There are fifteen spots available in Cohort 4 with applications open until the 27th of September. Learn more at teamperformancetraining.com. 💌 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 Book Club episode featuring Chris Sparks’s book Experiment Without Limits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #132, we deconstruct Ben Blumenrose's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Ben Blumenrose is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Designer Fund. We cover how AI might affect designers, the business value of design, and learning from science fiction. “I think one of the things that's lacking in human-centered design is humanity-centered design, because when you're optimizing for the individuals, well, then what happens to the ecosystem at large?” – Ben Blumenrose EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/ben-blumenrose-playbook/  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/ben-blumenrose-playbook-transcript/  CHAPTERS In this episode, we deconstruct Ben Blumenrose’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 (00:02:48) – How AI might affect designers and artists (00:08:48) – Why should you care about design? (00:15:58) – Inspiration from passionate designers (00:22:36) – The business value of design (00:26:38) – Knowing a good product and standardizing processes (00:31:04) – Learning from science fiction (00:36:16) – Design in the everyday world (00:40:22) – Learnings from 10 years of investing (00:46:34) – Focusing on the craft of design ABOUT BEN BLUMENROSE Ben Blumenrose is the Co-Founder, Co-Director, and Managing Partner of Designer Fund, which is an early stage venture capital firm that backs founders who both recognize the power of design, and are committed to getting design right in their company from day one. Before co-founding Designer Fund with Enrique Allen in 2012, Ben was a design lead at Facebook for nearly six years after joining when the team was just around 100 people in size. In this episode, you'll learn why Ben is fascinated with AI like Dall-E 2 that can create original artwork, why design is utility centric, what Ben has learned from studying natural ecosystems, and why they make it clear that our growth at all cost mentality is flawed. 💌 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