
Outliers with Daniel Scrivner: Explore the Greatest Innovators, Founders, and Investors
Learn from history's greatest innovators, founders, and investors with a mix of interviews and summaries of the best books, essays, and lectures. Each week, Daniel Scrivner decodes the ideas, strategies, and frameworks used by the best innovators, founders, and investors. Past guests include Scott Belsky (Adobe), Gokul Rajaram (DoorDash), Kevin Kelly (WIRED), Sir Ronald Cohen (IMPACT), Erling Kagge (Everest Explorer), along with the founders of Wealthfront, Public.com, Primal Kitchen, 1-800-GOT-JUNK, Levels, and Eight Sleep. Visit OutlierAcademy.com for episode notes, searchable transcripts, videos, and more.
Outliers with Daniel Scrivner is a mix of Founders Podcast, How I Built This, Business Breakdowns, Invest Like The Best, Founder's Field Guide, 20VC (20 Minute VC), The Knowledge Project, What It Takes, and The Tim Ferriss Show.
Latest episodes

Aug 23, 2022 • 6min
Trailer – #127 Fount: Bringing the Performance Secrets of the U.S. Navy SEALs to Everyone | Andrew Herr, Founder & CEO
Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Fount with Andrew Herr.
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Aug 19, 2022 • 25min
Replay: #41 Joe Percoco of Titan: My Favorite Books, Tools, Habits, and More | 20 Minute Playbook
In Episode #41, we deconstruct Joe Percoco's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Joe is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Titan. We cover Y intercept vs. slope in hiring, calendar auditing, and T-shirt ROI assessments.
“I think failure is definitely glorified to a degree. The goal is that you don't just fail consistently; eventually, you provide successful impact to others. But to the degree you're able to royally fail, and then royally succeed, that's way better than just royally succeeding. It's like a great underdog story in a way.” – Joe Percoco
EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/joe-percoco2-outlier-academy-show-notes
FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/joe-percoco-outlier-academy-transcript
CHAPTERS
In this episode, we deconstruct Joe Percoco'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
(00:00:48) – The importance of working on your relationship with yourself
(00:03:59) – Y intercept vs. slope in hiring
(00:07:37) – Green/yellow/red light calendar auditing
(00:09:58) – T-shirt ROI assessments
(00:10:53) – Learning from the best coaches
(00:14:32) – Training to win and to lose
(00:17:10) – Royally failing to royally succeeding
ABOUT JOE PERCOCO
Joe Percoco is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Titan, an investment firm focused on leveling the playing field across the wealth spectrum. Titan has recently been valued at $450 million at the close of their Series B round. Before launching Titan, Joe Percoco managed investments at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company.
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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
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Aug 17, 2022 • 1h 12min
Replay: #18 Several Short Sentences About Writing: A Masterclass on Becoming a Better Writer | Verlyn Klinkenborg, Author & Yale Professor
In Episode #18, we explore becoming a better writer. We’re joined by Verlyn Klinkenborg, author and Yale professor. We cover learning from farm life and work, finding rhythm in writing, and debunking writing cliches.
“So what I do now is essentially help students escape from their education. That's my enterprise every year. And it's always fun, because they escape quite readily. They all know that what they're making in their classes is an artificial product that doesn't actually have any particular interest for anyone except them.” – Verlyn Klinkenborg
EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)
https://www.outlieracademy.com/episode/18
FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT
https://www.outlieracademy.com/episode/18
CHAPTERS
This episode is our definitive guide to becoming a better writer. In it we cover:
(00:00:00) – Introduction
(00:00:35) – Rural life and the “home place”
(00:03:56) – Raising animals and eating meat
(00:09:20) – Learnings from farm life and work
(00:13.48) – Verlyn’s reading habits
(00:19:51) – Physical vs. digital books
(00:26:53) – Verlyn’s book Several Short Sentences About Writing
(00:33:01) – What is academic prose?
(00:38:21) – Why people should use shorter sentences in writing
(00:42:56) – Finding rhythm in writing
(00:47:01) – Self authorization and noticing the world around you
(00:53:38) – Writing cliches that are untrue
(00:58:16) – What to expect from a class with Verlyn
(01:04:56) – Writing is rooted in experience more than language
ABOUT SEVERAL SHORT SENTENCES ABOUT WRITING
Verlyn Klinkenborg teaches creative writing at Yale University, and was a member of the editorial board of The New York Times for 16 years. His work has been featured in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Esquire, and National Geographic, and he has authored several books, including Several Short Sentences About Writing. This book aims to debunk general cliches about writing and creativity and remove obstacles keeping us from clear self-expression.
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iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182
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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
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Aug 12, 2022 • 31min
#126 Saad Alam of Hone Health: My Favorite Books, Tools, Habits and More | 20 Minute Playbook
In Episode #126, we deconstruct Saad Alam's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Saad is the Founder and CEO of Hone Health. We cover radical transparency, daily gratitude, and constructing a purposeful life.
“I think that people that don't believe you can do it all, I think it's a load. And I think you just have to really sit down and engineer your day and your life a little bit more.” – Saad Alam
EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/saad-alam-playbook/
FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes//saad-alam-playbook-transcript/
CHAPTERS
In this episode, we deconstruct Saad Alam’s peak performance playbook—from their favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on their life. In it we cover:
(00:00:00) – Introduction
(00:02:09) – Fixing healthcare and defining the soul
(00:03:47) – Radical transparency and playing in the dirt
(00:06:38) – Big swings vs. base hits
(00:08:09) – Priorities and daily gratitude
(00:10:43) – Confessions of an Economic Hitman
(00:12:41) – Understanding markets and emotional intelligence
(00:14:28) – Believing in what you do
(00:17:59) – An obsession with wellness
(00:24:52) – Constructing a purposeful life
ABOUT SAAD ALAM
Saad Alam is Founder and CEO of Hone, which is creating an entirely new type of healthcare company initially focused on helping men with low testosterone. Saad describes it as helping men age with confidence. Saad is a serial entrepreneur who founded two companies before he founded home. He's completely focused on building mission-driven companies that solve problems that have directly affected him. And he's probably one of the fittest guests I've ever had on the show. His daily routine, from his morning meditation to the way he works out, how he changes the personal trainer he uses every quarter, how he uses everything from an infrared sauna to hyperbaric chamber, is the most intense of anyone I've ever interviewed.
In it, we cover Saad's daily health and fitness regimen, from drinking water directly after he wakes up to meditating 10 minutes, two times per day. We talk through all of the equipment he uses, from his infrared sauna to an at home hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Saad shares why he writes down three things he's grateful for every single morning and how that practice shows up when he's burnt out and tired at the end of the day, and being able to remind himself about why he's doing what he's doing.
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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
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Aug 11, 2022 • 5min
Trailer – #126 Saad Alam of Hone Health
Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s 20 Minute Playbook episode featuring Saad Alam. In it, Saad shares his favorite books, tools, habits, and more.
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Aug 10, 2022 • 1h
#125 Hone Health: On Testosterone, Telehealth, and Building a Modern Men’s Health Platform | Saad Alam, Founder & CEO
In Episode #125, we explore testosterone replacement therapy and building a telehealth company. We’re joined by Saad Alam, Hone Health’s Founder and CEO. We cover the basics of testosterone, the future of health management, and learnings from building a telehealth company.
“When people say a good CEO basically works himself out of a job and spends 30 for 40% of his time recruiting, I thought that was a cute kitchen magnet that really probably wasn't real. And the reality is, it actually couldn't be more true.” – Saad Alam
EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/hone-saad-alam
FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/hone-saad-alam-transcript
CHAPTERS
This episode is our definitive guide to building and scaling a testosterone replacement telehealth company. In it we cover:
(00:00:00) – Introduction
(00:02:39) – Saad’s background and the genesis of Hone
(00:10:12) – Making life whatever you want it to be
(00:15:12) – Helping men have confidence as they age
(00:18:25) – What is testosterone, and how does it work?
(00:24:22) – Non-pharmaceutical treatments for low testosterone
(00:27:23) – The risks of high and low testosterone levels
(00:32:28) – The patient journey at Hone
(00:44:12) – The future of health management
(00:50:29) – Learnings from building a telehealth company
(00:54:48) – The importance of hiring people who are better than you
ABOUT HONE HEALTH
Saad Alam is Founder and CEO of Hone, which is creating an entirely new type of healthcare company initially focused on helping men with low testosterone. Saad describes it as “helping men age with confidence.” Low testosterone is an alarming and growing trend, which is why testosterone treatments like Hone are on the rise. Scientific research has shown that for decades now the level of testosterone in men has been declining. The most alarming statistic is that our generation has around 50% less testosterone than our father's generation, who in turn has less testosterone than their father's generation.
And the reasons behind this are very complicated, but a large part of it seems to be due to growing environmental and plastic pollution, which have caused the level of heavy metals in our bodies to rise while micro plastics in our blood disrupt the production of testosterone and actually spur the production of estrogen. With this context, you would imagine that it's becoming easier to find out if you have low testosterone and get testosterone treatments if needed, but you would be very wrong, which is why Saad Alam founded Hone and set out to revolutionize the way that men are treated for low testosterone.
💌 FREE NEWSLETTER
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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
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Aug 9, 2022 • 5min
Trailer – #125 Hone Health: On Testosterone, Telehealth, and Building a Modern Men’s Health Platform
Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Hone Health with Saad Alam.
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Aug 5, 2022 • 34min
Replay – #107 Howie Schwab of Driehaus Capital: My Favorite Books, Tools, Habits, and More | 20 Minute Playbook
In Episode #107, we deconstruct Howie Schwab's peak performance playbook—from their favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on their life. Howie is the Lead Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Growth of Driehaus Capital. We cover regime shifts in the market and obsessing over failures.
“In terms of how we invest, I think integrating and overlaying macro as well as behavioral components, not simply wedding ourselves to this bottom up, here's our specific template and it's time tested is really important.” – Howie Schwab
EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/howie-schwab-driehaus-capital-playbook-show-notes
FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT
https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/howie-schwab-driehaus-capital-playbook-transcript
CHAPTERS
In this episode, we deconstruct Howie Schwab’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:
(00:01:41) – Regime shifts in the market
(00:06:51) – Learning from investing mentors
(00:10:08) – Great investors obsess over their failures
(00:12:48) – Advice for young investors
(00:16:43) – Howie’s investment philosophy
(00:24:24) – Challenging yourself
ABOUT HOWIE SCHWAB
Howie Schwab manages more than 5 billion in emerging market growth funds for Driehaus which is a firm that's based in Chicago and where Howie has worked for the last 20 years. At Driehaus, Howie is the lead portfolio manager for the emerging market's growth. And he's a portfolio manager for the emerging market, small cap equity and emerging markets opportunities.
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🎙 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

Aug 4, 2022 • 2min
Trailer – #107 Howie Schwab of Driehaus: My Favorite Books, Tools, Habits, and More | 20 Minute Playbook
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

Aug 3, 2022 • 1h 11min
Replay – #104 Driehaus Capital: Investing in Emerging Markets and The Great Pendulum Shift | Howie Schwab, Lead Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Growth
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