Inspiration - videos, books, and mentors

For a masterclass in the fundamentals of product/market fit, growth accounting, and why retention is the number one key metric for growth, nothing beats this Stanford Lecture: ‘How to Get Users and Grow’ by Alex Schultz, VP Growth, Facebook.

For essays on growth, look no further than Andrew Chen - he’s a freak/genius. Andrew led growth teams at Uber, and now he’s an investor at Andreessen Horowitz, focussing on consumer products, marketplaces, and bottoms up SaaS.

‘The Third Door’ by Alex Banayan is a brilliant way to think about how to hack success at anything. Skip 2:56m into this interview with Tom Bilyeu on Impact Theory.

On overcoming obstacles and self-motivation, this talk by Dr. Wayne Dyer stopped me in my tracks.

Ray Dalio’s ‘How The Economic Machine Works’ is a lesson I wish I’d learned 20 years ago.

Johann Hari’s interview with Matt D’Avella on Lost Connections made me rethink the relationship we have with technology, and the importance of human connection.

‘Extreme Ownership’ by Jocko Willink is in my Top 10. His TED Talk is well worth watching.

Seth Godin’s talk on Purple Cows and Otaku is still one of my favorite talks on marketing, and being remarkable.

Jim Collins “From Good to Great” helped me better understand the fundamentals of what separates good and great companies.

Ben Horowitz ‘The Hard Thing About Hard Things’ - in the depth of the most challenging times of building my company, I read this book over and over.

Chip Conley’s TED talk on wisdom flowing from old to young and young to old, and his perspectives on why everyone has mid-life wrong inspires me.

David Goggins kickstarted my fascination with mental toughness and physical endurance. After listening to his audiobook ‘Can’t Hurt Me’, I haven’t stopped running.