This was written by me circa 2020 for a Notion page of podcast highlights that I used to maintain. I have sunsetted that page and moved mosts of its content to this section on this site. Thus this piece is a tad dated; still I thought it would be useful to have this here, given how often I reference my thinking on this topic, and felt it would be …
Sajith Pai’s curated podcast shortlist
Regular readers would know that I overindex on podcasts as a format for media consumption. I try and consume 2-5 podcasts a week and post my learnings on this site and on Twitter / Linkedin. I thus get a lot of questions on my preferred podcasts and for podcast recommendations. Hence this piece. Please find a list of the podcasts I consume most frequently. I do consumer others outside …
My fave articles of 2024
Long-time readers would know that I have been deliberately reducing consumption of articles in favour of podcasts. It is a journey that I began a few years ago, and I have stuck to that path since. 2024 was no different.
The few articles that I read this year were either from newsletters I subscribe to (Generalist, Lenny, Newcomer etc), or recommended by a few trusted curators (Diff’s Long Reads, or …
The Busy Founder’s Guide to PMF
TL;DR: PMF or Product-Market Fit is not a singular fit, but in fact two sequential fits. First, you need to achieve Product to Problem Fit or PPF (where you validate that your solution is able to address problems for a set of customers), and then you need to achieve (Go-to-Market) Motion to Market Fit, or MMF (where you can reliably, affordably, acquire lookalikes of the above customers to build a …
Podcast Notes & Highlights: Cem Sertoglu, Bek Ventures, on 20VC w Harry Stebbings
Enjoyable listen this, as Harry Stebbings interviews Cem Sertoglu, an elite European seed investor, who led, very likely the single best seed deal on the continent, the UiPath investment, where he has turned $16.5m invested (the last $10m written as part of the Series B round “with our hands shaking at the time”) into $2.1b. Whoa! Cem (pronounced as Gem) shares a behind the scenes look at the UiPath investment …
Podcast Notes: Chris Paik, Pace Capital, on Turpentine VC, w Erik Torenburg
12 November 2024 | Link to podcast episode
Surprisingly good podcast episode. I encountered Chris Paik first on a Invest Like the Best podcast episode which was interesting as well, and then again recently when his post ‘The End of Software’ went viral. He is an interesting thinker as you will see from the highlights of this episode.
A few points which stood out:
- On Thrive Capital, his previous employer,
PMF Convo #19 – Romita Mazumdar, Foxtale
In my latest PMF Convo interview, I spoke to Romita Mazumdar, founder & CEO of beauty products co Foxtale. Romita is a VC analyst turned founder, who started Foxtale during the COVID-19 pandemic, speaking to 900+ women and 100+ brands to figure out the specific sub-problem she wanted to attack in the beauty space. Her earned insight was that Indian customers want instant gratification, and efficacy, and she designed …
Podcast Notes: Matt Cynamon, USV, on ‘AI & I’ with Dan Shipper
30 October ’24 | Link to podcast and transcript
One of the more interesting podcast interviews I have consumed in the past months / yr. Matt Cynamon the ‘Head of Library Sciences’ at Union Square Ventures comes on the AI + I podcast with Dan Shipper to talk about all the cool AI stuff they are cooking up at Union Square Ventures (USV).
You may have seen the OH (overheard) …
Podcast Notes: Eli Schwartz, SEO guru, on the Lenny Rachitsky Podcast
19 September 2024 | Link to podcast + transcript.
Loong episode at nearly 2 hours, but worth a watch for any founder / operator wrestling with SEO or content. Eli is one of the foremost thinkers in the SEO space today, author of the book ‘Product-Led SEO’ and advisor to Zapier, Tinder, LinkedIn etc.
In the podcast, he covers how AI / LLMs will impact search / SEO. Effectively …
Smart productivity vs wisdom productivity
[A rather reflective post, this Diwali week!]
Beyond the usual time management tips and hacks, of instilling atomic habits, and of getting things done – the world of James Clear, Tiago Forte and David Allen and similar purveyors of ‘smart productivity’ advice – lies the more rarified world of ‘wisdom productivity’. This is the world of Oliver Burkeman and ‘Four Thousand Weeks’, of Celeste Hadlee and ‘Do Nothing’. …