Smash Notes Weekly March 9th

Hey everyone, thank you for subscribing to Smash Notes. If you don't remember how you subscribe to this newsletter, or you want to unsubscribe, simply hit 'reply' and let me know. No hard feelings, but many, many great podcasts! Now, let's get started with the awesome new podcast summaries. We are going to talk about startups, money, health, big tech, outer space, and magical unicorns. If you are tired of reading, all of this is going to be on a podcast tomorrow, just look for 'Smash Notes' in your fav podcast player. Without further ado, forgive me, I could not resist...

VIRAL NEWS: Are we all going to die?

As this public health specialist explains on Ted, it is unlikely that we are in any real danger, but if you are worried about the novel coronavirus, it is our responsibility to understand what this virus is, how it spreads, and what to do about it. Panic is not going to help, but washing your hands will. If there is one thing you are going to read/listen to about this virus, this is it. Did you know every podcast on Smash Notes can be embedded on your blog or a website just like this? ☝️

Do you wish you had a new podcast on speed dial, every day?

You are in luck. Introducing Smash Notes feed. It's like Facebook, but with more podcasts, and less cat photos. You can now simply check into Smash Notes every morning and see what's new for yourself. You will still get the email updates with the best episodes, but the feed will show you all that's happening behind the curtain. Soon enough, the feed will learn what you like and only show you the podcasts that are best for you! It's going to be awesome, trust me.

How do you turn a small amount of money into a fortune?

One way is to invest early into a company that becomes huge, goes public, and in the process makes you very wealthy. That's Capitalism for you, and that is how Jason Calacanis turned a little bit of cash into a small fortune by investing in Uber. But does he worry about the Uber prospects for the coming years? In this Recode Decode interview with Kara Swisher, Jason shares this vision, as well as a few hot takes on Amazon, TikTok, SpaceX, and growing wealth inequality. Irresistibly, he also makes fun of Scott Galloway. Did you know every podcast on Smash Notes can be embedded on your blog or a website just like this? ☝️

Is your company ready to go big?

Have you heard of crossing the chasm, an inevitable jump that every startup has to make? Mike Maples, an investor from Floodgate, explains why startups have to go through this process and how starting small is the only way to get it right.

Can you get paid to have fun?

Roberto is a husband and a father of two, and for the last decade he's been making money taking photos, and traveling around the world, while having brands pay for his extravagant living. He is a content creator and an entrepreneur, and he's been able to turns his lifestyle into his work. How is that possible, work is not meant to be fun?! Take a look at the notes and see for yourself what it is like to be a real social media influencer.

If someone offered you a Billion dollars, would you take it?

This is the story behind founding of Instagram, how they met, what it took to finally launch the product to the world, and why the decided to sell, while having all the intentions to remain an independent company. Would you sell for a mere Billion?

The boss of Silicon Valley, Unfiltered.

Don Valentine was the founder of Sequoia Capital, one of the most successful venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, and perhaps in the world. On this interview with 'Unfiltered' he talked about his early days, why he moved to the Bay Area, and what prompted him to start an investment firm. Don answers important questions like: 'What is the most successful startup format of the future' and 'How to remain at the cutting edge and not fail.' Take a look at the notes and listen to the rest of the episode for more. Disclaimer: He talks pretty slow, really slow. You've been warned!

What does Dave McClure think about unicorns?

What is the math behind startup investing? Do you really have to find a unicorn in order to win big? Dave McClure placed a few early bets and got very good return as an angel investor, but when it came time to grow 500 Startups, they had to fund a lot more startups just to make sure they also found the unicorns. The math behind being a VC and being an angel investor is not the same, and Dave explains why.

Are we ready to colonize the outer space?

According to Jeff Bezos, it might be a distraction to try and to colonize other planets. They are far, and none are better or come even close to quality of Earth. In his view, we should colonize space instead. But does his involvement in BlueOrigin conflict with his job at Amazon? It's all in this GeekWire podcast! Every single Smash Notes segment can also be embedded, just like this ☝️ That's it for this week. If you like this edition of Smash Notes Weekly, please forward it to your friends. Every new subscriber will put a smile on my face. - Kirill Zubovsky Oh, and I almost forgot - Virus or not, we are going to be just fine. But there is one thing we can all do to stay healthier right now - get some sleep! Till next week, and seriously, please forward this newsletter to someone you know. Great podcasts deserve to be heard!