Hey friends,
Hello again from my couch in Los Angeles👇
I write this the day after the Packers gave a late Christmas gift to the 49ers, and yet, I’m still feeling grateful because of the 365 of you who have decided to subscribe to this newsletter. For those who aren’t subscribed and still want my gratitude, there’s time.
As a special for subscribing today, you get, wait for it… the next newsletter! You’re welcome.
Anyways, let’s get to it so I can start my next run before the sun comes up.
My Recent Favorite Podcast
I’m not sure what took me so long to find this podcast, but Acquired has become a new favorite of mine.
I’ve been listening to their back catalog of episodes (Which are phenomenal by the way) and two of them stood out.
First, their episode about The New York Times Company. The main takeaway I got from this episode was how building a brand over time can prove to be a competitive moat.
Second, their episode about Oprah. Besides just telling the incredible story of Oprah’s life, this episode showcased the importance of betting on yourself (Like what Issa Rae did too). One important bet Oprah made was paying $16M of her own money to build a state-of-the-art production studio back in 1986. This would end up elevating Oprah to mogul status.
$10,000/hour Work
I somehow found this tweet recently 👇
This comes from Khe’s article on the topic of $10,000/hour work where he breaks down each type of work.
$10/hour work:
Credit card hacking is a prime example of doing $10/hour work. It feels productive (free money!). It releases dopamine (A free flight upgrade!) And it makes you feel like you’re outfoxing a competitor (I got away with THIS!). But it fails to move the needle.
$100/hour work:
This quadrant is busywork at scale. It’s the domain of productivity gurus, shiny tech tools (like Superhuman, Notion or Hey.com), Zapier automations, Text Expanders and the budding no-code movement.
$1,000/hour work:
Welcome back to the land of our Law Firm partner. Now for some real talk: this is a very very good place to be. Because you have a unique skill (law, software engineering, investment research) you’ll be able to collect defensible market rents over multiple cycles. And that’s a great life for most people.
But it lacks leverage.
$10,000/hour work:
$10,000 per hour work is the process of identifying your highest leverage activities and committing a small amount of time to them each day…
So what are some high-leverage and high-skill activities? Recruiting, training, implementing systems and SOPs, sourcing partnerships, access to funding, building an indefensible brand, political/media influence. But be forewarned, there’s no one-size-fits-all.
I found the framework incredibly helpful.
Move towards and focus on $10,000/hour work.
I highly suggest you read the entire article - it’s thought-provoking and succinct.
Quick Updates
We launched a newsletter on Friday at Vitalize for founders & friends. By we, I mostly mean me, franticly putting together the finishing touches of a newsletter as I talk with Gale on a 1pm call to get it out Friday before the end of the day. It’s funny, we never see the chaos behind the scenes of launches. If they go smoothly, nobody notices.
Running 1,000 miles in 2022 is going strong. Currently, at 89.4 miles, 26.3 miles ahead of the plan, and the achilles tendonitis I was feeling earlier doesn’t seem to be an issue now. I’m so thankful for joining this running club on Strava. Loving the extra motivation to stay active.
Every week, I’m tweaking Podcast Playbook, the course I’m creating through Maven. This past week, I worked on the landing page, with the newest version coming soon. I’ll likely make the course for those who want to build relationships with startup founders. Always trying to get more niche and clear on the messaging, which ultimately makes it easier to market. Work to be done.
This Week on Just Go Grind
Episode #315: Suman Siva, Co-Founder and CEO of Marco, on Creating Cohesive Company Culture via Employee Engagement Experiences
Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This Week on The Vitalize Podcast
Episode #32 - Startup Investing: Simplifying the Fundraising Process for Founders, with Jordi Hays of Party Round
Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Episode #31 - Startup Investing: The Journey from Operator to Investor with Katie Shea, Managing Partner at Divergent Capital
Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
That’s all I got this week, folks, hope to see you next week Sunday. Have a lovely week.
Justin