Find people who've been there

Ali on spotting talent before it's obvious“It's mostly about being intentional with the pattern matching you already have from a lifetime of interacting with people, rather than suspending judgment the way polite society trains us to do.”

Jim on learning faster and remembering more“Before you decide you’re bad at learning, look at how you’re learning. Give yourself a method, remove distractions, and practice recalling what matters.”

Julie on leading when AI changes the nature of work“Your job as a manager is to get better outcomes from a group of people (or agents) working together”

Pedro on where machine learning is headed“The same basic paradigms have been used since the 1950s. At the end of the day, we’re going to need some new ideas.”

Keith on spotting founders nobody has noticed yet“Stop looking at résumés the way Google does.”

Dharmesh on building products and company culture“Culture is how people make decisions when you’re not in the room. Be as deliberate about building it as you are about your product.”

Nick on metabolic health, nutrition, and brain healthCo-founded NeuroVitals, raised $1.5M pre-seed and carnivore diet IBD case series.

Lindsay on restarting your routine after three missed weeks“Three weeks off doesn't erase the strength and habits you built; the real setback is believing you have to start over instead of just showing up again.”

Kathryn on negotiating higher pay and getting it“I watched my own mom retire dramatically underpaid after 30 years, so I teach women to frame the ask around what they’ve already delivered and what they’ll deliver next, not just what they need.”

Vanessa on sexual expectations couples never say out loud“I don't believe in a universal normal for any stage, but I do think it's completely natural for that early honeymoon frequency to taper off after about a year.”

Jim on enjoying competition when teammates are more intense“I stopped enjoying baseball when I was chasing what everyone else valued, and I found my game again only when I started competing to raise my own level, not to beat theirs.”

Kirsten on how AI changes what consumers buyTime 100 Most Influential People and dollar Shave Club sold for $1B.

Alfred on raising the equity split with a cofounder“The first hard conversation about equity is a preview of every harder conversation to come, so one of you has to name a number out loud and see how the other reacts.”

Roelof on what separates enduring companies from others“The enduring ones are willing to have what I call multiple founding moments. We have a wall at Sequoia that says, 'We're only as good as our next investment.' You have to stay paranoid. Never get crater-lazy.”

Niraj on using breathwork to change your physical state“Breathing is the only autonomic function you can consciously control. It's a direct line to your nervous system. When you exhale, your parasympathetic system engages and your heart rate comes down. A few minutes of rhythmic breathing is enough to pull yourself out of stress and back into your center.”

Tiago on turning knowledge into action“Saving information isn’t the goal. Organize it around what you’re trying to accomplish, so the ideas you collect become things you actually create.”

Laurie on making a strong start in the first ninety days“Listen, the first 90 days is where careers get made or stalled, and most people waste it being polite and waiting to be told what to do.”

Matthew on finding the right partner“You want to be happy enough that the right thing doesn’t become your everything.”

Spencer on life inside an NBA organization“I used to think pushing past your body meant toughness, but the league taught me that the hardest skill is staying on the floor.”

Lin on scaling computeRaised $300M+, incl. $250M Series C and led PyTorch team at Meta.