Below The Line With James Beshara

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder, and NYTimes bestselling author  A R I Z O N A, the band not the state, is one of the top 100 streamed bands in the world in the last two years, with over a billion streams of their music since their first album in 2017. Today they will talk about what the journey has been like as artists and musicians.  We covered many topics like where they were 10 years ago, the path they took to form their band and what it's like to be musicians touring around the world. They just released their second album so be sure to check it out.  You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Paul Austin, a social entrepreneur in a very unique space, the psychedelic space. He has been featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Economist, Forbes, and others for his pioneering work regarding microdosing, and his work with a psilocybin retreat center that he co-founded in the Netherlands last year, called Synthesis. I want to point out up front that I don't microdose. I never have and I'm not advocating psychedelic usage. But what interests me about this space, similar to what interests a lot of people when it comes to mental health about the space, is that we've had about 20-25 years of stagnation in treatments for mental health. A sibling of mine has tried basically every treatment there is over the last 20 years with very minimal results and psychedelic therapy is perhaps the most scientifically and effectively interesting approach that we've seen in these last

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Welcome back to another episode of Below The Line. Today's episode is with Leah Busque Solivan who is the founder of TaskRabbit and now a venture capitalist in Fuel Capital. We talk about the low points of her eight year journey as a founder, running her own startup TaskRabbit, sparing no details of the reality of that role, and how she transitioned to becoming a venture capitalist after handing off the reigns. We also talked about why she sees herself being an investor for the foreseeable future and not doing her own startup again along with some real talk on her lowest 24 hours she experienced as CEO. Her candor is so refreshing. And that candor along with her experience is what is making her one of the best investors out there in my opinion. Her story and our conversation is one that I haven't heard anyone share — not quite like this on below the line. I think you’re really going to enjoy today’s hones

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is one of my favorite conversations I’ve had. It’s with Nir Eyal, who is a founder, an investor, and a best-selling author. His first book “Hooked” came out about five years ago and pretty much every tech founder became familiar with his insights in that book. But his latest book “Indistractible”, which came out this month, talks about how to control your attention and intentionally choose your life. It’s not necessarily just for the tech and startup ecosystem, it's for anyone who cares about life — making the most of it and trying to work on not becoming so distractible. We talked about what is distraction, what motivates us, how to prevent distraction, and what is the opposite of distraction. We talk about all of those things, including building indistractable workplaces and so much more. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Ann Miura-Ko a co-founder of Floodgate, one of the original seed stage investment funds here in Silicon Valley. Floodgate has been an investor in Twitter, Twitch, Lyft, Cruise, Okta, TaskRabbit, and a bunch of amazing world-changing companies. We talked about a number of things with Ann including her path to becoming a VC, what she thinks about today as an early stage investor, the things that have shaped her in her life, as well as what's changing about investing today that makes it quite different 11 years after founding Floodgate in 2008. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC.

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is with Christopher Lochhead, a marketing legend and best selling author of “Play Bigger” and “Niche Down”. He is also the podcast host of “Follow Your Different” and “Lochhead on Marketing”. This episode is a really great insight into different views that his books cover from “category design” to the things that legendary companies have done to become dominant in their respective fields when it comes to marketing (and when it comes to decisions made right in the beginning of their “story”). We talk about how the things that you might think are your weaknesses can actually be your superpowers, the things that Chris personally has had to overcome in his own journey, and how thinking differently (and giving himself permission to think *really* differently) became the biggest reason for his success as a founder, CMO, author, and more. This podcast is an insightful one with viewpoints that I'v

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author  Today's episode is with the founder and lead pastor of Reality SF, a church where my wife and I attend in San Francisco. Unlike the many founders that I've invited here on Below The Line, what Dave Lomas started was a church, not a company, right in the heart of San Francisco. The Bay Area is known for the tech scene... not necessarily the church scene. But his story is not unlike many other unpredictable paths toward impact.  Dave and his church know their followers, their doubts, the daily influences of being in the Bay Area, and he speaks to the audience each Sunday with a captivating awareness of all of this. You can listen to any of his lectures and sermons online on their own podcast and they are truly mind blowing.  It's a really nice grounding wire for me as a creator to regularly go and listen to someone talk about something that has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, but has ev

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today we chat with Sam Parr, founder of “The Hustle” one of the fastest growing media companies here in America. They have talented writers who create amazing newsletters and compelling content on the most important business news and trends. It covers some really interesting topics outside of what you would normally find in a business-focused media company. I met Sam in 2015 when I was invited to speak at their convention, Hustle Con. Actually, I'm going to be speaking again on December 2nd and 3rd of this year at Hustle Con here in the Bay Area. Sam and I touched on a handful of interesting topics. He's not the conventional founder that raises VC funding in the Bay Area — He's done it completely differently and this conversation is just as unique as Sam has built his business. We chat about him giving up alcohol 6 years ago, getting started in the hotdog stand business, and the way he built The Hustle wi

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Calvin “Cal” Fussman is a world famous interviewer, a New York Times bestselling author, public speaker, and the creator of the podcast called Big Questions. He was the Writer-at-Large of Esquire, interviewing everyone from Richard Branson to Muhammad Ali to Serena Williams to Robert De Niro. He's on a mission to increase our collective curiosity and inspire storytelling everywhere he goes. We talked about his story of becoming a journalist and the moments of honesty with people like Muhammad Ali that has stuck with him ever since. We cover the rules of storytelling which is a phrase I never heard before but certainly, there are principles that I think we all know deep down, and he articulates them pretty powerfully. We cover all those with other topics and our time together, and I really hope he enjoyed it as much as I did. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author “Attach, you lose, detach, you gain”. That simple phrase and along with the phrase “Yoga for the intellect” on a little pamphlet in a hotel in Southern California caught my eye. I was there with my wife for a weekend and got lured into a session with a guy that looked like one of those folks at the airports dressed in orange monk garb, with few possessions, and maybe some wooden beads. That's what I was looking at on this pamphlet. I was so intrigued that I ended up going to the seminar as it promised to include free yoga as well. We met Joseph, a modern day monk from Houston, Texas that had spent 10 years studying Vedanta in India. We started chatting and it was so fascinating because as a creator, there were so many things that he pointed out, that I have knowledge about but never articulated — like the way he did. That concept of whatever you're attached to, that attachment actually repels it from you

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is another deep dive experiment into a topic that every founder dreads thinking about — fundraising. Similar to what we recently did regarding a deep dive on remote work, this episode goes deep (like super deep) into the weeds on fundraising strategies, tactics, and mistakes to avoid. This is always one of the most asked about topics, and I thought it'd be fun to do an episode with Marc who has helped founders raise over $100m in the last 12 months alone. He shares a lot of nuanced insight on the entire process of getting investors to give you millions of dollars, and getting time with him is not cheap, so I'm glad that he's able to spend a few hours with us for free — enjoy this deep dive with Marc and shoot us notes on any other deep dives you want us to do. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline&

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is a deep dive — Something we're trying out where we go deep into certain topics that people have been asking about, and today is with an expert (maybe the expert?) on the subject of remote work (work that is distributed by many team-members in different geographical locations instead of all under one roof). This is a trend that seems to be here to stay... so we might as well learn as much as we can about the pros, cons, and best practices from someone like Hiten. More on Hiten: He has been building companies for 15 years, solely with distributed workforces and people who work from home. He has built some pretty big businesses this way. He's become one of the experts whom people reach out to learn more about building a remote team, remote business, or remote culture. And today, they've just published perhaps the most comprehensive data driven report and research on remote work.  I'm really

Today's episode is a really special one. It is with Dr. Peter Carnochan, a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, and executive coach. He quickly became one of the best executive coaches in Silicon Valley in the last few years with his deep understanding of the psychological journey of a founder. I was introduced to Peter years ago by Alexis Ohanian, one of the co-founders of Reddit, and ever since then he's been my executive coach (and compatriot) through a pretty tumultuous journey of creation at various points. I felt like it would be great to have him on the podcast every so often to go over his key takeaways from the previous episodes. We did about 10 episodes and listeners loved it so much that I'm doing it again, and we'll probably keep this cadence of about every ten episodes where we’ll have him talk about his insights from the previous episodes. So let's get into it with Dr. Peter Carnochan. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.

Kelly Starrett is one of the most widely followed individuals in the health and fitness space. He is a NY Times bestselling author, a physical trainer, physical therapist, and mobility expert. That last thing I mentioned, mobility expertise, is one of the more fascinating parts of Kelly's work in the health and fitness world — where just about everyone is so focused on the results... the look, the tone, or the strength that one is going for.  However, his work is dedicated to the foundations: posture, mobility, daily habits. And that is perfect for a “below the line” look on the foundations for excellence. The other reason I'm pumped to talk to Kelly is because many founders, creators, leaders, etc (just about 95% of people I know) don't put enough time and attention to our physical health; the ultimate foundation to personal progress. And I'm a big believer of the old phrase “:train the body and the mind will follow” rather than the opposite. So let's get into it with the man that thinks about foundations pe

BTL Hotline: 510-214-3717 In celebration of 40,000 downloads, we’re going to take a few calls and answer the questions from listeners directly. This episode covers some great questions from listeners as well as a note James wrote to himself while going through perhaps the toughest time in his career. Check it out and let us know what you think of this experiment at twitter.com/gobelowtheline — And call 510-214-3717 to ask a question, any question, and we will do this every time we pass another 10,000 downloads (should be around every 2 weeks at this rate).

fnnch is perhaps the most recognizable name in street art in San Francisco with his mega-size honey bears, pop-art lips, poppy flowers and poodles gracing our city in the unlikeliest of places. He wasn't always pursuing a passion in art, much less attempting a career in it. And he rarely speaks publicly about what it's like to be him. He is also known for being the only anonymous TED speaker to date, and this episode goes deep into the “below the line” version of someone that has very little “above the line” outside of his public work that —by design— is through the medium of street art so that everyone can enjoy the aesthetic upgrade in and around the city. We talked about that very illegal act, and the acute fact that not everyone enjoys it. We chat about how he's taken the risks and intentional, exceptionally hard-working steps to become the prolific creator he is, as well as riding lucky waves to become one of the rare artists to make a living from his art within just a few years of picking up a spray-pai

Chris Powers is the only real estate mogul I know who has been selling real estate half his life. He began buying and fixing up homes when he was only 17 years old as a freshman in college, was a self-made millionaire by 23, then became a venture capitalist by 24. And today he is a real estate force helping define the future of the small-but-up-and-coming city of Fort Worth, Texas. We talk about how he began his career in real estate while everyone was thinking about fraternity parties and the influences in his life that made him decide to invest in tech. He's a unique guy — and 100% himself throughout this interview. Those two things are probably two of the biggest reasons why he has seen success early in his life. Let’s get into it with Chris on Below the Line with James Beshara. You can email James questions directly at askbelowtheline@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC.

Dr. Emily Anhalt is a clinical psychologist that focuses specifically on entrepreneurs and what she calls emotional fitness. It is a bridge between psychology and business that helps with your personal productivity and your personal psychological approach each day.  In this episode, she will share with us her invaluable seven characteristics of emotional fitness that she has given workshops at companies from Google to GitHub to TED, and a bunch in between. Let's get into it with Dr. Emily Anhalt. Email James questions at askbelowtheline@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC.

Burt Blackarach is a Grammy-award winning composer, producer, DJ, and sound engineer. You may know his work in producing for iconic groups like Public Enemy. Born into a creative family, Burt got to see his father (legendary soul and rock keyboard player and songwriter William D. "Smitty" Smith) collaborate with everyone from Bob Dylan to Rick James to Fleetwood Mac — and it ignited his love of creating music as well. But what is it like to heed the call to adventure in creating music for a living? What is the inner journey like for someone as accomplished and established as Burt? Let’s get into it with Burt on Below the Line with James Beshara. Email James questions at askbelowtheline@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/gobelowtheline — “Below the Line with James Beshara" is brought to you by Straight Up Podcasts LLC. 

Kevin Rose is one of the most recognizable individuals in the startup world. As a founder, he and his team created the news aggregation site Digg, which became a household name, putting him on magazine covers around the world and creating an iconic brand in Silicon Valley — but it wasn’t a story that ended in champagne and ringing an IPO bell... As an investor, his list of angel investments is next to impossible to beat: Twitter, Facebook, Square, and NextDoor to name a few.   He also was podcasting back in 2004 when the world was still just learning how to pronounce the word iPod... so suffice it to say, if he is into it, there’s a very likely chance it’s about to become a very big deal. He is not only incredibly honest and open about his successes and failures, but he’s enthusiastically trying to get others to share just as openly.   We go below the line on what it’s like to build something to hundreds of millions of dollars to then see it crumble, on how we tend to overcorrect after fai