The Luba Show

Luba Yudasina
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  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated weekly

Honest, human conversations with interesting minds in tech and beyond.

  1. Sam Parr: How to Build a $20M Empire Without Destroying Your Marriage

    3 days ago

    Sam Parr: How to Build a $20M Empire Without Destroying Your Marriage

    Today I'm talking to Sam Parr, Co-Founder of Hampton and Founder of The Hustle, and co-host of My First Million. Sam built The Hustle to over 1.5 million subscribers, sold it for more than $20 million, and now runs one of the most exclusive founder communities in the world. Sam is a Midwestern kid turned serial entrepreneur: from running a hot dog stand to building a media empire to co-hosting My First Million, one of the biggest business podcasts out there. He's also one of the most refreshingly honest people I've ever talked to about money, marriage, and what it actually takes to build a life you're proud of. We go deep on relationships, ambition, and what it means to commit — to a partner, to a company, to a version of yourself you haven't become yet.  Topics we cover Why he and his wife had a "co-founder conversation" six months into dating and how it changed everythingWhat billionaires all agree on about luck that most people starting out don't want to hearHis controversial take: overnight successes are real — and sometimes you should quit fasterHow he uses negative visualization to stay grateful SO much more!Timestamps00:00 Intro 01:55 When Money Doesn't Feel Real 05:55 Why My Wife Bet on Me 08:35 Run Your Marriage Like a Startup 13:43 Luck Is Real 16:57 Commit Then Figure It Out 21:43 Imagine the Worst, Feel Grateful 24:51 40 Hours Can Make You Rich 27:06 Am I a One-Hit Wonder? 30:43 How to Make Anyone Open Up Links Sam ParrInstagram: https://instagram.com/thesamparrX: https://x.com/thesamparr YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyFirstMillionPod Luba Yudasina Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal

    35 min
  2. Kevin Zhang: Inside the Mind of an Investor Writing $35M Checks

    21 May

    Kevin Zhang: Inside the Mind of an Investor Writing $35M Checks

    Today I'm talking to Kevin Zhang, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. BCV sits inside Bain Capital, a $200 billion investment manager spanning private equity, credit, life sciences, and real estate, and Kevin has been there nearly a decade, leading early-stage bets from seed through Series B across AI, crypto, longevity, and industrials. We talk about confidence, self-doubt, and what it actually takes to back people before it's obvious. Kevin opens up about feeling like there was a pane of glass between him and the people who got to make big decisions — and the slow, honest process of earning his own seat at the table. We cover "Hyperstition": why enough people believing in something can make it trueWhy he thinks imposter syndrome is often just an accurate self-assessmentThe BCV Fellowship: a secret program to find star talent years before they start companiesFull stack capitalism: why the most ambitious founders need more than just venture dollarsHis dream second career: political talent scoutSO much more!Timestamps00:00 Intro 01:01 The Invisible Glass Ceiling 08:40 Surviving the Almost-Dead Startup 13:40 Full Stack Capitalism 19:24 Bet on People, Not Sectors 23:32 Spotting Greatness Early 27:05 Build Conviction 30:36 Beyond the SaaS Playbook 36:34 Understanding Society 39:21 Why He Stayed at Bain Capital 43:52 Investing in Founders 47:24 Rapid Fire Links Kevin ZhangX: https://x.com/kevinzhang  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinzhang711/ Luba Yudasina Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaa X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/yudasinal

    59 min
  3. Hiten Shah: The Batman & Robin Rule: Why Your Business Partnership is Failing

    14 May

    Hiten Shah: The Batman & Robin Rule: Why Your Business Partnership is Failing

    Today I'm talking to Hiten Shah, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and Nira — which he sold to Dropbox. Hiten has been building SaaS companies for over 20 years and has quietly become one of the sharpest operators and thinkers in tech. We go deep on metacognition, self-improvement, and what it actually takes to understand yourself well enough to build great companies and great relationships. Hiten opens up about his process for "poking at the world" to test his own thinking, how he uses Enneagram and Human Design with AI to unlock blind spots, and the mental models that have shaped how he works with co-founders, teams, and his own family. We cover- His "purple bruise" approach to giving advice — and how he trained himself to go from six-month-delayed feedback to next-day impact- The Batman and Robin framework for co-founder relationships, partnerships, and even marriage- Why building faster with AI doesn't mean learning faster — and the companies that have figured out the difference- "Trust takes ten years" — the advice from a relative in India that keeps proving itself rightHis life philosophy: "It was all a dream" — and what that has to do with presence- SO much more! Timestamps00:00 Intro01:45 Start Your Year in October06:15 The Purple Bruise Method12:23 AI as a Thinking Partner20:13 Thinking About Your Thinking25:06 Find Your Triggers First29:32 Decide Fast With Less34:50 Entrepreneur Since Age Four42:17 Shed Judgment, Stay Curious46:09 When Strengths Become Sabotage49:56 Batman and Robin Partnerships52:43 Finding the Right Co-Founder59:53 Trust Takes Ten Years1:05:04 Fast Success Hides Lessons1:11:57 Build Faster ≠ Learn Faster1:21:31 The Lost Craft of Startups1:29:38 Follow Energy, Not Goals1:36:05 The Crisis Nobody Sees1:44:03 Selling at Peak Value1:52:00 Know Yourself Through AI2:07:15 One Idea, Many Posts2:19:20 "It Was All a Dream" Links Hiten Shah X: https://x.com/hnshahLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hnshah/ Luba YudasinaInstagram:  https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaaX: https://x.com/LubaYudasinaLinkedIn:  https://linkedin.com/in/yudasinal

    2h 25m
  4. Ankur Nagpal ($250M founder) joins Naval Ravikant to Disrupt Venture Capital

    7 May

    Ankur Nagpal ($250M founder) joins Naval Ravikant to Disrupt Venture Capital

    Today I'm talking to Ankur Nagpal - founder of Teachable (nine-figure exit) and Carry (acquired by AngelList), angel investor in 100+ startups, and now a GP at USVC, AngelList's public venture fund. We talk about what it really feels like to sell two companies, why honesty is more powerful than hype, and what Ankur's learned about building, investing, and knowing when enough is enough. He gets refreshingly real about the parts of startup life nobody talks about — from emotional runway to the immigrant lens on America's self-help culture. We cover:- Why most people should never raise venture capital - The three things he looks for in founders (and why the third one is controversial)- From reading Losing My Virginity at 13 to wanting to buy a sports team — and put himself on the roster- SO much more! Timestamps00:00 Intro00:55 Twice Lucky, Still Humble05:53 Confidence Is Just Age08:18 Stress Beats Every Biohack12:28 Venture Investing for Everyone19:17 What Makes a Great Founder23:05 Emotional Runway Kills First27:53 Don't Raise Venture Capital30:02 Your Happy Number34:17 The $20K That Becomes Millions37:42 Finding Your Zone of Genius41:59 Read for Joy, Not Optimization48:23 Maximize Your Surface Area LinksAnkur Nagpal X: https://x.com/ankurnagpalLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankurnagpal/Luba YudasinaInstagram:  https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaaX: https://x.com/LubaYudasinaLinkedIn:  https://linkedin.com/in/yudasinal

    49 min
  5. Grant Sanderson (@3blue1brown): The High Cost of Being a Second-Hand Thinker

    30 Apr

    Grant Sanderson (@3blue1brown): The High Cost of Being a Second-Hand Thinker

    Grant Sanderson, (@3Blue1Brown) created one of the most beloved math channels on the internet. Grant is a Stanford math grad, Khan Academy alum, and self-taught animator who built his own open-source visualization engine from scratch. From students learning linear algebra for the first time, to researchers, to millions of curious people on the internet, @3blue1brown makes math feel beautiful. Topics we cover How Grant wrote the "best wedding speech anyone's ever heard" with 24 hours noticeWhy he's never felt the burnout other creators describe after 10+ yearsHis take on the algorithmThe real problem with modern education Being a source vs. being a relay and original thinkingWhy he's now building a team and rethinking sponsorshipsTimestamps 00:00 Intro 01:05 How to Write a Wedding Speech 07:04 Use Pauses Like a Pro 11:39 Going Full Time on YouTube 17:27 Why I Left Academia 20:51 Explain It vs. Discover It 27:53 Be a Source, Not a Relay 39:00 The Analytics Dopamine Trap 43:23 Your Algorithm = Your Audience 47:36 Fun Work vs. Strategic Work 52:12 Mental Hygiene for Creators 54:15 Write to Think, Not to Publish 56:49 How My Team Changed Everything 01:01:36 New Ways I'm Making Money 01:06:05 The Loneliness of Solo Creating 01:09:37 How Ego Shapes Your Topics 01:11:31 The Beauty of High Dimensions 01:17:36 Pretty Videos vs. Clear Videos 01:23:14 Will LLMs Kill Motivation to Learn? 01:29:32 Don't Niche Down Too Early 01:34:37 Happiness vs. Fulfillment 01:38:01 Growth vs. Serving Your Audience 01:48:37 Teaching Empathy to Kids 01:51:48 Lightning Round I hope you enjoy this one!! Links Grant SandersonYouTube: https://youtube.com/3blue1brownX: https://x.com/3blue1brown  Luba Yudasina Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaa X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/yudasinal

    1hr 55min
  6. Jay Graber: From Digital Rights Activism to founding Bluesky

    27 Mar

    Jay Graber: From Digital Rights Activism to founding Bluesky

    Today I'm talking to Jay Graber, founder and former CEOof Bluesky. Bluesky recently announced raising $100M in Series B funding to build a decentralized social protocol that could reshape how we think about online communication. Jay is a blockchain builder who accidentally became the CEO of a social media platform — one the internet cast as a protest movement whether she liked it or not. Jay's story is the opposite of a straight path. She grew up in rural Oklahoma with a Chinese immigrant mother and a Swiss-American father, went to Beijing for a year as a teenager, hitchhiked through Europe, learned to code through a bootcamp, and eventually landed on the mission that defines her work: building social media architecture that protects freedom of expression by removing centralized control. She's the rare founder who can talk equally fluently about the Cultural Revolution, decentralized protocols, Twitter's DNA, and why moderation at scale is a nearly unsolvable problem—because she's actually grappled with each of these. We talk about the relationship between technology and power, and why Jay is convinced that the internet's architecture—not good intentions—determines whether a society stays free. She opens up about the bet she's making on decentralization, the years of research that led to Bluesky, and what it actually takes to rebuild social media from first principles. • How a childhood name became destiny: "Blue Sky" in Chinese, then Jack Dorsey's unannounced Twitter project • The moment she realized: you can't change systems from the outside—you have to know how to code • Why "protocols, not platforms" could solve moderation at billion-person scale • From Zcash experiments to scuttlebutt to designing her own protocol—the long road to Bluesky • What it means to bet your career on decentralization when most of the world isn't ready and much more… Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (1:16) Early Life & Cultural Heritage (5:41) Year Abroad in China (18:34) Learning Programming & Career Transition (38:42) Getting into Cryptocurrency (47:47) Working on Zcash & Privacy Technology (58:34) Happening.app & Event Platform (1:08:30) Blue Sky Origins & Early Days (1:11:18) COVID & the Working Group (1:24:16) Becoming Blue Sky Lead (1:33:06) Decentralized Social Media Explained (1:36:09) Twitter Acquisition & Independence (1:39:19) Building a Social Media Company (2:05:17) Leadership & Management Philosophy (2:13:53) Life Philosophy & Closing Thoughts Links X: https://x.com/arcalinea LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaygraber/ Luba Yudasina Instagram: / lifeoflubaa X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina LinkedIn: / yudasinal

    2h 16m
  7. $4B Crypto Fund, Manhood, Discipline, VC: Haseeb Qureshi

    18 Feb

    $4B Crypto Fund, Manhood, Discipline, VC: Haseeb Qureshi

    Today I'm talking to Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner of Dragonfly Capital. Dragonfly just closed a 650M fund 4 with over 4B raised in total.  Haseeb is a former professional poker player, self-taught engineer, Airbnb alum, and one of the most respected voices in crypto investing. We talk about manhood, meaning, and what it takes to build a life worth living. Haseeb opens up about his unlikely path — from poker tables to Silicon Valley, from viral salary blog posts to leading one of the most competitive funds in crypto — and what it's actually taken to prove himself at each step. Topics covered- How a viral salary blog post made Haseeb the most controversial new hire at Airbnb- The genealogy of his love for teaching — and why it starts with his mother- Why he thinks VC is "kind of cringe" — and how Dragonfly is different- From poker to code to crypto: how he chose his path using first principles- What makes a great co-founder partnership (and how to stress-test one)- Masculinity, strength, and responsibility in a feminized society- Greatness vs. excellence: why he stopped caring about legacy SO much more! Timestamps(00:00) Intro(01:14) How We Met at Airbnb(03:00) The Viral Salary Blog Post(06:38) Imposter Syndrome and Proving Yourself(09:14) The Airbnb Culture Mismatch(17:41) Running Dragonfly Like a Championship Team(22:00) The Instinct to Teach(26:40) Learning by Teaching: How to Master Any Domain(37:40) From Poker Player to Engineer to Crypto Investor(41:13) Why He Chose Crypto Over AI(43:47) Marc Andreessen and the Danger of Role Models(48:20) Joining Metastable and Founding Dragonfly(55:00) Why VC is Cringe (But Dragonfly Isn't)(58:00) How to Stress-Test Co-Founder Trust(01:11:55) The Search for Meaning in His 20s(01:15:00) Greatness vs. Excellence vs. Flourishing(01:18:00) Legacy — and Why He No Longer Cares(01:22:00) Personal Writing and the Need to Be Witnessed(01:32:45) Masculinity, Strength, and Responsibility(01:41:50) Society's Masculinity Crisis(01:55:30) Discipline Systems and Contracts With Yourself(02:02:10) Vipassana and the Valley of Darkness(02:07:20) Goal Setting: Outcome vs. Process Goals(02:13:45) Lightning Round: Money, Mentors, Movies, and More(02:23:20) Is Crypto Happening? Links Haseeb QureshiX: https://x.com/hosseeb Luba YudasinaInstagram: https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaaX: https://x.com/LubaYudasinaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/

    2h 24m
  8. Juan Benet (Filecoin, Protocol Labs): Neurotech, Thinking in Decades, Crypto, Knowledge Systems

    27 Jan

    Juan Benet (Filecoin, Protocol Labs): Neurotech, Thinking in Decades, Crypto, Knowledge Systems

    Juan Benet is the founder of Protocol Labs, where he focuses on advancing humanity's knowledge systems through tech like IPFS and Filecoin, and funding projects advancing the cause. Juan dedicated his career to understanding and accelerating how humanity creates, stores, and expands knowledge. What’s unique about Juan is that he thinks in decades and has organized his ventures to represent this. Topics Covered - Early curiosity and the quest for knowledge- The three knowledge systems: genetic, neural, and digital- From Bell Labs inspiration to Protocol Labs- Building IPFS and Filecoin- Innovation networks vs traditional companies- Brain-computer interfaces and the future of human enhancement- Predictions for 10 and 50 years Timestamps (01:37) Early Curiosity and Encyclopedia Reading(04:18) The Internet and Information Overload(06:42) Knowledge as Capability(15:42) Morality and Scientific Understanding(28:57) Three Knowledge Systems(29:42) Genetic Knowledge System(35:42) Neural Knowledge System(42:18) Digital Knowledge System(44:42) The Tree of Knowledge(49:18) Path to Protocol Labs(51:42) Bell Labs Inspiration(54:18) Building IPFS and Filecoin(56:42) Crypto and Bitcoin(01:09:42) Innovation Networks vs Companies(01:12:18) Protocol Labs Structure(01:18:42) PL Focus Areas(01:19:18) Web3 and Digital Human Rights(01:21:42) AI and Robotics(01:24:18) Neurotech and Brain-Computer Interfaces(01:27:42) Three Cases for Neurotech(01:28:42) Medical Applications and Repair(01:33:18) Enhancing Human Experience(01:38:42) Digital Evolution and AI Coexistence(01:46:18) Consciousness and Digital Minds(01:54:42) Predictions for 2036(02:04:18) Predictions for 2076(02:11:42) Wrap up Links Juan BenetX: https://x.com/juanbenetProtocol Labs: https://www.protocol.ai/ Luba Yudasinahttps://instagram.com/lifeoflubaa https://linkedin.com/in/yudasinal

    2h 8m
See All (13)

About

Honest, human conversations with interesting minds in tech and beyond.

Information

  • Creator
    Luba Yudasina
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Luba Yudasina

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