Going Direct Conversations

Jordan Wolfe
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Going Direct explores the decentralization of the real economy and how new technologies can bring us closer to the products we buy and the people who make them. goingdirect.substack.com

  1. #55 Toby Shorin: Financialization & The Death Of Culture

    4D AGO

    #55 Toby Shorin: Financialization & The Death Of Culture

    I sit down with Toby Shorin, a researcher, writer, and technologist, to discuss his popular essay “Life After Lifestyle.” We dig into why the lifestyle brand era has ended, how culture is being “eaten” by financialization, and why Toby is starting to abandon culture as the main lens for understanding what’s happening now. Enjoy! Recording Date: February 18, 2026 Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:36 Understanding The Going Direct Economy 05:07 Brands Structure Our Relationships 06:09 Life After Lifestyle Article 08:37 The Era Of Lifestyle Brands 16:31 Culture As A Concept Is Only 200 Years Old 17:29 Culture vs. Tradition: A New Perspective 20:20 The Financialization Of Everything 26:15 Will AI & Robotics Create More Centralization? 34:19 Controlling Production = Controlling Minds 35:36 Defining The Cultural Production Service Economy 36:24 From Making Goods To Making Culture 44:21 Why Toby is Abandoning "Culture" 48:37 Closing The Door On The Past 59:39 Toby's Background Follow Jordan on X: * https://x.com/jrwolfe Links to Toby’s Work: * Website: https://tobyshorin.com/ * Email: toby@otherinter.net * Essay: “Life After Lifestyle”: https://subpixel.space/entries/life-after-lifestyle/ * Essay: “After Authenticity”: https://subpixel.space/entries/after-authenticity/ Remember to go direct! Jordan P.S. Build with love This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    1h 6m
  2. #54 Saman Farid: America Doesn’t Have a Robot Problem. It Has a Deployment Problem.

    FEB 24

    #54 Saman Farid: America Doesn’t Have a Robot Problem. It Has a Deployment Problem.

    I sit down with Saman Farid, founder of Formic, to get real about what it takes to deploy industrial robots in practice. We go deep into robotics-as-a-service, how we can make manufacturing more productive, and the labor reality for small/medium-sized manufacturers in the United States. If you want a dose of robot reality beyond flashy demo videos, you will enjoy this episode. Among the topics we discuss are: * Deployment gap in the robotics * Hidden labor crisis * Robotics as a Service (RaaS) * China vs U.S. manufacturing culture * How Formic turns automation from CAPEX to OPEX for their customers * Scale through coordination vs consolidation Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Enjoy. Recording date: February 11, 2026 Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:49 Why Factory Tours Should Be Mandatory 09:08 State Of US Manufacturing 16:36 Chinese vs American Approach To Manufacturing 18:57 The Labor Debate 25:40 Breaking Down Robotics-As-A-Service 35:37 Importance Of Geographical Density 37:47 Financing Automation 40:55 Scale Through Coordination vs Control 45:45 Challenges In Robotics Adoption 51:40 Formic Capital Strategy 56:26 Formic Longer-Term Vision 58:13 Rapid Fire Follow Jordan on X: * https://x.com/jrwolfe Connect with Saman Farid: * X – https://x.com/samanfarid * LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanfarid/ * Website – https://formic.co/ Remember to go direct! Jordan P.S. Build with love This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    1h 4m
  3. #53 Jan Liphardt: The Battle Over Who Controls The Robots

    FEB 17

    #53 Jan Liphardt: The Battle Over Who Controls The Robots

    I sit down with Jan Liphardt, founder of OpenMind and Stanford professor, to discuss an important question that will shape the future: who should control intelligent robots? As AI and robotics converge, our economic and societal trajectory may hinge on whether robots become closed, black-box systems or open platforms that anyone can build on, audit, and deploy locally. Jan and the team at OpenMind are building OM1: an open-source, AI-native software stack for robotic systems. Think of it as Android for humanoids, with an App Store where developers can ship new skills to robots in the real world. Enjoy! Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recording Date: January 23, 2026 Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:15 Different Views On The Main Bottleneck In Robotics 09:50 OM1 - An AI-Native Operating Systems For Robots 14:51 Building The Connective Tissue 20:16 Future Of Dexterity 24:03 Openmind’s Hardware-Agnostic Approach 28:32 Vertical Integration vs. Open Collaboration 30:31 Building An App Store For Humanoids 38:26 Long Tail Of Robot Training Data 43:49 Data Utilization Challenges 46:13 Edge AI And Hardware 52:37 Working With OEMs and Enterprises 59:58 Why Start A Company Now 01:07:06 Rapid Fire Follow Jordan on X: * https://x.com/jrwolfe Jan & OpenMind Links: * Website – https://openmind.org * GitHub – https://github.com/OpenMind/OM1 * Email – jan@openmind.org Remember to go direct! Jordan P.S. Build with love This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    1h 13m
  4. #52 Meta Prime: Rebuilding The Social Structure in America

    FEB 11

    #52 Meta Prime: Rebuilding The Social Structure in America

    I sit down with Meta Prime, a writer and online network builder whose work I discovered on Substack. Meta Prime and I do a deep dive into a recent essay he wrote titled, “The Necessity of Rebuilding the Social Structure in America.” We explore how and why America’s social fabric broke down, what rebuilding it looks like in practice, and how the Going Direct economy can play a central role in restoring it. Enjoy! Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recording Date: January 08, 2026 Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 04:51 Meta Prime’s Essay: The Necessity For Rebuilding Social Structure 12:11 Defining Social Structure 20:31 How To Start Rebuilding The Social Structure 27:23 Meta Prime Project Background 35:42 Building Parallel Systems 42:50 Going Direct And Rebuilding The Social Structure 47:16 Building Strong Networks In The Digital Age 49:58 Decentralization And The Future Of Systems 01:00:53 Building Practical Solutions 01:04:41 Understanding Fraternal Networks 01:08:27 Rapid Fire Follow Jordan on X: * https://x.com/jrwolfe Links to Meta Prime’s Work: * Website – https://metaprime001.com/ * Substack – https://substack.com/@metaprime001 * X (Twitter) – https://x.com/MetaPrime001 * Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@metaprime001 Resources Mentioned: * Area 2 Farms – https://www.area2farms.com/ * Article: “On The Necessity of Rebuilding Social Structure” - https://metaprime.substack.com/p/on-the-necessity-of-rebuild-social Remember to go direct! Jordan P.S. Build with love This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    1h 16m
  5. #51 Sam Lessin: A VC’s Take On Why Decentralization Is Inevitable

    FEB 3

    #51 Sam Lessin: A VC’s Take On Why Decentralization Is Inevitable

    I sit down with Sam Lessin, Cofounder and General Partner at Slow Ventures, to unpack why he believes decentralization is inevitable. Sam is an original thinker and really fun to talk to. He and the Slow team have built an impressive track record of being early and right. They’ve made early investments in Robinhood, Pinterest, Nextdoor, Solana, Airtable, and more. In this wide-ranging and entertaining conversation, we discuss: * How the Internet ironically became the greatest centralizing machine ever * How the, “Physics of Technology” make centralization and decentralization inevitable cycles * Why capitalism serves dollars, not people * Why Slow Ventures invests in unpopular ideas and refuses to be specialists * The brittle food system * VC’s broken incentives Enjoy! Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recording date: December 17, 2025 Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:44 Slow Ventures Approach To Investing 04:41 The Role Of Content In Venture Capital 07:41 Is Decentralization Inevitable? 15:24 Why The Internet Centralized Everything 17:43 Technology As Leverage To Decentralize 23:59 Incentive Structures In Decentralized Models 31:23 Early Facebook Days 32:09 Current Narrative In Silicon Valley 34:54 Delusion Of Greatness in Tech 37:09 Birth Of Slow Ventures 39:01 VC Challenges In Funding Decentralization 42:45 How AI Is Changing Seed Investing 45:47 Concept Of Memetic Warfare 49:33 Slow Ventures Etiquette School 51:32 Rapid Fire Follow Jordan on X: * https://x.com/jrwolfe Links to Sam’s Work: * X – https://x.com/lessin * Slow Ventures – https://slow.co/ * The Slow Ventures Guide to Etiquette – https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Etiquette-Technology-Finance-Society/dp/B0G43P4PBD Resources Mentioned: * Meme Lord – https://www.memelord.com/ Remember to go direct! Jordan P.S. Build with love This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    55 min
  6. #50 Onye Ahanotu: Reinventing The World’s Oldest Wine

    JAN 27

    #50 Onye Ahanotu: Reinventing The World’s Oldest Wine

    I sit down with Onye Ahanotu, founder of Ikenga Wines, to unpack his wild idea of creating an entirely new beverage category in the U.S. Onye has invented a way to make palm wine, one of the oldest beverages on earth and a staple across the global South, without the palm tree. By bio-designing a “molecular palm sap” from different plant sources, Onye produces palm wine locally in Berkeley, California. Ikenga is a powerful example of how new forms of science can enable more decentralized production. In this episode, we discuss: * Why palm wine is one of the oldest wine categories most people have never heard of * Why traditional palm wine must be consumed within 1–2 days * How Onye bio-designs molecular palm sap from plants * Ikenga’s decentralized, local production model * Palm wine’s flavor profile * Why the middle market in wine is getting squeezed * How palm wine could become the missing pairing for global Southern cuisines Enjoy! Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recording date: December 8, 2025 Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:51 What Is Palm Wine? 02:47 Traditional Production Of Palm Wine 07:54 Making Palm Wine Without The Palm Tree 13:24 Onye's Journey To Making Palm Wine 19:48 Creating A New Beverage Category 21:28 Dialing In Different Flavor Profiles 24:10 Current Production Capacity 26:42 Understanding Shelf Life And Flavor Evolution 29:10 Distribution Challenges In The Alcohol Industry 32:38 Navigating Consumer Trends 38:20 Future Of Beverages 43:34 Pricing Strategy: Accessible Luxury 45:59 Developing A Technical Expertise Follow Jordan on X * https://x.com/jrwolfe Links to Onye’s Work: * Website – https://ikengawines.com/ * Email – info@ikengawines.com * LinkedIn (IKENGA Wines) – https://www.linkedin.com/company/ikenga-wines/ * Instagram (IKENGA Wines) – https://instagram.com/ikengawines * Instagram (Onye) – https://instagram.com/onyeahanotu * LinkedIn (Onye) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/onyeahanotu Resources Mentioned: * The False Promise of Optimization by Coco Krumme - https://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Illusions-False-Promise-Optimization/dp/0593331117 Remember to go direct! Jordan P.S. Build with love This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    50 min
  7. #49 Oren Falkowitz: Moving The Farm, Not The Food

    JAN 20

    #49 Oren Falkowitz: Moving The Farm, Not The Food

    I sit down with Oren Falkowitz, co-founder and CEO of Area 2 Farms, to discuss how he’s working to fix America’s food system by building hyper-local, soil-based, automated indoor farms that bring food production back to where people live. Oren has a very unique approach that combines local production and local distribution under one roof. We explore why moving the farm, not the food, is the future. Enjoy! Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recording date: November 26, 2025 Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:03 What’s Wrong With Our Soil? 03:35 The Importance Of Soil Health 07:24 Problems With The Current Food System 10:17 Area 2 Farms Model 21:36 Soil vs Hydroponics 23:28 Operational Insights From The First Farm 30:57 Robotics & Automation In Vertical Farming 34:10 Area 2 Farms Product Mix 38:53 Understanding The Economics Of Community Farming 42:08 Scaling Farming Operations 51:37 Role Of Real Estate 55:33 Oren’s Journey From Cybersecurity To Community Farming 59:56 Rapid Fire Follow Jordan on X: * https://x.com/jrwolfe Links to Oren’s work: * Area 2 Farms website – https://www.area2farms.com/ * Area 2 Farms X - https://x.com/area2farms * Oren´s X – https://x.com/orenfalkowitz This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    1h 3m
  8. #48 Brett Bivens: Production Capital For The New Industrial Age

    JAN 13

    #48 Brett Bivens: Production Capital For The New Industrial Age

    I sit down with Brett Bivens, an active angel investor and Research Partner at July Fund, a venture capital firm focused on backing new technologies that improve the real world. We unpack a recent essay Brett wrote titled The Production Capital Mosaic, where he outlines 11 emerging financing models purpose-built for industrial technology. We explore why traditional venture and infrastructure capital fall short in this space, what it means to be a production capitalist, and how a new breed of firms is blending the DNA of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Washington, D.C. to rebuild Western industrial capacity. Enjoy! Recording Date: November 19, 2025 Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:04 Defining Production Capital 06:28 Carlota Perez & Technology Cycles 10:17 Different Production Capital Models 17:03 Defining Production Capitalists 23:00 Do We Have A Shortage Of Capital Or Demand? 25:08 Challenges In Scaling New Technologies 31:21 Production Capital Models 31:49 Model 1: Venture & Capital Markets Connectivity 35:20 Model 2: GAP Capital (Growth & Project Finance) 37:09 Model 3: Modern Merchant Banks 39:46 Model 4: SPAC’s & PIPE’s 41:09 Model 5: Venture Turnarounds 45:01 Model 6: Techno-Industrial Holding Companies 49:11 Model 7: Digital Capital Markets Orchestration 50:51 Model 8: Growth Buyouts 52:13 Model 9: Super Developers 55:13 Model 10: Industrial Franchises 01:03:10 Model 11: DePIN Projects 01:07:15 Rapid Fire Follow Jordan on X: * https://x.com/jrwolfe Links to Brett’s Work: * Venture Desktop (Substack) – * LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettbivens/ Resources Mentioned: * Article: “The Production Capital Mosaic” Remember to go direct! Jordan P.S. Build with love This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goingdirect.substack.com

    1h 14m
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Going Direct explores the decentralization of the real economy and how new technologies can bring us closer to the products we buy and the people who make them. goingdirect.substack.com

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