586 episodes

Alex Lieberman, the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Morning Brew, gives you an insider’s look into building businesses. Alex explores the founder’s journey, from the painful challenges of 0-to-1 to the powerful frameworks that help you scale to millions in revenue as well as the emotional rollercoaster that is present throughout.

Founder's Journal Morning Brew Podcasts

    • Business
    • 4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

Alex Lieberman, the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Morning Brew, gives you an insider’s look into building businesses. Alex explores the founder’s journey, from the painful challenges of 0-to-1 to the powerful frameworks that help you scale to millions in revenue as well as the emotional rollercoaster that is present throughout.

    The Opportunity Cost of Everything

    The Opportunity Cost of Everything

    Episode 121: Writer, Columbia Business School grad, and college athlete Jack Raines' essay, "The Opportunity Cost of Everything," forces readers to ask themselves the only question that really matters: If I was nearing the end of my life, would I be happy with how I am currently spending my time? It is a question that any human being must ask themselves periodically, but I find that it is especially relevant for entrepreneurs. There are many external forces that can push you down the path of making ego-driven decisions, and I believe this article is an important counterbalance to ground you.

    Original Essay: https://www.youngmoney.co/p/opportunity-cost-everything

    Jack’s X URL: https://twitter.com/Jack_Raines

    Jack’s Linkedin URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackraines/

    Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com

    #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur
    Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W
    Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ 

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    Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
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    • 27 min
    How I Lost $10,000,000

    How I Lost $10,000,000

    Episode 120: Andrew Wilkinson is the co-founder and CEO of Tiny, a publicly traded holding company trying to be Berkshire Hathaway but for internet companies. In 2007, Andrew started a Canada-based design agency called MetaLab, which grew to $40-50 million in revenue & $20 million in profit. After trying and failing to launch other businesses, Andrew pivoted to buying businesses to grow his holding company. I’m going to read a story by Andrew about one of the businesses he tried to launch after MetaLab and his lessons from its spectacular failure. 

    Original Story: https://twitter.com/awilkinson/status/1376985854229504007

    Andrew’s X Account: https://twitter.com/awilkinson

    Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com

    #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur
    Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W
    Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ 

    Subscribe to Morning Brew!
    Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt
    Follow The Brew!
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/
    Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew
    Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew

    Follow Alex!
    Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 18 min
    The Dangers of LTV

    The Dangers of LTV

    Episode 119: LTV, or lifetime value, has become the gold standard for startups, specifically how they measure the effectiveness of their various marketing channels. LTV does have merit, and it is a helpful proxy to prioritize marketing and understand the economics of each customer you acquire, but if relied on entirely, it can be misleading at best and harmful to your business at worst. I’ve found what I believe to be one of the best pieces on the internet about the challenges of this methodology, a 12-year-old essay by investing legend Bill Gurley that is as relevant today as it was then.

    The Dangerous Seduction of the Lifetime Value (LTV) Formula: https://abovethecrowd.com/2012/09/04/the-dangerous-seduction-of-the-lifetime-value-ltv-formula/

    DTC Metrics, Explained: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/dtc-metrics-explained-2020-02-12

    Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com

    #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur
    Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W
    Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ 

    Subscribe to Morning Brew!
    Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt
    Follow The Brew!
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/
    Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew
    Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew

    Follow Alex!
    Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 26 min
    7-Figure Business in 48 Hours

    7-Figure Business in 48 Hours

    Episode 118: Million Dollar Weekend, by Noah Kagan, the founder & CEO of AppSumo, walks you through the step-by-step process for building a 7-figure business in 48 hours. I know it sounds too good to be true, and no, you’re not going to make $1 million in 2 days, but after reading the book, I can promise you that you will have a repeatable process for going from business idea to revenue in 48 hours and understanding if it has the potential to get to 7-figures. In today’s episode, I break down the Million Dollar Weekend method as efficiently as possible, and if you want to learn more, you should 100% buy Kagan's book.

    Link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Weekend-Surprisingly-7-Figure/dp/059353977X

    Link to the site: https://noahkagan.com/mdwbook/

    Link to Noah’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@noahkagan

    Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com

    #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur
    Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W
    Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ 

    Subscribe to Morning Brew!
    Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt
    Follow The Brew!
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/
    Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew
    Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew

    Follow Alex!
    Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 34 min
    Why Software is Eating the World

    Why Software is Eating the World

    Episode 117: Just under 13 years ago, Marc Andreessen proclaimed that software would transform every industry. He couldn’t have been more right; software did eat the world. 7 of the 10 largest companies in the world today are technology or software businesses, and Andreessen Horowitz, the investment firm Marc founded in 2009, grew to become the largest VC in the world. Today, we’re going to be reading Andreessen’s 2011 essay to understand the rationale behind his future predictions, and how the patterns he spotted could be applied to today’s business landscape with the growth of AI.   

    Original essay: https://a16z.com/why-software-is-eating-the-world/

    Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com

    #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur
    Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W
    Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ 

    Subscribe to Morning Brew!
    Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt
    Follow The Brew!
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/
    Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew
    Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew

    Follow Alex!
    Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 25 min
    How to Hire Well

    How to Hire Well

    Episode 116: I found one of the best resources on hiring by one of the most well-respected founders and early-stage investors, Elad Gil. In this episode, I'll be reading highlights from the Hiring chapter of Elad’s startup book, High Growth Handbook, and cover job descriptions, interview questions, candidate scoring, work projects, building a diverse team, and more.

    Original essay: https://growth.eladgil.com/book/recruiting/recruiting-best-practices/

    Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com

    #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur
    Listen to Founder’s Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W
    Watch Founder’s Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/ 

    Subscribe to Morning Brew!
    Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt
    Follow The Brew!
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/
    Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew
    Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew

    Follow Alex!
    Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 14 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
1.1K Ratings

1.1K Ratings

JKnific ,

Great Breakdowns

As an exited founder who is constantly consuming this type of content, Alex’s breakdowns are thoughtful and succinct. Even for books and articles that I’ve read before, it’s a helpful reminder. Someone’s we read something that isn’t immediately relevant to us, this has been a great way to visit (and revisit) a lot of concepts quickly.

Sus4nL0u1s ,

Packed with useful info. No fluff!

Alex - love this show. I get at least 5 takeaways per episode that help me move my business forward. Thank you!! Go Blue!

Holo tattoo fiitt ,

I love Alex

Man I love you so much your way of talking and interview questions and the guest you have on there

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