1 hr
Jimmy Soni—What Distinguishes the Billionaires from the Rest of Us? EP55 The Wiggin Sessions
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- Investing
What makes a billionaire different from you and me?
We all have the same 24-hour day, so how have people like Claude Shannon, Peter Thiel, and Elon Musk created this explosion of innovation in information technology, leading us into an era of increased global connection and prosperity?
My guest today is Jimmy Soni, a tech world historian. He is the author of the recently released, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics.
On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Jimmy joins me to discuss his insight into the unique characteristics of the founders of PayPal and the three common traits that turned them into billionaires. We discuss their beginnings and backgrounds and the advantageous way they've used inexperience to infiltrate other industries, including space logistics, internet video, and even the film industry, with much success.
Listen to understand why the shadowy narratives aren't always what they seem and why what makes the headlines isn't the most interesting part about these "Mount Rushmore style figures."
We'll look at the most important thing to come out of the PayPal experience. Plus, we’ll discuss the surprise investor interest causing the resurgence of old technology and how studying the investments of these blue check titans might lead us to the future of technological innovations.
Key Takeaways Jimmy shares his insight into Elon Musk’s brash approach to risk-taking and his desire to change finance from the ground up
How the shotgun wedding between X.com and Confinity birthed PayPal and spawned a whole industry of people innovating their way into billions
The 3 common traits in this group of tech billionaires
How the PayPal alumni infiltrated the space logistics, big data, microfinance, internet video, and even the film industry successfully
How Claude Shannon's ideas from 1948 saved business communication during the pandemic
How Peter Thiel’s ‘no orange jumpsuits’ rule led to innovations right up to the line of the law
The most important thing to know about the PayPal experience for your own investments
Jimmy shares his ‘glass half full’ thoughts on technology as a force for good in the world
Connect with Jimmy Soni Jimmy Soni
Jimmy Soni on Twitter
Connect with Addison Wiggin Consilience Financial
Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—
Facebook @thewigginsessions
Instagram @thewigginsessions
Twitter @WigginSessions
Resources The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
The little-known story about Elon Musk’s first post-grad internship an excerpt by Jimmy Soni on FORTUNE
Dr. Peter Nicholson
Brady Bonds
Cedric Ritchie
Seven Samurai
Occam’s razor|Ockham’s razor
Halt and Catch Fire
George Gilder
What makes a billionaire different from you and me?
We all have the same 24-hour day, so how have people like Claude Shannon, Peter Thiel, and Elon Musk created this explosion of innovation in information technology, leading us into an era of increased global connection and prosperity?
My guest today is Jimmy Soni, a tech world historian. He is the author of the recently released, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics.
On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Jimmy joins me to discuss his insight into the unique characteristics of the founders of PayPal and the three common traits that turned them into billionaires. We discuss their beginnings and backgrounds and the advantageous way they've used inexperience to infiltrate other industries, including space logistics, internet video, and even the film industry, with much success.
Listen to understand why the shadowy narratives aren't always what they seem and why what makes the headlines isn't the most interesting part about these "Mount Rushmore style figures."
We'll look at the most important thing to come out of the PayPal experience. Plus, we’ll discuss the surprise investor interest causing the resurgence of old technology and how studying the investments of these blue check titans might lead us to the future of technological innovations.
Key Takeaways Jimmy shares his insight into Elon Musk’s brash approach to risk-taking and his desire to change finance from the ground up
How the shotgun wedding between X.com and Confinity birthed PayPal and spawned a whole industry of people innovating their way into billions
The 3 common traits in this group of tech billionaires
How the PayPal alumni infiltrated the space logistics, big data, microfinance, internet video, and even the film industry successfully
How Claude Shannon's ideas from 1948 saved business communication during the pandemic
How Peter Thiel’s ‘no orange jumpsuits’ rule led to innovations right up to the line of the law
The most important thing to know about the PayPal experience for your own investments
Jimmy shares his ‘glass half full’ thoughts on technology as a force for good in the world
Connect with Jimmy Soni Jimmy Soni
Jimmy Soni on Twitter
Connect with Addison Wiggin Consilience Financial
Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—
Facebook @thewigginsessions
Instagram @thewigginsessions
Twitter @WigginSessions
Resources The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
The little-known story about Elon Musk’s first post-grad internship an excerpt by Jimmy Soni on FORTUNE
Dr. Peter Nicholson
Brady Bonds
Cedric Ritchie
Seven Samurai
Occam’s razor|Ockham’s razor
Halt and Catch Fire
George Gilder
1 hr