I Asked a $100M Founder for Life Advice

Eric Wei is the co-founder of Karat, a Startup providing Credit Cards to Content Creators. But before he raised $100M to start Karat, he collected achievements like infinity stones. Whether it was working at Blackstone, being a consultant at McKinsey, or serving as a product manager at Instagram, Eric has done it all.
Today, I sat down with Eric to talk through how the heck he managed to accomplish so much, how to figure out what you're truly passionate about, and so much more.
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Check Out Karat: www.trykarat.com/
Subscribe to the Karat Podcast: / @trykarat
Follow Karat on IG: / trykarat
Follow Eric on IG: / erictway
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⌚️Timestamps:
0:00 Eric Wei (Intro)
0:39 Was Any of This Worth It?
2:12 Is Entrepreneurship Right For You?
6:26 Let's Get Tactical
6:43 The Path To Getting Your Dream Job
8:51 How to Build Confidence
12:16 What is First Principles Thinking?
15:15 How To 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 Start a Company
15:45 Why You Need A Cofounder
17:55 Talk To Your Users!!!
21:35 Karat's Market Entry Wedge
26:45 Virality + Solution = $$$
29:45 Karat's Plan To Dominate The Content Market
32:09 Creators Are The New Distribution Channels
33:50 Eric's Message To The World
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Connect with me on LinkedIn: / johnghu
DM me on Instagram: / jayhoovy
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Want to start monetizing your content? Check out my company, Stan:stan.store/
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[@jayhoovy]

What was your biggest takeaway from this convo? Reply to this and let me know!👇

[@constructiontycoons]

Listen to your users! I run a marketing growth agency in the Philippines and it’s crazy how our business model & service keeps evolving every time I get feedback from our clients. Thanks for the insights from this video 👍

[@nsesites]

Talk to your Users! Do you think Cold Emailing is the best way to get users as a new startup?

[@danta2811]

Great insight for us. At our startup, we help specialty farmers do DTC, but find that we have the most success in building organic content that highlights their stories vs. running ads.

[@nsesites]

@@oas9174 Raising $100M is pretty crazy. Investors must've saw something no?

[@danta2811]

@@oas9174 😂😂😂we are all in this journey to build what makes us fulfilled

[@trykarat]

Hi it's Eric from the pod!! John - thank you for hosting me - grateful for our friendship and I learn so much every time we hang ❤

[@tradergirlsuki]

Hi Eric, this is Suki, we met a few years back from Rory's board game nights. Don't know if you remember me. But I'm also doing a startup now and would love to get your advice!

[@henryj.6582]

Yooo cool jacket bruh

[@matanassulin]

Damn, so smart and so handsome!

[@can_kuecuek]

How did you manage to do mocks / what do you mean with mocks?

[@troglodyto]

"nobody knows anything" is such a freeing sentence. thank you. also for the tip that content is so powerful. and various other takeaways eg., think back to what you wanted to do as a child.

[@jonasbuabo2187]

I love this, you guys mentioned organic content and this conversation between the 2 of you truly felt organic and I appreciate that. I can't point out the most valuable takeaway from this interview, I just enjoyed it all, listening to people who are passionate about what they do is inspiring.

[@tavrichesky]

Such an awesome episode! I didn't expect for such a young-looking guy to dish out so much wisdom. This conversation is full of deep thoughts and at the same time it's easy to listen to and these thoughts are very practical. Thank your for this episode!

[@b.a7859]

Yo... That absolutely clear and coherent logics & expression just give me chills... Love the episode and keep up with the great work Jay!

[@alexmegrelis]

best interview ever, probably the most useful and honest advice out there.

[@moose1158]

These podcasts are super helpful, currently a sophomore in undergrad and you've really changed my pov of the "ideal" post grad, thank you jay! pls keep doing these podcasts!!

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you Moose! I'm so glad these videos have been helpful! Will keep doing them for ya :)

[@jpmoynihan4927]

Really enjoying your videos Jay. I'm a cofounder of a small YC startup myself and there is a ton to learn from you and your guests!

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you for the kind words JP! Keep in touch on how things go!! Just remember when things get tough to keep focusing on your north star / to never give up (and don't waste emotional energy comparing yourself to others in your batch! play the long game)

[@FinancewithXibaobao]

Amazing Interview, I find it great he breaks it down to the basics of interacting and talking with the people you're trying to solve problems for.

[@bluegodofspeed]

Awesome. Love his point on no one knows anything. And that he gained confidence through accumulating external successes. Makes you wonder if he had that internal ability from the get go before those successes, and could succeed from the very beginning if he just devoted himself enough and tried hard enough, or if it was the skills he built during these roles that shaped him to have sufficient skills to do what he always wanted to do.

[@cameronwaters4261]

the quality of what you do is in a league of its own. thank you for sharing so much important wisdom with us all. rooting for you brother

[@nathanmartinez2630]

Eric is a beeeeaaast. Super admire the way he thinks. Good for him.

[@user-jx2kw6zh9y]

very encouraging and inspiring! love listening to conversation from people like both of you :)

[@user-nv2mw5cl3h]

Ive watched and listened to a lot of podcasts, most recently before this one was Lex and Elon's pod. In all honesty this is one of the best podcasts Ive ever watched. Im not one to comment on KZbin videos, but seeing your channel grow from 3k subs when I started following you months ago to where you are now is truly inspiring. So much knowledge that ive gained from your videos. Thank you.

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you so much for speaking up and leaving this comment - truly, it gives wind in my sails! We're honestly just getting started, and my promise to you that my North Star will always be sharing as much knowledge as possible with you and inspiring you to believe in yourself!

[@DudeZeph]

Great interview, I really appreciate how comfortable u let the guests feel but also how u were able to politely wrangle it back on topic lol

[@meetalitalpade]

So good! The emotions I am going through right now is also captured in its authenticity. Gives me confidence. Eric’s insights are very helpful. Thanks!

[@jayhoovy]

So glad this video could help!! Thanks for your support!

[@tudortise]

Great discussion! I really liked the balance between theoretical and practical. Thank you!

[@matthuang21]

Love these podcast style video formats! Eric is an awesome guest and I found his perspective on "collecting achievements like infinity stones" very interesting - pursuing prestige and optionality (e.g., roles in banking, consulting, PE, etc.) is extremely valuable if doing so can build up your internal confidence to eventually make a big jump like starting a company. That said, I think the value of chasing prestige / optionality asymptotes rapidly after the first 1-2 door-opening lines on your resume, and eventually it makes sense to do what you find most fulfilling / interesting even if it means sacrificing prestige/pay in the near term. I think about this every day as I weigh the pros and cons of continuing on "the path" vs forging my own path and pursuing a non-traditional career.

[@jayhoovy]

Strongly agreed! The first 1-2 experiences are great for building skills + stamps of approval - but then after that, I highly encourage doing what truly fulfills you!

[@trykarat]

Thanks for watching ☺️

[@user-gw4ue6lr2d]

You guys have pretty much shifted my prespective on life (and obviously in business as well)

[@bukolaessien7352]

This is an incredible interview. As an undergrad in Nigeria, this is really helpful in figuring out what i truly care about, and not feel like i am not living up to standards.

[@harshpatel105]

Thanks for this one. Really insightful. It’s nice to see someone talking about first principles or as naval says - become a clear thinker with logical chain of reasoning and thoughts.

[@jayhoovy]

naval is a king

[@anthonykouch8958]

two of my most watched youtubers in one video. Life is great!

[@craigscott4205]

The beginning talk about whether entrepreneurship is right for you was amazing.

[@user-bm6nx4bv5x]

You gentlemen are what I aspire to achieve. Your knowledge and the foundation of your success is built on the confidence of your experiences. Great video! Looking forward to future ones.

[@jayhoovy]

d'aww - thank you so much for the kind words! excited to see what you achieve in your own career one day!

[@cenkarson777]

love the amount of effort you put in the vids and subtitles!

[@jayhoovy]

Appreciate you noticing! Thanks for the support🙏

[@sajademad117]

very thoughtful converstaion! thanks for sharing.

[@cryptopiamania1706]

You guys are blessed. Congrats on everything you guys have accomplished. Goldman Sachs on a resume is a life accomplishment. I've got college dropout, amazon warehouse worker/driver. Peeing in bottles and skipping breaks to finish delivery routes earning $40,000 in Seattle looking for a second job lol. SMH. The struggles are real

[@jayhoovy]

It's never too late in life!! I see you're likely into crypto - tons you can do on the side (especially with how undervalued the crypto market is right now) to find your little niche and make it!!! Life is long - and I believe in you!!!

[@bhargavtarpara5516]

hey man stay positive. if you want to grow mindset is needed first

[@Jgibson092]

Learn some high income earning skills bro. Try coding. Invest in teaching your self skills that make money. Focus on skill development

[@carolynepstein7122]

Love these podcasts - I’m taking notes from each and everyone of these

[@tylerTaaca1]

Dude! Just found his channel i swear like four days ago, dream collab already occurred, crazyyy

[@alondraperez5149]

I love that he has done a lot of internal work and literally opens up about why he does what he does and doesn't Say a Lot of bullshit

[@toddlee933]

Great stuff. Thanks!

[@kishensoni6423]

Only a matter of time before this channel hits a million subs! Best of luck! 🎉

[@UNKNOWN-1589]

These podcasts are unreal man !!!!!

[@lifeofchinonso]

Top notch discussion and editing

[@mixerobrand]

this podcast is the next huge thing ! keep it up !

[@mastert0009]

Well done m8, great content!

[@uncomplicatedpeace]

This was a fantastic video with tons of gems.

[@whoisrussell]

This was heat. Thank you

[@doziee.1093]

Only 15 mins in and it’s a fantastic video. Keep the hits coming. Pls and thanks!

[@jayhoovy]

Wow Dozie that means a lot. Will keep them coming for ya! Thank you for your support :)

[@onceabeginner3408]

great content as always

[@johnleesuccess]

thanks for this my man

[@Santiagodespa]

I just love your vids man

[@hartejhaer8851]

Love it! By mock interview did he mean with the people he connected with or by himself?

[@alexanderdiaz8475]

It was very interesting listening to Eric talk. He sounds like he's been through a lot and has figured out certain things that he can now speak to. I think his point about the external validators at the beginning was deeply relevant to someone who is also pursuing a career in finance. I will definitely apply what he said about reaching out to people in the industry, building connections, and asking to do mock interviews with them. Thanks for the video Jay!

[@jayhoovy]

I really appreciate how thoughtful this comment was Alexander. 100% agree with you that it’s so crucial to consider these things when going into finance. Glad you enjoyed :)

[@trykarat]

awww I'm glad you found it valuable (this is eric from the pod)- thanks for watching!

[@benwxng]

This was awesome. One of best podcasts I've listened to🙏

[@lucathiele9076]

Hi - great pod! Are the episodes also available on Spotify?

[@adam_steinle]

W take on just hopping into mocks. Also - we got into next YC batch! I actually used your deck to frame our pitch and raised some capital outside of YC with that as well. Appreciate you and wanted to let you know your content has been making a very real impact for us!

[@jayhoovy]

NO WAY!!!!!!! OKAY you totally made my day Adam! Like actually smiling ear to ear seeing your comment - THANK YOU FOR MAKING ALL OF THIS WORTH IT. Proud asf of you. Go crush YC (and don't give up!!!).

[@adam_steinle]

@@jayhoovy Let's get it!!!! 😁

[@nsesites]

Curious why Stan never went for YC?

[@trykarat]

congrats on YC!!! We learned so much going through it

[@adam_steinle]

@@trykarat Greatly appreciate you! We're really looking forward to it.

[@haille2282]

okayyyy the quality of this is so good

[@MG23Raptor]

I’ll be the judge of that

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you Haille🙏🙌

[@dylanwilcz]

This is super insightful! Please keep making more of these, John. I'm eating this stuff up!

[@jonashirshland9107]

Woah, great interview.

[@csb0bro]

Loved this interview Jay, especially love Eric highlighting the importance of mocks and then the earned confidence that comes from preparation. I'm about to starting pitching for pre-seed funding, do you have any suggestions on how I can practice mock pitch discussions and adequately prepare? - Ethan

[@jayhoovy]

Watch my other video on how I raised $5M! Ask all your smartest friends to be your mock VC!

[@gumrahBurak]

Precious content, thanks!

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you Burak!! Appreciate your support :)

[@rapid7956]

Amazing vid

[@minecraftalix6286]

I loved this video, it would be interesting if did a similar interview style video like this one, but you should do a video on subscription based, productized services. Im an young entrepreneur and i'm interested in this biz model.

[@jayhoovy]

Coming soon👀

[@minecraftalix6286]

@@jayhoovy Very exited

[@trello627]

6:30 This is precisely the reason many people live unfulfilled and misguided lives. They focus on the wrong things. Eric said very important things that were just brushed off as if they were pure "philosophy". No! They *are* tactical! These "philosophies" are what allow you to act and make decisions that lead you into the place you want to be. If you ignore them, you're just left wandering directionless on a map, while expecting things to work out fine. How can you expect things to work out while being blind!

[@sasmills]

SO enjoyable!

[@zionmaynard4534]

Currently in Product my successful. These pods are getting better every episode 💡

[@jayhoovy]

cheers Zion! thanks for the kind words!

[@ihazrice643]

Hey, I'm a college student going into IB who loves your videos! I'm really curious about your opinions on the future of the creator economy (10ish years) in regard to the AI hype that's been happening and the changing views of younger generations. Do you see it becoming harder to be a creator, do you instead see more people trying to become creators, how will the industry shift, and how might society be affected as a whole, etc. It's easy to imagine that in the future many influencers will be replaced by AI. Thanks for your amazing videos, they're really entertaining and you're a really great speaker!

[@jayhoovy]

these are great questions - and I actually truly don't know. With the state of just how incredible AI like midjourney + video AI platforms are getting - part of me is like... will humans even be able to compete on a 10yr time horizon? It's still too early to tell - I think AI is such an upheaval across the entire white-collar landscape (blue collar has one more added layer of hardware to break through first) - that anyone who says they know what will happen is just brazen conjecturing imo.

[@rxl77]

Excellent learnings here.

[@charleschen5194]

Please keep posting these great videos!!! Awesome content, and I will raise my 100M by watching and learning from your videos!!

[@jayhoovy]

You got this Charles!!! Really appreciate your support :)

[@1247111]

man, some people are really different from median, this guy is smart

[@MarceloDauane]

Amazing interview!

[@jayhoovy]

Thanks Marcelo :)

[@jamescrabbe6933]

Me thinking I have life figured out and then you have this angel on your podcast. We’ll back to the drawing board to re evaluate my life 😔😔😔

[@jayhoovy]

You got this James!! You don't need to have it all figured out. Find what you're passionate about and then go crush it!

[@drmichaelsunsschoolformath]

good job!

[@lukedowneslukedownes5900]

23:39 all you have to do to sell the “creator tax” is semantically reword it without reference to tax

[@derekxiaoEvanescentBliss]

Wonder if the first question is a classic case of people giving advice to their younger selves to do the thing that IN THE END “completed them”. Ie. Therapy only helped him find success bc he chased accolades and got the skills through that changing process, but if you flip the order and start with figuring out what you want, you may lack the chops to make the same or better things happen. Idk how good the first advice is.

[@dylantan872]

This literally had me at the edge of my seat

[@jayhoovy]

Dude that's high praise! Really appreciate you Dylan🙏

[@jeffboyardeeznuts]

great vid. as an asian american kid growing up i didn't have many role models to look up to, i'm glad it's different nowadays

[@jayhoovy]

Cheers Jeff! Wishing you an awesome holiday season!

[@IsabellasCorner]

@27:29 Quoting Scott Galloway, "What you really need to care about is you want to build a product that addresses the heart, the mind and the ego".

[@GodMade-nf1rw]

This was 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you!!!

[@gurupurkha]

Eric is a typical example of very high intelligence coupled with lack of introspection at an earlier age. Glad to see he is gaining wisdom as he gets older.

[@ItsJimJCX]

JAYHOOVY CONGRATS ON FORBES!!!! 💪💪💪

[@jayhoovy]

awwww

[@tk31155]

guy sounds exactly like graham stephan

[@galenamadi]

Banger 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@jayhoovy]

Appreciate it Glen!!🙌

[@reiniervaneijk]

You're LIT BROOOO🔥🔥

[@fmparrott5485]

ERIC IS SO FUNNY. 😂

[@leochen635]

Great video again. Slaps

[@jayhoovy]

Appreciate you Leo! Anything in particular make you think the video was worthwhile? I wanna keep digging into those kinds of insights for ya.

[@Muhluri]

The biggest lesson for me: don't just solve a problem, make sure the solution you provide is attractive, has positive associations, and can positively affect your your social status (ego)

[@trykarat]

thanks for watching 😉 and appreciate you always commenting!

[@sasmills]

How to get mocks? At same level? Like apply for and interview with a local credit union and banks when BLACK ROCK is end game?

[@albongo3949]

If you can last for a year, it’s enough to shoot a shot in business. It’s tough to get there currently

[@alexandriaoliver8514]

“No one knows what they’re doing.” I figured that out so early in life it’s made a huge difference in how I view the world ❤❤

[@BenWeeks-ca]

14:36 these are bad examples of first principles. The hope is to sell shirts. A question is 'why is it that people do not buy my shirts?" If they are unaware, ads might help address that. But what if they know about your shirts and don't care? A better question then is "why?" Then, How might we change their perspective so they do fall in love with the shirts?" Once the emotional shift is clarified and addressed, then you have a point of view for something to put into an ad. Here's an example of a use case. I like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I do not like wearing rash guards made with synthetic material. So I wear regular tshirts under my gi. But they get wrecked as they are not built for this environment. What if a shirt was? So I could wear cotton that is tougher than a default t shirt. And is fairly breathable. It would be interesting to try.

[@fullofrandomnesss]

I'd love to see a video on how to pitch. I don't have a college degree. Due to multiple life changing events in a row, I don't have much in savings. I, like many others, got dealt a bad starting hand, but I have a buisness plan laid out. The only problem is upfront capital. I'm okay with the cold calling, cold emailing, ect. I'm a good sales person. I just need the damn capital, and I will work my ass off day end and day out.

[@howardh6857]

a 100million is wild valuation for the idea just to put more people with a card

[@Yas-hg1wi]

I also realized nobody really knows what they're doing when I worked in Big4 advisory.

[@jonathankey6444]

“An Asian parent’s wet dream”💀

[@jayhoovy]

Hahahaha am I wrong!?

[@henrijsvasks4646]

What does doin or going into "mocks" mean?

[@pat_makes_stuff]

Eric sounds like Graham Stephan 😅

[@chi6168]

How old is Eric, he seems so young my gosh

[@sameeroooo]

"The number one thing that determines whether you can raise money is...." Where's this part? Heard the entire thing but seem to have missed this part.

[@MrrBreast]

Crazy how when someone knows how to listen everyone assumes that there’s no one there. People are too full of themselves now that they assume others are aswell.

[@ThePharaohsCat]

Please don't give a $$$$! This guy's a beast!

[@whobark]

Pre requisites for a co founder: willing to spend time on a project that might not succeed.

[@Nassuvian_Celtic]

Yeeaaa, but would he have accomplished these things without the boiler plate badges of prestige

[@mika_chu]

Can I ask Eric, did you make connections, friendships in university that go with you till now ? or not.

[@bravo90_]

just do the work

[@darksunrise37]

I don’t get why he said to not give a shit abt his past experiences, it’s dishonest bc it’s largely why he was able to get to where he got to. And for eric to say that also implies to not chase prestige even though we all know founding a startup is THE elite exit. Is Karat solving business challenges really really his passion and why he started it? Did he even operate a business before (many did in their early youth) and could see the need bc of his own experiences kept bringing him back to solving this pressing issue he faced. Or did he just see it as a huge TAM opportunity and a big payday? He doesn’t rlly know what he wants even as he talks which makes it hard to take him serious. He’s what’s wrong with the industry, and I’m sure he’s talented and bright but he doesn’t care about much else except his own success :/

[@darksunrise37]

I would also like to say that this Eric guy is as smart as he seems. He tries to understand the mechanics for things which is incredibly rare even among Ivy leaguers. He’s also especially good at articulating it. I can see why McKinsey took him or any of them for that matter.

[@godmisfortunatechild]

Be born to the right patents, go to an elite school, Have the right opportunity/circumstances while you have momentum going.

[@gerooq]

and don't be too depressed to take action when those opportunities come along

[@gerooq]

@@shrishri8898 95% yes

[@MAX-cb1ys]

what are mocks?

[@jayhoovy]

mock interviews!