From PayPal Intern to Starting 4x Billion-Dollar Companies | Joe Lonsdale Interview

[@Joe_Lonsdale]

Shaan and Ben crushed it, as usual. Awesome to see all the research and hard work that goes into each episode. Thanks for a great conversation!

[@justinpfortier]

One of the best interview episodes on this pod ever

[@sutats]

Let's see how Sam does it.

[@10000Mistakes]

Holy cow, does he talk fast... and each sentence is wisdom. Dude is next level. Been following Karp for a while but this is first interview with Lonsdale I've seen. Great job Saan... now get back to helping us normies get our first million, haha.

[@jonathanedward5062]

Had to check if I accidentally put playback speed on 1.25x. Nope, he actually talks super fast. Very interesting. He likes himself a lot, but he talks about cool stuff.

[@ryanbresler1674]

dude is not sober in this interview lol. his face is twitching around too. he did a little something something before this one IMO

[@krisb-travel]

He looks sober to me, I live in this world of entrepreneurs and traders, plenty of guys talk fast and look like they’re tweaking but it’s just the excitement and flood of ideas hitting their brain.

[@ryanbresler1674]

@@krisb-travel i also live in this world, and used to party. he's got the sniffles, fidgeting, and doing weird things with his face the entire interview. he's like 4/4in "this guy might be on drugs" intro checklist of course, we'll never know, but i'd put money that he's on a little somehting somethin

[@krisb-travel]

@@ryanbresler1674 definitely possible, its honestly hard to tell with some of these guys.

[@alexvech]

@@ryanbresler1674just look at how he’s touching the nose

[@MurphDeVane]

This Shaan travel pod arc is legendary.

[@doehillarious2819]

after almost an hour it felt like there's so much more to lern from Joe

[@johnvonleibniz]

He's definitely an underrated Founder/VC.

[@ContactBrand]

Love these different location in person interviews.

[@kimdejot]

Jesus this guy is so intense! I can't listen to this podcast in the background because the speed and insight with which he drops things is crazy. Wow!

[@Globalnnoble]

Loving the consistency

[@hijodetupa]

wow one of the best episodes... Love this guy

[@ChristineSylvian]

you are by far the best person explaining binary options! Thank you for putting these videos together. I look forward every week to see your videos!

[@ryanjjones]

Shaan is DOMINATING that table. ;) Love you man

[@adamk8724]

3 camera setup, old money decoration in the back, is it a premium episode or what? 😂

[@josemelo_97]

I never noticed we had paid for the premium subscription 😂

[@jbrowse09]

It must be apart of the gentlemen’s agreement haha

[@HighResGlassPics]

Pretty sure the old world background is his house. Shaan mentions a cold plunge I doubt they were doing that somewhere random.

[@cldtcts]

​@@josemelo_97 we're on the trial

[@famousatmidnight15]

What’s with the water bottles, needs glasses of cognac

[@bikesbeersbeats]

@38:00 this split is huge for founders especially when things get tough. I’m going through the process of a failed company where my percentage was less than 20% yet I was ceo of a startup with startup level income. The majority shareholder the VC owned 75%. They did absolutely nothing and were uninterested in being part of solutions to fix the startup. In my head I am thinking “why should I go without a salary for months and months to help you get rich for doing zero in a time of need”, one of the cofounders even took a line of credit that was higher than the seed investment from VC. We decided if the main shareholder is uninterested then we’re going to file for bankruptcy. Now suddenly they want to be involved 🤦‍♂️

[@enfiestado]

Every time I think you guys have released the best episode ever, you still manage to top it

[@mikestaub]

Great interview. The key takeaway I got was to be super generous with early equity and bring on the best talent.

[@Santizapiola]

great pod! well done Shaan you brought that interview home

[@richhands5269]

My three favorite channels: My First Million, Stock Brotha, & How Money Works. Make my week complete! 🔥 🔥 🔥

[@angelocean365]

Thanks. Im going to check out Stock Brotha and How Money Works. If they are amazing as this channel then Im in for a long weekend catching up ;-)

[@RichEdwards]

Another level up episode for Shaan! Great job.

[@Ability-Plus]

James Sinclair recommended this on his podcast. This is talking business at another level. 👍

[@memyselfid]

Thanks Shaan for these Austin sessions, they got me through a day of boring bug testing. Just noticed the same outfit in multiple vids, so props for banging out multiple remarkable interviews in one day. But If you went full Steve Jobs and wore the same outfit the whole trip, and that's the outfit you chose, props to that as well. Keep that freak flag fluttering

[@bahram_t]

You guys are clearly professionalizing the channel w/ the more consistent thumbnails etc- great stuff Sam & Shaan

[@GalTesler1]

had to triple-check my phone to make sure it wasn't on 2x playback speed

[@Nicocapital24]

Lol payed on lower speed

[@automatehub-dev]

😂

[@ryanbresler1674]

think dude is yoked lol. his face is twitching a lot too if you're not watching

[@muhupalam2755]

Here’s a product idea for Joe; how bout a walk through doorway which renders any firearm unusable. It would seem a lot of schools could strategically place these at an entrance stopping a school shooting from happening.

[@titocosta]

Great interview, amazing job to both! Joe super insightful thank you

[@wisamey]

The only podcast that i thought about playing it on 0.75x!

[@rickmavroudis3978]

Ben is probably the reason so many silicone valley guys can't stop the Adderall. Best episode so far. Thanks for the conversation, Shaan!

[@4kVisionx]

The entrepreneurial spirit lives strong in my man Joe

[@EcomCarl]

Sean's insights on avoiding a "blended strategy" and focusing on one strong reason for success are spot on! Remember, clarity and focus are the pillars of successful entrepreneurship. 🔍

[@ivaibhav1111]

great conversation.

[@lonamisa_]

Introducing the My First Billy series…

[@ericlamideas]

this guy is on another level holy s**t

[@jiml6057]

Joe is a baller. Smartest guy I've ever experienced.

[@MMAoracle]

How have you "experienced" him exactly?

[@asken5139]

way better than the tim ferris episode! This one is full of curiosity from both parties. It feels like you are equals. The feriss one felt desperate.

[@stufigol]

agree. Tim Ferris was very high level

[@corail53]

Tim ferris is a con man who got rich selling a book of basic info. He then over charges for his speaking circuit and has not produced anything of value.

[@agoysy]

You can tell this dude is intelligent. I have to SLOWER the video to understand his points

[@nessci2355]

been listening to the pod for a while but this is my first time seeing a video

[@andrewheeps3981]

Great interview- would love to see more of these.

[@chriscarlton9777]

One of the best episodes yet

[@TheWarmDown_MMA]

Lesson 1: Have connections to one of the world’s richest men. Lesson 2: use that guys cash to build something huge

[@sidm3859]

easy to say that. i think its deeper than that

[@اسامةاحمد-ز3د]

You wouldnt make it even if you had the connections

[@screwthisite]

@@اسامةاحمد-ز3د many other guys have connections to EM/Peter Thiel. I'd peg count at 10-50 folks at least. We should give credit where due. This guy is a rockstar

[@views40]

Let's ask ourselves how we are similar to Joe, not how we are different. Mentally putting distance between us an others is how we turn off the learning and pattern-recognition mechanisms. Yes, Joe Lonsdale is an outlier, but there is so much we can learn still. Onwards and upwards 💪

[@corail53]

@@sidm3859 It really isn't. This guy rides coat tails and then just leverages his money into connections he has made. Anyone who had been in his place would have been able to repeat this.

[@Stopwars0809]

Shaan. Holy sh--! You really brought your A-game to this one. Ty!

[@Kowsan6]

Bro this episode made my head hurt. Like was fire level and like bro I’m just like levels ahead of me 😂 But super smart very great to watch this in 2025 I have to watch this again and slower

[@jamesmcginn6291]

Now Palantir makes perfect sense to me. Great episode. Special thanks to Joe for being so generous with this information.

[@480brad]

One be of the best episodes ever!

[@TalesOfTrillions]

The discussion on focus vs. diversity of ventures really got me thinking. Who else agrees that sometimes, it's about finding the balance?

[@aminbusiness3139]

Thank you , enjoyed this one . Looking forward to the Mohnish interview

[@chan90s]

I'm listening at 1.75x, my usual speed. But this guy speaks fast

[@subem81]

This is fantastic, but the audio levels are all jacked up and make it difficult to listen to without having to constantly manage volume manually. Amazing content though.

[@Drackomass]

Such an information dense episode.

[@Marc-gregory]

Production is dope.

[@romeomartinez399]

This was an incredible conversation, keep up the great work!!

[@sam1323123]

It’s like they’re having a contest on who talks the fastest.

[@mknick89]

It's funny how when someone enjoyed something how fast they talk

[@awh4272]

6:02 - non farm payrolls coming out today in a few hours!

[@california94538]

Went to high school with this gentleman. Great to see him on the show!

[@GaryRabatin]

Gave birth with this gentlemen. Great to see him on the show.

[@marvinvalencia6765]

Im his roommate . Great to see him on the show!

[@skyhappy]

I'm his dog. Great to see him on the show!

[@crpunks]

I’m his landlord, great to see him on the show.

[@jiml6057]

Yea exactly great question.

[@HJAWutube]

That was great. Thx so much.

[@Mfgguy]

Packed with solid wisdom. Thank you Joe for sharing with us.

[@commandyourenglish]

Great content! Here are some communication tips for Joe: 1. Stop interrupting-it’s annoying to hear and I cringe every time Shaan gets 75% of the way through his question. 2. Listen actively. Make sure you’re listening to the question not just waiting for your time to talk. 3. Slow down, your speed is raising my blood pressure. 4. Very your intonation and prosody for improving listener interest and engagement.

[@tanicwhisper0647]

It’s been a minute since i’ve seen yall on my home page.

[@MrVito1180]

I see PLTR, i just click LIKE automatically

[@corail53]

Why? You like having closed source big data being pretty much only sold to giant tech and governments? Or are you just a palatard who is obsessed with the stock despite it having crashed from 25$ down to 7$ and now not even back to 25$ which was a constant but not ath?

[@austinwheeler6234]

What's up with the video feed of Joe? It looks like 12 fps. It's a little distracting.

[@awh4272]

49:25 - srs question. How do I get help with casting? I have a product that has made millions of dollars in sales for clients at a low level and has potential for 9 figs of sales/savings at a higher lever but I don't know anyone at a higher level who will sit and take me seriously! How can I even start with this?

[@NicholasPalance]

Fantastic interview!

[@awh4272]

4:19 - global macro fund story of bets at 4am 41:40 - solve the big A+ problem 49:25 - casting

[@faisalislam9840]

Looking forward to this one

[@ST5S5]

🔥 episode

[@abhipatil4844]

Awesome

[@pulzytv9550]

Cmon man, all this setup & you couldn’t add subtitles to the video? I’m having difficulties hearing what he’s saying

[@dereklamle4119]

Interesting guy - oozes confidence , talks a bit fast, not everyone’s cup of tea. He’s probably fine with it

[@ShailPM]

liking this location

[@NicholasPalance]

Is Joe’s “9 Things I Learned from Theil” paper publicly available?

[@candycall_io]

yes its on his blog

[@NicholasPalance]

@@candycall_io awesome thanks

[@Justsomeguy492]

Hard to relate to. He comes with business ideas talking to his connections which are all successful business people, and then makes 10 person AI team to solve problem. Not really applicable to 99% of people watching this

[@crpunks]

Make it 99.999%

[@mindswim]

This was an amazing conversation

[@jasperflontes4289]

My advice to everyone is this : if you want to grow big this year especially in your finances. Be willing to take risks. Saving is great but taking risks puts you on a pedestal where you wouldnt have to worry about savings as you do now. Thanks to larysa Caba, my portolio is doing really great and im proud of the decisions i made last year.

[@shoaibriz]

He speaks so fast

[@marvinvalencia6765]

playback speed boomer :)

[@JorgeL1]

Excellent episode 🔥

[@oscargalvez7]

Bro this thing looks like a movie!

[@paulmcguire3495]

Gotta say,,, absolutely love everything you guys have done with MFM. But these really high level convos are not my fav, not the most engaging content ever, and pretty hard to relate to. (I switched off pretty quickly). Give me a gritty, start-up story any day. (Relatable). Sorry, still love and appreciate everything MFM. ❤

[@K12war]

How to be successful: be born to the right parents. End of story.

[@boxingesq.236]

I rather hire for talent, ambition, and Hardrock. Truth

[@jsanford01]

Cold plunge? What about vacation with family??

[@DerekJar]

MFM The Neckbeard nation inspiration station!

[@jb_kc__]

only guy i've ever listened to that i had to 1x instead of 2x the video 🤣

[@s4lino]

you do want to listen to billion dollar company guy and not million right? in this lifetime? of course you got to listen faster or think faster or reiterate faster like his networking power, he still got the chess nerd speech and mouth movement thang.

[@ThinkingWithGod]

We don’t lack ideas, we don’t lack money, we lack really talented hardworking people with persistence… -Joe Lonsdale

[@s4lino]

I am guessing to get talented hardworking people with persistence aka super horse on super endurance or AAA humans you do need a mission statement as big as Def Con / Make Murica Awesome/Awesome Again / Save the World or Make it better in people feelable ways? I think only dough'alot and ideology drives people to greatness aka inking your company logo to your forearm type conviction....though timing (what year birth to graduate with the class of who's who of society), survival of oneself/autonomy then compounding from sustainment to greatness seem to be the path....most get stuck at the sustainment portion possibly due to timing? Though if we were all great then who will be the employees that are the foundations of the pyramid? So the timing test has sifted that for society at point in time?

[@GauravSharma1]

One of the best MFM episodes! Joe is awesome.🔥

[@HighResGlassPics]

This is a "save it, and watch again episode".

[@jondonron]

do a podcast with alex karp

[@KCAATV]

I can't listen as fast as this dude talks. He is the classic example of a "fast talker" which is a personality trait that is not always an asset.

[@dannyquiroz5777]

Use KZbin settings to kick it down to 0.75

[@corail53]

@@hyperadapted Con man.

[@ListenMySon]

I'm quite amazed that no one in this space talks how Elon is CIA? Screenshot this bros.

[@AndresSeeman]

I used 0.75 playback speed to listen this podcast

[@raeroms9589]

This guy snufs something. Count the number of times he rubs his nose 😅

[@Chris_Faraday]

Constantly

[@AB-1023]

Amphetamine is a helluva drug

[@divdac]

First podcast I've had to put it on 0.75x speed. Shaan went full Ben Shapiro

[@MarioHernandez-np9pb]

🔥🔥

[@Mespo300]

This dude talks so fast I had to check my Spotify app 3x to make sure it wasn’t on 2x speed.

[@thegrowaveagency4833]

I'm exactly like him

[@Stierenkloot]

Thats infringement

[@idabrinck-lund9744]

Sit on the other side…. Shawn!!! Look at almost ALL tv programs

[@FragShackGamers]

what do i win?

[@maxdrut]

Some internet points

[@kennyleaver]

time to rename the show.. "My First Billion" :)

[@tomha9884]

Look at the beggining of the podcast when he talks about the celebration he outs his hands on his nose and sniffs then quickly moves on to talk about going to thier favorite breakfest place.

[@IanHobday]

Hope that Google buying Hubspot doesn't impact my favorite podcast...