68. The Silicon Valley Whisperer: How Chris Yeh Wins by Helping Interesting People Do Interesting Things

Time stamped show notes:

[1:33] He has gone through life trying to do things that he found interesting and meeting people that he found interesting. This has led him to where he is in life.

[2:12] Went to Stanford | Joined D.E. Shaw, a hedge fund | Went to Harvard Business School

[2:31] Has been creating companies and investing books | Started writing books

[4:03] What he wishes everyone knew: “they just don’t know”

[4:42] A lot of the success in his life is from keeping his mind open.

[8:32] Two ways to look at rules: (1) hard rules and (2) soft rules

[12:53] Pros and cons of Ivy League background

[15:16] Working on new book, coming out Ocotber 2018: Blitzscaling

[18:48] Privatizing social welfare

[21:26] People he looks up to: Abraham Lincoln, David Packard, and Mr. Rogers  | He models after people who are already dead.

[25:36] His thoughts on net neutrality: it’s a good policy

[31:03] What he wishes everybody knew: other people really don’t care that much

[31:43] When you make decisions based on what other people see, it’s a waste of time and will lead you to a suboptimal solution.

[31:53] Focus on what you really want and what you really like.

[41:59] Whoever you’re talking to, they are the hero in their own story.

Three key points:

1. Other people really don’t care that much.
2. Focus on what you really want and what you really like.
3. Whoever you’re talking to, they are the hero in their own story.

Resources mentioned:

The Alliance - book

Tough to Needle

Last question:

Sign up for newsletter, pre-order the book: www.blitzscaling.com

He likes giving talks and is always looking for audiences.

How to contact him:

Google Chris Yeh

LinkedIn: include a note about why you’re contacting him