The Tim Ferriss Show
Bill Gurley (@bgurley) is a general partner at Benchmark, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. His new book is Runnin’ Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love.
This episode is brought to you by:
- Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support
- Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “Forever Chemicals”
- Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business
- Coyote the card game, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens
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Timestamps:
- [00:00:00] Start.
- [00:01:43] The book that gave Jerry Seinfeld permission to pursue comedy and inspired Runnin’ Down a Dream.
- [00:03:59] AI bubble or not?
- [00:06:33] Circular deals and SPV chaos.
- [00:12:01] Angel investing in the AI era.
- [00:14:32] Why you should be the most AI-enabled version of yourself, regardless of field.
- [00:20:47] China deep dive: Ten days, six cities, high-speed trains, and a Xiaomi SU7 factory tour.
- [00:22:43] Communism misconceptions.
- [00:25:40] Lei Jun: The Steve Jobs of China.
- [00:29:17] Jack Ma, ByteDance’s invisible CEO, and the risks of prominence in China.
- [00:32:11] America vs. China (Lawyers vs. engineers).
- [00:41:01] Keys for US competitiveness.
- [00:43:47] Bill is bullish on these countries.
- [00:47:30] Matthew McConaughey’s “Don’t half ass it” moment.
- [00:49:45] Runnin’ Down a Dream thesis: Helping people pursue X instead of A, B, or C.
- [00:51:03] The 80,000-hour question.
- [00:52:47] The self-learning test.
- [00:56:58] Bob Dylan as music expeditionary.
- [01:00:27] Go to the epicenter where the action is.
- [01:10:56] Danny Meyer’s pivot.
- [01:13:30] Working for free.
- [01:19:37] Never too late: Tito Beveridge started Tito’s Vodka at 40.
- [01:21:51] AI sanity checks.
- [01:25:59] AI-proof bets.
- [01:29:13] Sam Hinkie’s Moneyball moment.
- [01:32:37] Competitive strategy, avoiding false failures, and regret minimalization.
- [01:43:46] Purpose, Progress, and Prosperity — the P3 Policy Institute.
- [01:47:18] Regulatory capture explained.
- [01:51:55] Why the IPO market is broken.
- [02:01:52] Stablecoins putting Visa and Mastercard on notice.
- [02:03:40] Hopes for Runnin’ Down a Dream and parting thoughts.
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