In this opener for Season 2, Floodgate Co-Founder Mike Maples, Jr talks sets the agenda for a new season of Starting Greatness and plans for taking the show and content to the next level.
This is Mike Maples Jr. From Floodgate. Thanks for tuning in to season two of Starting Greatness. To kick things off, I'm going to give you some quick context about what to expect this season, and how it's intended to help you on your journey to legendary success. So that means it's go time.
Welcome to season two of Starting Greatness. If you tuned into season one, you already know that this podcast is for startup founders hoping to build something truly legendary from the ground up. I want to share the durable lessons of the startup super performers, but before they were successful, before they had product market fit, and before they scaled their businesses and move the world, and then connect these ideas to what you can do to achieve the extraordinary.
So what's up with season two and how does it build on season one? What's different about it? Well to start with, this podcast remains focused on helping startup founders answer the questions that are pivotal to their success. If you've ever wondered, how do you figure out the right ideas to pursue, and the right people to pursue them with? If you've ever wondered how to succeed when you start at nothing, and have to build something awesome as fast as you can, or how do you deliver a product that only you can make that people are desperate for. How do you even get customers in the first place? And how do you find those early investors and true believers who want to be in on a secret with you?
These are just some of the questions that this podcast aims to address. And if they ring true to you, then this podcast is meant for you. We will continue to focus on founders and thought leaders who've been involved in the top 0.1% of all startup outcomes. But I don't treat them like distant comic book superheroes. Most of them face crazy near-death experiences in their startups, and several had periods of major self-doubt and outright failure. They're more like you than you think. They have given us all the gift of getting real in our discussions, and they have stared down impossible, which means so can you. We will continue to emphasize the timeless lessons.
You might remember when I talked to Marc Andreessen in season one. It wasn't about software eating the world, or why now it's time to build, it was about what it was like at the time Netscape was about to blow up and form the foundations of the early internet. What can we learn from Netscape that still rings true today? We will pick up where we left off in season two, talking to Jerry Yang about the early days of deciding to transition Yahoo from a hobby to a company, the lessons of Tim Ferriss and how the four hour workweek can apply to any team looking to reach product market fit, or how Matt Mullenweg decided to step aside as a CEO only to become far better at the job when he later returned to the role.
In season one we did an experimental episode format called Lessons of Greatness. Those of you who have listened to the show already know that when we have an interview episode, I try to summarize one of the core durable lessons shared by the guests that week. I want to do this to help aspiring super performers apply the learnings to their own startups. We weren't really sure if this was going to work, but now it's clear that it has a permanent place in the show.
In season two we're going to add something, we call them episode backlinks. They show linkages between the lessons that we learned from our guests. So why do this and why do I think you'll find them useful? On one hand, every great startup is a singular event, just like no two snowflakes are alike. But I've also noticed there's a rhythm and a tempo and a harmony that underlie greatness. Just like other beautiful things we see in musical patterns, or a Fibonacci sequence, things come together to help us understand what works and the counterintuitive lessons of what doesn't work. Part of why we will have these episode backlinks will be to reinforce those takeaways.
It's great to hear startup first principles from multiple angles to reinforce what matters most, from the perspective of different super performers. So for example, when I interview Tim Ferris, I'll call out some of his ideas about customer development, and how they echo those of Steve Blank, and help you see how the patterns relate. With the Cloudflare founders, we'll show how the idea of a startup as a jazz band applied perfectly to their situation, and so forth.
In season two you will continue to hear founders share concrete strategies and honest lessons that contributed to their success. For example, Pandora CEO, Tim Westergren, and Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, will both share early learnings about how they found product market fit. And when you hear from PayPal Mafia alum David Sacks, he will share insights on how to build a startup movement. Y Combinator's Anu Hariharan will provide valuable insights about how to design networks to achieve the momentum Sacks talks about. And you will hear from guests like Yahoo's founder, Jerry Yang, and WordPress and automatic founder Matt Mullenweg, getting real about their leadership lessons and the difficult choices they had to make to ensure their company's success. And then we'll get an inside look at one of the startup world's biggest mavericks and shark extraordinary Mark Cuban.
The more experience I've had with startups, the more inspiring I find them, the mystery of greatness is ever present, but so is the magic that makes it beautiful and understandable in deeper way. Elon Musk is right when he says that ordinary people can do extraordinary things, but it's not just about hard work, it's about having the right mindset. The right mindset of internalizing the durable lessons of greatness is your Archimedes level, the force multiplier that gives you a place to stand from which you can move the world.
Finally, last season I said I wanted to see if this podcast might be a way to connect with more people, not just the people I've had the privilege to work with in person. This has probably been my favorite part of doing this. We've had downloads from over 155 countries, I've met people from all walks of life and at all different phases in their startup journeys, I've made friends along the way I would have never imagined, and I've certainly learned more from you and your feedback than you've learned from me. And for what it's worth, I've been incredibly grateful for the kind feedback you've given me on Apple Podcasts and other places.
When I got started on this project, people had lots of ideas on how to broaden distribution, induce people to write good reviews, and the like, but I don't have any time for that. So I've had to let the audience authentically be the judge of what worked and what hasn't. It's been incredibly motivating to see people respond the way they have, and it's encouraged us to up our game to the next level. I hope you'll see that in the season two episodes.
We need breakthrough builders now more than ever. Whether you're in Silicon Valley or Beijing, Sao Paulo or Berlin, Miami or Austin, I'm rooting for you to move the world to a better future of your design. I hope this podcast helps you win. I want to make sure this podcast is the best you've heard about what it takes to start something great for real. If you have comments or ideas for improvements, or just other things to cover, you can reach me at greatness@floodgate.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at M2JR. Our newsletter is about to get a major upgrade. It's at greatness.substack.com. And as we head into our second season together, never forget, greatness is within your grasp. You can seize it, you can be a prime mover. Greatness is a decision.
Thanks for listening to the Starting Greatness podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, or you're new to the show, I hope you listen to our past interviews with legendary founders like Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, the Instagram founders, and Keith Rabois. I'd love to have you subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode. And if you like the show, I'd be grateful if you leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also follow me on Twitter at M2JR, and subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive content and events at greatness.substack.com. Until we catch up again, I hope you'll never let go of your inner power to do great things in whatever matters to you. Thank you for listening.