The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
00:15:01 · Scott Galloway, David Senra
[00:15:01] S1: I have an extraordinary life now. I'm relevant. I get to do whatever I want. I get to spend a ton of time with my kids. I have an absence of stress, which makes my partnership stronger, my friendship stronger. I can walk the walk and give money away. I just have a wonderful rich life right now. And as someone who was not smart enough to be born to rich parents, I would not have this richness of life now unless I had made that type of sacrifice as a younger man. [00:15:34] S2: Yeah. I think something you've hinted at too, which is probably true. I I think in many cases, like, the archetype and the personality type that chooses the path of entrepreneurship for their life's work, it's like they don't have any... It's not a choice. I I don't know much about Jordan Peterson, but I haven't seen any of his lectures. I saw a clip one time that definitely backs up... You know, I've spent ten years reading 439 now biographies and autobiographies of 56% entrepreneurs. And he said that successful men are insane. That even if you put them in a forest somewhere with nothing to do, they'd walk around with an axe trying to cut down trees. They just have to have some kind of activity. And I thought that was like a great, like, summary of, you know, the... These these extreme personality types that build these companies.
00:15:34 · David Senra, Scott Galloway
[00:15:34] S2: Yeah. I think something you've hinted at too, which is probably true. I I think in many cases, like, the archetype and the personality type that chooses the path of entrepreneurship for their life's work, it's like they don't have any... It's not a choice. I I don't know much about Jordan Peterson, but I haven't seen any of his lectures. I saw a clip one time that definitely backs up... You know, I've spent ten years reading 439 now biographies and autobiographies of 56% entrepreneurs. And he said that successful men are insane. That even if you put them in a forest somewhere with nothing to do, they'd walk around with an axe trying to cut down trees. They just have to have some kind of activity. And I thought that was like a great, like, summary of, you know, the... These these extreme personality types that build these companies. [00:16:12] S1: Yeah. I think that's right. And I think a lot of it's in the batter. I have one son that is studying biology, and I'm pretty sure he's gonna be a professional either in research or some sort of graduate school. My other son is waiting in line at eight in the morning on a Saturday to buy for a Pokemon card redrop and then drop and then going on AI and trying to sell them at a 30% markup. Like, that kid's an entrepreneur. We just didn't treat him that differently. There's something in the batter about entrepreneurs and non entrepreneurs.
00:16:12 · Scott Galloway, David Senra
[00:16:12] S1: Yeah. I think that's right. And I think a lot of it's in the batter. I have one son that is studying biology, and I'm pretty sure he's gonna be a professional either in research or some sort of graduate school. My other son is waiting in line at eight in the morning on a Saturday to buy for a Pokemon card redrop and then drop and then going on AI and trying to sell them at a 30% markup. Like, that kid's an entrepreneur. We just didn't treat him that differently. There's something in the batter about entrepreneurs and non entrepreneurs. [00:16:38] S2: Well, this is interesting real quick. In Sam Walton's autobiography, he talks about, you know, did a lot of people expect you're a successful entrepreneur that you try to direct your kids into the same path. And he was just like, I knew I was a fairly overactive fellow. That's the direct quote. He's just like, I don't think I've birthed. How's the chance I sired five me's? Like, I'm a once in a probably... He probably understood. He's like, once in a generation talent. Like, what's the chance that my kids are gonna be like that too? He's like, I didn't put pressure on them. They can do whatever they want. [00:17:05] S1: Yeah. That's right. It's... I I think as a dad, and we're getting into other areas where you just wanna help your kids become more like themselves, whatever that means. Alright. We'll be right back after a quick break.
00:17:05 · Scott Galloway, S3
[00:17:05] S1: Yeah. That's right. It's... I I think as a dad, and we're getting into other areas where you just wanna help your kids become more like themselves, whatever that means. Alright. We'll be right back after a quick break. Ad[00:17:21] S3: This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini in Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses, setup required, compatibility, and availability varies 18 plus. [00:17:49] S1: Welcome back. Question number three comes from it's Christian Rees on Instagram. How do you build a meaningful product and service in an industry dominated by incumbents? Thoughts?
00:18:01 · David Senra
[00:18:01] S2: Okay. So one of my all time favorite. Maybe if I if I could only recommend one book. Okay. Say somebody's only... So they're only gonna take time to read one biography or autobiography of of an entrepreneur. I would recommend James Dyson's first autobiography. It's called Against the Odds. He was like... His late forties when he wrote it. He wrote another one in his seventies. They're both great, but the first one is excellent because it comes right after fifteen years of struggle. 5,127 prototypes James built before he built the first Dyson cyclonic vacuum that, you know, he owned, controlled, and it was up to his standards. And, you know, people owned vacuum cleaners for a lot longer. There was huge companies. There was companies he was competing against that were making, 500,000,000 a year just in Europe just selling vacuum bags, much less the vacuum cleaner. So his essentially, you know, mantra that he would repeat over and over again is like different difference for the sake of it. And so his point is like, well, if you're gonna walk into a store, right, why... I'm I'm the sixth vacuum cleaner you might see. You see the Hoover. You see all these other ones. They all look the same. They kind of function the same. So his point is like, he really liked attacking markets that he didn't have to create. So there's already existing products. People understand the value of it. They're already making the purchase. So his whole point is, like, the only way to succeed in an existing market where it's full of incumbents like this question is directed at was by being different. And so, obviously, not having a bag. It was the very first vacuum cleaner ever not to have a bag. So that was an invention. It was patentable. It was very valuable to the empire. The... He still owns 100% of Dyson to this day. And the rumor is, you know, he's been paying himself a couple billion dollars a year in dividends for a long time. And then... So he... The function of the machine was different, but then he also purposely made it look different. So you walk in, you you see six other... Or five other vacuum cleaners. She sees six one. It's clear. It's yellow or it's purple. So, like, the other ones don't have any color, so he made a different color. He made it clear because then you test the vacuum cleaner on the store.
00:19:55 · David Senra
This is when he first launched, and you could see the result, which is your... You... The dirt comes into the canister. So the dirt is hidden in in his competitors. Now I say, oh, I know it's working because I... Look at all this dirt that's coming in. It's in this canister. So I think he has the the the best framework for this. It's like you have to... There's no point in an existing market to just be the tenth or twelfth or fourteenth player. You know? All the profits, all the revenue, you know, power laws rule everything around us. It's gonna be dominated by the by the first, the second, or the third best company. So you don't... And he even says like, you don't even have to be better. His his happened to be different and better, but you can build a business just by being different. So that would... I think that's the way that he would answer that question.