Sean Kelly’s Post

James Dyson’s founder story is an epic tale of resilience, curiosity & passion. He built over 5,127 prototypes over 10 years to finally construct the one perfect product. And had to put his house up as collateral. Today it's valued at over $19B. James Dyson started his company Dyson in 1978 because he was frustrated with his vacuum cleaner. In October 1978, Dyson was developing a new powder coating plant where the Ballbarrow (his redesigned wheelbarrow) was manufactured. But they faced a major issue. The dust created during the process would clog up the filters & force them to stop production to clean them. To solve this, Dyson learned about and implemented a large industrial cyclone system - a 30-foot tall cone that spun at high speeds to separate dust particles out of the air using centrifugal forces. This allowed the powder coating operation to run smoothly without stoppages. On the drive home that night, Dyson had an epiphany. The same cyclonic separation principle could be applied to the issues plaguing vacuum cleaners. He quickly ran home and built his first vacuum prototype: 1.  He took his old Hoover vacuum cleaner & ripped off the dust bag. 2.  Using cardboard & masking tape, he rigged a small cyclonic chamber to the vacuum body replacing the bag. And it worked!! This was a butterfly effect moment in Dyson's life. And the start of a long & arduous journey. James had no formal engineering training or qualifications...but that didn't stop him from building his revolutionary cyclonic vacuum cleaner. Here's how he did it: 1. Self-taught: Dyson had the mindset that "engineering was no more than a state of mind." 2. Prototyping: He followed an "Edison principle" of constant experimentation and testing through building physical prototypes. 3. Obsessive iteration: Dyson had incredible perseverance, building 5,127 prototypes over 5 years until he got the perfect design 4. Learning from doing: He started with a cardboard prototype before truly understanding the technology Dyson then decided to manufacture & market the vacuum himself. On May 2nd, 1992 - Dyson's 45th birthday - he was finally able to look at the first fully operational and visually perfect Dyson Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner. After 10+ years of pivots, Dyson finally achieved his long-held dream: A company bearing his name that could bring his vacuum vision direct-to-market, and on his terms. Today Dyson has an 18% global vacuum cleaner market share. He is a living example of perseverance and passion. The part that still leaves me astonished is how he had no formal education in engineering and yet created better-engineered products than all of his competitors. Wild. — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

Hard skills get you the job. Soft skills get you promoted. Master these 2 soft skills to change the trajectory of your career: Warren Buffet talks about how the greatest investment you can make is in yourself. Learning the arts of communication and dependability is a great place to start. There are no soft skills more important to master. 1. Mastering Communication Being a great communicator comes down to expressing your ideas clearly & concisely while fostering an environment of mutual understanding. a) Presentations are ultra important to conveying (& multiplying) your value at work. If I were to look to master my presentation skills, I would focus on three primary pillars: - Persuasive & concise writing - Speaking clearly with effective tonation - Non-verbal cues (these are the most important) + Beautiful imagery/minimal text if presenting slides b) Writing Mastering writing is fairly simple. That doesn't mean it's easy (but possible with practice). Stick to a few fundamental principles and remember to KISS (keep it simple, stupid). - Put the most important details first - Write as you talk - Use fewer words c) Speaking & Non Verbal Communication: Mirror people, their tone, and their energy: It's a simple, yet effective way to establish trust and rapport. Call people by their names. It makes them feel like you care. And who doesn't like hearing their name? d) Find familiarity When you meet someone for the first time, find a familiar ground that can break the ice & ease your way into a conversation. Any vector to establish a shared belief that's core to both of your identities will immediately elevate your ability to influence. 2. Being Dependable This starts with developing an ownership mindset. All great entrepreneurs, founders, and leaders are self-driven with an internal locus of control. It's arguably the no. 1 commonality among winners. Based on my experience in hiring & investing in hundreds of people, here are key traits I believe make someone dependable: - Proactive: Share without prompting & actively seek feedback - Punctual: Set realistic expectations & deliver on time - Prompt: Move quickly (but calmly) How to be dependable: - Don't overpromise and underdeliver If you commit to a deadline, meet it. Consistency in following through on commitments builds trust. - Be accountable When things go wrong, don't deflect blame. Analyze the problem, learn from it, and move forward. - Develop competence You don't need to be an expert in everything, but demonstrating competence in your core area inspires confidence. - Be transparent Don't sugarcoat problems or hide bad news. Keep your team informed about the company's progress, challenges, and decisions. — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

4 Golden Lessons from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: 8 years ago, Jensen Huang hand-delivered to OpenAI the first AI-focussed GPU made by Nvidia. This moment marked the end of Intel's dominance. It wasn't luck, it was deeper. Jensen has said publicly that Nvidia 'did it' by religiously following 4 core values: Value 1. Have low expectations (but high standards) Jensen believes that people with very high expectations have very low resilience. But resilience - forged from the experience of pain & suffering - is required to achieve meaningful success. If you have high expectations, anything other than a great result can throw you off course. Bouncing back from failures can become more difficult over time. So trade high expectations for a commitment to your goal. And an understanding that pain is a key part of the process. Value 2. No task is beneath you When you refuse to consider yourself "too good" for any one task, it shows complete ownership. And this is internally motivating & empowering. Jensen thinks it's important to create a flat organizational structure where no task is beneath anyone, including the CEO. This creates a culture of collaboration where everyone feels valued and is motivated to contribute. Because everyone is "in it" together. When Nvidia's stock price hit $100, Jensen got Nvidia's logo tattooed on his arm. When someone asked, "Which company is better: Nvidia or AMD?" Jensen responded: "I don't compare myself w/ anybody" & then he rolled up his sleeve. "I'll let you interpret that however you want." Value 3. Structure your company correctly Most organizations treat each of their departments the same way. But that doesn't make sense. The CEO's job is to architect their company thoughtfully and intentionally, not the way others have done it previously just because. Create a unique structure tailored to the specific needs & functions of each department. Jensen avoids 1:1 meetings & prefers group discussions to ensure everyone is aligned & on the same page. He wants his employees to have as much info as possible & question everything. Value 4. Your company's environment is the product that makes the product Make the environment a breeding ground for excellence. Jensen has a culture where power is not derived from information control but from qualities such as the ability to reason through complex issues. He believes that hiding information is wrong. When employees are trusted with information and understand the bigger picture, they become more engaged in their work. Open communication creates a collaborative environment where people feel valued and encouraged. — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

My EA saves me 20+ hours per week. This is the exact system I use with her to make this happen. And I’m always surprised that more founders do the same thing. There is no way I’d be able to run a VC firm and serve as the CEO of a B2B media co while traveling frequently, working out every day and spending sufficient quality time with my family & friends without her. Here's how I hired and trained an EA to 2X my productivity: Right now your day looks like this: You wake up & get crushed by 5-minute tasks: - Personal: 5 errands & appointments - Email inbox w/ 100 messages - 10 scheduling requests - 4 meeting agendas This takes up 50% of your time. Here's what happens after you get an EA: You wake up, work out and - Your travel is booked - Your team knows what to do - Your inbox is cleared, filed & responded to - All meetings/appts are set up with an agenda You focus on what's important: Real work + family This only works when you know how to: - Hire the right EA - Onboard your EA effectively - And set the right expectations When hiring, decide what type of EA you need. Ask yourself these 3 questions: a) Do you need them on-site or virtual? b) Do you need the EA full-time or fractional? c) Will you handle the HR yourself or ask an agency to own? I personally recommend hiring an agency where they handle the onboarding process, payments, and all HR. You just pay a flat monthly fee. Manage your EA in these 6 easy steps. Shout-out to Dan Martell and his book Buy Back Your Time for these excellent instructions. 1. Off-Load: Rather than sending Slack emails every other second, I keep a running list of to-dos, action items, & follow-ups. We always start here. 2. Review Calendar: Review the next 2 weeks of my calendar. Anything to add/cancel? Does each meeting have an agenda/objective? Get ahead of it all. 3. Review Past Meetings: I review these with my EA & advise on any follow-up items like thank you cards or reminders. 4. Action Items: These are the most important things I need to get done. Listed in one doc which we review to ensure I have what I need & can push forth. 5. Feedback Loop: My EA keeps me up to date on all of the projects she’s been assigned and we cover to ensure there are no roadblocks or areas where she needs help. 6. Emails: This is where my EA calls out important emails to review so I can handle or give her instructions. Few more tips: - Give feedback quickly & in real time. Iteration --> success. - Spend the time designing the right/clear systems up front - this is where most people go wrong! Saves you 1,000s of hrs. - The more specific & detailed your instructions, the better. Record a Loom showing them EXACTLY how you book travel. — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

Peter Thiel's fellowship program has produced more unicorns than Stanford in the last 5 years. The combined worth of companies under his fellowship is over $100B. He uses 6 questions to identify 20-year-olds and their potential to create billion-dollar companies. Test yourself with them (below). Note: These are some of the companies that were founded in the Theil Fellowship program: - Loom ($4B) - Figma ($10B) - Polkadot ($7B) - Oyo Rooms ($9B) - Ethereum ($300B) Peter Thiel believed (and still does) that colleges only teach you what's been done before. So, he launched the Thiel Fellowship at a TechCrunch event in 2010. Peter called it "20 under 20". Here are the questions he asks in his fellowship application: Open Questions: Question 1: Describe your activities and clubs, your role in them, and what you've accomplished. The idea here is to assess how intentional you've been with your extra-curricular activities. Are you passionate about a worthy cause? Are you respected by others (leadership)? Question 2: Tell us about a risk you've taken or a challenge you've faced. Tell us whether you failed or succeeded, how you behaved, and how you think this reflects your character. The idea behind this question is to check how you manage when things become uncertain and risky. Question 3: What expertise do you have for the work that you want to do? The logic behind this question is to assess your authority in the area in which you'd like to build a business. And determine Founder-Problem fit. Why are YOU uniquely suited to build this biz? Question 4: What do you want to accomplish in the next 10 years? The intention of this question is to know if you are specific with the success you desire rather than being vague and random. Specificity breeds success. Question 5: What do you want to accomplish in the next 2 years? Theil and his team are trying to find out if you are doing interesting things, and are committed to differentiated achievements. Not just what everyone else is up to. Question 6: What do you plan to accomplish in the next 3 months? This is key to determine if building a big business aligns with your daily & weekly plans, or if it’s a major departure from what you do on a regular basis. At Peter Theil's fellowship, you get an environment like no other: 1. Network 2. Introductions 3. Annual Retreats 4. Drive Amplification 5. Support calls, monthly dinners & workshops The secret to the fellowship's success lies in the selection criteria. The acceptance rate for the Thiel fellowship is less than 0.1 percent. 50x lower than Harvard and 52x lower than Stanford's acceptance rate. Would you have what it takes to get accepted? — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

I've spent 20+ years optimizing my sleep. Today, my sleep score hits 90+ most nights. If you don't get 8 hours of sleep every night, this post could save you. Heart attack rate increases by 24% in the Spring because we lose one hour of sleep due to daylight savings. This is how much sleep impacts your body & performance. A sleep score summarizes the quality of your sleep based on several factors: • Routine • Deep sleep • REM sleep • Heart Rate • Breath Rate • Sleep Latency 1. Routine Your brain loves routine and a sleep routine keeps your circadian rhythm (CR) in check. A CR that’s out of whack puts you into sleep deprivation mode and confuses your brain. How to fix your sleep routine: Add a buffer time before bed. This buffer time helps your brain prepare for its next task - sleep. 2. SWS (Slow wave sleep) or Deep Sleep Deep sleep is the most important sleep for your well-being. That's why your body dedicates 15-25% of the sleep cycle to deep sleep. The more deep sleep, the lower the inflammation, which is ultra important for longevity. How to improve deep sleep: The combo of a warm bath + fear journaling helps my body fall asleep fast & get into deep sleep ASAP. 3. REM (rapid eye movement) Sleep During REM sleep, your eyes move rapidly, your heart rate speeds up, and your breathing becomes irregular. Your brain is almost as active during REM sleep as it is when you're awake. REM sleep helps in: • Emotional regulation - helps regulate mood • Brain development - assists in the development of neural pathways • Memory consolidation - converting short-term memories into long-term How to improve REM sleep: Cut out or minimize caffeine and alcohol. 4. Breath rate Breath rate is different for everyone as well. Once we fall asleep, the pace at which we breathe is determined by our metabolic rate. Do these things to improve your breath rate: - Stick to a consistent sleep schedule - Get your stress under control - Avoid sedatives 5. Heart rate Heart rate tends to be slower during sleep. However, it fluctuates as one cycles through different sleep stages. It reaches its lowest point during deep sleep and then increases during REM sleep. To improve heart rate: Focus on the usual stuff - lose weight, increase exercise, lower stress, and remove alcohol/smoking. 6. Sleep latency Sleep latency is crucial as it helps gauge if you're getting adequate quality sleep. A good sign is to fall asleep within 10-20 minutes. If you aren't able to sleep right away, just read a book. Quiet your mind. Simply put, sleep gives you the biggest performance ROI. Few areas make more sense to really figure out and dial-in. The returns are exponential. — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

I'm 40ish ;) Over the last two decades, I've built 7 businesses and made tons of mistakes. Some of these mistakes could've completely destroyed us. Here are 8 mistakes that can kill your company: 1. Not Having Employee Liability Insurance This mistake cost me over $500K in legal fees. I still have PTSD from it. As a young entrepreneur, I didn't realize ELI was essential. Especially in the state of CA. And boy was I wrong! 2. Raising Money For a Lifestyle Biz When my 2nd startup was profiting $1M+/yr, I decided to raise VC. Before the money came in, we were tracking every single penny. But now that the money was there, we: - Tripled our team - Hired folks at 2X salary - 3Xed our marketing budget And turned unprofitable. Should have just kept growing profitably. 3. Choosing Paid Ads > Organic Marketing I built a business that solely relied on paid ads. Little did I know that ads get more & more expensive as you scale. Sure, paid ads fetch quick results in the short run, but they also put you on a treadmill that's hard to jump off. Having an organic and paid strategy is the way to go. 4. Taking Employee Departures Personally Whenever any employee left, it caused me mental & emotional havoc. I felt like I had failed & this caused me to over-weight the impact. Most entrepreneurs stress out & lose sleep around transitions. But it's usually all for naught. 5. Working In the Biz, Not On the Biz. I spent way too much time on things like: - Emailing/comms - Never-ending meetings - Dealing w/people's problems Not only was it time-consuming, but it drained most of my energy. 6. Getting Too Attached to My Co. It's reasonable to need to pivot your business to survive & thrive. Many of the best companies do. But when you pivot, be honest with yourself - Are you still inspired by the problem you're solving? Or are you running a biz you don't like? If problem-founder fit no longer inspires you, hire the best possible replacement and move on asap. 7. Long Periods Without Creating High Art You start a business to create - to solve a problem that hasn't been solved. But when your company scales, you often find yourself doing everything but creating. You spend most days managing & optimizing. And it sucks. 8. Hiring High-Priced Executives Instead of Malleable Athletes Sometimes, you need to hire someone with 20 years of specific experience. But often, the best move is to hire a multi-faceted athlete who is passionate about the job. Many companies hire for experience too soon. Just because 1-2 departments require decades of experience, it doesn't mean the whole company does. — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

People ate tapeworms to get thinner during the 1950s. Here are 7 other things we used to think were healthy… But clearly aren't. 1. Bloodletting Bloodletting was a popular medical practice until the 19th century. In ancient Egypt, it was believed that removing blood could rid the body of evil spirits causing disease. This was thought to balance bodily fluids, but extracting large amounts of blood often led to loss of consciousness. And death. 2. Cocaine In fact, Cocaine was used in a lot of medicines. It's euphoric, energizing & pain-relieving. Even Freud wrote about Cocaine once: "I take very small doses of it regularly against depression and indigestion and with the most brilliant of success." Today, we know it’s an addictive drug. There are better options ;) 3. "Low fat" diets In the '60s and '70s, eight U.S. Senators died in office due to heart attacks. A Harvard professor attributed this to the high-fat content in the American diet and recommended including more "good" carbs. The formula was: Take out the fat; add lots of sugar. This was one of the dumbest moves in the history of America. Good fats are one of the best things you can eat. And sugar/high G.I. carbs are the worst. 4. Breakfast cereals Cereals were initially marketed as a health food in the late 19th century. An alternative to fatty, meat-heavy breakfasts. But most breakfast cereals are unhealthy due to being: • Packed with artificial flavors • Low in protein & healthy fats • High in sugars and refined carbs A far better alternative? Eggs. 5. Lobotomy A lobotomy is a type of brain surgery that involves severing the connection between the frontal lobe & other parts of the brain. It was quite popular during the 1930s. A lot of people died due to it, and others were left severely damaged. 6. Soft drinks Popular soft drinks were marketed as thirst-quenching and refreshing beverages. People once thought Pepsi & Coke were health drinks. But now everyone knows the amount of harmful sugar they contain. There are few things you can consume worse for your health. 7. Smoking or chewing tobacco Humans have been using tobacco for the past 12,500 years. People thought tobacco helped with: - Digestion - Concentration - Relieving stress This is not to say the nicotine found within tobacco is without benefit. Some of the claims (such as the nootropic effects) are accurate. But these benefits are not enough to outweigh the cancer-instigating side effects of tobacco for most folks. Lesson: If something sounds like it may be harmful, it probably is. Instead, stick to what we know works: - Get good sleep - Exercise most days of the week - Eat whole, nutritious foods (low sugar/refined carbs) — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com

In 2016, two guys appeared on Shark Tank. Their ask was the highest till that time - $2M for a 5% stake. The judges laughed, ridiculed, and roasted them. Today, they're doing tens of millions every year & have a $6M contract with the US Dept of Defense. And we at The Family Fund are proud investors. Here's the story: Michael Brandt and Geoffrey Woo first met at Stanford. They were dormmates studying computer science together. They wanted to explore the big, sci-fi ideas of anti-aging, enhanced cognition, and improved metabolism. And started tinkering with chemicals & supplements. In 2014, they saw Google trends exploding for "nootropics.” And they felt it was the perfect time to launch a unique product targeting those seeking enhanced performance. That's when Nootrobox was born. Nootrobox was a subscription service packed with legit nootropics. They raised $500K from angel investors & were quickly doing $5M/yr in DTC sales. That's when Shark Tank approached but NO shark gave them a deal. Their traction was good but not great. To survive & thrive, they decided to pivot. Another substance with a lot of research behind it was beginning to pick up steam… Ketones: • Can be efficiently metabolized to produce ATP, even in conditions of low oxygen availability • Are metabolized through a different pathway (ketosis) than glucose or fatty acids • Can be utilized by cells without the need for insulin, and the brain LOVES them In 2017, they renamed Nootrobox to HVMN and launched Ketone Ester (now: Ketone-IQ). HVMN became the first company to bring a drinkable ketone to the world. Today, the co generates 8 figures in revenue & is 3xing every year. Let's dive into how they got here: 1. Hyper-targeted athletes Cycling was the first sport where HVMN made deep inroads. Endurance athletics was a perfect fit since their product enhanced energy, focus, and recovery in never-before-seen ways. HVMN worked with cyclist Vittoria Bussi to break a world record for The Hour on a bike. 2. Influencer Marketing HVMN partnered with fitness influencers like Brian Mazza to build credibility. It was a great way to reach health-conscious consumers and people who already had the habit of working out. They've been shouted out by Chris Paul, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry & more. 3. Founder as athlete persona Both Woo & Brandt are avid athletes. Brandt is a 2:40 marathoner and Woo loves completing fitness challenges like 45 consecutive days of the Murph workout. They didn't just create the products - they used themselves as proof. This approach showed how the formulations could enhance physical and cognitive performance. When you create a product for yourself, it becomes easier to market it. — If you enjoy this, ♻️ repost to help your network. Follow me Sean Kelly for more insights on health, investing & entrepreneurship. To learn how to achieve breakout founder performance sign-up for my free weekly newsletter: https://get.founderiv.com