6 Actionable Tips for Success

Hosts: Courtland and Channing Allen are the co-founders of Indie Hackers.

Guest Spotlight: Steph Smith is the podcast host of a16z and author of Doing Content Right. Her latest project is the podcast about “sh*t you don’t learn in school.”

Tell me more: Steph Smith shares insights on successful content creation, her time at a16z, podcasting and entrepreneurial media.

My pearls: I recently jumped on the bandwagon of content creation. Seems like everyone is drawn to this world of newsletters where the promise of scalability, reach, and ability to fuel revenue is alluring.

But now that digital creation is becoming so saturated, how do you really stand out? Navigating through social media can evoke self-doubt and feelings of imposter syndrome, especially when reading story after story of mega-successful creators.

For Steph Smith, content creation gave her passive power and paved her career path. Her journey in podcasting paints a picture of what digital creation can truly be when done right. It seems the magic formula lies in starting humble, nurturing the content, and letting it grow organically. The heart of her message? Be real, blend in some entertainment, and never forget the human touch. It’s a reminder to let your content be a reflection of your true self.

Host: Sarah K. Peck is a writer, startup advisor, and CEO/Founder of Startup Parent.

Guest Spotlight: Avni Patel Thompson is the CEO/Founder at Milo and a Harvard Business School alum.

Tell me more: Avni discusses her startup, Milo, an AI-driven solution to alleviate the challenges of modern parenthood and gender equality. She shares her journey has a founder, funding strategies, tough decisions, and mental health.

My pearls: I stumbled across this episode, and was immediately drawn to the title. I’ve been pretty immersed in the recent AI boom, using AI and LLMs more so for trivial things. I never thought of its utility in parenting. Milo is a tool aimed to streamline and augment parenting tasks. It’s intuitively tailored to understand the nuances and preferences of your household.

The beauty of Milo lies in its purpose - to alleviate some of that “invisible load” many women shoulder, a burden that often goes unrecognized and undervalued. Maybe it’s because society doesn’t attach an economic value to it?

Imagine using AI to reduce that unseen workload, putting you on a more equal footing with your male counterparts. I was truly captivated by Avni’s passion to address such a genuine need. Every minute reclaimed through Milo pushes women closer to more equity and true equality. I just joined Milo’s waitlist and can’t wait to see what it’s all about.

Host: Alex Liberman is the co-founder of Morning Brew.

Guest Spotlight: Codie Sanchez is the founder of Contrarian Thinking. She’s a private equity investor known for buying “boring” businesses.

Tell me more: Codie shares her approach to taking the entrepreneurial leap and provides practical tips for the founder’s journey.

My pearls: Listening to this episode format, I felt something deeply contemplative about hearing Codie’s insights without interview distractions. I reflected on my own career journey of meaning as I listened to her talk about her departure from the world of corporate finance to embracing a contrarian mindset.

Since the episode is only 20 minutes, I’ll let you dive in, but the most profound takeaway for me was the idea of tackling the toughest tasks head-on. I often find myself clearing the minor hurdles first, saving mountains for later. Codie’s words offer a fresh perspective on this and it’s definitely worth a listen to grasp her other pearls of wisdom. Lastly, I completely share her sentiment of the bored ape. 😆