The Adam Jackson Show
By Adam Jackson
I have tons of fascinating conversations and learn a lot of (mostly hard!) lessons during the course of each week.
In this podcast I'll share the good (and bad) stuff each week for 10-15 min.
I'm not selling or promoting anything - just looking to have some fun sharing these crazy weeks.
The Adam Jackson ShowMay 25, 2023
EP09: AI Doomerism, Intel From the True Ventures LP Summit, & Founder Mental Health
This week on The Adam Jackson Show I share the interactions I experienced while traveling to NYC last week, including highlights from the True Ventures LP Summit and my birthday dinner. I also answer some great questions from listeners. Send me a DM @adamjacksonsf to get your question answered on another episode. (0:00) Intro (3:11) Birthday dinner discussion (6:47) True Ventures LP Summit (12:47) This week's Q&A
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XL3gTDks8CkCAVRr3ltkg?si=ff9842a4c4824d4a Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-adam-jackson-show/id1677806381 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamjacksonshow/ About the host: Adam Jackson is a 4x venture-backed entrepreneur and the CEO of Braintrust, a user-owned talent network that connects knowledge workers and tech workers with big companies that need them on a contract or full-time basis. He is also an active angel investor in several hundred different companies over the last 15 years, all tech startups, and has co-founded a crypto hedge fund called Cambrian.
EP 08: No Desks to Hide Under - the Usefulness of Hiring Fast, Firing Fast
In this week’s episode, “No Desks to Hide Under,” I share insights on how AI and the changing job landscape are shifting the way we work. I also discuss mistakes I’ve made and seen, changes hiring managers need to make, and the usefulness of hiring fast, firing fast. Plus I get to some audience Q&As. Send me a DM @adamjacksonsf to get your question answered on another episode. (0:00) Intro (2:52) The current paradigm (5:26) Live and lead by example (7:17) Hiring and firing quickly (10:38) Find a small team that works well together (13:04) Example of firing quickly (13:58) Audience Q&As Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XL3gTDks8CkCAVRr3ltkg?si=ff9842a4c4824d4a Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-adam-jackson-show/id1677806381 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamjacksonshow/ About the host: Adam Jackson is a 4x venture-backed entrepreneur and the CEO of Braintrust, a user-owned talent network that connects knowledge workers and tech workers with big companies that need them on a contract or full-time basis. He is also an active angel investor in several hundred different companies over the last 15 years, all tech startups, and has co-founded a crypto hedge fund called Cambrian.
EP 07: Insights from the Front Lines of a Crypto Conference- Why AI is Hot and Crypto is Not (Yet)
On this week’s episode of the Adam Jackson Show, I discuss the insights gained from attending the Medici Conference, an exclusive conference on blockchain and cryptocurrency. I also share insights from Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, on the state of the cryptocurrency industry and the hype cycle of AI. Plus I answer audience questions from previous episodes. Leave a comment below or tweet me @adamjacksonsf to get your questions answered on future episodes.
(0:00) Intro
(1:23) Medici Conference
(4:03) Brian Armstrong
(5:32) Rep. Patrick McHenry
(7:48) Crypto and AI hype cycle
(12:02) Q&A from the audience
Show Notes:
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/18/mchenry-gensler-crypto-hearing-00092531
https://twitter.com/rowancheung/status/1653290999106379777?s=46&t=nMh8XuRI_57dnzKZX8PBkg
https://twitter.com/mhudack/status/1652961476595040256
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-winnick-36316a1/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olafcw/
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XL3gTDks8CkCAVRr3ltkg?si=ff9842a4c4824d4a
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-adam-jackson-show/id1677806381
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamjacksonshow/
About the host:
Adam Jackson is a 4x venture-backed entrepreneur and the CEO of Braintrust, a user-owned talent network that connects knowledge workers and tech workers with big companies that need them on a contract or full-time basis. He is also an active angel investor in several hundred different companies over the last 15 years, all tech startups, and has co-founded a crypto hedge fund called Cambrian.
EP 06: The Rise and Fall of the Professional Managerial Class in Tech Companies
This week on The Adam Jackson Show, I go into what the PMC or "Laptop Class" is, how it grew, how VCs are unfairly blaming it, the toll it takes on companies, and how to avoid it altogether. I also touch on the PMC's vulnerability to layoffs when the economy pulls back, and why people talking about it are missing the point on who is to blame.
(0:00) Intro
(1:28) What is the Professional Managerial Class?
(2:36) How did we get here?
(5:11) How to avoid it
(9:03) Elena’s story
Show Notes:
https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/1520598930777464834
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaluneva/
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XL3gTDks8CkCAVRr3ltkg?si=ff9842a4c4824d4a
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-adam-jackson-show/id1677806381
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamjacksonshow/
About the Host:
Adam Jackson is a 4x venture-backed entrepreneur and the CEO of Braintrust, a user-owned talent network that connects knowledge workers and tech workers with big companies that need them on a contract or full-time basis. He is also an active angel investor in several hundred different companies over the last 15 years, all tech startups, and has co-founded a crypto hedge fund called Cambrien.
EP 05: Talent Focus, Who's Hiring on Braintrust, & How Do I Stand Out?
This week on the Adam Jackson Show I discuss the global talent market and economic outlook, and how people in tech are finding success, even in this tough environment. I go into the macroeconomic perspective, the state of the hiring market, and share data and insights from Braintrust, a user-owned talent network that connects tech workers with big companies. I also go into popular roles and skills that companies are hiring for, and provide tips on standing out in the job market.
(0:00) Intro
(1:57) Economic outlook
(3:23) Who's hiring on Braintrust
(4:40) How do I stand out?
(7:42) Things we're working on
(9:21) Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT
Show Notes:
https://info.app.usebraintrust.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7051214079188701185/
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XL3gTDks8CkCAVRr3ltkg?si=ff9842a4c4824d4a
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-adam-jackson-show/id1677806381
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamjacksonshow/
About the host:
Adam Jackson is a 4x venture-backed entrepreneur and the CEO of Braintrust, a user-owned talent network that connects knowledge workers and tech workers with big companies that need them on a contract or full-time basis. He is also an active angel investor in several hundred different companies over the last 15 years, all tech startups, and has co-founded a crypto hedge fund called Cambrien.
EP04 - Lessons on regulation, DeFi, and more from the Pantera Blockchain Summit + this "AI pause" letter nonsense and why you shouldn't fear computers (or my Roomba)
This week I spoke at the @Pantera Blockchain summit hosted by my friend @Dan Moorhead. It was a packed house featuring speakers from storied institutions like S&P and Goldman Sachs, to start-ups, to investors — and even the regulators joined in the fun!
In the latest episode of the podcast, I share a little bit about what I heard and learned; from regulation to DeFi and everything in between. Plus I offer my two cents on this AI pause letter nonsense. Spoiler alert: dumb idea.
Time Stamp outline:
1:00: Behind the scenes at the Pantera LP event
2:30: Why foreign nations are "foaming at the mouth"
3:35: The regulatory heavy turf war: What Biden could learn from Clinton
4:25: The aging 'conveyor belt' that could ease crypto crackdowns
4:45: The improved investor discourse around crypto usability
5:45: Who cares about hosting? Why we must get past layer wars
6:35: Wall Street's crypto investment & large institutional interest
8:00: Predicting the future of crypto and my bet with Braintrust 8:40: How we move the working class into the ownership class 9:55: The value of provable global identity
11:15: Why I didn't sign the 'AI pause' letter + let's pause IG instead!
12:07: The AI safety bullshit: Inaction is never safer than action
13:00: Why it's important to test AI while it's still not dangerous
14:00: Computers don't kill people; People kill people
14:30: Time to fear my Roomba?
15:10: Responding to reader feedback ... trust me, the feeling is mutual
EP03 - Throwing a dinner for journalists + why Google, not Chat-GPT, is the granddaddy of AI.
In this episode, tech founder and investor Adam Jackson talks about throwing a dinner for journalists and how to attract attention without saying a word about your company — plus why he believes Google is the granddaddy of AI, why Chat-GPT's market-breaking potential for startups isn't quite here yet, and the NYSE's quiet bet on crypto's longterm longevity.
EP02 - An Investor Relations masterclass. Plus, Balaji's $1M Bitcoin bet, and is the SEC coming for Coinbase?
Another week, another episode. This time, I wanted to give founders a less than 10-minute lesson on investor relations — how often to update your stakeholders, and how to do it well, what not to do, plus the best way to make direct asks of your investors.
We get into some tricks of the trade, including the value of keeping your early investors in the loop — even if you’re well into your Series B, C, etc — plus why you should send update emails to those that didn’t invest in you (and your critics? send it to them twice!).
And some color on:
- The SEC’s Wells notice to Coinbase
- Balaji Srinivasan’s big bet on Bitcoin reaching $1M by July (Moment of Zen podcast)
- That TechCrunch article about investors asking for a refund
EP01 - New show: lessons learned from a 4x tech founder, investor & LP: SVB, USDC, web3, investor relations
In this, the first episode, tech founder and investor Adam Jackson shares first hand experience with the SVB bank run, USDC de-pegging, investor relations in crypto winter and more...