Learning From Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover - Julien Smith - #461

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, friends, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Julie Smith. He's the CEO of Breathe, a startup founder, investor, and an author. Elon Musk is trying to buy Twitter, so I wanted to ask someone with experience of the startup world to explain what this tells us about Silicon Valley's modern approach to business and their obsession with growth. Expect to learn what is unique about the startup mindset, why Elon might be poison-pilled by Twitter's legislative documents, the difference between founders in startups and regular businesses, how not getting discouraged and just keeping going can count for a lot, why being first is a disadvantage as well as an opportunity, and much more. Say what you want about Elon, it is significantly more interesting to live in a world where the guy who actually has the money and the ability to take over companies, actually goes ahead and does it whilst everybody else just talks about the way that they would try to change things. It's nice to see someone that's got skin in the game, so love him or hate him. I think there definitely is a lot to learn from the way that he's approaching this. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Surfshark VPN. Protect your browsing online and get access to the entire world's Netflix library for less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. Your internet service provider is selling your data to advertising companies who are then targeting you with ads. Websites that you're already buying things from are split testing you on prices for a product that you're already going to go and get, so you're being charged more. Websites like Skyscanner and booking.com do it. And phishing websites and hackers can see your data. If you use a VPN, that doesn't happen anymore. It takes one click of a button. It is super easy to download. You can use it across unlimited devices, so your laptop, your phone, your iPad, even your smart TV. And on top of all of that, you can maximize the access that you have on Netflix. So if you're anywhere else in the world, you can see everything that America's got access to, which is loads more series and movies, including everything from Marvel. And if you're in America, you can see what we've got going on over here in the UK. And you can get 83% off three months free and a 30 day money back guarantee. If you go to surfshark.deals slash modern wisdom, you're already paying for a Netflix membership. So pay one pound 59 a month or something to 10X how much you've got access to surfshark.deals slash modern Wisdom. And in other news, this episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. We all need help at some point in our lives, whether it's because of stress at home or work or loneliness, it can be invaluable to know there's someone professionally trained who can help us get through whatever we're facing. Over 2 million people have taken charge of their mental health with BetterHelp's online service. It removes all of the hassle and awkwardness that can be involved in finding a therapist and gives you some essential simplified steps instead. There are a broad range of experts available categorized by their specialty or combination of specialties like addiction, social anxiety or relationships. You can read the testimonials on BetterHelp's website to help you work out which therapist you want to work with. There are literally hundreds that get added every single day. And if you've been thinking about starting therapy, this is the easiest, quickest, most convenient and cheapest way to do it. I highly, highly recommend everybody check out BetterHelp. Far more people than know it would benefit from getting some counseling. And you just don't know what the texture of your own mind could be like if you had someone professionally trained that could help you to get out of your own way. Deal with whatever chips on your shoulder or undesired traumas you're still coping with from earlier on in your life or just questions that you have about your life direction at the moment. BetterHelp is available for you to start using today and you can begin communicating with your therapist in under 48 hours. Head to betterhelp.com/modernwisdom. There is a free quiz that can show you all of the different options and how everything works. Plus you will get 10% off your first month of counseling with them. That's betterhelp.com/modernwisdom. But now, please welcome Julie Smith.
Elon Musk's tried to buy Twitter, Julien. What the fuck's going on?

**Julien Smith** (4:38)
Oh man, so I think I'm on the other side of what everyone else, everyone's like, this is catastrophic, because of course I'm reading Twitter about this. I think, you know, there's this weird, because Elon Musk is not the founder of Twitter, excuse me, of Tesla. He's not the founder of Tesla. But he did take Tesla from where it is to where it is today.