Founder's Journal

By Morning Brew

Business Careers

What's Founder's Journal about?

Alex Lieberman, the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Morning Brew, gives you an insider’s look into building businesses. Alex explores the founder’s journey, from the painful challenges of 0-to-1 to the powerful frameworks that help you scale to millions in revenue as well as the emotional rollercoaster that is present throughout.

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What I Do When I’m Feeling ...

09.29.2023

Episode 48: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) is lost. This is something many entrepreneurs will cycle through over the course of their journey. It happens to the best of us. There is a belief that entrepreneurs have unshakable confidence to achieve success ...

Founder's Journal episodes:

09.29.2023 What I Do When I’m Feeling Lost Episode 48: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) is lost. This is something many entrepreneurs will cycle through over the course of their journey. It happens to the best of us. There is a belief that entrepreneurs have unshakable confidence to achieve success ...
09.27.2023 The Biggest Issue with Product-Market Fit Episode 47: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) dives into one of the most pivotal stages for every entrepreneur: finding product-market fit. There are a lot of definitions on product-market fit and how to achieve it. In this episode, Alex unpacks widely accepted ...
09.25.2023 How to Find the “Suck” in Businesses Episode 46: Ideas can come from anywhere but it doesn’t always mean it’ll be a good idea. Even the most savvy business minds believe they’re solving a problem that ultimately doesn’t lead to a sustained business. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) has ...
09.22.2023 Why Personal Holding Companies are the Hottest Trend Episode 45: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) takes a look into what a personal holding company is, why it’s the hottest trend among entrepreneurs, and whether it’s the right move for you. While they may provide you the most freedom to invest ...
09.20.2023 Why Coffee Chats Have Energized My Ideas Episode 44: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) does another temperature check to review and reflect the latest achievements, adversities, and ascertainments. He’s closing in on finding product market fit for Storyarb and a renewed appreciation for coffee chats – something that waned ...
09.18.2023 This Tragedy to Triumph Story is Why I’m an Entrepreneur Episode 43: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares a harrowing story from an entrepreneur that pierces through at the human level. Scott Weir, aka The Coda Guy, lost his home and job while he had a family. At the brink of despair, ...
09.15.2023 8 Businesses I'm Bullish On Episode 42: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares 8 businesses that he’s bullish on. He breaks down the idea, the problem that needs solving, the business model, and why he’s bullish. If any of these ideas are interesting, Alex invites you to ...
09.13.2023 Why the Paradox of Success Still Haunts Me Episode 41: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about the Paradox of Success, what it is, and why it’s important. It’s an issue that Alex, and many other successful entrepreneurs grapple with as they continue to find success. In the end, Alex ...
09.12.2023 An Investor’s Briefing Volatile markets and inflation are top of mind for investors. We kick off season 4 by exploring the current economic and financial landscape and the tools investors can use to navigate it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09.11.2023 Where I Go For Startup Ideas Episode 40: Welcome to Edge City. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) reveals his process for generating startup ideas. It’s a combination of how many people will want your idea, basically how big the market is; and how badly people will want your ...
09.08.2023 How Short Term Pain Can Bring Long Term Success Episode 39: No pain, no gain. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Growth lies in discomfort. Pressure makes diamonds. You’ve probably heard these phrases multiple times. It’s supposed to capture the relationship between our immediate struggles with future success. ...
09.06.2023 5 Steps to Building a Better Internet Audience Episode 38: Building an audience or following on social media is no longer an influencer-exclusive goal. Entrepreneurs and business builders can leverage a large following to reap benefits to their business. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) breaks down 5 easy, doable steps ...
09.04.2023 The Difference Between Demand and Product Market Fit Episode 37: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares 6 musings in the last week that have been the conversation of the Internet-sphere. Learn why demand does not equal product market fit, how we tend to overreact to every trending product, and why ...
09.01.2023 Why I Lost Motivation After Selling Morning Brew Episode 36: It’s time for another mailbag episode! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) answers some burning questions from our listeners. In this episode, Alex talks about how to balance your long-term brand with short-term profits, how to test a new business idea, ...
08.30.2023 Why All Entrepreneurs Are Contrarians w/ Codie Sanchez Episode 35: Codie Sanchez (@Codie_Sanchez) stops by to drop off gems about business building. As someone who’s used to going against the grain, she proudly wears the title of “unemployable,” in that she was meant to be an entrepreneur. Codie ...
08.28.2023 Why Founders Should Choose Good Quests Episode 34: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) reviews the article “Choose Good Quests” and talks about 4 types of quests every entrepreneur will have to choose from. Knowing which quest you’re on can determine how much effort you should be placing on ...
08.25.2023 How Hoka Ran Away With The Competition Episode 33: Lace them up! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) dives into the meteoric rise of Hoka, the popular shoe brand that just crossed the $1 billion mark in revenue. Since the pandemic, it went from having less than 10% of Deckers’ ...
08.23.2023 3 Frameworks to Hiring Top Talent w/ Romeen Sheth Episode 32: Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) steps in for a guest founder’s journal to share his 3 frameworks related to talent. These simple, but effective frameworks can help any founder hire the right talent to make their organization successful. Not a ...
08.21.2023 Inside the Mind of Elon Musk Episode 31: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) analyzes a viral tweet by a former director at Twitter where she talked about the moments leading up to Twitter’s sale to Elon Musk and what it was like working with him. While there are ...
08.18.2023 Why Vacationing Is Actually Good For Your Company Episode 30: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) has returned from his vacation in Africa. During his trip, he got to experience rich culture and world-class service. It was the break needed to acquire a new perspective on his company, Storyarb. While most ...
08.16.2023 Use This Playbook For BIG Disagreements At Work Episode 29: Disagreements and conflicts are bound to happen. They can either make you stronger as a team through resolution and understanding, or become detrimental that can hurt the business. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares this two-part playbook to handle big ...
08.14.2023 8 Biases That Cloud Decision-Making (and How to Manage Them) Episode 28: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) runs through 8 biases that affect all business leaders and decision-making. He ties real-life examples during the early days of Morning Brew to each bias and the reflections from those experiences. By acknowledging these potential ...
08.11.2023 How I Built The Hustle w/ Sam Parr Episode 27: In another edition of a guest entry for Founder’s Journal, Sam Parr (@thesamparr) shares the secrets of how he built The Hustle, a wildly popular newsletter covering business and tech that was acquired by Hubspot in 2021. In ...
08.09.2023 How To Make The ‘Right’ Mistakes Episode 26: Mistakes happen. But it can be difficult knowing which mistake is the right one or the wrong one. Depending on the type of mistake, they can either help solidify a foundation for your business or create a structure ...
08.07.2023 4 Characteristics Your Top Talent Should Have Episode 25: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) has hired the first employee for his business. It’s a pivotal moment and crucial time as it can set the tone for future success. If you’re trying to look beyond the resume, your top, early ...
08.04.2023 Do Bugs Get The Credit For Pokémon? Episode 24: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) does his temperature for the week where he shares what went well, what didn’t, and what he learned. Multimedia has grown tremendously at Morning Brew and Alex celebrates the big steps it’s taken. Social media ...
08.02.2023 Why Insecurities Can Make You a Better Founder Episode 23: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) has insecurities and he wants to share it with the world. Leaders are often perceived as being impervious to any shortcomings they may have in their business, personalities, or abilities. Here are the reasons why ...
07.31.2023 9 Steps To Elevate Your Inner Circle Episode 22: Often the most successful people have an inner circle that they trust and can turn to when they need support. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares this quick 9 step exercise to identify, audit, and elevate your inner circle to ...
07.28.2023 How To Curate Content That Works For You Episode 21: Did you know that 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years? There’s an abundance of content out there. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares his tips on how to cut through the noise and find ...
07.26.2023 How Bob Iger Deals With Tragedy Episode 20: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares his takeaways from Bob Iger’s memoir The Ride Of A Lifetime. Considered one of the most prominent CEOs of all-time, his journey is filled with peaks and valleys. While there are multiple lessons every ...
07.24.2023 Why Sales is the Apex Predator of Skills Episode 19: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) was never trained in sales, yet forced to become a salesperson through the journey of his business building. Why? Because it’s the skill that will ultimately grow your business. Here are 8 strategies that any ...
07.21.2023 What We Can Learn From Chess Grandmasters Episode 18: When it comes to an idea, we naturally try to identify the solution to any problems we inevitably encounter. In the world of Chess, amateur players tend to resort to this solution-centric thought process. However, grandmasters spend time ...
07.19.2023 Why I Would Invest In These Startups Episode 17: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) runs through 10 startup ideas and determines why he would (or wouldn’t) take an investor meeting. These are real ideas that’s been pitched to him, and while some seem like viable businesses, he has to ...
07.17.2023 Preparing for Acquisition w/ Our Future Episode 16: Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) share the story of how they started Our Future, the #1 source of business for GenZ. After building a massive following on TikTok and garnering millions of views on their short-form ...
07.14.2023 “How Soon Should You Have Investor Convos?” - Mailbag #1 Episode 15: It’s our first ever mailbag episode! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) answers questions that cover whether you should be worried about someone stealing your idea, what to do in the first 90 days of starting a business, how to leverage ...
07.12.2023 How to Crush Onboarding for Employee #1 Episode 14: So you’ve just hired your first employee. You’re excited. It’s a big milestone for your business. Now what? Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares his tips to making sure your first (and future) employee is bought-in from day one. He’ll ...
07.10.2023 How to Create Your Perfect Customer Persona Episode 13: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) gives an update on his ghostwriting content agency business, Storyarb. Perhaps the biggest step in any business is hiring its first employee and Storyarb will have a new content strategist. The most important next step ...
07.07.2023 4 Takeaways from Threads Episode 12: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) breaks down the biggest news of the Internet: Threads. It’s been dubbed the “Twitter-killer”, but did you know Threads existed and failed the first time? Here are the 4 takeaways you can think about when ...
07.05.2023 4 Types of Advice You’ll Get in Your Career Episode 11: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares the inevitable throughout your career: getting advice. Whether you’re starting your journey or a seasoned veteran, you’ll likely be receiving advice from other professionals along your career path. And while seeking advice is generally ...
07.03.2023 Starting Small To Make Big Moves w/ Nick Huber Episode 10: It’s a Founder’s Journal takeover! Bolt Storage founder Nick Huber (@sweatystartup) talks about how he built his business and the biggest lessons to take home for entrepreneurs. The biggest mistake founders make is trying to do everything when ...
06.30.2023 3 Lessons To Learn From Ryan Seacrest Episode 09: Ryan Seacrest has been named the new host of ‘Wheel of Fortune’. If you haven’t been paying attention, Ryan Seacrest is an example of the entrepreneur who stops at nothing to achieve success. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares 3 ...
06.28.2023 5 Rules To Interviewing Episode 08: When you’re ready to hire an employee for your business, you might feel accomplished that you’ve reached the level to build a team. However, that means hiring the wrong person could potentially set your business back. Evaluating talent ...
06.26.2023 Failure is Part of the Journey Episode 07: Clock it. It’s time to lay The Plunge to rest. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) closes the books on the backyard plunger game. Any entrepreneur knows, it’s not easy making the tough decision to end a business. You end up ...
06.23.2023 European Wax Center…for Dogs Episode 06: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares a free business idea. Yes, that means it’s up for grabs for you to take it and make it your own. It’s a deep dive into European Wax Center. Chances are, you’ve passed by ...
06.21.2023 Why Successful Business Minds Have Paranoid Brains Episode 05: For this week’s temperature check, Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about how great business operators have to be incredibly disciplined in every aspect of their lives. Then, a realization where business minds have paranoid brains because they’re constantly analyzing ...
06.19.2023 Why ‘Standard Operating Procedures’ Suck Episode 04: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) is disgusted at the phrase “standard operating procedure”. Yet, for lack of a better phrase, SOP is crucial for documenting the necessary steps to completing a process or running a business. Let’s be real, creating ...
06.16.2023 Be the Idiot in the Room Episode 03: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) admits he’s not the smartest person in the room…and that’s the point. This episode is about not being ashamed to raise your hand to say, “I don’t understand.” Because the truth is, there’s a high ...
06.14.2023 Introducing Storyarb, My Content Agency + A Temperature Check Episode 02: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) announces the name of his content agency business, Storyarb. While sharing updates on the new startup, he admits his latest troubles being distracted by social media. Then he talks about a pivot for The Plunge ...
06.12.2023 10 VALUABLE Lessons from a Successful Show Episode 01: Have you heard about the Morning Brew Daily? It’s like the living, breathing version of the newsletter. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) analyzes why the show has been successful and breaks down lessons any business-builder or content-creator can take home. ...
06.09.2023 Founder’s Journal is Back Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) has a special announcement: Founder’s Journal is back. If you’re a long-time listener, you’ll know FJ is one of Alex’s earlier shows that served as an audio journal during his time as CEO of Morning Brew. Now, ...

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