Alex breaks down a leaked internal memo by Tobi Lutke, CEO of Shopify. The memo details Tobi’s view on AI, expectations of how Shopify employees will use AI, and six AI action items for the company, top-down. 

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:32) Shopify CEO AI interest

(4:48) Leaked AI Memo

(6:03) AI step function change 

(8:18) What is reflexive AI? 

(9:45) Point 1: AI is an expectation

(9:05) Point 2: Prototyping requires AI

(11:03) Point 3: AI performance reviews

(11:40) Point 4: Share AI learnings 

(12:29) Point 5: AI before human

(13:52) Point 6: AI adoption is required to-down

(14:08): Use this memo as an instruction manual 

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Link:

• Shopify CEO memo: https://x.com/tobi/status/1909251946235437514 

Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex shares his 6 strategies for identifying business ideas. 

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:34) Business ideas are everything

(5:21) How I find business ideas

(6:25) Turning brain off autopilot 

(7:43) Friction finder

(8:10) The why ladder

(9:05) Game of ‘what if’

(9:50) Scan for repetition 

(10:36) Content-based ideas

(11:40) Conversation-based ideas

(13:32) Conclusion

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Marc Andreessen essay: https://pmarchive.com/guide_to_startups_part4.html 

Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex breaks down his new business, Distro, the first AI content strategist. 

—

Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:34) Be a student of AI

(5:48) Post-It Note Pitch

(7:08) Launch process

(9:42) Create clarity before launch

(12:18) Moats in AI

(14:09) Go-forward plan

(16:05) Conclusion

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Distro: https://youdistro.com/

• AI cancer study: https://x.com/PeterDiamandis/status/1905266239720612160 

• Replit: https://replit.com/ 

• Testing the idea: https://x.com/businessbarista/status/1847032386887770326 

Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex does a 2-year lookback on his 7-figure B2B content agency, storyarb. 

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:00) 2-year storyarb review 

(3:36) Founding story

(8:05) The pivot

(10:03) Product evolution 

(13:01) Building the right team

(14:51) Financials & path forward 

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Original storyarb tweet: https://x.com/businessbarista/status/1638176672485904384 

• Abby Murray: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbymurray/ 

Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex does a SXSW 2025 recap. 

Here’s what to expect:

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:35) When conferences aren’t a waste

(5:12) SXSW recap

(6:05) Founders run club

(6:48) Brunch with Lauren Zima

(7:38) Lunch with David Perell

(9:28) Hampton Dinner 

(10:18) B2B Creator Panel

(11:32) Run with Connor Tomkies

(14:05) Chat with Bryan Johnson 

(16:32) Conclusion

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Lauren Zima: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Zima

• David Perell: https://perell.com/ 

• Connor Tomkies: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connortomkies/ 

• Founders: https://www.founderspodcast.com/ 

• Bryan Johnson: https://www.youtube.com/@BryanJohnson

Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 142: Alex talks about his do sh*t meter & give a sh*t meter, how to calibrate them properly, and why they’re essential for being a successful founder. 

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:36) Being lazy is good

(5:13) My do sh*t meter 

(7:38) My give a sh*t meter

(8:02) Tobi from Shopify on Lenny’s pod

(12:46) Concluding thoughts

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Tobi on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/podcast

• Jesse Pujji: https://www.gateway.xyz/about 

Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 142: Alex breaks down the drama between Deel & Ripping, the VC-backed HR software giants. 

Here’s what to expect:

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:15) Timeline of alleged espionage

(8:00) Impact on Rippling’s business

(9:30) Rippling’s honeypot

(11:30) Takeaways for entrepreneurs

(15:30) Conclusion

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Parker Conrad’s tweet: https://x.com/parkerconrad/status/1901615179718406276

• ChatGPT with legal complaint: https://chatgpt.com/share/67da0154-8524-800a-89b5-af992530fec0 

Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 141: Alex breaks down his 2-year journey as a multipreneurHere’s what to expect:

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:30) Post-Morning Brew journey

(5:20) What is multipreneurship?

(8:00) My plan as a multipreneur

(9:20) Case study: storyarb

(10:10) 6 lessons as a multipreneur

(16:40) Conclusion

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Best Stuff exercise: https://conscious.is/excercises-guides/the-best-stuff

• Greg Isenberg multipreneur post: https://x.com/gregisenberg/status/1680670141632196609

• Initial storyarb tweet: https://x.com/businessbarista/status/1638176672485904384Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 141: Alex shares why sales is king of the hill in entrepreneurship & how you can be great at it.Here’s what to expect:

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:03) The Misconception of Sales

(4:21) The Role of Sales in Entrepreneurship

(7:50) Seven Effective Sales Tactics

(17:26) Expert Sales Tips

(20:40) Conclusion and Listener Engagement

—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Naval tweet: https://x.com/naval/status/1002104154737684480

• Jen Abel X thread: https://x.com/jjen_abel/status/1869530668054564866

• Jason Lemkin article: https://www.saastr.com/what-is-the-best-sales-advice-you-can-give/Check Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• growthpair - https://www.growthpair.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 140: Alex breaks down Pieter Levels’ AI-coded flying game, which hit $67,000 in monthly revenue in just 3 weeks. Here’s what to expect:

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Show Notes:

(0:00) A note from our sponsor

(2:26) Welcome back to Founder’s Journal

(3:09) Peter Levels’ AI-coded flying game

(6:17) The power of AI in game development

(8:00) The value of trusted distribution

(13:24) Vibe marketing explained

(15:58) Addressing critiques

(20:15) Conclusion—

Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gusto. Head to www.gusto.com/alex

—

Episode Links:

• Flying game - https://fly.pieter.com/

• Levels on X - https://x.com/levelsio

• Andrej Karpathy - https://www.youtube.com/@AndrejKarpathyCheck Out Alex’s Stuff:

• storyarb - https://www.storyarb.com/

• CTA - https://www.creatortalentagency.co/

• X - https://x.com/businessbarista

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lieberman/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices