Going Direct Conversations

Jordan sits down with Reiss Jones to discuss capitalism in America vs Europe. This is the second of a 2-part conversation where we discuss the European system in detail. We unpack:

• What values-led capitalism really means
• Why reality is messy
• Europe’s perfectionism vs. America’s “man in the arena” mentality
• The gray areas in European business vs. U.S.
• Why distribution, middlemen, and monopsonies keep costs high
• How decentralization and going direct can break the cycle
• How to align values with a startup’s incentive structure
• Why European founders often move to the U.S. for scale

#capitalism #decentralization #startups #AI

Follow Jordan on X: ⁠https://x.com/jrwolfe⁠

Follow Reiss on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reissjones/

Contact Reiss: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:59 Defining Values-Led Capitalism

05:17 U.S. “Man in the Arena” vs. European Perfectionism

10:11 Reality Is Messy

12:48 Living Inside vs. Outside The System

17:01 Bureaucracy In France

21:54 Gray Areas Reinforce Bureaucracy

33:31 Values Breakdown: Europe vs US

36:13 Government-Led vs. Consumer-Led Capitalism

39:27 Market Control And Decentralization

41:17 The Role Of Middlemen & Decentralization

46:05 Future of Wholesale Distribution

48:34 80% of Global Retail Spend Is Still In-Store

54:10 European Startups: Values Over Economic Sustainability

58:07 European Startup Ecosystem

58:29 Is Entrepreneurship In Europe A Game For The Rich?

01:00:06 Final Takeaways: Stoicism & Realism

👉 Key References Mentioned:

• Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A311CnTjfos
• “World Models” by Ha & Schmidhuber (2018) – https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.10122
• Statista: 80% of Global Retail Spend is Still In-Store - https://www.statista.com/statistics/534123/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/

Subscribe & Follow:

• 📰 Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com/subscribe
• 🎧 Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-direct-conversations/id1800505663

• Subscribe to YouTube for more deep dives on decentralization, robots, and the real economy – ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@goingdirect_/videos⁠⁠

Jordan sits down with Kuba Graczyk, founder & CEO of Koobz, to explore how AI, 3D printing, and automation are transforming footwear manufacturing.

Kuba has invented a one-step production process where they 3D-print an entire shoe in a single pass. Koobz is building printer farms around this invention to bring shoe production back to the U.S. Koobz is already working with some of the world’s biggest footwear brands as a Tier-1 supplier. Jordan and Kuba discuss:

• Why footwear hasn’t meaningfully innovated in decades
• How low-cost printers + AI unlocked Koobz’s breakthrough
• Why domestic shoe manufacturing is suddenly viable
• How re-industrializing America can boost everyday happiness
• The shift from “build a brand” to becoming a Tier-1 supplier

Enjoy!

#3dprinting #manufacturing #robots #ai #decentralization

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:23 Why Footwear Production Hasn’t Changed Much

12:28 Is 3D Printing About To Have It’s Chat-GPT Moment?

18:40 Using AI As A Solo-Founder

22:03 Koobz’ Mission: Bring Manufacturing Back To America

24:03 Kuba's Entrepreneurial Journey

30:04 Koobz’ Tech Stack

35:28 Printing An Entire Shoe In One Step

38:13 Koobz Biggest Challenge

40:01 Why Local Manufacturing Matters For Our Happiness

44:35 Growing Up In Poland & Journey To America

51:53 Becoming A Tier-One Supplier To The World’s Biggest Shoe Brands

57:29 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Kuba’s Work:

• Koobz– https://www.koo.bz/
• LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuba-graczyk/
• Buy your Koobz shoes at KitoWare Store – https://kitowares.online/collections/all

Subscribe & Follow:

• Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com/subscribe
• Listen on Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-direct-conversations/id1800505663

• Subscribe to YouTube for more deep dives on decentralization, robots, and the real economy – ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@goingdirect_/videos⁠

Jordan sits down with Dimitry Gershenson, Co-Founder & CEO of Enduring Planet, to discuss the importance of non-dilutive funding for early-stage entrepreneurs building in the real economy. Dimitry believes every part of the economy, from cement to diapers, must change to build a clean, resilient future. They discuss:

• Why non-dilutive funding matters and current credit gap left by traditional finance
• Examples of what Enduring Planet finances and how they differ from banks
• Why financial literacy is a blind spot for many founders (and how to fix it)
• The challenges and opportunities of financing decentralized infrastructure projects

If you’re interested in climate tech, decentralized systems, or rethinking how we finance the future, check it out.

#capitalism #ai #entrepreneurship #climate

Follow Jordan on X:

https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Dimitry’s Work:

• Enduring Planet – https://www.enduringplanet.com
• LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitrygershenson

Key Resources Mentioned:

• Calvert Impact Bonds – https://www.calvertimpactcapital.org

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:22 Defining Climate Technologies

03:58 Why Non-Dilutive Funding Matters

06:14 Credit Gap In Traditional Finance

13:09 Capital Formation And Fundraising Strategies

16:26 Issuing Green Bonds

19:17 Enduring Planet Financing Examples

25:38 Enduring Planet Lending Terms

27:18 Founders Lack Financial Literacy

31:28 Financing Decentralized Systems

34:26 Challenges In Financing Decentralized Projects

39:28 Why Founders Choose Enduring Planet

42:21 Early Lessons Learned45:16 Federal Funding Realities

47:44 Why Financial Literacy For Founders Is Important

49:12 Aligning Desired Outcomes With Business Model & Capital Strategy

53:26 Rapid Fire

Subscribe & Follow:

• Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com/subscribe

• Listen on Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-direct-conversations/id1800505663
• Subscribe to YouTube for more deep dives on decentralization, robots, and the real economy – https://www.youtube.com/@goingdirect_/videos⁠

Jordan sits down with Reiss to discuss capitalism in America vs Europe. This is part 1 of a 2-part conversation. They unpack:

• Why American capitalism feels more “sociopathic” than Europe’s model
• How corporate incentives create soulless systems
• The role of AI and automation in enabling decentralized production
• Why robotics and industrial policy are key enablers for a decentralized future
• The tension between “freedom from” (Europe) vs. “freedom to” (America)
• Will organic (humnans) or inorganic (AI) systems win

Follow Jordan on X: ⁠https://x.com/jrwolfe⁠

Follow Reiss on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reissjones/

Contact Reiss: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:39 Is The U.S. Economy Inherently Sociopathic?

08:51 “Freedom From” In Europe vs. “Freedom To” In The US

14:47 Defining Sociopathy

17:34 Economic Systems And Incentive Structures

18:45 Decentralization And Community Values

25:37 Detroit, MAGA, And Rethinking Community

35:28 Revisiting Freedom From vs Freedom To

39:40 Innovation Economy And Silicon Valley

48:33 Will Inorganic Systems (AI) Take Over Humanity?

53:23 The Venture Capital Game

55:41 Obsession, Workaholism & Definition Of Success

57:17 Positives Of “Sociopathic Capitalism”

01:02:19 Closing Thoughts

Subscribe & Follow:

• 📰 Join the Substack – ⁠https://goingdirect.substack.com/subscribe⁠
• 🎧 Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-direct-conversations/id1800505663⁠
• Subscribe to YouTube for more deep dives on decentralization, robots, and the real economy – ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@goingdirect_/videos

Jordan sits down with Bernt Bornich, founder & CEO of  @1X-tech , to discuss how humanoid robots and AI will transform the way we work, produce, and live.

• Bernt shares his vision for building an AGI company that uses robots to solve both intelligence and general labor
• Why the internet is much smaller than you think
• Challenges with AI training data and robot performance
• Why 1X Technologies is fully vertically integrated
• 1x’s strategy behind deploying robots in homes before workplaces
• The role of AI in enabling robots to interact with the physical world

If you're interested in robotics, the future of labor, or AI that interacts with the physical world, don’t miss this one.

#robots #ai #decentralization #humanoids

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:07 Robotics Going From Specialized To General Systems

05:51 Having A Dystopian View Is Easy

07:35 Insane Amounts Of Data Are Needed For Robots To Work

12:16 Why Robot Data Is More Valuable Than Internet Data

15:56 Real-World Training Challenges

22:50 Social Context & The Intelligence Gap

28:56 World Models Breakdown

33:30 Reinforcement Learning Breakdown

40:18 Teleoperation Breakdown

42:21 Simulation Training Breakdown

45:38 Why 1X Is Fully Vertically Integrated

51:16 1X Humanoid Design Decisions

55:54 Rationale For Going Through The Home First

59:28 Importance Of Early Adopters

1:01:01 Rapid Fire: Robot Myths, Predictions, & Sci-Fi

🔗 Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

👉 Links to Bernt’s Work:

- 1X Technologies – https://www.1x.tech

- Twitter – https://x.com/berntbornich

- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bbornich/

- LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernt-børnich-032ba38/?originalSubdomain=no

👉 Key Influences and Resources Mentioned:

- Paper: “World Models” by Ha and Schmidhuber (2018) – https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.10122

- Book: Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark –  https://www.amazon.com/Life-3-0-Being-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/024123719X

- Research: “The Bitter Lesson” by Rich Sutton – https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~eunsol/courses/data/bitter_lesson.pdf

Subscribe & Follow:

📰 Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com/subscribe

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-direct-conversations/id1800505663

📺 Subscribe to YouTube for more deep dives on decentralization, robots, and the real economy.

Jordan sits down with Dr. Manan Shah, ENT surgeon and co-founder of Wyndly, to talk about his radically more effective and direct approach to treating allergies.

From launching a telehealth startup during the pandemic to treating thousands of patients across all 50 U.S. states, Manan shares Wyndly’s direct care model that cuts out the healthcare middlemen to offer cheaper and more effective treatments to his patients. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of medicine and how doctors are using content to create new direct care models.

Enjoy!

#healthcare #capitalism #technology

🔗 Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

👉 Links to Manan’s Work:

Wyndly – https://www.wyndly.com

YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@wyndlyhealth

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wyndlyhealth/

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wyndlyteam?lang=en

Email – [email protected]

👉 Key Influences and Resources Mentioned:

00:00 Introduction

00:55 The Problem With How We Treat Allergies Today

01:48 An Allergy Shot Explained

05:50 Sublingual Immunotherapy Explained

13:01 Direct Care For Allergy Treatment

14:20 Sublingual vs. Traditional Allergy Shots

16:03 Why Allergy Rates Are Skyrocketing

21:50 Starting Wyndly: From Surgeon to Founder

26:02 Economics of Allergy Care And Why Direct Care Is Cheaper

32:42 Burden of Middlemen In Healthcare

34:18 Wyndly Treats Patients Nationwide

36:28 Manan’s Early Journey

38:35 Content Creation as a Doctor

41:26 Understanding Licensing In Telehealth

44:02 YouTube As His Preferred Platform

46:49 Future Of Direct Care Models

50:09 Balancing Being A Doctor, CEO, & Creator

55:54 Rapid Fire Insights

📰 Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com

🎧 Listen on Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3SjDliK

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts – https://bit.ly/3IfV6xK

📺 Subscribe to YouTube for more conversations on decentralizing the real economy and going direct.

Jordan sits down with Reiss for a deeper dives into the ideas behind Going Direct. Reiss is an inventor, technologist, and recent Thiel Fellow whose work is deeply aligned with the show’s core theme of decentralization. Together, they explore the meaning of decentralization and its implications for the future of work, production, and purpose. From farm automation in South Korea to factory towns in Detroit and Cadbury’s model villages in England, it’s a wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversation.

Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

Follow Reiss on on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reissjones/

Contact Reiss: [email protected]

Key Influences and Resources Mentioned:

• The Way of a Pilgrim (Anonymous author) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_a_Pilgrim
• The Thiel Fellowship - https://thielfellowship.org/
• Cadbury’s Bournville factory town https://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/
• Dylan Patel, SemiAnalysis - https://open.spotify.com/episode/19YcHE2tHTRPiXOxrH1NX6?si=c2a93de276ae46fc

• Joseph Chen - Writing on AI and loneliness

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction And Backgrounds

01:58 On Being An Atheist Who Prays

07:24 Growing Up In A Small UK Village & Dropping Out Of College

09:59 Thiel Fellowship & Silicon Valley Culture Shock

11:36 US vs. Europe: Culture, Ambition, And Work-Life

15:29 Jordan's History: Detroit And Factory Towns

21:38 Importance Of Roots And Community

27:13 Automation in Korea’s Aging economy

32:45 Balancing Values With Market Brutality

35:02 Centralization, AI, And The Loneliness Crisis

38:55 Centralization vs. Decentralization Debate

44:13 Impact of Automation On Labor In The East vs West

55:06 Capitalism Losing It’s Competitive Edge

56:04 Can Decentralization Make Capitalism Competitive Again?

59:18 Decentralization As A Path Forward

Subscribe & Follow:

• Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com
• Listen on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/6w1ePcNc7D1HUMkTkSRCz4?si=802a4c88bfd34149
• Listen on Apple Podcasts – bit.ly/3IfV6xK
• Subscribe to YouTube for more conversations on decentralizing the real economy.

#decentralization, #capitalism, #AI, #robots

Jordan sits down with Joe Cross, a globally recognized nutrition advocate, thought leader, author and filmmaker who created a lifestyle revolution around the simple concept of juicing. He produced and starred in the award-winning documentary film, “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead,” which has been seen by more than 30 million people worldwide. Joe is also the cofounder of Nama, one of the most successful creator-led brands in the world that very few people know about.

In this episode, Joe shares his transformation from finance professional to health advocate to cofounding Nama. They dive deep into the early days of the creator economy, how Joe built an audience before launching a product, and how Nama has built and supports a community of over 300 creators with a radically human approach to affiliate partnerships.

This is a masterclass in working with creators to go direct.

Enjoy!

Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Joe’s Work:

• Nama Juicers: https://namawell.com
• Watch Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead: https://www.rebootwithjoe.com/joes-films/
• Follow Joe on IG: @joethejuicer
• Website www.rebootwithjoe.com

Key Influences and Resources Mentioned:

• Matt Jacobson - Facebook’s 8th employee - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MrwI5FFv8TiI0PzUG0Cxj?si=e004e5988a4443f8

• The 80/20 Juicing Rule - https://namawell.com/en-fr/blogs/guide-to-juicing-videos/the-80-20-rule

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:40 Joe Cross: The Juicing Legend

06:46 Selling His Business To Save His Life

10:58 Inventing The Juice Fast

12:23 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead' Documentaries

19:48 Building Community By Going Door To Door

23:51 Why Australia Leads In Juicing & Coffee Culture

28:55 From Films To Founding Nama

37:26 Choosing A Creator Network Model

46:37 Rise Of Micro-Influencers

50:05 Nama’s In-House Creator Agency

54:50 Power Of Affiliate Marketing

57:46 NAMA's Impressive Growth

01:01:25 Expanding Into Amazon

01:08:15 Rapid Fire: What Should Die In Wellness?

#FatSickAndNearlyDead #JoeCross #NamaJuicers #WellnessBrand

Subscribe & Follow:

Join the Substack – goingdirect.substack.com

Listen on Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3SjDliK

Listen on Apple Podcasts – bit.ly/3IfV6xK

Subscribe to YouTube for more conversations on the role of creators in decentralizing the real economy.

Jordan sits down with Luca Prosperi, founder of M0, a universal stablecoin platform. They dive deep into why Luca believes that everything in the future is a bank and how the infrastructure M0 is building can enable anyone to issue their own stablecoin. From working at the frontier of crypto to reflecting on the philosophy of money itself, Luca shares a systems-level vision for the future of finance. If you want to better understand how money works or where the future of finance is going, you’ll want to listen to this one. Enjoy!

Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Luca’s Work:

• M0: https://m0.org-
• Luca on Substack: https://luca-prosperi.substack.com
• Follow Luca on X: https://x.com/LucaProsperi
• Contact: [email protected]

Key Influences and Resources Mentioned:

• Incompleteness Theorem by Kurt Gödel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems
• David Foster Wallace - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace-
• Jeff Bezos - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos
• Founders Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/7txiovdzPARhjm18NwMUYj?si=a9f2d4f9645e4a5b
• Matt Levine (Money Stuff) - https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/authors/ARbTQlRLRjE/matthew-s-levine
• Packy McCormick (Not Boring) - https://www.notboring.co/
• Simon Taylor (Fintech Brainfood) - https://www.fintechbrainfood.com/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:13 Understanding Money

08:25 Simple Breakdown of Stablecoins

11:05 Why Stablecoin Adoption Is Accelerating

13:34 GENIUS Act and Why It’s A Game-Changer

20:30 Stablecoins Are Safer Than Bank Deposits

24:28 Centralization vs. Decentralization In Banking

30:11 What Is M0?

36:17 Stablecoins May Quickly Become Commoditized

38:44 Real M0? Use Cases

41:50 Future Of Lending

45:00 Stablecoins In the Real Economy

49:54 Current Status Of M0

51:52 Why Luca Is Building A New Financial System

54:03 Changing Systems Is More Art Than Business

57:19 How M0 Measures Success

01:00:37 Rapid Fire: Influences, Resources, and More

Subscribe & Follow Going Direct:

Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com/

🎧 Listen on Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3SjDliK

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts –  bit.ly/3IfV6xK

📺 Subscribe on YouTube for more conversations on how we can use technology to decentralize the real economy and bring us back closer to what matters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMC14SK4uz4

Jordan sits down with Alex Barrett, founder of Meroka, a company on a mission to rebuild independent medical care in the U.S. They are focused on helping independent medical practices stay independent by transitioning ownership to existing employees and building an entire tech stack to help them run the practices. No more private equity rollups or corporate burnout for physicians.

If you care about decentralization of our healthcare system and keeping local businesses in the hands of the community, this one’s for you. Enjoy.

Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Alex's Work:

• Meroka – https://meroka.com
• Follow Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-barrett/
• Contact: [email protected]

Key Influences and Resources Mentioned:

• Physicians Advocacy Institute Report/Avelere Report on physician employment & consolidation - https://www.physiciansadvocacyinstitute.org/PAI-Research/PAI-Avalere-Study-on-Physician-Employment-Practice-Ownership-Trends-2019-2023
• Yoni Rechtman’s private practice investment thesis at Slow Ventures - https://99d.substack.com/p/our-private-practice-thesis
• Shopify as a model for decentralization - https://www.shopify.com/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:42 Consolidation Of The Healthcare Industry In The US

02:43 Who Actually Owns Medical Practices?

04:33 Dirty Secret Of Flat Reimbursement Rates

06:07 Different Ownership Models Of US Medical Practices

10:33 Administrative Burdens On Independent Practices

16:14 Transitioning Ownership In Medical Practices

23:41 Introducing Meroka

30:02 Meroka Vision And Business Model

31:45 What’s It Like To Work With Meroka

33:23 Private Equity In Healthcare

37:08 Funding And Liquidity For Independent Practices

39:03 Building A Technology Backbone For Independent Practices

45:00 US vs. Canadian Healthcare

46:50 Why Alex Is Doing This Work

49:36 Rapid Fire: Trends, Myths & Mentors

📢 Subscribe & Follow

📰 Join the Substack – https://goingdirect.substack.com

🎧 Listen on Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3SjDliK

📺 Subscribe to YouTube for more conversations on decentralizing the real economy - https://www.youtube.com/@goingdirect_