Outliers with Daniel Scrivner: Explore the Greatest Innovators, Founders, and Investors

In Episode #127, we explore bringing performance secrets from Navy SEALs to the public. We’re joined by Andrew Herr, Fount’s Founder and CEO. We cover human performance and biotech strategy, the limitations of military power for political goals, and using experiments to improve performance.

“The human body is one of the most complex adaptive symptoms out there in the universe.” – Andrew Herr

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/fount-andrew-herr 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/fount-andrew-herr-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to bringing performance secrets from Navy SEALs to the public. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:03:42) – Human performance and biotech strategy in the military

(00:08:37) – The limits of military power for achieving political goals

(00:15:22) – Navy SEALs and performance modalities

(00:19:29) – Novelty and social judgment are the two great human stressors

(00:21:55) – The premise of Fount and its future goals

(00:31:07) – The 10 top goals for users of Fount, and the experiments they run

(00:37:58) – The Fount user journey

(00:42:28) – Coaching, both human and AI

(00:46:36) – Using experimental methodology as a founder

ABOUT FOUNT

Andrew Herr is the founder and CEO of Fount, which is on a mission to help everyone look, feel, and perform at their very best. Fount offers a highly customized three month program that's born out of Andrew's work enhancing the performance of special forces warriors in the US Military, including the Navy Seals. To start, Fount gathers more than 100 data points about their customers using in-depth blood and urine analysis to explore their metabolism, immune and inflammatory activity, nutrient levels, liver and kidney function, and even cardiovascular markers. Customers are then paired with an ex-special forces coach who gets to know their goals, day-to-day schedule, and even their family history all before kicking off a series of experiments that run for the remaining 15 weeks of the program.

Experimentation is a huge component of how Fount approaches their work. And it's part of their goal of helping each customer find what works for them. As part of the program, customers receive their own custom supplement packs with exactly what they need to take each morning, afternoon, and evening all sent from Fount's own custom supplement manufacturing facility. At the end of the program, Fount then offers a support program to make it easy to keep the gains you've made and continue building on them. This includes less frequent blood and urine tests, as well as a continuous supply of your daily supplements.

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ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy

ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Fount with Andrew Herr.

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In Episode #41, we deconstruct Joe Percoco's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Joe is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Titan. We cover Y intercept vs. slope in hiring, calendar auditing, and T-shirt ROI assessments.

“I think failure is definitely glorified to a degree. The goal is that you don't just fail consistently; eventually, you provide successful impact to others. But to the degree you're able to royally fail, and then royally succeed, that's way better than just royally succeeding. It's like a great underdog story in a way.” – Joe Percoco

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/joe-percoco2-outlier-academy-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/joe-percoco-outlier-academy-transcript 

CHAPTERS

In this episode, we deconstruct Joe Percoco's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:00:48) – The importance of working on your relationship with yourself

(00:03:59) – Y intercept vs. slope in hiring

(00:07:37) – Green/yellow/red light calendar auditing

(00:09:58) – T-shirt ROI assessments

(00:10:53) – Learning from the best coaches

(00:14:32) – Training to win and to lose

(00:17:10) – Royally failing to royally succeeding

ABOUT JOE PERCOCO

Joe Percoco is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Titan, an investment firm focused on leveling the playing field across the wealth spectrum. Titan has recently been valued at $450 million at the close of their Series B round. Before launching Titan, Joe Percoco managed investments at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company.

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Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182

ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy

ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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In Episode #18, we explore becoming a better writer. We’re joined by Verlyn Klinkenborg, author and Yale professor. We cover learning from farm life and work, finding rhythm in writing, and debunking writing cliches. 

“So what I do now is essentially help students escape from their education. That's my enterprise every year. And it's always fun, because they escape quite readily. They all know that what they're making in their classes is an artificial product that doesn't actually have any particular interest for anyone except them.” – Verlyn Klinkenborg 

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.outlieracademy.com/episode/18

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.outlieracademy.com/episode/18

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to becoming a better writer. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:00:35) – Rural life and the “home place”

(00:03:56) – Raising animals and eating meat

(00:09:20) – Learnings from farm life and work

(00:13.48) – Verlyn’s reading habits

(00:19:51) – Physical vs. digital books

(00:26:53) – Verlyn’s book Several Short Sentences About Writing

(00:33:01) – What is academic prose?

(00:38:21) – Why people should use shorter sentences in writing

(00:42:56) – Finding rhythm in writing

(00:47:01) – Self authorization and noticing the world around you

(00:53:38) – Writing cliches that are untrue

(00:58:16) – What to expect from a class with Verlyn

(01:04:56) – Writing is rooted in experience more than language

ABOUT SEVERAL SHORT SENTENCES ABOUT WRITING

Verlyn Klinkenborg teaches creative writing at Yale University, and was a member of the editorial board of The New York Times for 16 years. His work has been featured in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Esquire, and National Geographic, and he has authored several books, including Several Short Sentences About Writing. This book aims to debunk general cliches about writing and creativity and remove obstacles keeping us from clear self-expression.

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Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182

ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy

ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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In Episode #126, we deconstruct Saad Alam's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Saad is the Founder and CEO of Hone Health. We cover radical transparency, daily gratitude, and constructing a purposeful life.

“I think that people that don't believe you can do it all, I think it's a load. And I think you just have to really sit down and engineer your day and your life a little bit more.” – Saad Alam 

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/saad-alam-playbook/ 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes//saad-alam-playbook-transcript/ 

CHAPTERS

In this episode, we deconstruct Saad Alam’s peak performance playbook—from their favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on their life. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:02:09) – Fixing healthcare and defining the soul

(00:03:47) – Radical transparency and playing in the dirt

(00:06:38) – Big swings vs. base hits

(00:08:09) – Priorities and daily gratitude

(00:10:43) – Confessions of an Economic Hitman

(00:12:41) – Understanding markets and emotional intelligence

(00:14:28) – Believing in what you do

(00:17:59) – An obsession with wellness

(00:24:52) – Constructing a purposeful life

ABOUT SAAD ALAM

Saad Alam is Founder and CEO of Hone, which is creating an entirely new type of healthcare company initially focused on helping men with low testosterone. Saad describes it as helping men age with confidence. Saad is a serial entrepreneur who founded two companies before he founded home. He's completely focused on building mission-driven companies that solve problems that have directly affected him. And he's probably one of the fittest guests I've ever had on the show. His daily routine, from his morning meditation to the way he works out, how he changes the personal trainer he uses every quarter, how he uses everything from an infrared sauna to hyperbaric chamber, is the most intense of anyone I've ever interviewed.

In it, we cover Saad's daily health and fitness regimen, from drinking water directly after he wakes up to meditating 10 minutes, two times per day. We talk through all of the equipment he uses, from his infrared sauna to an at home hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Saad shares why he writes down three things he's grateful for every single morning and how that practice shows up when he's burnt out and tired at the end of the day, and being able to remind himself about why he's doing what he's doing. 

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Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182

ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy

ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s 20 Minute Playbook episode featuring Saad Alam. In it, Saad shares his favorite books, tools, habits, and more.

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In Episode #125, we explore testosterone replacement therapy and building a telehealth company. We’re joined by Saad Alam, Hone Health’s Founder and CEO. We cover the basics of testosterone, the future of health management, and learnings from building a telehealth company.

“When people say a good CEO basically works himself out of a job and spends 30 for 40% of his time recruiting, I thought that was a cute kitchen magnet that really probably wasn't real. And the reality is, it actually couldn't be more true.” – Saad Alam 

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/hone-saad-alam 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/hone-saad-alam-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to building and scaling a testosterone replacement telehealth company. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:02:39) – Saad’s background and the genesis of Hone

(00:10:12) – Making life whatever you want it to be

(00:15:12) – Helping men have confidence as they age

(00:18:25) – What is testosterone, and how does it work?

(00:24:22) – Non-pharmaceutical treatments for low testosterone

(00:27:23) – The risks of high and low testosterone levels

(00:32:28) – The patient journey at Hone

(00:44:12) – The future of health management

(00:50:29) – Learnings from building a telehealth company

(00:54:48) – The importance of hiring people who are better than you

ABOUT HONE HEALTH

Saad Alam is Founder and CEO of Hone, which is creating an entirely new type of healthcare company initially focused on helping men with low testosterone. Saad describes it as “helping men age with confidence.” Low testosterone is an alarming and growing trend, which is why testosterone treatments like Hone are on the rise. Scientific research has shown that for decades now the level of testosterone in men has been declining. The most alarming statistic is that our generation has around 50% less testosterone than our father's generation, who in turn has less testosterone than their father's generation.

And the reasons behind this are very complicated, but a large part of it seems to be due to growing environmental and plastic pollution, which have caused the level of heavy metals in our bodies to rise while micro plastics in our blood disrupt the production of testosterone and actually spur the production of estrogen. With this context, you would imagine that it's becoming easier to find out if you have low testosterone and get testosterone treatments if needed, but you would be very wrong, which is why Saad Alam founded Hone and set out to revolutionize the way that men are treated for low testosterone.

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Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182

ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy

ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Hone Health with Saad Alam.

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In Episode #107, we deconstruct Howie Schwab's peak performance playbook—from their favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on their life. Howie is the Lead Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Growth of Driehaus Capital. We cover regime shifts in the market and obsessing over failures.

“In terms of how we invest, I think integrating and overlaying macro as well as behavioral components, not simply wedding ourselves to this bottom up, here's our specific template and it's time tested is really important.” – Howie Schwab

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/howie-schwab-driehaus-capital-playbook-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/howie-schwab-driehaus-capital-playbook-transcript 

CHAPTERS

In this episode, we deconstruct Howie Schwab’s peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. In it we cover:

(00:01:41) – Regime shifts in the market

(00:06:51) – Learning from investing mentors

(00:10:08) – Great investors obsess over their failures

(00:12:48) – Advice for young investors

(00:16:43) – Howie’s investment philosophy

(00:24:24) – Challenging yourself

ABOUT HOWIE SCHWAB

Howie Schwab manages more than 5 billion in emerging market growth funds for Driehaus which is a firm that's based in Chicago and where Howie has worked for the last 20 years. At Driehaus, Howie is the lead portfolio manager for the emerging market's growth. And he's a portfolio manager for the emerging market, small cap equity and emerging markets opportunities.

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Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182

ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy

ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s 20 Minute Playbook episode featuring Howie Schwab of Driehaus. In it, Howie shares his favorite books, tools, habits, and more.

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