The Knowledge with David Elikwu

David Elikwu speaks with David Morris, the Chief Operating Officer at NeoInsulation.

David dug deep into his background and the road to becoming a chief operating officer and everything that he learned along the way.

They also discussed the idea of finding your path and not over optimising for optionality. Finally, David unpacked his leadership playbook, sharing everything that he's learned about leadership, both at home and at work, as well as the skills and values that you need to be a great leader.

Connect with David:

Twitter: @wdmorrisjr

Show notes:

David's journey to COO [1:59]

The magic of 'mid-life' [8:32]

The pressure to have things figured out [14:32]

What does it mean to get things right [16:40]

The glamorous alternative future [27:20]

How David built his career [31:54]

Learning values through hard lessons [38:02]

The hardest skills (you really need to learn) [47:07]

Great leadership and great parenting [50:33]

The battle against cynicism [54:58]

Mentioned in the show:

Forbes

Harvard Business Review

Full transcript:

https://theknowledge.io/davidmorris

About David Elikwu:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial entrepreneur, strategist and writer. David is the founder of The Knowledge, a platform helping people learn more and live better.

• Twitter: @Delikwu / @itstheknowledge
• Newsletter: https://theknowledge.io
• Website: https://www.davidelikwu.com,
• Podcast: http://plnk.to/theknowledge

David runs a course which will help you build a toolkit of mental models and bulletproof core skills that will drastically shorten the growth curve for your career, business or personal brand. Join the next cohort to take control of your path, build future-proof skills, and design a career you can be proud of.

http://careerhyperdrive.com

As a writer and serial entrepreneur, David Elikwu speaks with elite performers from a variety of backgrounds, unpacking everything there is to know about navigating the world around us.

This podcast is a catalogue of excellent data points. Join us each week for actionable insights to make sense of what matters most.

The Knowledge is an online publication designed to save you from information overload. It’s where you go to figure things out. A curated digest of the world's best ideas, drawing on insights from psychology, philosophy, business and culture. We explore tools, frameworks and stories that will help you navigate with clarity and cut through the noise.

Website: theknowledge.io

Podcast: plnk.to/theknowledge

David speaks with Joe Ferraro, a teacher, podcast host and speaking coach.

Joe Ferraro is currently in his 22nd year as an educator, teaching English 12, Public Speaking, and Creative Writing. In addition to his work in the classroom, he is the host of One percent better podcast, and founder of DamnGoodConversations.com, a company whose mission is to teach you repeatable ways to have the best conversations in your life and work.

Connect with Joe Ferraro:

Twitter: @FerraroOnAir Blog: https://www.damngoodconversations.com/damn-good-services

Show notes:

[Topics + timestamps]

Mentioned in the show:

DamnGoodConversations.com

Seth Godin

Full transcript:

https://theknowledge.io/joeferraro

About David Elikwu:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial entrepreneur, strategist and writer. David is the founder of The Knowledge, a platform helping people learn more and live better.

• Twitter: @Delikwu / @itstheknowledge
• Newsletter: https://theknowledge.io
• Website: https://www.davidelikwu.com,
• Podcast: http://plnk.to/theknowledge

The Knowledge:

As a writer and serial entrepreneur, David speaks with elite performers from a variety of backgrounds, unpacking everything there is to know about navigating the world around us.

This podcast is a catalogue of excellent data points. Join us each week for actionable insights to make sense of what matters most.

The Knowledge is an online publication designed to save you from information overload. The Knowledge is where you go to figure things out. It’s a curated digest of the world's best ideas, drawing on insights from psychology, philosophy, business and culture. We explore tools, frameworks and stories that will help you navigate with clarity and cut through the noise.

Website: theknowledge.io

Podcast: plnk.to/theknowledge

David speaks with Buster Benson, CEO of 750words.com, author of "Why Are We Yelling? The Art of Productive Disagreement".

Buster's had a well storied career across Silicon valley, having worked at Amazon Twitter, Slack and Patreon. But he's also an entrepreneur. He's built and co-founded several incredible businesses like 43things.com, Healthmonth.com, and currently is the CEO of 750words.com.

Connect with Buster:

Twitter: @buster

Book: Why Are We Yelling

Website: 750words.com

Show notes:

Buster as an introvert [4:19]

Why he’s willing to be authentic on the internet [5:38]

Buster's early experiences on the internet [6:30]

Being able to write online and having that creative streak [9:11]

What was it like coming into Amazon [13:13]

His text ad service for blogs [16:28]

What was the motivation? [21:29]

The infinite possibility of the internet [27:26]

What inspired Buster to write why are we yelling? [30:27]

Productive Arguing is a Secret Skill [36:33]

How to learn from people you disagree with [40:02]

Important considerations for the Metaverse [44:27]

The origin of 750 words, and why Buster built it [55:06]

Mentioned in the show:

NaNoWriMo

43things.com

Why Are We Yelling?

Thinking is hard

Cognitive bias cheat sheet

The Artist’s Way

Full transcript:

https://theknowledge.io/buster

About David Elikwu:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial entrepreneur, strategist and writer. David is the founder of The Knowledge, a platform helping people learn more and live better.

• Twitter: @Delikwu / @itstheknowledge
• Newsletter: https://theknowledge.io
• Website: https://www.davidelikwu.com,
• Podcast: http://plnk.to/theknowledge

The Knowledge:

As a writer and serial entrepreneur, David Elikwu speaks with elite performers from a variety of backgrounds, unpacking everything there is to know about navigating the world around us.

This podcast is a catalogue of excellent data points. Join us each week for actionable insights to make sense of what matters most.

The Knowledge is an online publication designed to save you from information overload. It’s where you go to figure things out. A curated digest of the world's best ideas, drawing on insights from psychology, philosophy, business and culture. We explore tools, frameworks and stories that will help you navigate with clarity and cut through the noise.

Website: theknowledge.io

Podcast: plnk.to/theknowledge

David Elikwu speaks with David Belle, a Trader, the founder of Macrodesiac and Director of Growth at TradingView

We talked about:

The psychology of traders and what makes investors like Warren Buffet so successful. We also talked about emerging trends in crypto and web3, and high leverage skills to build in your career.

Show notes:

Why most retail traders lose money [6:42]

How success leads to destruction [7:54]

Why Warren Buffet is a great investor [10:02]

The magic of financial markets people often overlook [29:14]

Why the crypto trend isn't going away [48:02]

How overlapping your skillset makes you powerful [51:51]

The biggest skill differentiator is... [54:38]

The one thing you need to take an unconventional path [56:57]

Connect with David Belle:

Twitter: @davidbelle_ @macrodesiac_

Mentioned in the show:

Macrodesiac

TradingView

Brokerage

Bridgewater

Davidbellefx.com

Finimize

Schumpeterian creative destruction

Charlie Munger

Warren Buffet

Full transcript:

https://www.theknowledge.io/dbelle/

About David Elikwu:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial entrepreneur, strategist and writer. David is the founder of The Knowledge, a platform helping people learn more and live better.

• Twitter: @Delikwu / @itstheknowledge
• Newsletter: https://theknowledge.io
• Website: https://www.davidelikwu.com,
• Podcast: http://plnk.to/theknowledge

David speaks with Urenna Okonkwo, the founder and CEO of luxury fashion fintech platform Cashmere. They talk about everything at the intersection of fashion and fintech, as well as Urenna's experiences fundraising and scaling.

At the age of 23, Urenna Okonkwo came up with the idea for an app to help women save for luxury purchases. Now Cashmere is the savings platform for fashion-forward women, who want to save sensibly.

Connect with Urenna:

@urennalexa

cashmereapp.co.uk

Full Transcript: www.theknowledge.io/urenna/

About David:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial entrepreneur, strategist and writer. David is the founder of The Knowledge, a platform helping people learn more and live better.

- Twitter: @Delikwu / @itstheknowledge

- Website: https://www.davidelikwu.com, https://theknowledge.io

- Podcast: http://plnk.to/theknowledge

David speaks with JJ Bola, a published poet and author. Continuing from last week, their conversation touches on the impacts of stereotypes on black masculinity, the consequences of colonialism on cultural pride within ethnic communities.

This is the second episode of a 2-part series!

JJ Bola is a Congo-borne accomplished poet and author, having released 3 poetry collections (Elevate, Daughter of the Sun, and WORD) and 2 novels (No Place to Call Home, Mask Off) in the last 5 years. His latest novel, The Selfless Act of Breathing (2021), tackling themes such as mental health, police brutality, and the power of love, is out later this year!

Connect with JJ Bola:

Twitter/Instagram:

@JJ_Bola

Jjbola.com

Show notes:

• The burden of successful black stereotypes, and the consequences of sexualisation
• The self-fulfilling prophecy of stereotypes
• Loss of cultural heritage and history (and the consequent replacement of taught racial history)
• Consequences of colonialism on history and heritage
• The recent realisation of cultural identity, and appreciation of cultural differences
• Impacts of colonialism on other ethnic communities

Quotes:

“it's a real conversation that we need to have amongst ourselves. But places like Twitter seems to be the only platform for it. And there's just not enough nuance like it's about popular voices, it's about retweets, it's about, you know hashtags.”

“I think the most powerful thing that we can do, I say like, as black people, is connect with our ancestral lineage, connect with our history is never by culture. That's the pathway to liberation that effort, like everything else, has been tried and tested, you know, and I think that the further that we get along, we can talk about, you know representation in, in, in society, but as long as the society remains white supremacist materialistic which is like. It's not going to liberate us, but the more we are traditionally tied to our ancestral values.”

“you're gonna learn about this culture you're going to embrace it in a very different way. And I think that's something I would love to see more within our community as well, maybe not just even from Africa, but I guess Pan African as well I'm looking around the diaspora and we can embrace each other. I'm looking at how we can find that collective identity.”

Full transcript:

[Link]

About David:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial entrepreneur, operator and strategist who traded corporate law for tech. He now helps startups to scale. David previously founded Baba’s Flight Club and is currently building Democratic Republic, a sustainable coffee and wine company. David writes weekly about learning more and living better in The Knowledge newsletter, and speaks regularly on The Knowledge podcast, Travel n Turn up podcast, and The Knowledge: Office Hours.

• Twitter: @Delikwu / @DemRepWorld
• Website: davidelikwu.com, demrepworld.com
• Newsletter: theknowledge.substack.com
• Podcast: gopod.me/theknowledge, travelandturnup.com

The Knowledge:

Welcome to The Knowledge, hosted by David Elikwu. David is on a journey of learning more and living better, and sharing everything he discovers along the way. As a writer, tinkerer, and serial entrepreneur, David unpacks wisdom from elite performers and everyday people, highlighting everything you need to know to navigate the world around you.

Newsletter: theknowledge.substack.com

Podcast: gopod.me/theknowledge

David speaks with JJ Bola, a published poet and author, on how he went from being a good writer to a published author, as well as his experiences grappling with a multinational identity, his views on social justice and masculinity within the black community and how all of these topics influence him to write.

This is the first episode of a 2-part series!

JJ Bola is a Congo-borne accomplished poet and author, having released 3 poetry collections (Elevate, Daughter of the Sun, and WORD) and 2 novels (No Place to Call Home, Mask Off) in the last 5 years. His latest novel, The Selfless Act of Breathing (2021), tackling themes such as mental health, police brutality, and the power of love, is out later this year!

Connect with JJ Bola:

Twitter/Instagram:

@JJ_Bola

Jjbola.com

Show notes:

JJ Bola discusses his career progressions as a writer and poet

The importance of consistency in writing

Structuring hobbies outside a 9-to-5

The influence of environment and identity in writing

The levels of identity in first and second-generation immigrant children, and its impacts on personal philosophy and allegiance

Impacts of foreign political struggles on identity, and the importance of empathy amidst confusion

The hierarchy of the black community in British society

Social justice and how it affects communities

The sexualisation of successful black men, and how it affects masculinity

Reclamation of identity and humanity (reclaiming the N-word, buying back land)

Archetype personalities and black masculine stereotypes

Impacts of materialism and capitalism on black stereotypes

About David:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial-entrepreneur, operator and strategist who traded corporate law for tech. He now helps startups to scale. David previously founded Baba’s Flight Club, and is currently building Democratic Republic, a sustainable coffee and wine company. David writes weekly about learning more and living better in The Knowledge newsletter, and speaks regularly on The Knowledge podcast, Travel n Turn up podcast, and The Knowledge: Office Hours.

Twitter: @Delikwu / @DemRepWorld

Website: davidelikwu.com, demrepcoffee.com

Newsletter: theknowledge.substack.com

Podcast: gopod.me/theknowledge, travelandturnup.com

The Knowledge:

Welcome to The Knowledge, hosted by David Elikwu. David is on a journey of learning more and living better and sharing everything he discovers along the way. As a writer, tinkerer, and serial entrepreneur, David unpacks wisdom from elite performers and everyday people, highlighting everything you need to know to navigate the world around you.

Newsletter: theknowledge.substack.com

Podcast: gopod.me/theknowledge

The pandemic has unearthed uncomfortable conversations on privilege and its impact on different social groups in uncertain times. However, the experience of privilege isn’t always a negative, but something which we should recognise and have more honest conversations about going forward.

// You'll find the show notes/newsletter edition of this episode here: http://bit.ly/tkissue26

Introduction: the future of learning, the privilege paradox [0:15]

Thoughts on how the pandemic disrupts theoretical discussion (Case Studies: Universal Basic Income) [2:02]

Case Study: Remote Working [3:55]

Case Study: Remote Learning [5:10]

The drawbacks of remote learning [7:00]

Dispensing of grading and traditional assessments [10:55]

The racial biases within the predicted grading system and the disadvantages to black students [12:03]

The Birth Lottery: Fortune, Friction, Hope and Luck [15:23]

Meritocracy has its merits [16:50]

The lack of representation in privilege [18:40]

The privilege of living in the modern age, and digital access [20:05]

Natural Friction and Manufactured Friction [21:58]

How benefit of the doubt is a misallocated resource [24:02]

Varying degrees of friction and culture [25:00]

The real issue with denying privilege exists [27:00]

// If you liked this episode, check out my thought-provoking newsletter full of dry humour and useful resources at: www.theknowledge.substack.com.

// Keep the conversation going on Twitter at @Delikwu using the hashtag #TheKnowledge

David speaks with Joycelyn Mate, the co-founder of Afrocenchix. They talked about Joycelyn’s journey building an afro haircare brand, scaling it, and the challenges they faced fundraising as Black women founders.

Joycelyn Mate is one of the amazing brains behind Afrocenchix, an overnight success ten year in the making. The unintentional business she started with her friend Rachael while at university became the first afro haircare brand to be stocked at Whole Foods UK, and the pair have already raised over half a million pounds in venture funding, including backing by WeWork/SoftBank.

Connect with Joycelyn:

Twitter:

@joymatespeaks

@Afrocenchix

www.afrocenchix.com

Show notes - [Topics + timestamps]

Early days of Afrocenchix [1:29]

How Afrocenchix came about [4:17]

Initial response to Afrocenchix [6:42]

The journey to find product market fit [9:15]

How the market reacted to Afrocenchix [11:58]

How Afrocenchix formulated customer trust [16:12]

Afrocenchix’s fundraising experiences [18:18] [20:46]

What black and female founders actually need and bias in funding [21:49]

Why capital is key [28:21]

Trials and tribulations of creating a team [31:01]

How you can use personality tests and types to foster greater teamwork [33:45]

Joycelyn’s business role models [39:17]

Joycelyn’s advice for business and life - the art of mastery [42:24]

The iceberg analogy [46:50]

Joycelyn’s advice for founders, VCs, and investors [48:30]

About David:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial-entrepreneur, operator and strategist who traded corporate law for tech. He now helps startups to scale. David previously founded Baba’s Flight Club, and is currently building Democratic Republic, a sustainable coffee and wine company. David writes weekly about learning more and living better in The Knowledge newsletter, and speaks regularly on The Knowledge podcast, Travel n Turn up podcast, and The Knowledge: Office Hours.

Twitter: @LegendofBaba / @DemRepWorld

Website: davidelikwu.com, demrepcoffee.com

Newsletter: theknowledge.substack.com

Podcast: gopod.me/theknowledge, travelandturnup.com

The Knowledge:

Welcome to The Knowledge, hosted by David Elikwu. David is on a journey of learning more and living better, and sharing everything he discovers along the way. As a writer, tinkerer, and serial entrepreneur, David unpacks wisdom from elite performers and everyday people, highlighting everything you need to know to navigate the world around you.

Newsletter: theknowledge.substack.com

Podcast: gopod.me/theknowledge

The perfect, constant work/life balance probably doesn’t exist, but there are great frameworks you can use to find greater fulfilment in all areas of your life.

// You'll find the show notes / newsletter edition of this episode here.

// If you liked this episode, check out my thought-provoking newsletter full of dry humour and useful resources at: www.theknowledge.substack.com.

// Keep the conversation going on Twitter at @Legendofbaba using the hashtag #TheKnowledge