In this conversation, Max talks with Matt Starr, a materials engineer, who left the engineering field to become the founder of Rally Energy, a caffeinated products company. Matt also shares why he believes anyone (particularly students) can use the scientific method to make better choices.

Things discussed in the conversation:

[0:43] How would you characterize yourself at this point?

[3:45] Did you have any favorite resources that were recommended to you or that you personally like to use?

[12:35] Was there a moment when you knew that you had moved away from wanting to be an engineer all of your life to becoming an entrepreneur?

[36:47] What university resources have you used that were helpful?

[44:38] What about competitions?

[54:00] What advice would you give a smart, driven college student?

“When you start from zero, every little step matters.”

“The only way to get out of failure is to try.”

MERLIN Mentors

WARF (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation)

Rally Energy

Falcon Heavy Launch

A16 Z Andreessen-Horowitz Podcast

About this Episode

In this conversation, Max talks with Ben Arneberg, a former Air Force officer who jumped out of airplanes, built two 7-figure e-commerce businesses, and developed satellites. Their conversation covered some of these topics:

[2:04] What was your first step from being interested in e-commerce to actively launching a business?

[4:40] Looking back how do you view the initial $5,000 investment you put in your business?

[6:45] Did you have a mentor when you first started out?

[8:50] Were there any mastermind groups or events that helped you?

[12:20] How did you balance working full-time and have the time to launch multiple e-commerce businesses?

[14:00] What other tactics did you use to get the most out of your time?

[17:35] What advice would you give an aspiring college student?

[19:05] How did you decide on your career? Did you follow your heart, follow the money, or something else?

[22:08] Did you learn any lessons while you were a military paratrooper?

[25:00] Did becoming a paratrooper make you more open to taking risks or did you become a paratrooper because you were already a risj taker?

[25:40] What things do you do now to stay adaptive to change and risk?

[27:00] What is the coolest thing you’ve seen in the space industry?

[27:40] Would you see yourself going back into the aerospace industry?

[28:18] What type of space technology are you most interested in seeing?

“The only way you’re going to grow, as a person trying to build your business, is through the introduction of new information or meeting new people.”

“…try to be prudent and discerning to find the people who are actually doing well…or look like they’re on that path because