WYRD

Wesley Wang is the founder of Wesley Wang Media. At 20, he became the youngest director in history to sign a major feature deal with Sony's TriStar Pictures, for his viral short "nothing, except everything", produced by Oscar-nominee Darren Aronofsky.

This is a conversation about what comes after the dream every filmmaker wants—and what he built instead.

0:09 nothing except everything going viral

0:27 a year writing a script that never got made

2:29 what wesley wanted vs. what the studio wanted

3:24 walking away and starting his own company

5:26 recognizable IP wins in an AI world

8:00 the reality of running a company at 22

12:09 "you could've been a quant." why filmmaking?

13:07 how to not get crushed by uncertainty

14:09 asian parents

17:48 getting hate bombed on Letterboxd and Reddit

22:10 has he changed since making the film?

24:33 self-expression vs what the market wants

29:00 the hill he's running toward

Rich Zou came to the Bay Area a year ago with $1000 in his bank at 20 years old.He share his story of growing up in NYC with a single mom, dropping out of Northeastern, and his journey from getting rejected to all investment banking internship to joining xAI and now starting his own talent investing fund.0:00 Getting rejected from all his IB internships 1 year ago0:38 Raised by a single mom in NY3:41 Taking risks with Asian parents4:59 How Rich got into silicon valley6:52 "I will work for free"7:35 Telling his mom he was dropping out of school8:26 How the xAI cofounder gave him a chance10:46 The alpha is in poker nights14:33 Luck is if people fuck with you16:40 "I literally cannot lose"18:34 Talent business and good recruiting22:41 Downsides of an exponential trajectory23:56 Day in the life running an angel fund28:41 Bad cold emails30:49 Being in the right communitiesFollow Rich:X:https://x.com/richzouWebsite: https://richzou.com/Follow WYRD ShowX: https://x.com/srachaInstagram:   / wyrdshow  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3R1CazI...Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Website: https://www.wyrd.show/

My conversation with Nicole Summer Hsing, founder of Arcarae.

She shares her story of trying to understand the mind, and how to build technology that helps us actually discover who we are.

0:00 Brutality of public hate while building what you love

3:07 Discarding stress at a Tibetan Buddhist retreat

5:51 Iterations before Arcarae and burnout

8:47 How do you build a product around self-discovery?

14:45 AI research as another form of introspection

16:51 What should we do with our lives?

20:11 Fear of not meeting your goals

23:39 How do you ascend on all dimensions of life?

26:08 How Nicole structures her week to protect her creativity

27:26 Climbing out of the void

Nicole on X: https://x.com/NicoleSHsing

Nicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolehsing/

Arcarae: https://www.arcarae.com/research

Follow WYRD Show

X: https://x.com/sracha

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyrdshow/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3R1CazIaPwa6Jp9SWvj7c9?si=9336c7f9d0b64953

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wyrd/id1832753373

Website: https://www.wyrd.show/

TechJoyce is the funniest Gen Z tech content creator, with 6M followers across platforms. Part 2 conversation about the reality of her life.

0:00 How she knew she wanted to be a Youtuber

0:44 Growing up in scarcity

3:10 Evolving relationship with money

5:26 Falling off, losing touch with reality and your audience

7:04 Why her videos consistently get millions of views

8:02 How she makes money from Youtube

9:53 Getting rejected from UBC

11:29 The reality of not going to college

13:05 Uncertainty, moving out, getting control of your life

16:57 Wanting to be normal 19 year old

Verda shares the real story of how she skipped college, moved to SF, and started underground robot fighting. We talk about breaking out of frameworks, being an autonomous human being, and writing scripts for your own life. 0:00 Starting in Michigan5:11 Why she didn't go to college7:02 Moving out at 188:21 Getting lucky10:22 Writing the script of her life13:11 Joining a 3D printing company 15:39 Car crash and losing control16:22 Moving to SF with 2 suitcases19:52 Despair and reality20:36 Recognizing the next opportunity22:01 How to start a robot fight clubVerda on X: https://x.com/verdakorz

TechJoyce is the funniest Gen Z tech content creator, with 6M followers across platforms. She's a 19 year old with everything she could want. We talk about the reality of her life.

Timestamps:

0:00 Buying a house at 19

1:14 Living with freedom

3:59 Misery in high school

5:29 No one cares about your insecurities

6:18 Internal self unmoved by the external world

7:23 Becoming TechJoyce

10:26 Choosing engineering for college apps

13:54 Why TechJoyce always goes viral

17:19 Making and spending Money

19:42 I can do more, more, more

22:40 Reality of abandoning college

23:12 How to be happy

TechJoyce:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TechJoyce

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techjoyce/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@techjoyce?lang=en

Follow WYRD Show

X: https://x.com/sracha

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyrdshow/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-z-b0308b199/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3R1CazIaPwa6Jp9SWvj7c9?si=9336c7f9d0b64953

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wyrd/id1832753373

Website: https://www.wyrd.show/

I ask Roy about ego, reputation, the 2 year time period between getting rescinded from Harvard and transferring into Columbia, learning everything for the first time in front of the world, and more. 00:00 Authentic people are disliked5:00 Reputation with 10 vs 10 million people8:45 Risk framework when launching Interview Coder11:24 No regrets on burning bridges15:01 Looking down on people?16:23 Being a founder is not that hard22:53 Taking risk without rich parents25:23 The 2 years between Harvard & Columbia28:56 5 months of conscious comatose32:35 How to be shameless: Ego vs Arrogance 41:28 "I wanted everyone to recognize the person my ego thought I was"44:10 Why do controversial people (Trump, Kanye, Elon) win?49:55 Learning everything in front of the worldMore about WYRD: https://www.wyrd.show/manifesto

My conversation with Jackson Denka, founder of Azura.

Jackson on X: https://x.com/jacksondenkaSarah on X: https://x.com/srachaWYRD Show: https://www.wyrd.show/

Timestamps:0:33 Dropping out of UChicago with a full-ride scholarship

2:26 Falling through the cracks of society

9:12 Why AI is disturbing

13:38 Influencer culture was the most inefficient market of the last decade

15:05 Crypto is the only market with upside for the average person

21:56 No matter what outcome AI brings, you need to be taking more risk

25:04 Conviction in intercepting the world's trajectory

27:31 The top 1% warrants criticism

30:46 Everyone hates crypto but it's beautiful

If you don't hit a life crisis, it's coming for you. My conversation with Danielle Strachman, cofounder of 1517 Fund and Thiel Fellowship. 1:02 The terrifying role luck plays in success8:16 The pursuit of excellence is exhausting15:39 Finding her mission of bringing freedom & autonomy to young people24:56 Why is it so hard to attain clarity of desire25:31 People get threatened by others enacting on their desires31:07 Is there an age deadline to being exceptional?39:22 Incredible stories over the years ft. Shahed from Loom45:23 How to survive uncertainty50:33 The point is not to get what you want52:40 How does it feel that this is your lifeDanielle's X: https://x.com/DStrachmanWYRD Show: https://www.wyrd.show/

Viraj Ala is a 21-year old, San Francisco-based content creator. He creates vox-pop, street interview-driven content that democratizes Silicon Valley by bringing conversations with top founders, investors, and creators to aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals.Shout out to Viraj for allowing me to share such a vulnerable story, Matt Lo for being the goat editor, and Succinct for sponsoring this show!

Timestamps:0:44 Being a content creator is harder than being a founder

7:19 How to be patient for results and not go insane

11:18 Realizing he was a bum at 16

13:43 Passion + Shame = Greatness

20:22 Transferring to Berkeley

22:33 Big Tech, Consulting, & White House

24:45 Leaving Berkeley to pursue content

31:50 How to make the most exceptional content

35:40 Letting go of people from your past

40:51 When hard work produces no result

44:20 How Viraj gets opportunities to interview billionaires

48:10 Shame and passion in pursuing your pathViraj's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viraj.ala/WYRD Show: https://www.wyrd.show/Sponsor: https://www.succinct.xyz/