You Can Too with James Brackin IV #156: Cliff Weitzman ⎼ Lessons From Building Speechify To 20+ Million Users
May 18, 2023
Cliff Weitzman, founder of Speechify, shares his journey of overcoming dyslexia and building the #1 speech reader in the world. Topics include his delusional optimism, expanding comfort zone, fast speed listening, their deal with author Brandon Sanderson, personal growth through challenges, power of belief and visualization, retaining knowledge, building muscle and memory, valuing time and learning from others.
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How A Canceled Birthday Sparked A Reading Breakthrough
- At nine Cliff faked reading to impress his dad, got caught, and had his birthday party canceled which led to a Passover library binge where he taught himself to read.
- That intense discipline produced the emotional breakthrough: his first book read made him cry from joy.
Use Repetition And Priming To Build Confidence
- Use daily affirmations and repetition to shift belief when facing a hard skill; Cliff looped empowering songs while coding to convince himself he could do software engineering.
- Pair emotional priming with long, consistent practice to convert belief into competence.
What Makes Leaders and Teams Truly Competent
- Cliff values hiring, speed, product quality, and 'leading with love' as core company principles, and he prioritizes hiring many candidates to find exceptional fits.
- He assesses leaders by IC skill, teaching ability, execution speed, and strategic prioritization rather than pedigree.