Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

Could modernizing one of medicine's oldest practices — the house call — dramatically improve care for disadvantaged populations? What if doctors and nurses could treat an entire family in their home through a value-based care model that aligns incentives for both providers and payers? These are the questions Dr. Rebekah Gee aims to answer with Nest Health, a new health startup that's reinventing in-home care.Dr. Gee is uniquely suited to lead this effort; she's a mother of five and OBGYN who led Louisiana State University's healthcare program from 2020 to 2022 and the state of Louisiana's Department of Health from 2016 to 2020. She made a name for herself by deftly managing a $14 billion budget and negotiating drug pricing to make a costly Hepatitis-C drug available for tens of thousands of Louisianans. Previously, Dr. Gee served as the Medicaid Medical Director for Louisiana Medicaid and also worked on the healthcare transition team for President-elect Barack Obama. She's now applying the learnings from her extensive public service to build Nest, which is focused on improving health outcomes for Louisiana families on Medicaid. Dr. Gee explains the hurdles she overcame to innovate within Medicaid and how Nest's in-home care model could scale throughout the country to transform lives, cut costs, and increase productivity in American healthcare.Thanks for following Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

In India, "entrepreneur" was once a dirty word; today it's one of the most desirable career paths for young people. How did this transformation occur? How did the world's largest democracy break out of socialism? What does the remarkable rise of India augur for the 21st century?‍We explore these questions and more with Aditya Berlia, a serial entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and the co-founder and pro-chancellor of the Apeejay Stya University (ASU). Adi discusses his pioneering efforts in India's education sector, including building ASU — the country's first industry-focused technology and liberal arts university. He also explains his work around the world in biotech and how the U.S. FDA can more effectively partner with international manufacturers looking to access U.S. markets.  Finally, he provides a unique perspective on America's challenges and how the world's two largest democracies can more closely ally and partner in the decades ahead.Thanks for following Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

How do we ensure that capital flows more efficiently to the best ideas and creates more value for society? One way is to enable more people to access the best investment opportunities, many of which are in private markets (aka alternative investments) that are notoriously difficult to navigate. It can take a team of lawyers to manage the mountain of paperwork and outdated analog processes — a stark contrast to one-click retail investing in public markets. Eliot Hodges, the CEO of Anduin, and his team are solving this problem. Anduin's software platform is digitizing the private markets and democratizing access — they've already helped more than 25,000 investors onboard at nearly 500 funds and raise over $45 billion in capital.  An early employee at Palantir and Blend, Eliot explains his entrepreneurial journey and why Anduin's success is important for the innovation economy. What also makes Anduin unique is that it's a Silicon Valley startup employing top talent in Vietnam.  Eliot discusses how he encourages collaboration across different cultures and why the caliber of engineering skills outside the U.S. is reshaping the tech landscape. Thanks for following Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Is the U.S. on the verge of an unprecedented banking crisis? Other than Bitcoin, where is Balaji keeping his money? Could the government try to confiscate assets like FDR's gold seizures in the 1930s? Will red and blue states break into a cold civil war over the fiscal fallout?  Learn why Balaji is sounding the alarm and why these scenarios may not be as far-fetched as you might think. We also discuss the roots of the current banking crisis and debate whether America's dysfunctional and broken institutions can be saved, or if it's too late to rescue our republic.  Balaji is one of the leading investors, entrepreneurs, and writers of our time. For years, he's been an outspoken advocate for cryptocurrency and the larger decentralized finance movement, while boldly warning of the consequences of our nation's reckless fiscal policy.  He was formerly the Chief Technology Officer of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.  He's also the author of "The Network State: How to Start a New Country" and host of the Network State Podcast.Thanks for following Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Maria Davidson is the Founder and CEO of Kojo. Each year, the U.S. construction industry spends roughly $250 billion on materials, much of which is still managed by pen and paper (Excel is considered cutting-edge). Kojo is a software solution that digitizes the process, à la Amazon for contractors, and vastly improves productivity, efficiency, and safety. Learn why it took an immigrant entrepreneur and industry outsider like Maria to help modernize a giant sector of our economy that is notoriously slow to change. Maria was born in the Soviet Union, raised in Israel, and moved to London at 13. She graduated from Oxford University where she studied philosophy and served as President of the Oxford Union. We discuss the most controversial speakers she invited and why encountering divergent viewpoints is fundamental to the health of a free society. After Oxford, she landed at Goldman Sachs in London before making the leap to Silicon Valley and joining the 8VC team. Applying her philosopher's perspective, Maria sought to understand why it's extremely difficult and expensive to build in America today. That led her, at only 26 years old, to found Kojo, which is now processing over $1 billion in materials orders for thousands of customers nationwide.  Thanks for reading Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Nathan Mintz is the Founder and CEO of Spartan Radar and, previously, the Co-Founder and CEO of Epirus.  In his twenties, Nathan sought to reform California's broken government and ran for state assembly twice, albeit unsuccessfully. Yet, his loss became our gain as he's become a leading entrepreneur in directed energy and radar systems.  In fact, Nathan has built a reputation for attracting some of the best engineering talent in the country.He began his career at Raytheon and Boeing, designing sensors and electronic warfare systems for the U.S. military.  He used that knowledge to launch Epirus, which now boasts the world's most powerful directed energy system (Leonidas).  He's currently building Spartan Radar and developing software that can dramatically improve automotive radar and accelerate the path to ubiquitous self-driving vehicles.  We discuss his entrepreneurial journey and knack for attracting top talent, as well as the economic and cultural implications of widespread autonomy.  He also explains why he's bullish on a new space age and predicts SpaceX will reach Mars in the next several years! (This episode was recorded before SpaceX’s recent Starship launch.) Thanks for reading Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Peter Attia is a renowned physician, podcast host, and best-selling author of "Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity." Peter received his M.D. from Stanford University and was awarded "Resident of the Year" in general surgery at Johns Hopkins University, but left medicine before coming back years later with new perspectives and becoming one of the world's most sought-after longevity experts. In this episode (we are also joined by our mutual friend and best-selling author Ryan Holiday), Peter explains the core principles and exercises to maximize and extend quality of life. We also discuss the obesity paradox and why Americans, on average, are becoming increasingly unhealthy — and how we can reverse that troubling trend.Peter is trusted by a lot of amazing people I know, and he continues to innovate and test his theories, diets, and exercises on himself. His wisdom and expertise have improved lives around the world, and will challenge you to rethink your daily habits.Thanks for reading Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Joe Gebbia is the co-founder of Airbnb, which grew from an experiment in his San Francisco living room into a multi-billion dollar global company that transformed the hospitality industry. And his new startup, Samara, is reimagining how homeowners utilize their backyards by offering state-of-the-art Accessory Dwelling Units.  In this episode, Gebbia explains the unlikely genesis of Airbnb, the challenges in unlocking the sharing economy, and how Samara could address many of America's housing issues.We learn about Gebbia's most famous high school prank - and how he channels his creative, entrepreneurial energy into reshaping how people live, travel, and engage with the world around them.  We also discuss Gebbia's inspiring philanthropic work, which has touched millions of lives, and hear why he changed his perspective on nuclear energy and now believes it’s one of the most important technologies for the future of the planet.Thanks for reading Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Yitz Applbaum is a philanthropist, international bon vivant, and accomplished venture capitalist specializing in Israel and the Middle East. He began his career building a banking software company (acquired by Bank of America) before joining Lightspeed Ventures and later founding MizMaa Ventures.  In this episode, he discusses how Israel transformed from a nation of impoverished refugees into an innovation powerhouse.  Looking ahead, he explains how the Abraham Accords are reshaping the Middle East economically and culturally  — Yitz, an orthodox Jew, is currently Chairman of a genome sequencing company in Saudi Arabia!He also expounds on some of the most important recent archeological discoveries in Israel, given his role on the Board of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.  Moreover, Yitz is a prolific collector of whiskey and Kosher wine — we open our favorite bottle of scotch in this episode!Thanks for reading Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Admiral Bill McRaven is an American hero and former Commander of U.S. Special Forces Command who oversaw the planning and execution of the raid to kill Osama bin Laden. He's a retired Navy SEAL and four-star admiral whose command experience and academic writings helped shape U.S. Special Forces into the finest fighting force in the world. He's also a best-selling author and former Chancellor of the University of Texas System. In this episode, Adm. McRaven shares leadership lessons from his distinguished career, explains how the Bin Laden raid almost went awry, and reflects on why his "Make your bed" commencement address went viral to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. He also weighs in on current events like modernizing the Defense Department, Russia's surprising failures in Ukraine, and how the U.S. should address the rise of China.Thanks for reading Joe Lonsdale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com