Gurley describes how MrBeast at 17 formed a peer group of four who spent 16 hours daily together learning YouTube.
“And he was trying to figure out how to be better at the game of YouTube, and he met three other people that were on that same journey.”
Gurley recounts how MrBeast and three peers spent sixteen hours daily on Skype for four years learning YouTube together.
“And they claim, this is probably an overstatement, but they claimed they were on Skype together sixteen hours a day for four years.”
Gurley quotes Mark Cuban dividing people into those using LLMs to learn faster versus skip learning.
“Mark Cuban said there are two types of people in this world, those that use LLMs to learn faster than they ever could before and those that use LLMs to skip learning altogether.”
Jackson Square Ventures Book Club
“And I mean so at this recent TED, I just went to Neil Cotyal who argued the supreme court case on the tariffs and won.”
Gurley describes Danny Meyer creating a list of ten impressive people in his field and keeping journals studying them.
“Danny created a list right when he decided to go do it of the 10 most impressive people in the restaurant industry at that moment in time, from his perspective, and started keeping a journal on each one of them and studying them from afar.”
Gurley argues learning has never been easier or freer than today for high-agency people.
“For people that have high agency and want to learn, there's never been a time in the history of the world where that is as easy and free as it is today.”
Gurley explains that when fascinated with something, learning gives energy rather than consuming it, creating unfair advantage.
“when you're fascinated with something, obsessive with something, the learning's free. And what I mean by free is it doesn't suck energy, it gives you energy.”
Gurley describes MrBeast and three peers doing sixteen-hour daily Skype calls for four years, all becoming millionaires.
“he says, sixteen hours a day for four years. And they were sharing what they were learning. And they didn't view themselves as competitors. They all ended up with over a million followers.”
Gurley quotes MrBeast saying any random person on those Skype calls would have achieved the same millionaire success.
“And he said another thing which I think really drives home the point. He said, if any random person had been on those Skype calls, they would have achieved those same things.”
Gurley recounts MrBeast saying anyone on their sixteen-hour-a-day Skype calls would have succeeded on YouTube.
“He said, if any random person had been on those Skype calls, they would have achieved those same things.”
Gurley argues studying what fascinates you gives energy while studying uninteresting subjects drains it, creating competitive advantage.
“If you're completely fascinated with something, the hone your craft, the continuous learning gives you energy. If you're forced to study a subject you're not that interested in, it feels like work.”
Gurley quotes Cuban dividing people into those who use LLMs to learn faster versus those avoiding learning.
“He said, there are two types of people in the world, those that use LLMs to learn faster and even more, and those that use LLMs to avoid learning.”
Gurley used AI to analyze best nonfiction conclusions, discovering eight of ten take orthogonal directions.
“And in reading through that list, I noticed that eight or nine of the 10 took an orthogonal direction to the book, so it didn't summarize.”
Gurley recommends profiling field-defining figures to study what makes them great using available resources.
“Like if you're gonna go be a writer, you know, have a profile of Michael Lewis and Malcolm Gladwell and Krakauer and like study what makes them great.”
Gurley cites Cuban's distinction between using LLMs to accelerate learning versus avoiding learning entirely.
“Mark Cuban the other day tweeted, he said he said there's two types of people. The the people that use LLMs to learn faster and the people that use LLMs to not learn at all.”
Gurley recommends keeping fanboy journals studying people defining your field to accelerate learning.
“Like, there's there's never been a better time in the history of the world to learn on your own time.”
Gurley cites Mark Cuban distinguishing people who use LLMs to learn faster versus not learn at all.
“The the people that use LLMs to learn faster and the people that use LLMs to not learn at all. I thought that was profound.”
Gurley claims learning and finding mentors is 10 to 100 times easier in industry epicenters.
“But the thing is many of the principles that I have in the book from constant learning to peers and mentors are just 10 to a 100 times easier if you're right in the middle of it with everybody else.”
Gurley cites 58% disengagement and 15% quiet quitting data, contrasts with founders' constant learning requirements.
“15 of those 58 say they're quiet quitting. These are horrible numbers. Founders live on the edge of a new technological shift constantly, and they can't not know what's happening next.”
Gurley argues founders must constantly study new technology at a level uncommon in most other industries.
“Founders live on the edge of a new technological shift constantly, and they can't not know what's happening next. It requires a level of studying that is foreign in other industries and other fields.”
Gurley's test for career passion is whether you would spend free time learning about the topic.
“And that is simply, would you spend time outside of work learning about this topic?”
Gurley recommends executives develop five peers in similar companies for quarterly knowledge sharing.
“I've often gone to my founders or CEOs and I say, you should tell every one of your direct reports to develop five peers in nearby companies, not direct competitors, things that look similar, and have them meet with them four times a year and then bring back and report up.”
Gurley says he encourages founders to have executives develop five external peers and meet quarterly, but gets pushback.
“And I've been very unable to make that programmatic or make that successful and people find it foreign.”
Gurley reports Chinese VCs study the West exhaustively while the West does not reciprocate on China.
“They read everything they possibly can. They study any speech. They look at the financials. And he said, the West doesn't do that of China.”