231: Single Origin Coffee

Embedded.fm · 25 Jan 2018 · 1h 09m · Episode 231

What this episode covers

Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, discusses his new book 'WTF: What's the Future and Why It's Up to Us', exploring the shift from shareholder value to platform ecosystems and the future of work. He argues that while technology creates dislocation, it also generates new jobs through the 'law of conservation of attractive profits,' citing the rise of single-origin coffee as an example of value creation. O'Reilly also reflects on his role in defining open source, the importance of building trusted institutions, and the history of O'Reilly's iconic animal book covers.

Mentioned

Companies
O'Reilly Media, Uber, Google, Amazon, Patreon, Kickstarter, Lyft, Tesla, SpaceX, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Alibaba, Black Rock, Institute for New Economic Thinking, Computational Propaganda Initiative
Products
Maker Fair, Foo Camp, Android

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Oxide and Friends · 1h 39m

    Open Source and Capitalism with Ashley Williams and Adam Jacob

    Ashley Williams (former CTO of MPM, now at Akzo) and Adam Jacob (founder of Chef, now at Oxide Computer Company) join Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal to discuss the economic tensions between open source software and capitalism. They analyze the failure of the 'open core' business model, citing HashiCorp's license change and MongoDB's struggles as evidence that giving away core value for free destroys monetization potential. The group contrasts this with Red Hat's successful model of selling proprietary distributions and support, arguing that sustainable open source businesses must charge for the product itself rather than the code.

  • How I Built This · 40m

    ICYMI... HIBT Lab! The Financial Diet: Chelsea Fagan

    Chelsea Fagan, founder and CEO of The Financial Diet, explains how she transformed a personal Tumblr blog into a sustainable multimedia business focused on personal finance for women. She details her decision to reject venture capital and aggressive growth in favor of employee satisfaction, a 4-day work week, and transparent revenue streams including events, YouTube, and brand partnerships. Fagan emphasizes her strict editorial red lines, such as refusing to promote crypto or weight-loss schemes, to maintain audience trust and long-term sustainability over short-term profit maximization.

  • Oxide and Friends · 1h 43m

    Books in the box redux

    Guest Scott Johnson shares a detailed war story about being fired by Dave Mahoney after a corporate acquisition, illustrating the dangers of hiring leaders who are 'rich, not hungry' and lack marketing skills. The group discusses the importance of reading industry history, citing books like 'Soul of a New Machine' and 'Steve Jobs & the NeXT Big Thing' to understand organizational dynamics and failure modes. They also explore broader themes of social capital in 'Bowling Alone' and the ethical complexities of technology in 'IBM and the Holocaust'.

  • How I Built This · 41m

    Cultivating a creative community with Tina Roth-Eisenberg of CreativeMornings

    Tina Roth-Eisenberg, founder of CreativeMornings, explains how her 2008 Brooklyn co-working space, Studio Mates, evolved into a global network of 200+ free creative meetups. She details the organic growth from a single New York chapter to a distributed model, highlighting the pivotal role of Mailchimp’s Ben Chestnut in providing early sponsorship and the strategic shift toward community-led support. Roth-Eisenberg also discusses her parallel ventures, including the blog Swiss Miss and the temporary tattoo company Tatley, which she sold to Pilot in 2022 to focus entirely on CreativeMornings.

  • How I Built This · 29m

    Less competition, more creation with Renée Mauborgne

    Renée Mauborgne, co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy and Beyond Disruption, explains how entrepreneurs can create uncontested market space rather than fighting in saturated 'red oceans.' She uses examples like Cirque du Soleil, Tesla, and Rivian to illustrate 'value innovation' and discusses the concept of 'non-disruptive creation' with examples like Prodigy Finance and pet Halloween costumes. Mauborgne advises founders to lean into their own experiences and directly observe pain points to identify opportunities that don't displace existing industries, particularly in areas like age tech and environmental consulting.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.