Casey Handmer of Terraform Industries on solar maximalism, hard tech, and reclaiming the Salton Sea
DescriptionCasey Handmer is the founder of Terraform Industries, who is developing a machine that makes synthetic natural gas from sunlight and air. He joins the podcast to explain his solar maximalist worldview, why he believes solar costs will drop another 10x, and the core physics that doomed Hyperloop from the start. They also discuss the lessons of the underappreciated industrialist Henry Kaiser, Casey's new venture in solar-powered desalination, his grand plan to refill the Salton Sea, and why he believes "hard-edged" leaders are essential for hardware success.Show notes[Read] Ashlee Vance: Elon Musk | https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elon-Musk-Billionaire-SpaceX- Shaping/dp/075355562X [Read] Francis Spufford: Red plenty[Listen] Beneath the Surface, Episode 2 : Salton Sea | https://press.stripe.com/beneath-the-surface [Read] Marc Reisner: Cadillac Desert | https://www.amazon.com/Cadillac-Desert-American-Disappearing-Water/dp/0140178244[Read] Albert P. Heiner: Henry J. Kaiser | https://www.amazon.co.uk/Henry-J-Kaiser-Western-Colossus-ebook/dp/B0CW1HCXGG/ref=sr_1_2 [Read] Mark S. Foster: Henry Kaiser | https://www.amazon.co.uk/Henry-J-Kaiser-Builder-American/dp/0292742266/ref=sr_1_1[Read] Ernest K. Gann: Fate is the Hunter | https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fate-Hunter-Ernest-K-Gann/dp/1908059028 [Read] Captain W. E. Johns: Biggles: The Camels are Coming | https://www.amazon.co.uk/Biggles-Camels-are-Coming-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0CVZRMXRP/ref=sr_1_1 Key moments(00:00) Intro(02:28) Henry Kaiser(08:49) Introducing Terraform(13:08) Where electricity won’t work(16:50) The solar maximalist perspective(22:57) Terraformer Mark One(27:49) The role of intervention(37:30) American dynamism(47:36) The Origins of Efficiency, by Brian Potter(48:33) Children and education(37:30) American dynamism(55:15) Desalination(01:08:16) Lessons from leadership
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1:16:07
Dan Sundheim of D1 Capital on the art of public market investing
Seasoned public and private investor Dan Sundheim sits down with John to discuss the harrowing GameStop short squeeze, waking up at 3am for the European market open, and the emotional asymmetry of managing billions of dollars. They cover why he thinks successful private companies should avoid the public markets, the real genius of Elon Musk's business approach, and the pattern recognition that comes from years of investing. This is a rare, candid look into the strategies and mindset of a top public markets investor.Show notes[Read] The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America by Lawrence A. Cunningham : https://www.amazon.com/Essays-Warren-Buffett-Lessons-Corporate/dp/161283383X/[Read] The Buffett Partnership Letters (1957-1970): https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/media/2975913/buffett-partnership-letters.pdf[Read] Value Investors Club (VIC): ValueInvestorsClub.comTimestamps(00:00) The D1 operating model(07:54) Getting it wrong on NFLX(11:44) What makes a good stock picker(18:16) Portfolio-building(24:35) GameStop(35:57) The art of short-selling(41:48) How to spot a turnaround(47:12) Waking up at 3 AM(53:14) Money management(59:31) Dan’s 10-year hands-off stock pick(01:09:52) China(01:14:44) Are we in a bubble?(01:20:41) SpaceX(01:25:04) Investing in private companies(01:32:55) Thoughts on the banking industry(01:35:58) Advice for budding investors
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1:38:08
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1:38:08
How to build a $16B car company with RJ Scaringe, founder of Rivian
RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian, sits down for a cheeky pint with John Collison to discuss what it takes to build a car company from scratch, developing the first electric pickup truck, the shift to a software-defined zonal architecture, Rivian's AI-driven approach to autonomy, and the strategy behind their recent $5.8 billion deal with Volkswagen.Timestamps(00:00) Gen 1(12:32) Gen 2(18:37) Developing the first electric pickup truck(27:36) John pitches some car features(36:46) Stripe’s payment methods(37:54) Autonomous driving(44:51) Component progress(53:17) The new economics of cars(01:01:11) Manufacturing in the US
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1:08:48
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1:08:48
Tobi Lütke is still captivated by internet commerce, 20 years later
Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke joins John Collison to discuss the philosophies driving one of the internet’s most foundational companies. Tobi shares his perspective on why companies are a form of technology, how internal tools and "opinionated software" shape an organization's culture and accelerate its evolution, and why the best gift is finding a beautiful, unsolvable problem.Show notes[Buy] Momax: 140W Universal Travel Adapter[Read] Benjamin Bloom: The 2 Sigma Problem[Buy] Ikigai: vitamin cases [Read] Kevin Kelly: 1,000 True Fans[Read] Erich Gamma: Design Patterns [Read] Charles Calomiris: Fragile by Design[Listen] Business Breakdowns: Formula One[Watch] Netflix: Formula 1: Drive to Survive[Read] Mark Robichaux: Cable CowboyKey Moments(00:00) Intro(07:07) How internal software shapes culture(16:32) The Shopify vision(27:49) Peak transaction capacity(34:36) Agentic commerce(49:15) Shop Pay(55:29) Stablecoins(59:20) Stripe + Shopify(1:12:23) Learning from the Coinbase board(1:17:23) Is Tobi ungovernable?(1:25:02) Entrepreneurship(1:31:50) Advice for Mark Carney(1:36:40) Motor racing
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1:42:55
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1:42:55
Marc Andreessen and Charlie Songhurst on the past, present, and future of Silicon Valley
Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz, sits down for a Cheeky Pint with John Collison and Charlie Songhurst to discuss the history of Silicon Valley, spotting bubbles in real time, the "Elon method" of management, and why the mistakes that haunt you are the companies you don't invest in.Show notes:Roger Lowenstein: When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital ManagementDavid Swensen: Pioneering Portfolio ManagementIan M Banks: Consider Phlebas: A Culture NovelWalter Isaacson: Elon MuskThomas Rid: Rise of the Machines: A Cybernetic HistoryGeorge McGovern: A Politician's Dream Is a Businessman's Nightmare, WSJSteve Blank: The Secret History of Silicon ValleyTracy Kidder: The Soul of a New MachineJohn Perry Barlow: A Declaration of the Independence of CyberspaceMartin Gurri: Revolt of the PublicJohn Malone: Born to Be WiredFull transcript on Substack: https://cheekypint.substack.com/p/marc-andreessen-and-charlie-songhurst Subscribe to Cheeky PintSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IHbGJJMpiFoz5YrvRfTFwApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cheeky-pint/id1821055332Substack: https://cheekypint.substack.com/Key moments(00:00) Marc needs to know: what is a cheeky pint?(04:30) Are we in a bubble?(14:55) Do VCs matter?(19:01) The history of Silicon Valley(32:25) How Digital Research almost made it(39:02) A bear case on the internet(59:52) AI productivity(01:12:10) Stripe + AI(01:13:08) Crypto(01:24:08) Should a16z start a hedge fund?(01:29:51) Big companies(01:35:33) Boards(01:40:27) The Elon method(01:52:59) The future of media
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