Episodes

Episode 06: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares a free business idea. Yes, that means it’s up for grabs for you to take it and make it your own. It’s a deep dive into European Wax Center. Chances are, you’ve passed by one as they have 850+ locations across the US. It’s quietly growing and a very successful chain, which means there’s an opportunity to take its business model and apply it to another service. Timestamps: (02:00): Free business idea (03:30): A look at European Wax Center (0...

Episode 05: For this week’s temperature check, Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about how great business operators have to be incredibly disciplined in every aspect of their lives. Then, a realization where business minds have paranoid brains because they’re constantly analyzing for every potential crack or gap in their business. Lastly, what didn’t go well for the week. As Storyarb picks up, Alex has concerns about his ability to meet his obligations in his personal life. Timestamps: (...

Episode 04: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) is disgusted at the phrase “standard operating procedure”. Yet, for lack of a better phrase, SOP is crucial for documenting the necessary steps to completing a process or running a business. Let’s be real, creating SOPs can be tedious. Luckily, Alex has some tips and templates that can help you get started. Links: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Sops 230523 SOP Template Twitter List Curation SOP - Founders Journal Timestamps: (00:57): Don’t be t...

Episode 03: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) admits he’s not the smartest person in the room…and that’s the point. This episode is about not being ashamed to raise your hand to say, “I don’t understand.” Because the truth is, there’s a high probability that someone else in the room doesn’t quite understand too. Links: How great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek The Truth about Being the "Stupidest" in the Room | Simon Sinek Timestamps: (00:56): It’s ok to raise your hand (06:53): The i...

Episode 02: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) announces the name of his content agency business, Storyarb. While sharing updates on the new startup, he admits his latest troubles being distracted by social media. Then he talks about a pivot for The Plunge that should save the business. Timestamps: (01:17): What’s feeling good this week (06:24): What’s not feeling so good (09:03): Plunge pivot Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #Foun...

Episode 01: Have you heard from Morning Brew Daily? It’s like the living, breathing version of the newsletter. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) analyzes why the show has been successful and breaks down lessons any business-builder or content-creator can take home. Timestamps: (03:36): Lesson 1 - Chemistry is everything (04:13): Lesson 2 - Only change one variable when moving audience (05:18): Lesson 3 - Build product as if you have no distribution (06:13): Lesson 4 - Customize content for ...

Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) has a special announcement: Founder’s Journal is back. If you’re a long-time listener, you’ll know FJ is one of Alex’s earlier shows that served as an audio journal during his time as CEO of Morning Brew. Now, in this returned version, Alex has a new sense of identity and purpose, ready to share a plethora of perspectives to share for founders. We're back, yall. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #Found...

Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) walks through his thought process of hiring a CEO for his content agency business. The issue is, is it too early to bring on a CEO? Hiring a CEO early on gives the opportunity to shape the mission and vision of the business. But hiring a CEO before product-market fit can put the business in a precarious situation. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Fou...

Episode 56: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about how to pick the right co-founder for your business. Do you really need one? How should the equity be split? How do you know you’ve found the right one? These are questions that so many founders encounter through the course of their business. We’ve got the answers for you here. Links: Full episode with Matt Mochary and Alexis d’Amecourt The Great CEO Within by Matt Mochary Mochary Coaching Method Timestamps: (01:59): Intro (03:36): Me...

Episode 55: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about the mirage of corporate stability. Something he experienced during his time at Morgan Stanley, which he thought was a dream job. It turns out that job security isn’t that secure when your company goes through layoffs. Having a corporate job isn’t bad, but it should be noted that loyalty to a company is often a one-way street. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! thecrazyones@morningbrew.com #TheCrazyOnes #Startup...

Episode 54: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) gives the latest update on his content agency that started with a tweet that resonated with so many founders. As the business is in its infancy, he shares his top priorities at this stage, taking lessons he’s learned from Morning Brew and other ventures. If you’re in the early stages of your startup, this is for you. Links: Alex's first content agency tweet Timestamps: (00:45): Intro (06:09): Priority #1 - Create scalability (08:03): Priority #...

Episode 53: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks about being uncomfortable with being comfortable. Yup, that’s right. Sometimes being too comfortable can mean being complacent. Taking risks and stepping outside of your comfort zone can be scary but calculated discomfort can turn into fruitful opportunities and areas of growth. Founders, it’s time you seek measured discomfort. Timestamps: (00:49): Intro (04:53): What is measured discomfort? Links: Alex Lieberman on LinkedIn: Found this pu...

Episode 52: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) chats with Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett), founder of Vettery, Archer, and Figure. Figure is a cutting edge AI robotics company developing a general purpose humanoid robot to provide labor for undesirable and unsafe jobs. From the successes of his former businesses, Brett continues his entrepreneurial venture towards fixing the human labor shortage. There are many assumptions about AI robotics and Brett disspells some of them, namely, general purpose r...

Episode 51: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares his 9 lessons from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. From its scrappy start to its forced restructuring from the pandemic, these are lessons you can use to build your own empire. Timestamps: (01:11): Lesson 1 - Stay alive (03:14): Lesson 2 - Stay obsessed with the customer (05:59): Lesson 3 - Org design is a must (09:32): Lesson 4 - Create an elite culture (10:42): Lesson 5 - Intuition is an art (12:50): Lesson 6 - 3 roles within a product (14:...

Episode 50: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) and Jesse Pujji (@jspujji) are in-studio for the first time ever! They riff on the hottest topic in business today: generative AI. They imagine how it could be integrated into different businesses and how it could be as common as electricity or the internet. Then, Jesse shares his process of how he started his latest venture of a school for growth marketing. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! thecrazyones@morningbrew.com L...

Episode 49: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) opens up about his innate need to compare himself to other founders, namely his co-founder at Morning Brew. The lesson here is realizing that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and that we are often comparing ourselves to the best version of others, but not seeing the lowlights that go unseen. Links: Accessing your ‘Zone of Genius’ episode Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! thecrazyones@morningbrew.com #The...

Episode 48: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) and Jesse Pujji (@jspujji) discuss if it’s too early to pivot on The Plunge after realizing the game might be too difficult for people. Alex thinks about whether he should double-down or bail on his backyard game venture. Then Jesse questions how much entrepreneurs should sacrifice their vision vs. being true to themselves, even in the face of doubt. Plus, Startup AMA: How to give feedback to your boss. Send us an email and let us know what you thin...

Episode 47: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares top tips to tap into your Zone of Genius. Sourced from Matt Mochary’s The Great CEO Within: The Tactical Guide to Company Building and Gay Hendrick’s The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level, discovering your zone of genius means evaluating your talents, skills, and your strengths. Then, perform an energy audit. Find out tasks that either give you energy or drain your energy. Following these tactics will help you ...

Episode 46: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) and Jesse Pujji (@jspujji) chat with Matt Mochary and Alexis D’Amecourt about motivation that is fear-based vs. joy-based, and how it can greatly affect your decision-making abilities. Then, an on-the-spot coaching session on Alex to determine what’s keeping him from success for The Plunge. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! thecrazyones@morningbrew.com Links: The Mochary Method #TheCrazyOnes #Startups #Entrepreneur Lis...

Episode 45: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) admits he sucks at delegating but that doesn’t mean you should too. This Founder’s Journal is all about knowing when and how to delegate. It’s essential to every business leader because even if we want to do it all, trying to do it all could mean getting nowhere fast. Try these 2 tools to help you organize your tasks and delegation. Six levels of delegation: #1 - Order Taking #2 - Investigating #3 - Advising #4 - Supervised Autonomy #5 - Rule-b...

Episode 44: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) and Jesse Pujji (@jspujji) get into the grind of creating content for their businesses and how much effort and consistency it really takes to generate followers and views. From one 60-Second Startup video, Alex amassed 150k followers. Then, Jesse reveals details of his new business venture where they talk about balancing multiple businesses as a serial entrepreneur. Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! thecrazyones@morningbre...

Episode 43: Giving feedback is crucial for every leader. But more often than not, feedback can be perceived as harsh criticism which can be detrimental to your business. Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares with you 6 rules to giving constructive feedback that can be the keys to success to your team. #1 - Ask a lot of questions #2 - Come with a solution to every problem #3 - Show you care about the person and their goals #4 - Feedback giving is a two-way street #5 - Speak their language...

Episode 42: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) talks with Steve Gatena, founder of Pray.com – the #1 app for daily prayer and faith-based content. Steve shares his early dreams of playing professional football, only to be derailed by injuries. In a pivotal moment, he found his way into the niche aerial stock footage business where he would meet his mentor, Alan Purwin. At the peak of their success, Alan tragically died in a helicopter accident. Steve, again, was forced to pivot, eventually solace...

Episode 41: Every now and then you’ll get feedback from someone who thinks your business idea is a waste of time. What should you do? Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares what to do when others try to discourage you from pursuing your dreams. #1 - Acknowledge Your Emotions #2 - Find The Silver Lining #3 - Help Them Help You #4 - Use It As Healthy Motivation Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! thecrazyones@morningbrew.com #TheCrazyOnes #Startups #Entrepreneur L...