Shit You Don't Learn in School
Shit You Don't Learn in School

Shit You Don't Learn in School

Calvin Rosser & Steph Smith

Overview
Episodes

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Formal schooling does a terrible job of preparing you to thrive as an adult. The Shit You Don't Learn in School podcast exists to make up for this societal failure. In this show, Calvin Rosser and Steph Smith share stories, insights, and resources designed to help you improve the quality of your personal and professional life. If all works out, you'll be at least 1% better at navigating the waters.

Recent Episodes

76. The Half-Baked Business Idea Roast: Sensory Museums, Zyn Tins, Unrecordable Spaces, and Much More
NOV 5, 2023
76. The Half-Baked Business Idea Roast: Sensory Museums, Zyn Tins, Unrecordable Spaces, and Much More

This is the 10th episode back for SYDLIS, so if you want us to continue creating new episodes for the podcast, let us know by leaving a review at ratethispodcast.com/learn. 

In this episode, Steph and Cal bring a medley of half-baked business ideas to the table. They introduce the origin story of each idea, rate it on a scale of A-F, discuss modifications that would make it better, and most importantly, roast each other when the idea is a little too half-baked.

This episode is a part of the broader nudge Steph and Cal push for everyone to see that there are endless ideas to pursue when you learn to see them in the world.

Business ideas covered:

  1. Marketplace for premium goods
  2. Hot sauce tasting kits 
  3. Long-duration gifting platform
  4. AI-powered collectible evaluators
  5. The upgraded ZYN tin!
  6. Unrecordable digital spaces
  7. Making friends as an adult workshop
  8. Bidirectional poll-based newsletters
  9. Hyper-localized surf guides
  10. Immersive, animal sensory museums
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50 MIN
75. Identity: The Strongest Force in the World
OCT 15, 2023
75. Identity: The Strongest Force in the World

There is something out there that can make one person more productive and kind, while another inharmonious -- even resentful. That thing is identity.

And while we passively adopt parts of identity, we often forget that much of our identity is left up to us. In this episode, Cal and Steph explore the depths of identity and how being intentional around what parts of your identity you adopt, shed, or embrace can lead to a more fulfilled life.

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37 MIN
74. Opportunity is Everywhere: Using Twitter, Wikipedia, Patents, & Niche Databases to Discover Trends
OCT 7, 2023
74. Opportunity is Everywhere: Using Twitter, Wikipedia, Patents, & Niche Databases to Discover Trends

The internet has a treasure trove of information that you can use to generate business ideas, spot trends, and understand what the future will look like before everyone else. But to benefit from the internet's wealth of knowledge, you need to learn how to use it in the right ways.

In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss four unconventional ways that you can use the internet to find good ideas for businesses and products that people actually want.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Use Twitter searches to discover products that people want
  • Tap into a rich reservoir of unsolved problems with Wikipedia
  • Leverage a sci-fi technology database to dream up the future
  • Leverage patents to see what companies are investing in

Resources Mentioned

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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54 MIN
73. Writing to Save Your Life
SEP 30, 2023
73. Writing to Save Your Life

Writing is one of the most powerful tools on Earth. But few have mastered the craft.

Perhaps because success in writing often actually veers you off course, leading you to a life of talking instead of living -- the very thing that drove the quality of your writing in the first place.

One man  -- (who has written several novels, thousands of poems, and hundreds of short stories) has some merciless takes on the art of writing. And although merciless, many ring true.

In this episode, Cal and Steph dive into the mind of Bukowski and the key lessons we can learn about creating art that truly shakes you alive. 

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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62 MIN
72. Inside the Early Days of Digital Nomadism
SEP 24, 2023
72. Inside the Early Days of Digital Nomadism

Few waves have hit the world quite like remote work; a wave impacting billions of people overnight due to a worldwide pandemic.

But in reality, this wave was brewing for decades and thousands of nomads had long been proving there was a different and viable way to work. Calvin and Steph were two of those people, starting in 2016.

Now that the world has caught up, they decided to reflect back on what was so special about that period and what, in retrospect, they might've seen then that much of the world had still not (and in some ways still hasn't) understood.

Listen in for a look inside the early days of digital nomadism.

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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57 MIN