Our Essential Books

It’s the end of Season 1 for Jake & JZ! In this mini episode, we announce that we’re taking a break to publish our new book Click and launch some other cool projects.Shoot, we gave away the content of the episode in the show notes! Still, it’s worth tuning in to hear our conversation about:Jake’s new Elgato teleprompter (not an ad)The iContact Camera (also not an ad)Baby Mama and the gift of uninterrupted eye contactWhy human visual perception is a predictionWhy Zoom calls are so exhaustingVisual ASMRIf you have ideas or requests for Season 2, please send us an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!Thanks for listening and watching, and we’ll see you soon.📩 Subscribe to our newsletter at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn Blue Sky and X

A conversation with a founder inspired this discussion about maintaining freedom of movement while you build new products and companies. It might be the most important startup thing that nobody ever talks about: The need to stay nimble and not give away your advantages by pre-committing to decisions that steal your freedom of movement.On episode 17 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:How startups beat big companiesIdentifying your unique advantages in a Foundation SprintEight Sleep, but it’s not an ad!New and old sleep tactics that we use every nightRecording the audiobook for ClickAnd much moreHave a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn Blue Sky and X

Two days after recording our last episode about AI, DeepSeek R1 was released, prompting some of you to ask us a set of new questions about how AI will affect the future of work, products, startups, and investing.Jake is off this week, but we invited our cofounder and partner Eli Blee-Goldman back to help JZ answer these questions and — for at least a brief moment — get us caught up on the latest developments in the world of AI.This week on episode 16 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:Why DeepSeek R1 caused such a stirHow AI innovation can come from anywhereOur 3 newest investments at Character CapitalTypes of AI founders (with examples!)Two important lessons from a Character founderDoing it right vs getting it rightThe downside of being able to build so quicklyOur recent Foundation Sprint BootcampHow we get better at sprints by learning from the communityHave a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn Blue Sky and X

Our latest thoughts on AI! At Character Capital, most of our investments are in AI companies. How will recent advancements change how products are designed and startups are built? Our cofounder Eli Blee-Goldman returns to the podcast to share predictions and highlight the importance of human agency in an AGI future.Quick note: This episode was recorded right before DeepSeek R1 came out. We have thoughts, of course 🤓 We’ll record a follow-up soon!On episode 15 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:What stays the same in an AGI future?The importance of agencyThe capabilities gapDoing meaningful work with people you likeSurprising lessons from a Design Sprint with an AI bio startupWhat changes in an AGI future?How AI can close the gap between builders and customersAI ethics and sentienceAnd much moreHave a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, X, and Blue Sky

10 years ago, we learned how caffeine really works, and it changed how we use, consume, and enjoy coffee. Tune in for a Jake & JZ deep dive on caffeine — from working with Blue Bottle, to our current coffee routines, to insights and tactics for making the most of this wonderful substance.On episode 14 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:How caffeine really worksLearning about caffeine from Ryan Brown at Blue Bottle CoffeeGoing deeper for Make TimeTwo surprising caffeine insightsTwo helpful coffee tacticsJZ’s favorite coffee maker: The OXO BrewJake’s espresso machine: The Breville BES870XLBoon Boona CoffeeA great book: Deskbound by Kelly Starrett (not about caffeine, still great)And much moreHave a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, X, and Blue Sky

We wrote a new book!!! It’s called Click and it’s all about the Foundation Sprint, our new 2-day method for kicking off big projects!We are SUPER excited to share it with you all, and this week’s episode is a deep dive into the process of writing the book and how it fits into our investing strategy.Learn more about the book at theclickbook.comOn episode 13 of Jake & JZ, we talked about:How to get early access to ClickThe history of the Foundation SprintBooks that inspired us: Psychology of Money, Power of Habit, Building a Storybrand, The Heath Brothers’ booksWhat we look for when we investWhy we had to share the Foundation SprintHave a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Blue Sky and X

ANNOUNCEMENT: We are hosting a live online event to introduce the Foundation Sprint!! Join us for an early look at our new sprint method and a cool surprise!On the podcast: Character Labs is BACK, so this week we’re sharing a What-Why-How-style deep dive on the program. If you want to hear our best ideas and tactics for starting new projects, OR if you’re just curious about Character Labs, be sure to check out this episode.On episode 12 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:The most important moment for every new projectThat feeling when your product “clicks” with customers for the first timeLenny’s newsletter on How to know if you've got product-market fitThe Founding Hypothesis (every project has one; do you know yours?)Getting just one customerHow AI has changed prototyping in Character LabsAnd much moreHere’s that registration link for the event next week.Have a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn and X

We discuss three essential books that help us break through uncertainty and focus on the most important work. If you want to get better at designing products and building companies, we think you should read:Getting Real by 37signals, for how to get real about what mattersGood Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt, for how to give your business an unfair advantageDeep Work by Cal Newport, for staying focused and actually doing the workOn episode 11 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:Why your business needs an enemyInsights from the “survival days” of successful companies (like the Startup Wayback Machine)Crafting strategy based on your unique advantagesWhy strategy is a hypothesisHow to summarize an entire book in 25 wordsMore lessons from journalismBad graphic designHave a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X

Jake gets a bit vulnerable and talks about Perfection Anxiety, which he’s struggled with since childhood. If you ever feel stuck, or worry your work won’t be good enough, be sure to check out this episode — we share a BUNCH of concrete tactics for overcoming Perfection Anxiety and getting started.On episode 10 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:How to run two sprints in one weekWinter in the Pacific NorthwestWhy discipline doesn’t workWorking at newspapersA great podcast episode: Starbucks on AcquiredA great newsletter: Spyglass by M.G. SieglerHave a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X

This episode is about our SINGLE BEST technique for avoiding distraction every day. In part two of our mini series on Make Time, Jake describes the Distraction-Free iPhone — which he started doing 10 years ago!! If you’re looking for a simple, powerful way to block distraction (ESPECIALLY after episode 8’s discussion of the Highlight Method), be sure to tune in.On episode 9 of Jake & JZ, we also talked about:Lord Nelson and the importance of proper provisioningAttention ResidueWhy Jake deleted all the distracting apps from his phone (and what’s left)JZ’s experience with a Distraction-Free Phone (and what’s NOT on his phone today)Why LinkedIn is an adult websiteTreating colleagues as friendsA great app: How We FeelA great Netflix series: Starting 5Have a question for us? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll answer it on the show.📩 Get an email about every episode at JakeAndJZ.com💸 Learn more about our seed fund at Character Capital🥸 Find Jake on LinkedIn and X🤠 Find JZ on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X