WYRD

Wesley Wang is the founder of Wesley Wang Media. At 20, he became the youngest director in history to sign a major feature deal with Sony's TriStar Pictures, for his viral short "nothing, except everything", produced by Oscar-nominee Darren Aronofsky.This is a conversation about what comes after the dream every filmmaker wants—and what he built instead.0:09 nothing except everything going viral0:27 a year writing a script that never got made 2:29 what wesley wanted vs. what the studio wanted3:24 walking away and starting his own company5:26 recognizable IP wins in an AI world8:00 the reality of running a company at 2212:09 "you could've been a quant." why filmmaking?13:07 how to not get crushed by uncertainty14:09 asian parents17:48 getting hate bombed on Letterboxd and Reddit22:10 has he changed since making the film?24:33 self-expression vs what the market wants29:00 the hill he's running toward

Rich Zou came to the Bay Area a year ago with $1000 in his bank at 20 years old.He share his story of growing up in NYC with a single mom, dropping out of Northeastern, and his journey from getting rejected to all investment banking internship to joining xAI and now starting his own talent investing fund.0:00 Getting rejected from all his IB internships 1 year ago0:38 Raised by a single mom in NY3:41 Taking risks with Asian parents4:59 How Rich got into silicon valley6:52 "I will work for free"7:35 Telling his mom he was dropping out of school8:26 How the xAI cofounder gave him a chance10:46 The alpha is in poker nights14:33 Luck is if people fuck with you16:40 "I literally cannot lose"18:34 Talent business and good recruiting22:41 Downsides of an exponential trajectory23:56 Day in the life running an angel fund28:41 Bad cold emails30:49 Being in the right communitiesFollow Rich:X:https://x.com/richzouWebsite: https://richzou.com/Follow WYRD ShowX: https://x.com/srachaInstagram:   / wyrdshow  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3R1CazI...Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Website: https://www.wyrd.show/

My conversation with Nicole Summer Hsing, founder of Arcarae. She shares her story of trying to understand the mind, and how to build technology that helps us actually discover who we are.0:00 Brutality of public hate while building what you love3:07 Discarding stress at a Tibetan Buddhist retreat5:51 Iterations before Arcarae and burnout8:47 How do you build a product around self-discovery?14:45 AI research as another form of introspection 16:51 What should we do with our lives?20:11 Fear of not meeting your goals23:39 How do you ascend on all dimensions of life?26:08 How Nicole structures her week to protect her creativity27:26 Climbing out of the voidNicole on X: https://x.com/NicoleSHsingNicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolehsing/Arcarae: https://www.arcarae.com/researchFollow WYRD ShowX: https://x.com/srachaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyrdshow/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3R1CazIaPwa6Jp9SWvj7c9?si=9336c7f9d0b64953Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wyrd/id1832753373Website: https://www.wyrd.show/

TechJoyce is the funniest Gen Z tech content creator, with 6M followers across platforms. Part 2 conversation about the reality of her life. 0:00 How she knew she wanted to be a Youtuber0:44 Growing up in scarcity3:10 Evolving relationship with money5:26 Falling off, losing touch with reality and your audience 7:04 Why her videos consistently get millions of views 8:02 How she makes money from Youtube9:53 Getting rejected from UBC11:29 The reality of not going to college13:05 Uncertainty, moving out, getting control of your life 16:57 Wanting to be normal 19 year old

Verda shares the real story of how she skipped college, moved to SF, and started underground robot fighting. We talk about breaking out of frameworks, being an autonomous human being, and writing scripts for your own life. 0:00 Starting in Michigan5:11 Why she didn't go to college7:02 Moving out at 188:21 Getting lucky10:22 Writing the script of her life13:11 Joining a 3D printing company 15:39 Car crash and losing control16:22 Moving to SF with 2 suitcases19:52 Despair and reality20:36 Recognizing the next opportunity22:01 How to start a robot fight clubVerda on X: https://x.com/verdakorz

TechJoyce is the funniest Gen Z tech content creator, with 6M followers across platforms. She's a 19 year old with everything she could want. We talk about the reality of her life. Timestamps:0:00 Buying a house at 191:14 Living with freedom3:59 Misery in high school5:29 No one cares about your insecurities6:18 Internal self unmoved by the external world7:23 Becoming TechJoyce 10:26 Choosing engineering for college apps13:54 Why TechJoyce always goes viral 17:19 Making and spending Money19:42 I can do more, more, more22:40 Reality of abandoning college23:12 How to be happyTechJoyce:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TechJoyceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/techjoyce/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@techjoyce?lang=enFollow WYRD ShowX: https://x.com/srachaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyrdshow/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-z-b0308b199/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3R1CazIaPwa6Jp9SWvj7c9?si=9336c7f9d0b64953Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wyrd/id1832753373Website: https://www.wyrd.show/

I ask Roy about ego, reputation, the 2 year time period between getting rescinded from Harvard and transferring into Columbia, learning everything for the first time in front of the world, and more. 00:00 Authentic people are disliked5:00 Reputation with 10 vs 10 million people8:45 Risk framework when launching Interview Coder11:24 No regrets on burning bridges15:01 Looking down on people?16:23 Being a founder is not that hard22:53 Taking risk without rich parents25:23 The 2 years between Harvard & Columbia28:56 5 months of conscious comatose32:35 How to be shameless: Ego vs Arrogance 41:28 "I wanted everyone to recognize the person my ego thought I was"44:10 Why do controversial people (Trump, Kanye, Elon) win?49:55 Learning everything in front of the worldMore about WYRD: https://www.wyrd.show/manifesto

My conversation with Jackson Denka, founder of Azura.Jackson on X: https://x.com/jacksondenkaSarah on X: https://x.com/srachaWYRD Show: https://www.wyrd.show/Timestamps:0:33 Dropping out of UChicago with a full-ride scholarship2:26 Falling through the cracks of society9:12 Why AI is disturbing13:38 Influencer culture was the most inefficient market of the last decade15:05 Crypto is the only market with upside for the average person21:56 No matter what outcome AI brings, you need to be taking more risk25:04 Conviction in intercepting the world's trajectory27:31 The top 1% warrants criticism30:46 Everyone hates crypto but it's beautiful

If you don't hit a life crisis, it's coming for you. My conversation with Danielle Strachman, cofounder of 1517 Fund and Thiel Fellowship. 1:02 The terrifying role luck plays in success8:16 The pursuit of excellence is exhausting15:39 Finding her mission of bringing freedom & autonomy to young people24:56 Why is it so hard to attain clarity of desire25:31 People get threatened by others enacting on their desires31:07 Is there an age deadline to being exceptional?39:22 Incredible stories over the years ft. Shahed from Loom45:23 How to survive uncertainty50:33 The point is not to get what you want52:40 How does it feel that this is your lifeDanielle's X: https://x.com/DStrachmanWYRD Show: https://www.wyrd.show/

Viraj Ala is a 21-year old, San Francisco-based content creator. He creates vox-pop, street interview-driven content that democratizes Silicon Valley by bringing conversations with top founders, investors, and creators to aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals.Shout out to Viraj for allowing me to share such a vulnerable story, Matt Lo for being the goat editor, and Succinct for sponsoring this show!Timestamps:0:44 Being a content creator is harder than being a founder7:19 How to be patient for results and not go insane11:18 Realizing he was a bum at 1613:43 Passion + Shame = Greatness20:22 Transferring to Berkeley22:33 Big Tech, Consulting, & White House24:45 Leaving Berkeley to pursue content31:50 How to make the most exceptional content35:40 Letting go of people from your past40:51 When hard work produces no result44:20 How Viraj gets opportunities to interview billionaires48:10 Shame and passion in pursuing your pathViraj's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viraj.ala/WYRD Show: https://www.wyrd.show/Sponsor: https://www.succinct.xyz/