Alexander McCobin

Venture, Liberty, Prosperity
@libven_network

[Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕 @DStrachman]

TLDR: What lights you up?!

Opener for our 1517 Summit:

25 years ago I started working with homeschoolers. Those families changed the trajectory of my life. It’s where I got to see that real learning starts with passion and curiosity.

16 years ago, when Michael and I were on the founding team of the Thiel Fellowship, we called it an older young person’s homeschool program.

And today, with 1517, we say we homeschool CEOs.

I think that there is a lot that we can learn from homeschoolers about going against the grain, following curiosity, and getting a sense of what real learning looks like.

In homeschooling there is a concept called “deschooling” — a transition time between being in a more institutionalized setting, to one of their own creation. It sometimes looks chaotic, “unproductive,” and purposeless.

But this time period is when people start unraveling assumptions that have been shaping their lives, without them knowing it. By letting go of the rules, natural curiosity and passion can start to emerge.

Over the next ten years, I think all of us are going to go through something like a collective deschooling period. We’re going to need to unlearn the assumptions that were put down before us by other people and institutions, ride the chaos, and emerge through to the other side with passion and curiosity.

The path used to look clear. Work hard. Get good grades. Collect credentials. Climb the ladder. Success had a map.

But the world we're entering is uncharted.

Artificial intelligence is making information abundant. Institutions are failing us. Careers are becoming less linear. Entire industries are appearing and disappearing in just a few years.

The old question was: "What should I do?"

But today, I propose a new question: “What lights you up, when no one is watching?”

That's a much harder question.

Many people discover that when the external structure disappears, they're left with an uncomfortable feeling. Not freedom. Not excitement.

Meaninglessness.

Because for years, meaning was outsourced. A syllabus told us what mattered. A test told us what to learn. A boss told us what success looked like. A credential told us we were progressing.

But what happens when fewer and fewer people can tell you what matters next?

I think that's one of the defining challenges of the next decade.

And I think the antidote is surprisingly simple.

Start dreaming:

What is the thing you can't stop thinking about?

What rabbit hole do you disappear into?

What topic makes you lose track of time?

What project would you work on, even if nobody was grading it?

All summed up: What lights you up?

When we're young, we're often taught to treat those interests as distractions from the "real" work.

I think the opposite is true.

Those interests are clues. They're pointing toward the place where your curiosity, your energy, and your contribution intersect.

The people who will thrive in the next ten years will be like shining beacons!

They'll be the people who know how to follow genuine curiosity.

The people who can create their own path.

The people who can stay fascinated.

The people who know what lights them up and have the courage to build around it.

So welcome to your summit. When you meet a new friend today, ask “What lights you up?” May the answers surprise and delight and lead you into your next 10 years.

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

@UpG00SE @Skypadusa We had it for a week and will make it again next year!

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

This was such a fun podcast with @JustinTCallais . I loved that he had me dig into the different types of capitalists are out there who don't support capitalism, in contrast to those who do, and how we're going about backing the best values-aligned founders. Thank you Justin!

[Justin Callais @JustinTCallais]

@amccobin @libven_network In Episode 4 of From Ideas to Innovation, we dig into:

→ Why business is the liberty movement's most underused tool
→ 4 types of capitalists
→ Networking and what building real relationships requires

🎧 Listen here: https://t.co/oQE6P8Abi4

[Coinvo @Coinvo]

Jeff Bezos: "I admire what SpaceX has done, and I want the world to have at least two SpaceXs"

"Great industries are made up of big competitors."

[Codie Sanchez @Codie_Sanchez]

Capitalism believes in you and your ability.

Communism believes you are incapable and unable.

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

@VanceGinn So obvious, yet missed by so many.

[Francis X. Suarez @FrancisSuarez]

I’m not sue why some Americans have such a hard time with this concept. Capitalism works…

[Liberty Ventures Network @libven_network]

⏰ 2 weeks left.

Applications for the Principled Business Pitch Competition close on June 2.

If you’re a pre-seed or seed-stage founder building something that matters, in AI, energy, crypto, consumer, or anything else, this is your window.

Selected founders get access to a training program, real feedback from experienced operators, and a live stage at FreedomFest in Las Vegas (July 8–11) in front of investors who are actively looking for what you’re building.

Link to Apply: https://t.co/YoHXAXQ7Gw

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

😂😂😂

[Geiger Capital @Geiger_Capital]

Jeff Bezos on NYC spending:

"If we ran Amazon the way New York City runs their school system, packages would take 6 weeks to arrive, we would charge you a $100 delivery fee and when the package did finally arrive, it would have the wrong item in it."

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

Thank you @JeffBezos for not just having that mindset, which so many business leaders do, but saying it out loud. We need more business leaders to both walk the walk and talk the walk of creating value and business being the best way to create value and help other people out.

[CNBC @CNBC]

Jeff Bezos: "If I do my job right, the value to society and civilization from my for-profit companies will be much, much larger than the good that I do with my charitable giving."

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

Jeff Bezos with some great lines about business and capitalism here.

[CNBC @CNBC]

Couldn't tune in live? Watch the full interview. ⬇️ https://t.co/MEod53rWFP

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

@ibipataudi @ArmanetAds Get it ;)

[Phil Magness @PhilWMagness]

Checking in on Late Marxism...

[Liberty Ventures Network @libven_network]

Are you a nice leader or a kind leader?

In this episode of the Liberty Ventures Podcast, our CEO @amccobin sits down with @lefranc to discuss the difference between nice and kind leadership, and why one builds teams while the other destroys them
.
A nice leader seeks approval from everyone around them. So they avoid hard conversations. They won't hold people accountable because they want to be liked.

A kind leader does something different:

-They treat people with respect and dignity.
-They hold people accountable to results.
-They separate feelings from performance.
-Nice leadership is self-destructive. It protects the leader's ego at the expense of the team.
-Kind leadership builds loyalty, trust, and respect.

People don't respect leaders who let them get away with poor performance. They respect leaders who care enough to tell them the truth.

A must-listen for any leader who wants to earn real trust and loyalty.

Full episode available here: https://t.co/PmGzDCo3gE

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

@garrytan This makes a lot of sense.

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

Capitalism is the solution to most problems.

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

"More capitalist countries have lower income inequality, not higher. High income inequality is caused by cronyism which goes hand in hand with highly regulated markets."

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

Thanks to the @USinHolySee and the other embassies for a great dialog on AI and the Future of Work with the Vatican last week. It was great to have @principledbus leaders sharing a pro-capitalism perspective.

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

Love, love, love, @spenceraviav and Commenda!

[Liberty Ventures Network @libven_network]

What does it look like to build a company with a real mission?

Commenda has one of the clearest answers we've seen:

"We are not just building software — we are building the foundation for a more open, connected, and economically free world."

They're driving the global cost of doing business toward zero by making it as easy to operate a business anywhere on earth as it is to deploy a server.

That's what principled capitalism looks like in practice.

Proud to have @spenceraviav, CEO & Co-Founder of Commenda, as a member of the Liberty Ventures network. This is exactly the kind of founder we want in our corner.

Want to meet founders like Spencer? Apply to join Liberty Ventures.

Link here: https://t.co/YGm8W754zy

[Alexander McCobin @amccobin]

This is as good as any animated feature film trailers I’ve seen.

[Marko Slavnic @Markoslavnic]

The quality of animation you can create on your own is truly amazing. We really are just limited by our imaginations at this point. Go tell your story!

Made in @runwayml in a few hours and a handful of gens.