Ryan Nisbet

Maker & Mountaineer. Doing ops and growth at @withdelphi + @LibraryMinds podcast

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

I want to be here for a long time

https://t.co/lOFPLIdggd

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@daraladje This really shows for Dara during our weekly symposium's closing thoughts

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

Naseem Taleb is the analytical Larry David

[Dara @daraladje]

Delphi has always been about understanding how other people think.

So we built a matrix to see who you think most like.

Not sure how I feel about some of my neighbors...

Find yours https://t.co/uEoqlCH7Cg

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@daraladje @rauchg @mrloldev is our fanboy

[Dara @daraladje]

Our engineers have been fanboying over this episode with Vercel founder @rauchg all week.

I asked him how he’s built this much loyalty and trust with developers.

“Trust is gonna be one of the most valuable moats for a post-AGI business.”

But he says “trust is an output, not an input.”

Meetups and any tactic you can point to “probably ain’t it.”

What earns it is the unglamorous work: security, fixing bugs, simplicity, great documentation.

This week on Library of Minds, the legend Guillermo Rauch joins us to talk about competing with AWS, selling to agents, building verification loops for agent evals, deciding which SaaS tools to replace, and raising his “six sub-agents” (his kids) in an AI world.

0:39 - How to Compete With a Giant (AWS)
5:38 - One Person Doing the Work of Thousands
17:15 - Trust Is the Moat After AGI
24:24 - You’re Not Confronting Enough Pain
25:54 - His Slack Channel Called “Scream”
27:46 - Your Next Customer Is an Agent
30:05 - How to Sell to Agents
37:05 - The Future Is Just Capital Allocation
47:30 - The Night His House Caught Fire
49:50 - Raising Six Sub-Agents (His Kids)

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@reynardthefox_ The legend: @mrloldev

[Dara @daraladje]

I’ve been trying to get better at spotting talent before it’s obvious.

There’s no better person to learn from than @apartovi

He founded @neo and backed Facebook, Dropbox, Airbnb, Cursor, and Kalshi.

When Cursor looked like a worse version of GitHub Copilot, the founders couldn’t convince some of their own friends to join. They knew the team was brilliant. Some were already using the product. They still said no.

Ali spent hours trying to change their minds. He didn’t know exactly how Cursor would beat GitHub either. He believed the team would figure it out.

What was he seeing that everyone else was missing?

On this week's episode of The Library of Minds, we talked about how he developed that judgment, the warning signs you ignore when hiring, and who is liable when AI breaks the law.

What I like about Ali is how openly he talks about getting things wrong too: blowing a negotiation with Steve Jobs, backing down after threats from Jimmy Iovine, and what he wishes he’d handled differently in his public feud with YC.

1:35 - How to Judge Talent in 10 Minutes
7:50 - His #1 Red Flag in Founders
9:05 - How to Spot Top Talent Early
14:30 - Should Kids Still Learn to Code?
22:05 - Nobody Wanted to Join Cursor
31:10 - He Tried to Trick Steve Jobs
40:30 - Extorted for Half His Company
47:45 - The Y Combinator Feud
53:10 - When AI Commits a Crime
63:25 - Choose the Path You Fear

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@daraladje Great episode!

[Dara @daraladje]

Imagine two people using AI every day for ten years. One becomes much better at thinking. The other can barely think without it.

I’m already seeing hints of the second outcome: people producing results they can’t explain or defend. It feels like the beginning of Idiocracy.

I asked @jimkwik how to avoid becoming that second person. He’s one of the leading experts in memory and accelerated learning, and has spent three decades coaching CEOs, elite athletes, Hollywood actors, and TED speakers on how to use their minds better.

Jim shared the process he uses to keep himself thinking while using AI. It’s called BUILD:

B - Brainstorm what you already know.
U - Understand the real problem.
I - Imagine three possible solutions.
L - Leverage AI to expose your blind spots.
D - Decide what to do.

AI comes fourth. It has your thinking to challenge, and you still have to make the call.

On this week’s episode of The Library of Minds, I spoke with Limitless Daily author Jim Kwik about why learning still matters when answers are instant.

0:48 - What Exceptional Minds Do Differently
3:03 - Digital Dementia Is Real
11:05 - CrossFit for Your Mind
21:13 - Raising Kids Who Do Hard Things
33:23 - The Illusion of Learning
43:26 - The Coming Meaning Crisis
52:01 - Do This Before Asking AI
57:24 - You Can't Outperform Your Self-Image
75:38 - Ask Jim Anything, Anytime

Chat with his Delphi: https://t.co/QLcpJwL8RC

[Dara @daraladje]

One of the strangest parts of becoming a founder is realizing your team can’t tell which of your ideas are ideas - and which are instructions.

You think you’re thinking out loud. They think the strategy changed again.

@AlisaCohn, named the world’s #1 startup coach by Thinkers50, put it simply: founders generate ideas, teams hear priorities.

At some point, protecting the team means keeping some ideas to yourself, and being painfully clear when one actually becomes the priority.

New episode of The Library of Minds with Alisa Cohn. Join the conversation with her Delphi: https://t.co/U7ZapN56JT

1:09 - Founder Mode: What Everyone Gets Wrong
4:58 - High Standards Without Micromanaging
8:13 - Death by Being Polite
14:15 - Why You Can't Copy Elon Musk
20:48 - Founders, Please Keep Your Ideas to Yourself
22:48 - The #1 Hiring Mistake with AI
35:11 - Dealing with Imposter Syndrome

[Delphi @withdelphi]

Alisa Cohn (@AlisaCohn) is one of the world's top executive coaches.

She has spent decades coaching founders and leaders at companies like Google, Microsoft, Venmo, and Etsy, and wrote From Start-Up to Grown-Up, the playbook for founders growing into CEOs.

Most founders will never get the chance to work with her. But they can talk to her Delphi. Try bring her whatever you're working through here: https://t.co/jEWKjNPcI0

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@pitdesi San Francisco 49ers

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@JoeASobrero I vote @mrloldev

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@daraladje @joulee Thanks for coming on @joulee!

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@daraladje @joulee Yes, I'm just a builder

[Hiten Shah @hnshah]

One idea from this conversation has stuck with me.

There is no progress without motion because motion creates contact with reality.

AI is making execution cheaper, which means founders can get far more reps against reality. Every rep is a chance to sharpen your judgment.

Really enjoyed this conversation with @daraladje.

[Granola @meetgranola]

Granola now connects directly with @withdelphi.

So your notes can flow directly to your digital mind. And your team, customers and job candidates can ask anything and get the answer.

[Ryan Nisbet @ryannisbet]

@VDMatos thank you for the subtitles

[Dara @daraladje]

Should 100x AI Engineers be treated like elite athletes?

Kian Katanforoosh (@kiankatan) thinks your best engineer could get the Cristiano Ronaldo treatment: each supported by 3 culture architects whose only job is keeping them happy and performing.

At Workera, Kian is designing the future of workplace performance. Today we discuss:

03:50 - His AI course that taught 1M+ students

07:37 - Why we need AI mentors now

08:45 - Humans judging skill is unethical (maybe illegal)

13:06 - Success signs everyone overlooks

14:45 - The trap ambitious people keep falling into

16:02 - One metric that actually predicts success

17:08 - New jobs, and everything becomes pro sports

19:33 - How to adapt in the AI era

21:32 - The AI mentor Kian has to help you