My guest this week, Eugene Wei, has one of the mos...
My guest this week, Eugene Wei, has one of the most
interesting backgrounds of anyone I’ve had on the podcast. He worked at Amazon
early in its life, was the head of product at Hulu and Flipboard, and head of
video and Oculus.
Our conversation is about the intersection of technology,
media, culture. We discuss Eugene’s concept of invisible asymptotes: why growth
slows down (for both companies and people) and how some can burst through. I’d
list more of the topics, but we covered so much that you should just listen.
Finally, I’ll say that after spending a day with Eugene
(including a wildly interesting dinner with Eugene, past podcast guest Sam
Hinkie, and future podcast guest Kevin Kwok) that he is the type of uniquely
interesting and kind person I am always searching for and one that I wish I
could bet on somehow. If you know more people like this, reach out and suggest
them for this podcast. Now, enjoy our conversation.
Show Notes
1:38 – (First Question) – Idea of cuisine and empire
1:52 – Cuisine
and Empire: Cooking in World History
4:20 – Key takeaways from the Defiant Ones Documentary
8;25 – Being convinced to buy a sports coat
11:10 – The concept of invisible asymptote
17:43 – How the medium shapes the messaging and the impact
of cameras everywhere on society
17:48– Invisible
asymptotes
17:56 – Selfies as a second language
22:57 – Proof of work in building a social network
32:51 – Magnification of inequalities in digital networks
34:01 – The
Lessons of History
36:47 – His thoughts on the media industry’s impact on
society as a whole
39:42 – His time at Hulu
44:48 – Places where video could replace text
47:30 – The need for media for any business looking to grow
49:35 – Amusing
Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
53:08 – Personal asymptotes
57:19 – Habit
building and goal setting
1:00:29 – Travel recommendations
1:03:24 – Movie recommendations
1:08:16 – Product recommendations and what makes them
indispensable
1:10:44 – Creation:
Life and How to Make It
1:13:23 – Thoughts on the art of conversation
1:14:59 – The
Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive
1:18:30 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Eugene
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor
curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
