Chris Sacca — How to Succeed by Living on Your Own Terms and Getting Into Good Trouble (#790)

Chris Sacca is the co-founder of Lowercarbon Capital and manages a portfolio of countless startups in energy, industrial materials, and carbon removal. If it’s unf**king the planet, he’s probably working on it. Previously, Chris founded Lowercase Capital, one of history’s most successful funds ever, primarily known for its very early investments in companies like Twitter, Uber, Instagram, Twilio, Docker, Optimizely, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Stripe. But you might just know him as the guy who wore those ridiculous cowboy shirts for a few seasons of Shark Tank. 

To purchase Chris’s ranch, schedule a viewing at FivePondsRanch.com.

Please enjoy!

P.S. This episode features a special, one-of-a-kind introduction that Chris recorded of yours truly.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform.

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Want to hear the first time Chris Sacca was on this show? Listen to our conversation here in which we discussed early-stage investing advice, traits of successful founders, two differentiators that shifted the nature of Chris’ business, what Chris looks for when hiring, and much more.

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Chris Sacca:

Website | Instagram | Five Ponds Ranch

Chris Sacca on Being Different and Making Billions | The Tim Ferriss Show #79Chris Sacca on Shark Tank, Building Your Business, and Startup Mistakes | The Tim Ferriss Show #132Fixing the Planet Is Just Good Business | Lowercarbon CapitalAmong the Best Funds Ever | Lowercase CapitalShark Tank | ABC.comCity of Lockport, New YorkPolarization, Democracy, and Political Violence in the United States: What the Research Says | Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceBoiler Room | Prime VideoTrading Places | Prime VideoVenture Capitalist (VC) | InvestopediaWarGames | Prime VideoWhat Is the Stochastic Oscillator and How Is It Used? | InvestopediaMoney Never Sleeps | QuotronRich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money — That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki | AmazonCharms Blow Pops, Assorted Flavors | AmazonMeet the Mafia: Celebrating Bills Fanatics | WGRZThe Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric JorgensonHow is the Democratic Party Different from the Republican Party? | BritannicaFive Teachings from the Japanese Wabi-Sabi Philosophy That Can Drastically Improve Your Life | Omar ItaniAnother Seattle Power Couple Commits to Giving Away Their Fortune as Part of the Giving Pledge | GeekWireCreating Hope for People in Despair | Barton Family FoundationAsk Dr. Gramma Karen: The Secret Word to Avoid Spoiling Your Kids | MommybitesKevin Rose: “Sadly Lost Everything…” | InstagramSpotlight on Wilson, Wyoming | Jackson Hole TravelerHow Super Angel Chris Sacca Made Billions, Burned Bridges, and Crafted the Best Seed Portfolio Ever | ForbesThe Jerk | Prime VideoZillow | Saturday Night LiveThe Latest Wild Zillow Listings | Zillow Gone WildThe Big Lebowski | Prime VideoAmy Schumer Talks Being an Introvert | PeopleThe Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer | AmazonThe Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel | AmazonThe Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko | AmazonBjarke Ingels Group (BIG)A Brief History of Forest Schools Around the World | Growing Wild Forest SchoolWhat Is a 360 Review in the Workplace? | The Balance CareersHang In There, Baby | Know Your MemeKiss Off | Violent FemmesGen X on the Edge: Surviving Childhood | Bridgeworks‘It’s 10 P.M. Do You Know Where Your Children Are?’ | Fox 5 New YorkWhy Gen Z Needs to Learn How to Negotiate | AACSBStranger Things | NetflixH-1B Program | US Department of LaborI Didn’t Think I Was a ‘Free-Range’ Parent…Until the Police Called | TodayClass C: The Only Game in Town | Montana PBSWhy Do Cattle Produce Methane, and What Can We Do About it? | CLEAR CenterAmerica Has a Loneliness Epidemic. Here Are 6 Steps to Address It | NPRThe Addictiveness of Social Media: How Teens Get Hooked | Jefferson Health‘Rawdogging’: A Wildly Obscene Term’s Path to Mainstream Usage | The New York TimesRivers and Tides | Prime VideoLeaning into the Wind — Andy Goldsworthy | Prime VideoThe Apprentice | IMDbI Seem to Be a Verb by R. Buckminster Fuller | AmazonA New Kind of AI Copy Can Fully Replicate Famous People. The Law Is Powerless. | PoliticoThe Moth PodcastMother American Night: My Life in Crazy Times by John Perry Barlow and Robert Greenfield | AmazonGambledore: The Wizard Who Conquered Poker | PokerNews Podcast #866The Godmother of AI on What AGI Means for Humanity | PossibleWill We Reach the Singularity by 2035? | Longevity TechnologyScientists Use AI to Create Completely New Anti-Venom Proteins | Popular ScienceThe Broken Social Contract | Harvard MagazineThe 2008 Housing Crisis | Center for American ProgressCompanies Will Do Almost Anything to Stop Workers Unionizing | TimeThem Belly Full (But We Hungry) | Bob Marley & The WailersWhat White-Collar Jobs Are Safe from AI — And Which Professions Are Most at Risk? | ForbesJobs of the Future: Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained | McKinseyVinod Khosla: 12 Predictions for the Future of Technology | TED TalkThe Real Human Network | WorldThe Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 1 | Wait But WhyThe Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 2 | Wait But WhyThe Race to Q>1 | Lowercarbon CapitalClaude AI | AnthropicThe 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss | AmazonInterview: Tyler Cowen, Economist and Public Intellectual | NoahpinionWe Tried a $60 Massage Done By AI Robots — It Felt Surprisingly Human | Fortune MagazineWe’re Engineering the Humanoid to Make Humans Capable of More | FigureIs It Cancer? Artificial Intelligence Helps Doctors Get a Clearer Picture | AAMCAutonomous Vehicle Ride-Hailing | WaymoThe First AI Legal Assistant, Made for Lawyers | CoCounselAutomatic Bullseye, Moving Dartboard | Mark RoberEight Best Listening Bars in Tokyo for Vinyl Music | Time OutFive Key Findings from the 2022 UN Population Prospects | Our World in DataYacht Rock | SpotifyBilly Billy Billy Scene | Caddyshack“Old Tony’s” | Tony’s on the PierPrefered Nomenclature (Clip) | The Big LebowskiThe Extremely Offline Joy of the Board Game Club | The New York TimesThe Montana State Runout | Big Sky ConferenceWhat Makes TikTok so Addictive?: An Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying the World’s Latest Social Media Craze | Brown Undergraduate Journal of Public HealthGLP-1 Agonists | Cleveland ClinicCrossFit is for You | CrossFitHow Copenhagen Became a Cycling City | Tools of ChangeWe (Used to) Do It Late | Restaurant BarabbaHomemade Limoncello | Justin Bariball via ARK MediaButlerian Jihad | Dune WikiThe Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore | AmazonUnfuck the Planet | Lowercarbon CapitalA Guide to Talking to the Climate Change Deniers, Skeptics, Worriers, and Newbies in Your Life  | RareProtesters Throw Soup at Da Vinci Painting | BBCProtester Glues Himself to Floor at US Open | NewsweekRussia Tries to Use California Fires to Discredit Ukraine | NPRAfter the Fires: How to Rebuild Los Angeles | Council on Foreign RelationsNot Your Typical Chemical Company | SolugenWildfire Risk Reduction Solutions | BurnBotWhat is Prescribed Fire and Why is it Important for Forest Health? | National Forest FoundationProtecting the Grid Today, Preparing the Grid for Tomorrow | GridwareCalifornia Utility’s Role in Wildfires Under Scrutiny | CNNCalifornia Insurers Will Survive Fires — But FAIR Plan Faces Big Questions | NewsweekRams Paid Tribute to Los Angeles While Taking over State Farm Stadium in Arizona | Sports IllustratedWe Protect and Insure High-Value Property | Stand InsuranceThe AI Platform for Insuring Uncovered Flood Risk | FloodbaseJon Stewart Calls Out GOP Hypocrisy with L.A. Wildfire Disaster Relief | The Daily ShowA Messy History of Egging and Toilet-Papering Houses | Mel MagazineCar Thief Gets Instant Karma (The Final Glitterbomb 6.0) | Mark RoberMartial Arts Supplies | AWMAMcLovin Scene | SuperbadAbandoned Places in Nevada: The Sundowner Motel | Living in Las VegasPlayer’s Ball (Official HD Video) | OutkastNever Lose a Game of Rock Paper Scissors Again! | Abstract AwayThe Hangover | Prime VideoFour Easy Magic Card Tricks for Kids | AboutMagicSeven Easy Magic Tricks for Kids | About MagicThe Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream by Steve Case | AmazonGOP Gets 85% of the Benefit of Climate Law. Some Still Hate It. | Investigate MidwestThe Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt | AmazonThe Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt | AmazonGenerations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents — And What They Mean for America’s Future by Jean M. Twenge | AmazonThe Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar | AmazonThe End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization by Peter Zeihan | AmazonWe Are in a “Fourth Turning.” What Does That Mean? | Van NeistatThe Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy — What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny by William Strauss and Neil Howe | AmazonHomegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism by Jeffrey Toobin | AmazonStolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — And How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari | AmazonFour Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman | AmazonRejection: Fiction by Tony Tulathimutte | AmazonThe Every: A Novel by Dave Eggers | AmazonGreenlights by Matthew McConaughey | AmazonChasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari | AmazonLost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression — And the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari | AmazonJon Ronson Four Books Bundle Collection Set | AmazonMoonbound: A Novel by Robin Sloan | AmazonMr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan | AmazonSilo | Apple TV+Wool: Book One of the Silo Series by Hugh Howey | AmazonHugh Howey, Author of Silo and Wool — A Masterclass on Writing, Unorthodox Self-Publishing, and Living in The AI Age | The Tim Ferriss Show #726Kelly Corrigan Wonders PodcastThe Pirates! Series by Gideon Defoe | AmazonStone Paper | Karst GoodsThe Elevated Aperitivo | DoladiraLuxury Tequila, Refined | Tequila KomosMullet Wigs | AmazonThe Property | Five Ponds RanchZZ’s Clam Bar | Major Food GroupLord of the Flies by William Golding | AmazonSHOW NOTES[00:06:47] Chris introduces me.[00:11:07] Some Sacca background.[00:18:32] Raising pre-teen gamblers and tailgating troublemakers.[00:19:54] Conscious changes and rethoughts since our first interview.[00:26:12] The personal and professional influence of Rich and Sarah Barton.[00:30:18] Property management and the Zen of Kevin Rose.[00:35:12] Zillow Gone Wild.[00:36:58] Simplifications.[00:45:03] Remaining optimistic despite being in the business of saying no.[00:51:33] Living in the finite without +1 obligations.[00:56:54] “Wait, what’s hustle culture?”[00:59:48] The (lack of) trouble with kids today.[01:09:53] Raising kids to solve problems and eschew smartphones.[01:14:15] Rawdogging? You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.[01:16:05] An Andy Goldsworthy aside.[01:16:30] Taking advice from R. Buckminster Fuller GPT.[01:19:13] Assigned reading.[01:20:10] Humans vs. AI.[01:26:20] What happens to people stuck between AI job displacement and a broken social contract?[01:42:38] Counting on the human craving to convene and connect.[01:56:30] What kind of business would a younger Chris start today?[02:00:44] The prescience of The Medium is the Massage.[02:01:39] What does Lowercarbon Capital do?[02:08:44] Projects Chris is most excited about.[02:18:59] Youthful mischief and flim-flammery.[02:24:51] The premise for Chris’ upcoming No Permanent Record.[02:35:25] Cultivating the ability to face (and maybe win over) a tough crowd.[02:39:19] Chris expresses some concerns about this episode.[02:40:24] Recommended reading.[02:45:07] A worthwhile purchase of $100 or less.[02:48:03] Deez Crocs.[02:50:48] Sabotaging potential dates with authenticity.[02:59:11] Parting thoughts.MORE CHRIS SACCA QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“I feel very lucky to have grown up in a place where I had opportunities to commit small misdemeanors. And I had more than one detention. I definitely appeared before the principals on many occasions. Just some light mischief.”
— Chris Sacca

“The American social contract is that if you show up, you will get yours. And when you don’t give somebody that opportunity or you take it away from them and you take that ownership away from them and you take their house or you take their store and you take their farm, then you get the pitchforks.”
— Chris Sacca

“The number one thing you can be in this business is unpredictable. … I am known as mercurial. I burn bridges. I will not hesitate to fucking fight you. I wear the stupid shirts. I don’t give a shit about much. I’ve been known to just light it on fire. And guess what? People take me seriously as a result.”
— Chris Sacca

“Most climate investing and green investing … had been basically charitable, concessionary … But we started to actually see the math change to where the unit economics of making shit in climate, making shit clean, were starting to pay off.”
— Chris Sacca

“I think the biggest danger of raising kids with privilege is that they turn out to be assholes.”
— Chris Sacca

“The shit you own does own you. Every single object, at some point, has commanded some of your attention.”
— Chris Sacca

“I’m starting to believe more and more that trouble is actually one of those things that informs all the other things that we do.”
— Chris Sacca

“It just turns out that digging up and burning old dinosaur bones is fucking expensive, and using the sun to power the economy is just fucking cheaper. And that’s not a political statement.”
— Chris Sacca

“Clean, abundant power that is almost free is single digit years away, so that’s fucking great. I don’t even bother fighting with the oil and gas people, it doesn’t fucking matter. In fact, I actually want them to work with us more on carbon capture and sequester, putting more carbon back into the ground. Because they’ve got the trucks and they’ve got the pipes and they’ve got the engineering know-how, and they’re great at it. And so we do a lot of work with oil and gas companies going in reverse. I don’t have political battles with those guys.”
— Chris Sacca

“hen you take away agency from somebody, you back them into a corner. So now do that for all the fucking white collar employees, do that for everyone who stayed in and did their fucking homework and went to college and took out all those fucking student loans and who feel like they have played by the rules, they are the pride and joy of their families who actually got their degree, in some cases, a master’s degree, who saw their career path laid out for them, and now they see that their life’s work is obviated by a machine that’s just better than them this fucking fast and costs $20 a month.”
— Chris Sacca

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