The Dip

Have you ever been ‘stuck’? Not sure what to do, how to do it or even where to get help? Jeff Goins, best selling author has certainly been there and his solution is something so simple that it really is hard to believe: taking action. In this episode, Shawn and I discuss the merits of taking action and why it makes so much sense to get started and take small steps if you have no idea what to do – this can apply to things like work, startups, writing books, professional speaking and anything else that you find hard to get started on. Tweet us if you agree or disagree that action is the best step that you can take when you are not sure what to do and if you don’t want to miss another episode of The Dip, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip

When Joe Gebbia started renting out his spare bed to travelers, he had no idea he had stumbled onto something huge. As he and his other co-founders built a site to help manage this ‘bed and breakfast’ for others, they found that they were growing quite quickly and needed a way to fund it. Enter the breakfast cereal: Obama O’s. Though that helped somewhat, they found that it was only a temporary solution and that they would need a way to deal with their growth. A friend told them about this program in San Francisco and the founders went to Y Combinator to get funding, mentoring and advice from legendary VC Paul Graham. Paul’s advice helped make AirBnB a billion dollar company today. What was his advice? How did Obama O’s help them on their way to being a billion dollar company? In this episode of The Dip, Shawn and Wang discuss this and what percentage of a company’s success is hustle? Do you agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? Let us know on Twitter and if you don’t want to miss another episode of The Dip, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip  

Imagine that you have a fantastic idea for a product. You make it, test it out and it works for you and your close friends and family. You decide to go to a big retail store and try to get them to sell the product for you. You talk to the distributor and after some convincing, they agree to sell your product. They are a huge retail chain with international locations. You’ve made it! Or have you? In this episode of The Dip, Shawn and Wang hear a clip from How I Built This where Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, tells the host how she hustled and bustled her way to a billion dollar company. We also hear Shawn’s thoughts on the next big industry and huge news from his personal life. Do you know great stories of hustle? Where is the line between hustle and unethical behavior? Let us know on Twitter and if you don’t want to miss another episode of The Dip, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip  

Shawn and Wang talk about Kobe Bryant again. Is there a sports theme running through The Dip? Is this podcast season all about sports? Shawn shares a clip from an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast called The Ringer where Chris Sacca, the legendary investor and Shark Tank personality, shares a story about Kobe Bryant. When Kobe Bryant retired, he decided to start a 13 Venture Capital Investments which is a $100 million venture capital fund. How did the name come about though? And if there were any doubts about Kobe being successful after his retirement, the Chris Sacca story should lay any doubts to rest. We also talk about why Kobe Bryant is so huge in China and what the difference is between Yao Ming and Lin Dan – is basketball bigger than badminton? What do you think about Chris Sacca’s story? What do you think about Kobe Bryant? What do you think about our sports-related theme running throughout this season? Let us know on Twitter. Don’t miss another episode of The Dip – subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform. Your rating and reviews on iTunes helps us get the podcast out to more people. Also, share the podcast with your friends and let us know about great podcasts that you listen to. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip

Kevin Kruse is a best-selling author, serial entrepreneur, professional speaker and a leadership expert. He hosts a podcast called Extreme Productivity, where he shares tips on how everyone can improve their productivity (for example, tips include staying focused while working from home, strategies to sleep better at night, betting $25,000 with Sir Richard Branson to get his attention). In this episode, Shawn and Wang hear a clip about Kevin called Miracle Morning for Writers that discusses how successful writers organize their mornings. Shawn and Wang also talk about some of their morning habits (when they wake up, what they do right away) and how it starts them off for a successful day. What are your morning habits? Let us know on Twitter and if you don’t want to miss our next episode, subscribe to The Dip on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform. It would also help us if you rate and reviewed our podcast on iTunes as your review can help us get to more eyeballs. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip

There was surprise across hockey fans to hear about a straight-up, your-guy-for-our-guy, best defencemen for best defencemen trade a la Shea Weber for P.K. Subban. In this episode, we listen to a clip from Steve Dangle, host of the Steve Dangle podcast, who analyzes the PK Subban and Shea Weber trade, and in particular, how Subban’s brand may or may not have played a factor in the trade. For those that don’t know, P.K. Subban is absolutely larger than life. Many people agree that he is a transcendent sporting personality. Subban donated $10 million dollars to a hospital and has donated more time than most people know. He spent several hours touring every room in the hospital and even a few months later, he spotted a boy that he had met briefly and called out the child’s name and even stopped to inquire about his treatment. Did Subban’s brand play a role in it? Shawn and Wang discuss this and how brand plays a factor in each of our jobs and careers. Let us know what you think about how brand played a role in the trade (or in your career). Do you join a company to build your own brand or do you build a brand with the company and how is it linked? Let us know on Twitter. Don’t miss future episodes – subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform. Help us get out to others by rating and reviewing us on iTunes. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip

Gretchen Rubin, an American author, blogger, speaker and the author of The Happiness Project and Better than Before (as well as other books), hosts a podcast called Happier with her sister Elizabeth that talks about ways to be happier in life (e.g., decluttering). Gretchen asks Elizabeth about her t.v. writing manifesto and Elizabeth shares four rules that she tries to follow. In this podcast, we also learn Shawn’s nickname, what Wang and Shawn’s manifestos are and we hear a sample of Gretchen’s podcast manifesto, which are her rules that she follows when creating podcast episodes. Do you have a manifesto? Do you have a set of rules or principles that you live by? Let us know on Twitter and if you haven’t already, please rate and review us on iTunes and subscribe to us on your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip  

What’s the difference between Kobe Bryant and you? What’s the difference between Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Lebron James? I (Wang) don’t watch basketball so I don’t know the answer, but John Wallace does. John Wallace is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Knicks, Raptors, Pistons, Suns and the Heat. John Wallace talks to James Altucher about the difference between Kobe and Lebron James. John Wallace had a chance to play against Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Lebron James and he has felt something different from the three players. What is it? And how can people use it to transform their lives? Do you agree with John Wallace? Let us know on Twitter and while you’re at it, rate and review us on iTunes and subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Player or your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip  

What is value? What is the real or perceived value of an item? And why do we place greater or fewer value on some things than others? Is it based on marketing? Rory Sutherland is a British advertising executive and is the current Executive Creative Director of OgilvyOne – he shares an interesting story about how Prussians made the potato a key crop and we learn Shawn and Wang’s thoughts on what and how humans value things. When is the last time you bought something based on the marketing? Let us know on Twitter and while you’re at it, rate and review us on iTunes and subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip

Clayton Christensen is an architect of disruptive innovation and is widely regarded as the world’s top expert on management, innovation and growth. While he was working his way up as a management consultant, he encounters a situation with his manager – this is something that we can all learn from. What principles do you follow? When was the last time you faced a difficult situation but you stuck to your principles? Let us know on Twitter and while you’re at it, please rate and review us on iTunes and subscribe to The Dip on your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip

Aziz Ansari? What the heck does this stand up comic who starred in Parks and Recreation and wrote and starred in the Master of None have to say about social media and our addiction to the internet? Like the episode? Think you are on Twitter too much? Leave us a message. While you’re at it, give us a review or subscribe to The Dip on your favourite podcast platform. @Shawnkanungo and @Wangyip

As an investor (and as a manager), you go into a lot of situations where you have to assess someone else’s character. You have to figure out how motivated they are, whether they can perform the job that they say they are going to do and whether your investment in them (time or money) will provide positive returns on investment. In this episode, we hear a clip from Startup, Alex Blumberg’s meta podcast about starting a podcast business. He makes a sales pitch to Chris Sacca, venture investor, company advisor, entrepreneur and a former lawyer who has has invested in seed and early-stage technology companies like Twitter, Uber, Instagram, Twilio and Kickstarter. Needless to say, the sales pitch does not go well as Alex is just starting out and the clip that we hear is a story that Chris Sacca tells describing the difference between Alex and Travis Kalanick – the CEO of Uber. Original episode from Gimlet Media can be found here. It’s an amazing podcast series if you have not heard it yet. We learn: How Chris knew that Uber would be successful Why being amazing at one thing leads to success in other things The surprising skill that Shawn is world class in The non-surprising skills that Wang believes he is world class in How to become world class, according to James Altucher What are you world class at? What are you very good at? Let us know on Twitter and please rate and review us on iTunes. For more episodes of The Dip, subscribe to us on your favourite podcast platform. Shawn Kanungo (@shawnkanungo) and Wang Yip (@wangyip)

Remember the days when we were in university and we marveled at medical residents who were able to work 48 hours straight or anyone able to pull all nighters all the time. To quote Arianna Huffington’s book Sleep Revolution, we are in the midst of a sleep deprivation crisis. I’m willing to bet that a few of our listeners do not get as much sleep as they need – but why? A lot of us feel tired, vow to get to bed earlier and then it never happens. I ask again, why? In this episode, we listen to a clip from Rich Roll from the Rich Roll Show (podcast) where Rich talks to Shawn Stevenson, an expert in health, about the importance of sleep. Rich is a #1 bestselling author, an accomplished vegan ultra-endurance athlete, and former entertainment attorney who realized that he needed to change his health and his life when he found it difficult to breathe after going up a set of stairs. We learn: Why Wang loves Season 2 so far the ‘money time’ for sleep what happens to your body when it gets dark out and why people get second winds the time that Wang gets to bed and his night time routine a program that filters out the blue light for your laptop (fl.ux) fiction vs. non-fiction books before bed Shawn’s sleep statistics and what analysis he has done on it whether we should put our phones in the bedroom or not whether to prioritize sleep or prioritize work If you enjoyed this episode (and even if you didn’t), please rate and review us on iTunes and subscribe to The Dip on your favourite podcast application. We are interested in hearing about our listener’s night time routines – what do you do before bed to decompress and relax? Let us know on Twitter. Shawn Kanungo (@shawnkanungo) and Wang Yip (@wangyip)  

If Shawn knew Gary Vaynerchuk in real life, they would be BFFs. Gary Vaynerhuk is an entrepreneur, investor, author, public speaker and his most notable works include the Wine Library TV and the #AskGaryVee show / podcast. In Season #1 of The Dip, Shawn mentioned Gary Vaynerchuk in a number of episodes and if I (Wang) can be completely honest, I see a few similarities between Shawn and Gary: They are both passionate about what they do They are always exploring new ideas They both have very raw styles when presenting The hot topic these days (on Gary Vee’s show and other podcasts) is entrepreneurship – it’s a lot like that saying about getting into heaven, everybody wants to go to heaven but not everybody is willing to die to get there; everybody wants to be an entrepreneur, but very few people are willing to risk it all to get there. In this episode of The Dip, we learn: Why Shawn is such a massive fan of Gary Vee Why Wang is not such a massive fan of Gary Vee The difference between Gary Vaynerchuk and Tony Robbins what entrepreneurship is about (is it about failing and learning?) entrepreneurs raising capital vs. entrepreneurs that have customers whether we are too focused on the big wins vs. the small wins if Wang will listen to more of Gary Vee’s podcasts (spoiler: yes he will) If you enjoyed this episode (and even if you didn’t), please rate and review us on iTunes and subscribe to The Dip on your favourite podcast application. Also, do you have a favourite podcast episode that you have enjoyed recently? Tell us about it on Twitter and we may feature it in a future episode with props to you! Shawn Kanungo (@shawnkanungo) and Wang Yip (@wangyip)

Shawn Kanungo. Wang Yip. Another episode of The Dip! In this episode, we listen to a clip from The James Altucher show where James Altucher interviews Jesse Itzler, an entrepreneur, author, endurance athlete and former rapper and his experience living with a Navy Seal. Jesse writes about this whole experience in his book Living with a Seal: 31 days training with the toughest man on the planet, which I wholeheartedly recommend. From the clip, we learn about: How Jesse met the Seal and why he asked the Seal to live and train with him How do you know what to do (comfort zones vs. discomfort zones) What successful people do to keep growing and the philosophy that the Seal has Building routines and habits vs. getting out of your comfort zone The last time that Wang stepped out of his comfort zone The mindset that will help you get through difficult and challenging obstacles If you enjoyed this episode (and even if you didn’t), please rate and review us on iTunes and subscribe to The Dip on your favourite podcast application. Tell your friends about how they should push out of their comfort zones and listen to The Dip. Shawn Kanungo (@shawnkanungo) and Wang Yip (@wangyip)  

In Season 2 of the Dip, Shawn and Wang take clips of great podcasts that they listen to and remix them for your pleasure. We dive into each clip and we share the things that we learn and takeaway from each clip. How do you throw an amazing party for less than four hundred dollars that rivals similar parties thrown for a million dollars? In this episode, we hear one of the most incredible stories that Shawn has ever heard from Jamie Foxx from his interview with Tim Ferriss where he talks about throwing the gauntlet down with Puff Daddy to throw an amazing party. Jamie Foxx is an Oscar-winning actor, singer and comedian and generally known as a ‘master’ of all trades. From the clip, we learn: How people are successful and their strategies for meeting their goals Whether or not monolith is a word (spoiler alert: it is) How to elevate your career Why Silicon Valley is so successful and why it cannot be replicated in other places Lastly, we learn what Wang  took away from this episode (yes, he learned something from Jamie Foxx’s story about throwing a party) and what Shawn’s going to change in his life now that he’s heard this story from Jamie Foxx. Tell us what you think about season two of The Dip. Rate and review us on iTunes or send us messages on Twitter. If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to The Dip on your favourite podcast player (Apple, Android, Microsoft) and tell your friends that you are going to throw the most amazing party for less than four hundred dollars where you will listen to the best podcast ever (The Dip). Shawn Kanungo (@shawnkanungo) and Wang Yip (@wangyip)

Background: Wang and Shawn are both management consultants. The Showtime series, “House of Lies”, Don Cheadle’s character portrays the lives of management consultants, which is propelled by sex, liquor, drugs and, yes, money. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Wang and Shawn have had a much different experience. The world of management consulting is on the cusp of disruption with new SaaS products, online content, artificial intelligence, digitization of services and the freelancer economy. Is the model broken? The Dip explores. The Story: In Episode #10 of The Dip, Shawn and Wang debate the pros and cons of management consulting. They explore all the disruptors within the field. The episode gets super deep when Shawn retells a horrific story of one of his projects. At the 28 minute mark, the show takes another turn when the two discuss the existence of “money”. If you haven’t already, please rate and / or review us on iTunes – your rating and review will help us make the podcast even better. Shawn Kanungo and Wang Yip

Background: Imagine you were on Family Feud and Steve Harvey asked, “We asked 100 people: Name something you care about the most.” “Health” is usually the first answer. Wouldn’t it make sense for us to invest as much as we could to improve our health? Although it is true that many innovators have dramatically changed the healthcare landscape, it comes with ethical and legal risks. Healthcare is complicated, complex and expensive. In today’s system, most medical professionals make their money when their patients become sick. Is this right? The Dip explores the topic. The Story: In Episode #9 of The Dip, Wang talks with Dr. Lee Green who is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, University of Alberta. This is the most comprehensive podcast of our first season. Dr. Green and Wang talk about cognitive workload, the challenges within the healthcare system, 3D printing and robotics supporting surgery, increasing patient expectations, Theranos, and more.  This episode is intense! We learn about about why Shawn, who is normally incredibly optimistic, is actually super pessimistic about the healthcare system. If you haven’t already, please rate and / or review us on iTunes – your rating and review will help us make the podcast even better. Shawn Kanungo and Wang Yip

Background: Wang and Shawn deviate the script on this episode. Instead of diving into an industry, they dive into each other (not like that…). We learn about what drives Wang, and why Shawn is fascinated with Donald Trump. Do not skip this episode! If you haven’t already, please rate and / or review us on iTunes – your rating and review will help us make the podcast even better. Shawn Kanungo and Wang Yip

Background: Is 3D printing over hyped? The technology is progressing incredibly fast, and the rate of people entering the space is quickening. If you aren’t familiar with 3D Printing, it is the ability to create physical products from a digital design file. Some people have coined 3D Printing as the next industrial revolution, and Wang and Shawn debate it. The Story: In Episode #8 of The Dip, Wang talks to his friend Bryce Borgel, a designer | machinist | innovator at Titan. Wang and Bryce discuss the myths and truths of 3D Printing. They chat about the wonders of 3D Printed steaks and 4D Printing. Wang and Shawn pitch each other their brilliant, billion-dollar 3D Printing ideas. And Shawn declares that people who eat popcorn in a theatre are disgusting. If you haven’t already, please rate and / or review us on iTunes – your rating and review will help us make the podcast even better. Shawn Kanungo and Wang Yip