Kent Depwe

Thanks for having me on the pod @benjamin_l_mena! Great convo✊🏼

@zach_yadegari LFG!! Incredible product and even better team. Elite combo of creativity, competence and high agency that makes it near impossible not to win.

Cal AI has been acquired by MyFitnessPal 🚨 Henry and I started Cal AI as 17-year old high school students with one mission: make calorie tracking easier with AI. In just 18 months, we’ve helped millions of people lose millions of pounds. And we broke $50m in ARR along the way. We are at an incredible inflection point in history where ANYBODY can build a product that can improve lives and make millions. As founders, we get a lot of praise. The truth is that this would not have been possible without our incredible 30+ person team. We are so proud of what this team has accomplished, and are thankful to everyone that has been instrumental in Cal AI’s development and success. Cal AI will continue as a separate app from MyFitnessPal. The combined team will share resources to continue helping people achieve their fitness goals!

@boardyai Majority of VC’s are sheepish, one goes they all herd in. First one is the hardest by a mile.

A founder told me an investor passed because they “weren’t sure about the market.” A month later, after Sequoia agreed to lead the round, the same investor suddenly became “extremely bullish on the space.” Makes sense.

@emm4x3 @xai @angelafeliciawu @stvnzhn 1000 elite eng job offers incoming. Hyuuge congrats✊🏼

Super proud to announce that we won at the @xai hackathon! There was so much talent density in this space - I'd love to connect with more of you. @angelafeliciawu, @stvnzhn and I built xCreator (xai-kxyp.vercel.app), a UGC creator marketplace for X.

@czoob3 Absolutely dialed

9:15 pm Monday night. Not a single Eng has left yet. The only thing to do in life is build.

@FitFounder Never seen have a reason to wake up on these lists. Such an underrated one

How to be healthier than 95% of the population · Don't smoke · Lift 3x a week · Get 7-10k steps a day · Make sleep a priority · Have a reason for waking up · Have a calm nervous system · Have a great group of friends

@Naz6k_ Getting in good shape ripples across every area of your life. Benefits are endless

Go to the gym man, That shit will change your life fr.

Founders taking the first round interviews is a must for big hires at startup stage. It’s something I consult my clients on often, and have seen this small tweak work wonders. The first interview is a PIVOTAL point when a candidate truly decides if they want to pursue you seriously or just politely fade away. Who better than the founder to have that pressure on their shoulders to share the true vision and excitement about their company? While it could make sense to use a junior HR person or someone else as a “screen” and save the founder for last. You will undoubtably lose out on top talent that you shouldn’t have that way. Interviewing is a system. Optimize it.

@yehhmisi Side projects are the hack for this. Build something cool 0-1, that’s what you show off

Software engineering is hard to “show off.” Its one of the few careers where you can work your ass off… and still have nothing visually impressive to post online.

@BarbellFi Product or Eng manager? I might have some jobs for him if so

A buddy from college reached out Got laid off as a manager at Meta Made $280k & can’t land a new job His mortgage is over $6k/month Said he runs out of money in 3 months Has a wife & 2 young kids He’s usually cocky but sounded scared You never think it’ll happen to you 😔

@redactedrain Delusional optimism is an actual superpower. Every successful founder has it, and most of their team does too

They don’t teach you this in school but you can just have a delusional sense of optimism towards the world and believe everything is going to work out and you’ll succeed in every facet of life.

@dianalokada Daniel Pink, Every job is a sales Job says this exactly. No matter what you do, knowing sales/persuasion is always helpful.

everything is sales: > dating is sales > job interview is sales > social media is sales > sales is sales you only need one skill in life

@pmitu Extreme ownership is always the way. Not always right, but it’s always better than victim mentality.

If your startup isn’t growing, it’s probably your fault.

@ruslanjabari Not in the traditional sense. But if they are B2C, then 1000% need a Founding Head of Growth (or call Them a CMO so they can feel cooler) B2C marketing is at least 50% if not more of the success equation.

startups don't need a cmo…

@RoxCodes I’ve got some S-Tier ones for you

Hiring another senior, full-stack, founding engineer Name your salary, and if you're legendary, I'll do everything I can to meet it If you want to build cool shit, with huge creators Work super hard but have a shitload of fun doing it, keep reading

@1Umairshaikh Emotion by far, not even close

What closes more deals? • Logic • Emotion

@JaySahnan Sales/GTM is the ignition lever of every company no matter the industry. Those early days, a killer in this position is make or break.

If you want to become a founder, you should become a GTM or growth engineer first.

@gregogallagher Spot on. Insane how underrated the power of the mind is. Small mindset shifts can transform lives. And the mind the only thing you can actually control in this world.

Imagine you’re swimming toward an island. The island is your goal. It could be: •Getting over an ex •Leaning down to 8% •Launching your business •Moving to a new city •Building momentum •Breaking an old pattern You swim… 30%. 50%. 70%. You can see the island. It’s right there. And then? You turn around and swim back to the shore you came from. Back to the ex. Back to the old habits. Back to the comfort zone. Back to the familiar misery. Many people secretly do this every single time. Here’s exactly why: 1. Your system is wired for homeostasis. Your subconscious always pulls you toward what feels familiar, not what’s best. Even if the familiar is worse, it feels safer because it’s known. It’s “home.” This is why people stay stuck in: •Mediocre relationships •Cycles of self-sabotage •The same emotional patterns •The same body, habits, and lifestyle The subconscious would rather choose misery that’s familiar… than success that’s unfamiliar 2. When you put your goal on a pedestal, you create distance. The more serious and “important” something feels, the more tension and pressure you create around it. That excess potential pushes the goal away from you. You don’t move toward it — you repel it. 3. As you get close, the tension spikes. You’re almost there… But the subconscious feels the unfamiliarity and tries to drag you back to the previous island. Back to comfort. Back to identity. Back to what you’ve always known. This is why people sabotage the last 10%. Not because they’re weak… But because they’re still attached to the familiar version of themselves. HERE’S THE SOLUTION: REMOVE THE PEDESTAL Stop wanting. Stop grasping. Stop saying, “I really need this.” Wanting creates resistance. Switch to choosing. “I choose this.” “I’m good either way.” “It’s no big deal.” When you treat your goal like it’s normal, you dissolve excess potential. You eliminate tension. You bring the goal down to the same level as everything you already have. Think about it: Everything in your life right now feels normal. Your car. Your physique. Your apartment. Your lifestyle. Why? Because it’s “no big deal” to you. Your future reality must feel the same way — light, normal, effortless. Once the outcome becomes “no big deal,” you finally swim that last 10% to the island. THE REAL REASON PEOPLE GET STUCK: YOUR IDENTITY IS YOUR GPS If you don’t update the coordinates, you get routed back to the old destination. Old patterns. Old habits. Old relationships. Old ways of thinking. Most people never update the GPS. That’s why they drift back every time. But when you visualize your final slide with calm neutrality — daily — you’re installing NEW coordinates into your subconscious. From that moment… there’s no rerouting. You automatically move toward the life you choose. Not the life you inherited. THE SECRET MULTIPLIER: LIVE FROM GRATITUDE Gratitude dissolves tension. Gratitude dissolves fear. Gratitude dissolves the old identity. Gratitude dissolves excess potential. Just a few seconds of real gratitude in the morning resets your frequency. Suddenly the whole process becomes smoother, easier, faster. Choosing → Visualization → Identity → Gratitude This is the formula. When you operate from this place, you become a magnet for the reality you want… Instead of someone constantly swimming back to the old island. **Read that again. Bookmark it. Live it.** Because once you master this… you stop sabotaging the last 10% and you finally reach the island.

@EvanYadegari Young 🐐

Hit $3K/month today, bigger numbers coming

@hunterjisaacson Marketing is a cheat code though

Marketing doesn’t fix bad product Great product IS the marketing