Inspired with Alexa von Tobel
00:41:11 · Alexa von Tobel, Brian Distelburger, Max Shaw
[00:41:11] S2: Amen. Basically saying you can't just use blunt objects as your input. You actually have to use very, very thoughtful systems. I wanna shift gears a little bit here in the interest of time, which is you guys are ride or die building this in New York, and you guys are some OG New York City entrepreneurs. Why? Brian, why? Why New York? [00:41:34] S0: Why New York? [00:41:35] S2: Why do you love New York in building in New York so much? Just for the sake of everybody listening. [00:41:39] S3: You can't say the next, so. [00:41:42] S2: You could say the next. Let's... We're going to the Knicks together, and you can say the Knicks. [00:41:45] S0: Knicks in '26. [00:41:47] S3: I'm a Sixers fan, so this is not... It's it's bad. [00:41:51] S0: Breaking news, by the way. Embiid is out tonight, in case you [00:41:53] S3: didn't know. I saw. I It's not But we'll see what happens.
00:41:53 · Max Shaw, Brian Distelburger
[00:41:53] S3: didn't know. I saw. I It's not But we'll see what happens. [00:41:58] S0: Yeah. I I mean, New York is... It's incredible in so many different ways, but I I think it's actually, like, a phenomenal place to be optimistic about the future. And, you know, like all cities, we have all kinds of challenges, but there's just so much going on, not just in tech, but across so many different industries that you're able to get a lens on really what's going on across the world by being in New York. And so it's great to be in the tech community and and with all of us who are top half percent users of this stuff, but you very quickly will be having a conversation with someone. Like, I was having one actually this morning at the gym who's not tried quad, and is like, What is this thing? How does it work? And so you just have this incredibly diverse community. You have access to all these amazing people at the top of their fields across all these different industries. And just the pace and energy of the city, access to talent is phenomenal. You talk to any of the top kids that are graduating college. No one wants to go live in the sleepy Bay Area. Maybe they'll get bribed into it by some places, sure, But everyone wants to come and live in in New York. And so I am incredibly biased, but would argue it's the best city in the world to be building a company right now.
00:43:20 · Alexa von Tobel, Max Shaw, Brian Distelburger
[00:43:20] S2: Let's go Windmill. Let's let's... You know, love the, like, underdog nature of New York City, and I just think it, like, gives you a ride or die kind of effort of of how we think about swinging. Okay, guys. I wanna shift just to a quick fire round where you guys just quickly give us, like, a mantra you love, a book that's changed your life because you both have accomplished a lot. Max, a book that changed your life doesn't have to be a business book, any kind of book, but a book that you really recommend people read. [00:43:49] S3: Yeah. I recently read book Range, which is about parenting and how to raise kids. And the... Yeah. I mean, it was it was probably one of the best parenting books I've read. And the whole thesis is that exposing kids to all sorts of different things as they grow up leads to best outcomes rather than trying to really focus them in on one specific thing they talk about, sports and chess and all these different areas. But range, I would definitely check out, and I think is now more applicable than ever with AI, and people don't know what's gonna be valuable in the future. The more you can expose your children to all sorts of different things in life and get them interested into all sorts of different things just really resonated with me. So I would recommend Range. [00:44:34] S2: I love it. Brian, a book. [00:44:37] S0: Alright. I'm gonna go out there a little bit. A book called Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. [00:44:43] S2: I've heard of it, but say more. Why do you love it?
00:44:43 · Alexa von Tobel, Brian Distelburger, Max Shaw
[00:44:43] S2: I've heard of it, but say more. Why do you love it? [00:44:45] S0: So it's a book on philosophy, dis... Sort of disguised as a motorcycle journey across The US. But some of the concepts he talks about in there around this was dated and it was more around just when computers were starting to be a thing, but the technological shift and how some people were adapting well and some people weren't, and some philosophies and skills and tools to manage and be successful through that transition. But I highly recommend everyone pick it up. [00:45:18] S2: You both are really, like, just energetic kind of... You can feel your momentum when you're with you. What's a mantra? And, you know, I believe that, like, people kinda have something running in the back of their head when they are an engine, which you both are. Max and Brian, what sort of a mantra you ascribe to? [00:45:36] S3: For me, I think it's... You're in control of of kind of how happy you feel. And I think being a founder is really hard, and there's a lot of things that go well. There's probably more things that don't go well. But, ultimately, I think it's just really important and something that I constantly remind myself is you're in control. You can decide how you're feeling that day, and being able to bounce back quickly from everything is something that I think is absolutely critical for what we're trying to do, and it's something that I try to instill in my kids. So the ability to bounce back quickly is definitely something.
00:45:36 · Max Shaw, Brian Distelburger, Alexa von Tobel
[00:45:36] S3: For me, I think it's... You're in control of of kind of how happy you feel. And I think being a founder is really hard, and there's a lot of things that go well. There's probably more things that don't go well. But, ultimately, I think it's just really important and something that I constantly remind myself is you're in control. You can decide how you're feeling that day, and being able to bounce back quickly from everything is something that I think is absolutely critical for what we're trying to do, and it's something that I try to instill in my kids. So the ability to bounce back quickly is definitely something. [00:46:08] S0: For me, it's really simple. People matter more. It is what we're doing. It is incredibly important. And so that to me, every single day is a huge source of motivation and energy. [00:46:22] S2: You guys have done a lot and seen a lot, and this isn't your first rodeo. Can you just like pay it forward to like something that you learned in the past? And it doesn't have to be like a failure per se. It's just sort of like a pretty real belief that you lean into as you're building Windmill that will help it be more successful because... Like, so just... It's your second time, probably fourth, fifth time, about their small things in x y z. But something you kind of hold as like a permanent truth to helping you be successful with this.
00:46:22 · Alexa von Tobel, Brian Distelburger
[00:46:22] S2: You guys have done a lot and seen a lot, and this isn't your first rodeo. Can you just like pay it forward to like something that you learned in the past? And it doesn't have to be like a failure per se. It's just sort of like a pretty real belief that you lean into as you're building Windmill that will help it be more successful because... Like, so just... It's your second time, probably fourth, fifth time, about their small things in x y z. But something you kind of hold as like a permanent truth to helping you be successful with this. [00:46:56] S0: Yeah. So for me, I mean, I spend a lot of time thinking about velocity. So speed plus direction. When I was younger, like, as... You know, you'd see different things, and I'd be running around like crazy and think everything is super important, and it was hard to prioritize. But I think all the time around the pace and the direction that we're building the business. [00:47:21] S2: I've never heard that, Brian, and I love that. Woah. Never? Speed plus direction. No. I mean, velocity, but, like, speed plus direction. It's great. Max?