The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
00:40:40 · Gabe Stengel, Ed Elson
[00:40:40] S2: No. I don't think I had robust expectations going in. I think that I think that it would be weirder if I finished a a long work week, and the first thing I wanted to do is, like, hang out with John. I think that would be more concerning in a lot of ways. And we have a great relationship. We're still best friends and incredibly close. And now it just has a whole new dimension that I've never had in any other relationship before, and so I'm learning to navigate what that looks like too. [00:41:09] S1: How have you managed stress in your relationship with him? Because, you know, you're working with him all day, every day. [00:41:17] S2: He's he's just he's just so stoic and patient and great. And so I can afford to be less so, less great, more anxious, more, you know, irascible and and given to anger and anxiety because he's there as a stabilizing force. Right. I think that if he were less sort of, you know, composed and rational and stoic, we would have a harder dynamic. But I think he knows, oh, you know, Gabe's getting upset that this this PowerPoint page had a typo. I know he's just, you know, in a bad mood. And so it's actually fine.
00:41:17 · Gabe Stengel, Ed Elson
[00:41:17] S2: He's he's just he's just so stoic and patient and great. And so I can afford to be less so, less great, more anxious, more, you know, irascible and and given to anger and anxiety because he's there as a stabilizing force. Right. I think that if he were less sort of, you know, composed and rational and stoic, we would have a harder dynamic. But I think he knows, oh, you know, Gabe's getting upset that this this PowerPoint page had a typo. I know he's just, you know, in a bad mood. And so it's actually fine. [00:41:51] S1: Yeah. One of the things that Scott talks about a lot is the value of stoicism. I mean, his line that I really like is nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems. But it sounds like from your perspective, there might be some value to your anxiety. Now checking that the deck has one typo and freaking out about it, why it's not stoic, but it results in the in the mistake being fixed. I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on perhaps if there's value in not being stoic as a founder. [00:42:25] S2: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I am I am not a stoic guy. By no means am I a stoic guy. I am a high highs and a low lows guy. [00:42:33] S1: Yep.
00:42:33 · Ed Elson, Gabe Stengel
[00:42:33] S1: Yep. [00:42:33] S2: And I think that helps me be very passionate and diligent about what I'm doing. I am a perfectionist in a lot of ways. I'm low patience in a lot of ways. And at the end of the day, I am just so interested in making a product that's enormously valuable and just fantastic for the people we serve. And that means I need to be nitpicky and low lows and high highs, and I need to be so proud of when it works well, and I need to so embarrassed and disappointed when it doesn't so that I have the drive to then make it better. I think it's a superpower in one way. And then in the other way, it it is, you know, it it it can grate on you. If you're if you're constantly having low lows and high highs, it feels like you're on a roller coaster. [00:43:17] S1: If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you were starting the company, and this is kind of another way of saying what do you regret most about when you started the company, but what's what's the number one piece of advice you would have given to yourself?
00:43:17 · Ed Elson, Gabe Stengel
[00:43:17] S1: If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you were starting the company, and this is kind of another way of saying what do you regret most about when you started the company, but what's what's the number one piece of advice you would have given to yourself? [00:43:34] S2: I think the number one piece of advice I would I would make is, you know, don't neglect the things that you were enjoying outside of work just because it feels like work is overwhelming. And I was actually on the phone with Kevin Ryan recently, and he gave me really great advice. He said, Gabe, look. If there were five more of you at Rogo, you would all be busy all the time. So the reality is you're actually only ever gonna be able to do 20% of what you need to do. And so the the way to handle that is not to, you know, be so regretful that you can't do more. There's not five more of you. You can't work around the clock. What you have to do is accept it and be like, okay. I'm only ever gonna be able to do 20% of all the work I need to do, and I need to make time in my life for other things. Otherwise, I'm gonna burn [00:44:17] S1: out. Mhmm. [00:44:17] S2: And I think that, you know, it's it's nice to still see friends and to play basketball and to do all sorts of things that I think can be neglected when you're so heads down. [00:44:26] S1: And have you made any conscious changes after he talks about that? [00:44:32] S2: We should schedule a weekly tennis lesson. I would like to do that. Would be one good step. [00:44:37] S1: Yeah. Yeah. [00:44:38] S2: Yeah. So good to
00:44:38 · Gabe Stengel, Ed Elson, S3, Scott Galloway
[00:44:38] S2: Yeah. So good to [00:44:39] S1: see Gabe Stengel is the founder and CEO of Rogo. Gabe, thanks for coming on. This episode was produced by Claire Miller and engineered by Benjamin Spencer. Our associate producer is Jennifer Sanchez, and our executive producers are Jason Stavas and Catherine Dillon. Thank you for listening to First Time Founders from the Vox Media Podcast Network. Join us on Monday for Property Markets. [00:45:23] S3: When you shop Kroger delivery, you can expect the savings you love and fresh groceries delivered right to your door. Our refrigerated trucks keep your items fresh while our associates are committed to getting every detail right, Carefully selecting and packing your order with care. Because bringing you fresh, quality groceries is what we do best. And right now, enjoy $20 off your first online order of $75 or more. Restrictions apply. Seasight for details. Kroger, fresh for everyone. [00:45:53] S0: The wheel was brilliant, but the road made it iconic. Electricity was powerful, but the grid brought it to every home. Innovation needs infrastructure. AI is no different, especially in finance, where AI can't run without context. But it can run on Plaid's infrastructure. Built over thirteen years to understand why money moves, Plaid makes AI work in finance. Visit plaid.com/ai to learn more.