00:03:37 · Sachin, Zach Dell
[00:03:37] S1: Love that. [00:03:38] S0: But I don't know, it's a hard one. [00:03:39] S1: Yeah. When I sort of look at your background, you worked in venture capital, you worked in private equity, you started a bunch of companies. There's nothing there that indicates to me that this is a person that was gonna go start an energy company. It's a very unique thing. If I... If you told me more about your sort of background and growing up, were there any signals that this would one day be the company that you'd start?
00:04:01 · Zach Dell
[00:04:01] S0: Yeah. I actually disagree. So I started my first company in the eighth grade. Started my second company, my junior of high school, my third company, my sophomore year of college. I think it was pretty obvious that I was going to be an entrepreneur, wanted to be an entrepreneur. The company I started in college was an energy adjacent company. I think it's more of a company in air quotes is more of a research project than a company. And we can talk about that if that's of interest, but, I really only went into investing because I wanted to learn what good looked like and I needed to develop a skill set, right? Sharpen the tools. I had a very dull tool set at the time And I saw Blackstone as a place to learn and a place where I could surround myself with people who were really capable and intense and would push me. And I'm a very competitive person and I like being around elite competition. And I think, you know, you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And so I wanted to sit next to people who were smarter than me, worked harder than me, had seen more than me, so I could just push myself to a limit and see if I could hang. And that's really what Blackstone was to me. It was a tool sharpening exercise and boy did it sharpen my tools. Like it was incredibly effective and I grew up there. And I didn't spend all that much time there. I mean, I there for like a year, right? Like I interned there before and whatever, but so I didn't have this like, you know, illustrious investing career at Blackstone. Like I was an analyst and, you know, it was Bob and Tilton poll. I wasn't there that long, but I learned a lot and I worked with some really smart people. And when I made the jump to Thrive, that was really about broadening the horizons and getting closer and closer to the original thing, is entrepreneurship and seeing what great entrepreneurs look like and how they work and same thing. I didn't have some illustrious, you know, investing career at Thrive where, you know, I led all these incredible investments and I was there for two years. Right? Like I, you know, Thrive has had incredible success in the last, you know, five years and I get, I should receive 0.0% of that credit, right? Like, I was there for a little bit of time. I did some interesting work. I asked some good questions.
00:05:56 · Zach Dell
I learned a lot, But those were, I would say both of those stops were kind of part of my maturation, part of the learning, part of the context building, the tool sharpening, the weaponization to get to the point today or three years ago when we started the company where I actually am capable of doing the things required to just get started. But what I will tell you, and maybe I'm taking this a little further than you'd like, but I think it's relevant is when we started the company three years ago, and Justin would tell you this from Jared or Cole or Dana or Scary or anyone who was here in the in the earliest days, like, I was not the CEO today... That the company needs today three years ago. I had to become the person that I am today to lead the company today. I can tell you, look you both in the eye and tell you, like, I am not the CEO of this company needs in five years. I'm not the CEO of this company needs in ten years. I have to become that person. Right? Like, I'm on a journey. I have a slope. I hope that slope is quite steep. Everyone here is betting I can become that person. I'm betting I can that person, but it's not a given. And I have to show up every day and like chop wood, carry water, do the work, become that guy, become that leader that the company needs. And so I wasn't that person, you know, in my first company in high school or my, you know, or second company in high school, fir... Third company in college, at Blackstone, at Thrive. Those are parts of the journey. Right? It's like trust the process, like just show up, wake up every day, work really hard, do the damn thing, try to figure it out, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, and become that person over time. So fair, there's no like, you know, you couldn't have you couldn't have known that that that was the slope, And we'll see how the next five and ten and fifteen, twenty years play out. But that's kinda how I think about it. It's like a constant iteration to become the person that you wanna be in the future.
00:07:35 · Adam Miller
[00:07:35] S2: Where does that kind of competitiveness and desire for growth come from? Right? Because it's like, it seems like you really wanna become self actualized in a way where you become the best founder and you've also really competitive. Does that come from like insecurity, a chip on your shoulder, just the desire to make the world a better place?
00:07:50 · Zach Dell
[00:07:50] S0: Well, I I think there's a definite chip on my shoulder that I'll just, you know, let's let's let's call it out, I have a very recognizable last name. Right? And basically anything I do forever, I will do as the son of my father, which some people, you know, they they struggle with, that gives them anxiety. It's an immense source of pride for me. I've got the most incredible dad in the world. I mean, he's my best friend. He's my number one mentor. He's the person I call when I can't figure things out. And, but like no matter what I do, how much success I have, like I'll always be his son in the eyes of whoever. And that kinda creates this natural chip, but it also, once you move past that, you're like, okay, well, if no matter what I do, I'm his son then like, f that. I don't actually care about that anymore. Like, it's kind of freeing once you kind of move move on from that. So like, yes, there's a chip, but you also kind of move on from the chip and you're like, you kind of, you enter this new zone of like, I don't actually give a shit about all that. Like now I just get to go do my thing. And so I think early in my life before I kind of got over that hump, which you know, honestly, Josh really helped me get over in a lot of ways we can talk about like that was a big source of motivation for me. It's like, I'm gonna prove that I'm capable and it's not just my dad, you know, like I think every kid, you know, in my situation has to go through that process. And now I feel like I'm in a different place where, I'm doing things because I love to do them and because I feel passionately about them and I'm part of a team that, needs me, and I need them and we're in it together and we're taking on, you know, the world, and doing something big and hard and important. And then I'd say one other thing which is like, if you think that I get my competitiveness from my dad, you haven't met my mom. Mhmm. Mhmm. She is a machine. She is a competitive machine. She's a fighter. She's a killer. And however intense or competitive you think my dad is, like, she is 10 times more. And she's she's the secret weapon for sure.
00:10:00 · Sachin, Zach Dell
[00:10:00] S1: You've been both an investor in private equity venture capital and now building this enormous company. How do you see the difference between investing and building a company? [00:10:09] S0: Yeah. Both are really fun and both are really important, but I would think about it like this. Have you ever been to an NBA game? Okay. Well, NBA games are awesome. I'm a big basketball fan. And if you ever are able to sit courtside at an NBA game, it's an incredible luxury. It's very expensive, but it is unbelievable. Your feet are on the hardwood. You can see the sweat on the players' bodies. It's like you're in the game. Your heart's racing. It's totally incredible. You're really close to the action, but there's nothing like dribbling the ball. There's nothing like having the ball in your hands. It's a tie game. Your team needs to score. Coach calls a timeout. Who's gonna do it? When you're on the sideline, you can say, hey, like pass at Denver three or like, the guy's open in the corner. Right? But there's nothing like having the ball in your hand. Right? So when you're investing, sometimes you're in the fifth row, you're in the tenth row, sometimes you're sitting courtside, sometimes you're in the huddle, but you're never on the floor. The ball's never in your hand and dribbling the ball and having a chance to score, that is the greatest feeling in the world. [00:11:24] S1: So Zach, you've got an exceptional co founder in Justin. We've been looking at his LinkedIn, researching him and just an absolutely crack background. Tell us how you met him.