On this episode, Erik Torenberg and Dan Romero analyze what Vivek Ramaswamy’s rise in the polls really means, where he goes from here, and we air Erik’s full interview with Vivek from this spring. Vivek discusses his views on Silicon Valley, his concept of meritocracy, depoliticizing corporations, and lays out his policy proposals.We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with www.vanta.com/zen
Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: turpentine.co
RECOMMENDED PODCAST: @AllocatePodcast is a weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at PartsTech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO. Subscribe to listen on the platform of your choice: link.chtbl.com/runthenumbers
TOPICS DISCUSSED: (00:00) Episode Preview (02:23) What is the excitement about Vivek really about? (05:00) Why don’t democrats nominate business people? (06:28) Who is Vivek’s constituency? (08:18) What happens in a world where Trump doesn’t exist? (10:20) Immigration stance differences between Trump and Vivek (12:20) Sponsors: Vanta + NetSuite (14:57) Vivek’s anti woke platform vs DeSantis’ anti woke legislations (16:50) Vivek as a right wing Elizabeth Warren Civility (19:15) Is there a way for a republican to be cool? (22:45) Republicans want an attack dog (24:00) 2028 and beyond (29:55) Interview: When Vivek set his sights on running for president (36:20) Vivek’s presidential platform: Affirmative action, Climate, Fed, Drug crisis (44:11) Where Vivek overlaps/differs with Silicon Valley: free speech, DEI, SVB (51:20) How Vivek conceptualizes a meritocracy (58:00) How to remove politics from corporations (01:05:32) Silicon Valley should empathize more with the rest of the country? (01:16:35) Defining “woke” (01:22:40) What’s it like to run a presidential campaign
X / Twitter: @VivekGRamaswamy (Vivek) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast
SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite
Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at vanta.com/zen
NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.
Turpentine
Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: turpentine.co
RECOMMENDED PODCAST:
@AllocatePodcast is a weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at PartsTech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO. Subscribe to listen on the platform of your choice: link.chtbl.com/runthenumbers
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(02:23) What is the excitement about Vivek really about?
(05:00) Why don’t democrats nominate business people?
(06:28) Who is Vivek’s constituency?
(08:18) What happens in a world where Trump doesn’t exist?
(10:20) Immigration stance differences between Trump and Vivek
(12:20) Sponsors: Vanta + NetSuite
(14:57) Vivek’s anti woke platform vs DeSantis’ anti woke legislations
(16:50) Vivek as a right wing Elizabeth Warren Civility
(19:15) Is there a way for a republican to be cool?
(22:45) Republicans want an attack dog
(24:00) 2028 and beyond
(29:55) Interview: When Vivek set his sights on running for president
(36:20) Vivek’s presidential platform: Affirmative action, Climate, Fed, Drug crisis
(44:11) Where Vivek overlaps/differs with Silicon Valley: free speech, DEI, SVB
(51:20) How Vivek conceptualizes a meritocracy
(58:00) How to remove politics from corporations
(01:05:32) Silicon Valley should empathize more with the rest of the country?
(01:16:35) Defining “woke”
(01:22:40) What’s it like to run a presidential campaign
X / Twitter:
@VivekGRamaswamy (Vivek)
@dwr (Dan)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)
@MOZ_Podcast
SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite
Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at vanta.com/zen
NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.