Divot

Astro Teller is the entrepreneur, AI scientist, and Captain of Moonshots who has led X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, for more than 15 years. Under his leadership, X helped incubate Google Brain, Waymo, Wing, and Verily, breakthroughs spanning artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, drone delivery, and precision health. In 2026, Waymo alone raised $16 billion at a $126 billion valuation.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Astro explains how X makes radical innovation repeatable. Teams brainstorm deliberately terrible ideas to unlock creativity, pursue opportunities with only a 1% chance of success, and attack the hardest assumptions before wasting years on comfortable progress. The goal is not to win every bet. It is to build an intellectually honest process that consistently turns uncertainty into learning.
The conversation goes deeper into why innovators must detach identity from outcomes. Astro reveals when to kill a promising project, how Loon’s shutdown created the “moonshot compost” that became Taara, and why the ideas nobody cares about today may become technologies everyone chases in 15 years. His challenge to leaders is radical: reward intelligent failure, stop confusing progress with learning, and become a card counter of innovation.
Follow Astro Teller - X (Twitter): https://x.com/astroteller
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
If you’re building applications with generative media or considering it, Google just released a brand-new technical guide. You can download it at https://goo.gle/genmediaguide
Timestamps:
02:03 — Why Bad Ideas Unlock Breakthrough Creativity
08:55 — Why Great Innovators Ignore What Everyone Is Chasing
12:30 — The Card Counter Strategy for Intelligent Failure
16:21 — When to Kill a Project, and When to Keep Going
23:23 — Your Technology Works. But Does It Matter?
26:14 — How Waymo’s First 1,000-Mile Moonshot Began
29:55 — “Be Yourself on Purpose”: Astro’s Leadership Rule
35:10 — How Project Loon’s Failure Created Taara
41:05 — The $1 Million vs. $1 Billion Innovation Test
43:59 — Why Google X Intentionally Underfunds Moonshots
52:58 — Why Winning Is Not Necessarily Good
Follow Divot:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Divotpod
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/divotdotorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divotpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@divotpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#AstroTeller #GoogleX #XTheMoonshotFactory #RadicalInnovation #MoonshotThinking #IntelligentFailure #InnovationStrategy #BreakthroughInnovation #Leadership #Creativity #Waymo #GoogleBrain #Entrepreneurship #FounderMindset #DivotPodcast

Zachery Dereniowski, better known as MDMotivator, left medical school after the pandemic, a devastating breakup, a torn ACL, and crushing isolation pushed him to the lowest point of his life. Today, his videos about kindness, mental health, and human connection reach more than 50 million followers, have generated over 40 billion impressions, and helped raise more than $5 million for strangers.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Zachery reveals how two strangers saved his life by sitting with him in the rain for 30 minutes, why he walked away from medicine to hug strangers on the street, and how those encounters became a global movement. He explains why people with the least often give the most and why being seen can matter more than money.
The conversation goes deeper than viral generosity. Zachery explains why it can feel “selfish to be selfless,” why millions of apparently strong men are suffering silently, and why unprecedented digital connection has left us profoundly alone. His message is both urgent and practical: call your family, listen closely, show more love, and never underestimate the life-changing power of one small act of kindness.
Follow MD - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdmotivator
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Kindness / Nonprofit:
Zach is currently raising funds to support his ongoing givebacks through his nonprofit, and we’d love to include this link in the episode description/resources: https://slingshot.giving/kindness
Contact:
For anyone who wants to reach Zach or his team regarding stories, opportunities, partnerships, etc., please include: Zachery@onefluent.com & Sarah@onefluent.com
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
If you’re building applications with generative media or considering it, Google just released a brand-new technical guide. You can download it at https://goo.gle/genmediaguide
Timestamps:
003:22 — Medical School, Isolation, and His Darkest Night
06:50 — The 30 Minutes in the Rain That Saved His Life
07:22 — From Blindfolded Hugs to a Global Movement
10:51 — Why Men Hide Their Mental Health Struggles
12:59 — The Selfish Reason Kindness Feels So Good
19:01 — “I’m Not the Kind Person”: MDMotivator’s Real Mission
25:15 — Victor and Queen: The Kindness That Raised $1 Million
37:48 — What the Happiest People Understand About Life
41:32 — Why Zachery Tells Every Stranger “I Love You”
46:29 — The Micro-Goal Method Zachery Uses for Depression
49:39 — The Loneliness Paradox: More Connected, More Alone
52:00 — How $100 Became a Multimillion-Dollar Kindness Machine
59:14 — The Hardest Lesson: You Are Already Enough
1:03:04 — The Legacy He Wants: Alive, Valued, and Loved
1:07:18 — How One Viewer Turned Inspiration Into Real-World Kindness
Follow Divot:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Divotpod
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/divotdotorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divotpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@divotpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#MDMotivator #ZacheryDereniowski #Kindness #KindnessChangesEverything #MentalHealth #HumanConnection #KindnessIsCool #Selflessness #Generosity #Inspiration #Purpose #YouMatter #Divot #DivotPodcast

Eric Ries created the Lean Startup methodology and wrote "The Lean Startup," a New York Times bestseller that has sold more than a million copies in over 30 languages, teaching a generation of founders the MVP and build, measure, learn. He later founded the Long Term Stock Exchange, an SEC-approved exchange that has raised over $170 million, and just published his newest bestseller, "Incorruptible."
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Eric explains why "Lean Startup" has held up in the AI era, why AI has made building software nearly free while learning what customers truly need remains the real bottleneck, and why founders chasing AI-generated demos are skipping the customer validation that actually determines survival. "The learn step," he says, "has always been the rate-limiting step."
The conversation goes deeper into "Incorruptible," Eric's new book on why good companies get taken over, gutted, and hollowed out once their founders lose control. He reveals the sentence hidden in nearly every corporate charter that legally forces companies to maximize shareholder value over mission, and lays out the purpose, coherence, and integrity every founder needs to build something that lasts.
Follow Blaine - X (Twitter): https://x.com/ericries
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
If you’re building applications with generative media or considering it, Google just released a brand-new technical guide. You can download it at https://goo.gle/genmediaguide
Timestamps:
02:05 — Why "Build, Measure, Learn" Still Wins in the AI Era
04:18 — The One Thing AI Still Can't Speed Up: Learning
05:57 — Why Software Is Getting More Expensive, Not Less
10:01 — Why Talking to Customers Is Still the Rate-Limiting Skill
13:20 — What "Incorruptible" Actually Means
19:21 — The Sentence Hidden in Every Corporate Charter
20:52 — Would You Sell to the Company You Hate Most?
25:33 — How the Credo Collapsed Into a Cover-Up
28:13 — The Tylenol Recall That Built a Century of Trust
30:36 — The Blueprint: Purpose, Coherence, Integrity
31:41 — What a Public Benefit Corporation Actually Does
34:10 — Anthropic's Mission Guardian and the Companies That Copied It
42:57 — How Eric Ries Measures His Own Life
Follow Divot:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Divotpod
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/divotdotorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divotpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@divotpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#EricRies #LeanStartup #Incorruptible #BuildMeasureLearn #LongTermStockExchange #PublicBenefitCorp #JohnsonAndJohnson #StartupFounders #FounderMindset #AIandStartups #CorporateGovernance #MissionDriven #Entrepreneurship #DivotPodcast

Blaine Anderson is the Shark Tank dating coach for men who built Dating by Blaine from a COVID-forced career pivot into a company with 7,000 clients and over 1 million followers. She accepted Mark Cuban's $100,000 offer on stage and became the first credible female voice on social media telling men the truth about what is actually going wrong in their dating lives.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Blaine breaks down why the most accomplished men often have the worst dating lives, and what it costs them. She explains why dating apps are designed to keep you searching rather than matched, how the checklist approach to first dates kills attraction before it starts, and the real reason high-achieving men get ghosted after dates that felt genuinely great.
The conversation goes deeper than dating tips. Blaine argues that the real problem is a life built without room for another person, career optimized, routine locked in, checklist assembled, and no understanding of why that approach fails in relationships. The episode leaves you with something harder to ignore than any tactic: what you are building right now either makes love possible or makes it harder.
Follow Blaine - X (Twitter): https://x.com/datingbyblaine
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
If you’re building applications with generative media or considering it, Google just released a brand-new technical guide. You can download it at https://goo.gle/genmediaguide
Timestamps:
03:43 – Why Fewer People Are Getting Married Than Ever Before
05:44 – Why Dating Apps Are Making Commitment Harder
12:14 – "I Felt Like He Was Interviewing Me"
14:18 – The Real Reason She Disappeared After a Great Date
15:47 – What a First Date Is Actually For
23:22 – How to Approach a Woman You Don't Know
31:38 – Why "Nice Guys" Actually Finish Last
34:41 – The Investment Areas Framework
36:21 – Why You're Texting Yourself Out of Dates
39:23 – The Uber Text That Went Viral
49:43 – The Age Men and Women Should Start Taking Dating Seriously
54:44 – Why Building the Perfect Life First Backfires
1:02:28 – The Pretzel Bar That Ended a Date Before It Started
1:08:20 – What Nobody Tells You About Pitching on Shark Tank
1:10:39 – The Failure That Accidentally Built Her Company
1:18:04 – One Idea She'd Implant in Everyone on Earth
Follow Divot:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Divotpod
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/divotdotorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divotpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@divotpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#DatingAdvice #DatingCoach #ModernDating #RelationshipAdvice #DatingByBlaine #BlaineAnderson #SharkTank #MarkCuban #DatingApps #HowToAttractWomen #MenAndDating #Divot #DerekAndersen #LoveAndRelationships

Daniel Kottke met Steve Jobs at Reed College in 1972, traveled with him to India, and spent the summer of 1976 hand-assembling the very first Apple computers in the Jobs family garage in Cupertino, for $3 an hour. He was among Apple's earliest employees, hand-wired the Macintosh prototypes, and left his signature cast inside every original Mac ever made. Apple is now worth $5 trillion.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Daniel reveals what Steve Jobs was really like before Apple: the India trip, Steve's unexplained three-day disappearance in the Himalayas, and the private spiritual life behind the man. He walks through the Apple IPO stock option situation, why Steve, as head of the compensation committee, refused to discuss it, and how Steve Wozniak later quietly made it right.
The conversation goes deeper than Apple's mythology. Daniel reflects on what it means to be present at the birth of something historic and still leave without the rewards others received, and how a lifetime of curiosity became a richer kind of wealth than any stock certificate. "Luck often shows up wearing overalls, looking like hard work."
Follow Daniel - X (Twitter): https://x.com/dkottke
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
If you’re building applications with generative media or considering it, Google just released a brand-new technical guide. You can download it at https://goo.gle/genmediaguide
Timestamps:
00:01:58 — How Daniel Kottke First Met Steve Jobs
00:06:33 — Why Steve Jobs Kept Everything Secret
00:10:05 — The India Trip That Shaped Steve Jobs
00:17:07 — Why Steve Jobs Spent $1,000 on Primal Therapy
00:21:36 — Lost in Delhi: Steve Had Shaved His Head
00:23:55 — Steve Left for Three Days and Never Said Where
00:27:18 — Inside the Apple Garage in Summer 1976
00:29:15 — Who Really Worked in the Apple Garage
00:32:25 — How Wozniak Built Two Computers Simultaneously
00:38:10 — The Homebrew Club and Apple's First $25,000 Sale
00:45:28 — Why Steve Jobs Refused to Discuss His Stock
00:49:22 — How Wozniak Gave What Steve Jobs Never Would
00:55:25 — What Daniel Would Tell Every Young Founder
Follow Divot:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Divotpod
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/divotdotorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divotpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@divotpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#SteveJobs #Apple #AppleHistory #DanielKottke #SiliconValley #AppleGarage #SteveWozniak #HomebrewComputerClub #AppleFoundingStory #TechHistory #SiliconValleyHistory #Entrepreneurship #FounderStory #Divot