Divot

Ed Catmull co-founded Pixar and helped build the creative engine behind some of the most beloved films of the last 30 years, including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. Long before Pixar changed animation forever, Ed helped pioneer 3D computer graphics, build RenderMan, and partner with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter to create one of the most influential creative companies in history.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Ed reveals how Pixar really became Pixar: the 14-year path to making Toy Story possible, why Steve Jobs stayed out of the Braintrust, how Pixar protected creative honesty, and why getting the team right matters more than getting the idea right. He also shares lessons from Creativity Inc. on long-term thinking, failure, leadership, disagreement, and building a culture where the best ideas can survive.
The conversation goes deeper into the stories behind Pixar’s success, from almost losing Toy Story 2 to choosing hard films like Ratatouille and Up when they did not look commercially obvious. Ed shows that Pixar’s real secret was not one perfect idea, one genius leader, or one lucky movie. It was a culture strong enough to turn impossible ideas into stories the world never forgets.
Follow Ed - X (Twitter): https://x.com/edcatmull
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
Grab the new Google for Startups Future of AI report at https://goo.gle/futureofgenmedia
Timestamps:
01:39 - Why Great Companies Fail to Think Long-Term
07:35 - Why VR, Oculus, and Tech Hype Got Ahead of Reality
19:13 - The 14-Year Math Behind Toy Story
24:57 - Why the Right Environment Creates Pioneers
37:34 - Why Steve Jobs Let Pixar Publish Everything
42:26 - Steve Jobs’ $54M Bet on Pixar
44:53 - Why Great Teams Create Great Ideas
54:20 - Why Pixar Did Not Call Every Mistake a Failure
59:08 - Why Steve Jobs Stayed Out of Pixar’s Braintrust
01:03:06 - Why Powerful Leaders Should Speak Last
01:15:03 - How Pixar Made Steve Jobs a Billionaire
01:21:15 - The Steve Jobs Transformation Most People Missed
01:24:17 - Why Ed Catmull Believes He Is Wrong Half the Time
01:33:10 - Ed Catmull Was Removed as Pixar President Twice
01:37:27 - Why Creativity Inc. Was Really About Building Great Teams
01:42:26 - How Pixar Almost Lost Toy Story 2
01:46:36 - How Pixar Became a Repeatable Creative Studio
01:47:19 - Why Ratatouille and Up Should Not Have Worked
01:49:13 - How Ed Catmull Measures a Good Life
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Hashtags:
#pixar #stevejobs #edcatmull #toystory #creativityinc #pixarbraintrust #findingnemo #theincredibles #ratatouille #walle #up #creativeleadership #storytelling #innovation #divotpodcast

After more than 50 episodes of Divot, Derek Andersen celebrates conversations that have inspired, educated, and reached millions. This special recap features Doug Leone, former Global Managing Partner at Sequoia Capital, the legendary venture firm behind Apple, Google, YouTube, Airbnb, WhatsApp, Stripe, and Nvidia; Justin Kan, the Twitch co-founder behind a nearly $1B Amazon exit; Charlie Rocket, the brain-tumor survivor who lost 120 pounds and became a Nike athlete; Marc Randolph, the Netflix co-founder and first CEO; and James Dumoulin, the School of Hard Knocks co-founder who built a 22M-follower media empire.
You’ll also hear Guy Kawasaki, the former Apple evangelist and Canva chief evangelist; Tim Draper, the legendary venture capitalist known for Tesla, SpaceX, Skype, Hotmail, and Bitcoin; Liz Wiseman, the bestselling author of Multipliers and one of the top voices in leadership; Brandt Andersen, the Hollywood filmmaker and producer behind Lone Survivor, Everest, American Made, Silence, and I Was a Stranger; Tina Roth Eisenberg, the CreativeMornings founder who built a global movement around creativity; and Dave Bell, the creator behind Dave’s Auto Center and a voice for craftsmanship, faith, family, and legacy.
In this special recap episode, Derek Andersen revisits the wisdom behind the journey: showing up before anyone is watching, taking risks before the outcome is clear, building through rejection, finding meaning beyond money, leading with humility, and keeping faith, values, family, and purpose at the center. These are the moments that capture the heart of Divot so far.
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
Grab the new Google for Startups Future of AI report at https://goo.gle/futureofgenmedia
Timestamps:
00:00 — The Wisdom Behind 50+ Divot Episodes
01:05 — Celebrating More Than 50 Episodes of Divot
02:18 — Doug Leone: The Discipline to Show Up
03:52 — Justin Kan: Why Success Doesn’t Solve Everything
06:02 — Charlie Rocket: The Winning Streak Mindset
08:30 — James Dumoulin: When Rejection Becomes Fuel
11:53 — Guy Kawasaki: Stop Trying to Be the Next Steve Jobs
15:05 — Tim Draper: Ideas That Can Change the World
17:57 — Liz Wiseman: How Great Leaders Actually Change
20:50 — Marc Randolph: You’re Living the Good Old Days
23:36 — Brandt Andersen: Why Hard Things Shape Us
26:03 — Tina Roth Eisenberg: The Lost Art of Being Human
28:08 — Dave Bell: Keep Your Feet Moving
Follow Divot:
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#DivotPodcast #DerekAndersen #Entrepreneurship #Founders #Leadership #StartupLessons #WorldClassBuilders #BusinessWisdom #PurposeDriven #FaithAndFamily #VentureCapital #Creators

Ali Ansari is the founder and CEO of Micro1, the human data engine helping AI labs train foundational models and enterprises build better AI agents. With more than 5M people screened, Micro1 provides expert data, frontier evaluations, reinforcement learning environments, and contextual agent evaluations for the next generation of AI systems.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Ali explains how large language models actually learn, why human judgment still drives AI progress, and why real-world company data may become one of the most valuable assets in the AI economy. He breaks down long-horizon tasks, compounding errors, post-training, AI agents, and the “infinite last mile” of intelligence.
Ali also shares what it feels like to build at the center of the San Francisco AI boom, why AI will create new categories of high-value jobs, and how his journey from immigrating to the U.S. from Iran to building Micro1 shaped his founder mindset. This is a conversation about AI, human expertise, and embracing the chaos of a once-in-a-generation technology wave.
Follow Ali - Instagram: https://x.com/aliansarinik
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
Grab the new Google for Startups Future of AI report at https://goo.gle/futureofgenmedia
Timestamps:
01:32 — Building Micro1 in the Center of the AI Boom
06:57 — A Once-in-a-Lifetime AI Opportunity
08:44 — How Micro1 Helps Train Smarter AI Models
10:43 — Why AI Models Never Stop Learning
14:56 — Why AI Still Needs Human Experts
17:49 — The Model Is Not the Product
21:23 — Who Wins and Loses in the AI Era
27:25 — When AI Agents Become Team Members
29:19 — The Talent War for AI Researchers
33:38 — Why Your Company Data Is Training AI
38:35 — From Iran to the American Dream
44:33 — Why Taking a Unique Path Can Win
48:04 — Embrace the Chaos
49:50 — Why AI Will Create New Jobs
53:02 — How Ali Measures His Life
Follow Divot:
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #AIData #AIAgents #MachineLearning #Startups #DivotPodcast

Charlie Rocket believes your dream may already be done; time just has not caught up yet. In Part 2 of this conversation, the Dream Machine Foundation founder explains how the things that light you up can become a signal, a direction, and a reason to move before the world gives you proof.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Charlie breaks down manifesting backwards, speaking the future before it exists, and building a winning streak in your mind. He shares why he walked away from a $15M business to chase becoming a Nike athlete, how writing things down makes the invisible feel real, and why words can shape the reality you move toward.
The conversation goes deeper into dreams, miracles, faith, identity, and the courage to live inside possibility. Charlie shows that life can change faster than most people think when you stop waiting for certainty and start acting from the future you believe is already on the way.
Follow Charlie - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlie
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
Grab the new Google for Startups Future of AI report at https://goo.gle/futureofgenmedia
Timestamps:
01:32 — How to Find the Dream That Lights You Up
05:06 — Why Charlie Walked Away From a $15M Business
06:01 — How to Manifest Backwards
11:37 — Speaking the Future Before It Exists
15:53 — Charlie’s Nike Manifestation Story
17:19 — Why Writing Things Down Makes Dreams Real
19:28 — How to Start Seeing Miracles
22:23 — Derek’s Scotty Cameron Miracle Story
27:15 — You Weren’t Derailed, You Were Delivered
28:11 — The Pain That Built Charlie’s Success
36:25 — The Winning Streak That Changed His Life
37:35 — How to Overcome Hard Things
38:57 — Measuring Life in Possibilities
39:53 — What Charlie Hopes God Says
Follow Divot:
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Hashtags:
#charlierocket #delusionaloptimism #manifestingbackwards #winningstreak #impossibledreams #dreammachine #manifestation #mindset #personalgrowth #reinvention #miracles #purpose #possibility #entrepreneurship #divotpodcast

Charlie Rocket helped create major cultural moments in hip hop, working with artists like 2 Chainz, contributing to Grammy-winning campaigns, winning an Emmy, and managing some of the biggest names in music. But after facing obesity, depression, burnout, and a brain tumor, Charlie reinvented everything: he lost 120 pounds, became a Nike athlete, ran across America, and turned Dream Machine Foundation into a global movement for impossible dreams.
In this episode with Derek Andersen, Charlie breaks down his Delusional Optimism Formula: how to turn pain into proof, proof into belief, and belief into action. He explains why the key to changing your life is building a winning streak in your mind, collecting constant proof that you are winning, and training yourself to see setbacks, rejection, and failure as signs that life is still working for you.
The conversation goes deeper into reinvention, identity, manifestation, gratitude, viral content, and the courage to believe your life can change faster than you think. Charlie shows that impossible dreams are not built by avoiding pain. They are built by turning every loss into momentum, every setback into a lesson, and every small win into proof that your dream is already on the way.
Follow Charlie - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlie
Follow Derek - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/derekjandersen
Episode Partners:
Google for Startups
Grab the new Google for Startups Future of AI report at https://goo.gle/futureofgenmedia
Timestamps:
00:00 — Charlie Rocket’s Delusional Optimism Formula
00:36 — From Hip Hop Success to a Life-Changing Brain Tumor
00:56 — Losing 120 Pounds and Becoming a Nike Athlete
05:08 — Why You Are Undefeated
09:28 — Turning Every Loss Into a Win
12:37 — What Delusional Optimism Really Means
17:33 — Proof Creates Delusion, Delusion Creates Action
30:02 — How to Become a Delusional Optimist
34:59 — How to Reinvent Yourself
35:33 — Kobe Bryant, Black Mamba, and the Alter Ego Effect
40:57 — Charlie’s Viral Content System
42:16 — 20M Views and 200K Followers in 45 Days
44:43 — How to Build a Winning Streak Every Morning
57:48 — How Fast Your Life Can Change
Follow Divot:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Divotpod
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotdotorg
Hashtags:
#charlierocket #delusionaloptimism #nikeathlete #dreammachine #reinvention #mindset #manifestation #winningstreak #personalgrowth #impossibledreams #brainTumorSurvivor #entrepreneurship #founderjourney #motivation #divotpodcast