# Noah Berkson

> Builder of Companies. Builder of Communities.

## Pages
- [Contact](https://noahberkson.com/contact/): Add me on these platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn. Subscribe to my Spotify and YouTube channel, or see what I'm up to on my Now page.
- [About Noah Berkson](https://noahberkson.com/about/): Noah Berkson co-founded 8 companies and sold 4 before 32. He now runs a family office, taught a course at Stanford, and builds the Outcove community.
- [Now: What I’m Working On](https://noahberkson.com/now/): What Noah Berkson is up to lately: building Irreplaceable, leading Austin Capital, growing Commonground, and hosting Outcove gatherings.
- [Media](https://noahberkson.com/media/): Press, podcasts, and speaking features of Noah Berkson, Founder and Managing Partner of Candor Ventures.

## Articles
- [Learnings From Bryan Johnson at the YPO Under-40 Summit](https://noahberkson.com/learnings/) — 2024-10-02: Noah Berkson shares takeaways from Bryan Johnson at a YPO Under-40 Summit, including his goal to be respected by the 25th century and long-term thinking.
- [The Biggest Advantage In The Business World](https://noahberkson.com/davids-four-week-post-surgery-update/) — 2024-10-09: Noah Berkson on why youth and inexperience are advantages in business, and how being young helped him get advice and help from busy, successful people.
- [Summercamp for Adults: Why Entrepreneurs Need It](https://noahberkson.com/summercamp/) — 2017-10-16: Noah Berkson on Weekend of Man, an annual summercamp for adults where 26 friends gather on a Wisconsin ranch for competition, challenge, and friendship.
- [Headshots of Noah Berkson](https://noahberkson.com/headshots/) — 2016-01-19: Downloadable headshots of Noah Berkson for speaking engagements and media appearances, available with a background and on a transparent background.
- [The Importance of Vulnerability In Entrepreneurship](https://noahberkson.com/entrepreneurship/) — 2023-01-17: Noah Berkson on the inherent vulnerability of entrepreneurship and why founders so often hide struggle behind a projected image of constant momentum.
- [Why Billionaires Are Buying Professional Sports Teams](https://noahberkson.com/professional-sports-team/) — 2024-10-20: Noah Berkson on why pro sports team valuations keep climbing: constrained supply, surging billionaire demand, and new rules letting PE firms buy in.
- [VIDEO: How To Become An Entrepreneur](https://noahberkson.com/how-to-become-an-entrepreneur/) — 2024-10-23: Noah Berkson’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: go sell something door to door, because learning to handle rejection is training a classroom can’t give.
- [Cal Fussman: What I Learned From a Master Interviewer](https://noahberkson.com/cal-fussman/) — 2024-11-20: Noah Berkson on befriending master interviewer Cal Fussman and what he learned about asking genuinely open questions instead of confirming what you think.
- [What Squid Game Teaches Entrepreneurs About Risk](https://noahberkson.com/squid-game/) — 2024-12-20: Noah Berkson on how Squid Game went from a decade of rejection to a global phenomenon, and what creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk’s persistence teaches founders.
- [Hindenburg Research:The Impact of Nate Anderson ](https://noahberkson.com/hindenburg-research-nate-anderson/) — 2025-02-07: Noah Berkson on Nate Anderson stepping down from Hindenburg Research, the firm’s outsized market impact, and the candid farewell letter that resonated.
- [Outcove Valley: 70 Entrepreneurs in Park City, Utah](https://noahberkson.com/outcove-valley/) — 2025-03-07: Noah Berkson recaps the inaugural Outcove Valley, where 70 entrepreneurs and investors gathered in Park City for vulnerability and real friendship.
- [Permission To Shine Podcast: Noah Berkson Interview](https://noahberkson.com/permission-to-shine-podcast/) — 2025-03-20: Noah Berkson joins the Permission To Shine Podcast to talk cold outreach, handling objections, and the biggest mistakes people make about networking.
- [What I Learned From Holding My Own Birthday Roast](https://noahberkson.com/birthday-roast/) — 2025-03-27: Noah Berkson on hosting a roast of himself for his 28th birthday, what his closest friends actually said, and why playful honesty deepens friendship.
- [Solving Societies Biggest Problems with Henry Elkus](https://noahberkson.com/henry-elkus/) — 2025-03-21: Henry Elkus joins Noah Berkson and Jess Mah to discuss Helena, his organization tackling major societal problems through nonprofits, business, and policy.
- [Creators, Pokemon, Barrys and Billions with Lucy Guo](https://noahberkson.com/lucy-guo/) — 2025-03-21: Lucy Guo joins Noah Berkson and Jess Mah to share her path from childhood hustles to the Thiel Fellowship, co-founding Scale AI, and building Passes.com.
- [You're Only As Good As Your Last Story with Ben Bergman](https://noahberkson.com/ben-bergman/) — 2025-03-21: Ben Bergman of Business Insider joins Noah Berkson and Jess Mah on the nature of tech journalism, legal vetting, and interviewing high-profile founders.
- [Burning Man, Shareholder Value, and Dating Rich with Suli Ali](https://noahberkson.com/suli-ali/) — 2025-03-21: Serial entrepreneur Suli Ali joins Noah Berkson and Jess Mah to discuss his evolving relationship with wealth, status, identity, family, and legacy.
- [Investor vs. Founder: Navigating Two Mindsets](https://noahberkson.com/investor-vs-founder/) — 2025-04-25: Noah Berkson on the two mindsets he's lived through, founder and investor, and how optimism, naivete, and discipline play different roles in each.
- [Facing Obstacles and Timing Your Investments Right](https://noahberkson.com/timing-your-investments/) — 2025-05-05: Noah Berkson on the grind behind early-stage investing: why most deals fail, why patience and timing matter, and how to spot signals it is time to sell.
- [Building Trust and Investing Through Economic Uncertainty](https://noahberkson.com/investing-through-economic-uncertainty/) — 2025-05-08: Noah Berkson on building trust as a founder and investor, why early-stage investing demands volume over single bets, and why most ventures still fail.
- [The Entrepreneurial Journey of Proving Them Wrong](https://noahberkson.com/entrepreneurial-journey/) — 2025-05-07: Noah Berkson on how a teacher's harsh prediction fueled his entrepreneurial drive, and the cost of tying his self-worth entirely to business success.
- [Outcove Park City — Event Recap](https://noahberkson.com/outcove-park-city-event/) — 2025-05-13: Noah Berkson recaps Outcove's invitation-only Park City retreat, where founders and investors traded elevator pitches for honest, multi-day conversation.
- [Innovation and Leadership Podcast: Insights From a Young Millionaire](https://noahberkson.com/innovation-and-leadership-podcast/) — 2025-05-19: Noah Berkson joins Jess Larsen's Innovation & Leadership podcast to share his path from door-to-door sales in Iowa to building and incubating companies.
- [Future-Proofing Your Kids for an AI-Driven World](https://noahberkson.com/future-proofing-your-kids-for-ai/) — 2025-05-27: Noah Berkson on why STEM alone won’t future-proof kids, and how adaptability, creativity, and emotional intelligence become differentiators in an AI world.
- [Why Great Performers Set Their Own Expectations](https://noahberkson.com/setting-your-expectations/) — 2025-06-05: Noah Berkson on why great performers set their own expectations higher than anyone else’s, using Kobe Bryant’s mindset as a lesson in ownership.
- [How Renaissance Technologies Achieved the Impossible](https://noahberkson.com/renaissance-technologies/) — 2025-06-04: Noah Berkson on Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies, the quant fund built by a math professor and scientists that compounded at extraordinary returns.
- [When Rejection Becomes Protection: A Startup Lesson](https://noahberkson.com/when-rejection-becomes-protection/) — 2025-06-09: Noah Berkson shares how an investor who strung his early company along became a rejection that protected him, and the red flags he learned to read.
- [Teaching at Stanford: Human Skills in an AI World](https://noahberkson.com/stanford/) — 2025-06-13: Noah Berkson on guest lecturing at Stanford about human skills in an AI world, and the gap between students who fear AI and those building durable skills.
- [How to Spot a Unicorn Founder: Lessons From Deel's CEO](https://noahberkson.com/unicorn-founder/) — 2025-07-08: Noah Berkson on meeting Deel CEO Shuo Wang and what her relentless, fully present selling revealed about how billion-dollar founders create opportunities.
- [Why Nearly Half of Gen Z Believes Saving Is "Pointless"](https://noahberkson.com/gen-z-believes-saving-is-pointless/) — 2025-07-21: Noah Berkson on a report that 49% of Gen Z see saving as pointless, the wider rise in financial insecurity, and the gap between desired and actual income.
- [Why Tech Giants Are Struggling to Poach AI Engineers](https://noahberkson.com/trying-to-poach-ai-engineers/) — 2025-07-16: Noah Berkson on the AI talent war: why big tech pays seven and eight figures for AI engineers, and why some of the best still choose early-stage startups.
- [5 Tech Tools I Can't Live Without](https://noahberkson.com/tech-tools/) — 2025-07-28: Noah Berkson shares the five tech tools he relies on daily, including Bee, Superhuman, Howie, and Clay, to automate the mundane and protect deep work.
- [My Top Travel Destinations](https://noahberkson.com/travel-destinations/) — 2025-07-30: Noah Berkson shares favorite travel destinations, from snowboarding in Niseko, Japan to a safari in South Africa, and how each trip shapes his work.
- [The Most Impressive Career Jump I've Ever Witnessed](https://noahberkson.com/career-jump/) — 2025-08-04: Noah Berkson on the difference between logical and leverageable career moves, and why putting yourself at the center of fast-growing work compounds faster.
- [The Calibration Gap: Are You Solving the Right Problem?](https://noahberkson.com/the-calibration-gap/) — 2025-08-02: Noah Berkson on the calibration gap: why a 9/10 founder solving a 2/10 problem loses to a 6/10 founder who found a 9/10 problem worth building.
- [OpenAI Announces $1.5 Billion Bonus for Every Employee](https://noahberkson.com/openai/) — 2025-08-09: Noah Berkson on reports of OpenAI awarding a large one-time bonus to around 1,000 employees, and what the AI talent war reveals about timing and pay.
- [5 Public Speaking Tips That Cured My Stage Fright](https://noahberkson.com/public-speaking/) — 2025-08-19: Noah Berkson shares 5 public speaking tips that helped him overcome stage fright, from reframing nerves as energy to using pauses and stories over stats.
- [The $10 Billion Man You've Never Heard Of](https://noahberkson.com/10-billion-man/) — 2025-08-30: Noah Berkson on Harry Stine, the Iowa seed entrepreneur worth over $10 billion who built his fortune without ever leaving his hometown of 6,700.
- [7 Hard-Earned Career Lessons Every Founder Should Know](https://noahberkson.com/career-lessons/) — 2025-08-29: Noah Berkson shares seven hard-earned career lessons, from why the right rooms change your trajectory to how soft skills and reputation compound over time.
- [Colorado Springs: The Weekend That Changed My Perspective](https://noahberkson.com/colorado-springs/) — 2025-09-05: Noah Berkson reflects on a weekend in Colorado Springs and how stepping away into the mountains reminds him why the hard work matters in the first place.
- [The Networking Cheat Sheet I Wish I Had 10 Years Ago](https://noahberkson.com/networking-cheat-sheet/) — 2025-09-12: Noah Berkson shares a networking cheat sheet of 50 small, high-leverage moves to build social capital and connect more deeply before and after meetings.
- [theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Chief Investment Officer Summit](https://noahberkson.com/thecube-nyse-wired/) — 2025-09-11: Noah Berkson talks with John Furrier of theCUBE and NYSE Wired about how companies are built today, the AI boom, and San Francisco's return as a hub.
- [The Simple Success Equation Most People Miss](https://noahberkson.com/success-equation/) — 2025-09-23: Noah Berkson on a simple success equation: increase your sacrifice or decrease your desires. Why most frustration comes from refusing to choose either.
- [William Stanley Jr.: A Lasting Legacy](https://noahberkson.com/william-stanley-jr/) — 2025-09-27: Noah Berkson on William Stanley Jr., the engineer who invented the all-steel vacuum bottle in 1913, and what his quiet, practical innovation teaches.
- [The Entrepreneur's Paradox](https://noahberkson.com/the-entrepreneurs-paradox/) — 2025-10-15: Noah Berkson on the paradox of entrepreneurship: chasing the dream can threaten your time, health, and relationships, and why a steady anchor matters.
- [Why Relationships Are Your Future Resume](https://noahberkson.com/why-relationships-are-your-future-resume/) — 2025-10-21: Noah Berkson on why relationships and human skills like leadership, storytelling, and curiosity will matter more than degrees in an AI-driven workplace.
- [Why I Never Do First Meetings on the Phone](https://noahberkson.com/why-i-never-do-first-meetings-on-the-phone/) — 2025-10-29: Noah Berkson explains his rule of only taking first meetings on camera, never the phone, and how seeing someone’s face builds trust and connection faster.
- [The Three Letters That Change Everything](https://noahberkson.com/the-three-letters-that-change-everything/) — 2025-10-31: Noah Berkson on how saying yes to inconvenient invites and chance encounters has shaped his career, and why showing up matters more than it seems.
- [What Successful People Are Really Chasing](https://noahberkson.com/what-successful-people-are-really-chasing/) — 2025-11-05: Noah Berkson on why the most successful people he knows chase freedom over luxury: the freedom to choose their work, their time, and what matters to them.
- [Outcove Redefines Tech Gatherings With Invite-Only Retreats](https://noahberkson.com/outcove-where-the-allen-co-conference-meets-burning-man/) — 2025-11-25: Noah Berkson and Jess Mah created Outcove, an invite-only retreat for entrepreneurs and investors built for real connection rather than networking pitches.
- [The Human Skills That Make Us Irreplaceable in the Age of AI](https://noahberkson.com/the-human-skills-that-make-us-irreplaceable-in-the-age-of-ai/) — 2025-11-25: Noah Berkson on the human skills AI cannot replace: emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and connection, drawn from teaching students worldwide.
- [I don’t watch sports and I rarely go to sporting events.](https://noahberkson.com/i-dont-watch-sports-and-i-rarely-go-to-sporting-events/) — 2025-11-25: Noah Berkson rarely watches sports, but argues F1 race weekends are among the best networking environments in the world for founders and investors.
- [Group Therapy for CEOs: Why Founder Peer Groups Work](https://noahberkson.com/group-therapy-for-ceos/) — 2025-11-25: Noah Berkson on how founder peer groups like YPO and Vistage work, why shared struggles build confidence, and how they shaped his path as an entrepreneur.
- [Predicting the AI Future: What Founders Need to Know](https://noahberkson.com/predicting-the-future/) — 2025-11-26: Noah Berkson on why 1960s predictions of leisure and abundance failed, and what that teaches founders about today's AI forecasts and human nature.
- [From Car Salesman to Billionaire: The Red McCombs Story](https://noahberkson.com/from-car-salesman-to-billionaire/) — 2025-12-16: Noah Berkson on Red McCombs, who went from Texas car salesman to billionaire by optimizing for equity over commissions and co-founding Clear Channel.
- [The Billionaire Brand Builder You've Never Heard Of: Lynda Resnick's](https://noahberkson.com/the-billionaire-brand-builder-youve-never-heard-of-lynda-resnicks/) — 2026-01-08: Noah Berkson on Lynda Resnick, who turned pomegranates, pistachios, and bottled water into billion-dollar brands with a repeatable system for branding.
- [How Stephen Ross Built a $20 Billion Real Estate Empire](https://noahberkson.com/stephen-ross/) — 2026-02-03: Noah Berkson on how Stephen M. Ross built a near-$20B real estate empire through control, patience, and ecosystems like Hudson Yards over single assets.
- [How SaaS Companies Destroy Customer Relationships Over $3,250](https://noahberkson.com/how-saas-companies-destroy-customer-relationships-over-3250/) — 2026-03-06: Noah Berkson on a $3,250 Gusto billing dispute and why protecting short-term policy over long-term customer relationships is a costly SaaS mistake.
- [The Jess Larson Show: Outcove and The Super Connector Advantage](https://noahberkson.com/the-jess-larson-show-outcove-and-the-super-connector-advantage/) — 2026-03-15: Noah Berkson joins the Jess Larson Show to talk building and exiting companies, why in-person events matter more now, and how Outcove was created.
- [Why Your Oldest Friendships Might Not Be Your Deepest](https://noahberkson.com/why-your-oldest-friendships-might-not-be-your-deepest/) — 2026-04-01: Noah Berkson on why long friendships can feel important mostly because they are old, and how relationships built on performance rarely get updated.
- [How Din Tai Fung Became a Category-Defining Machine](https://noahberkson.com/how-din-tai-fung-became-a-category-defining-machine/) — 2026-04-13: Din Tai Fung averages $27M per U.S. location across 17 family-run restaurants. Noah Berkson breaks down the operational obsession behind its economics.
- [Workday's CTO Left to Become an Engineer at Anthropic](https://noahberkson.com/workdays-cto-left-to-become-an-engineer-at-anthropic/) — 2026-04-16: Workday’s CTO left a $31B public company to become an engineer at Anthropic. Noah Berkson on the talent migration toward AI and what it signals.
- [The New Workplace Battle: Employees Using AI to Replace Each Other](https://noahberkson.com/the-new-workplace-battle-employees-using-ai-to-replace-each-other/) — 2026-05-18: A look at the new workplace shift: workers building AI replicas of coworkers, a counter-movement poisoning AI training data, and who controls company data.
- [Outcove: Why We're Hosting a Bio and Longevity Retreat in Napa This August](https://noahberkson.com/bio-and-longevity-retreat-in-napa/) — 2026-06-11: Noah Berkson on why Outcove is hosting a bio and longevity retreat in Napa this August, bringing together founders, scientists, doctors, and operators.
- [Why the Next Billion-Dollar AI Company Will Be Built by Someone Who Got Tired of Hearing No](https://noahberkson.com/next-billion-dollar-ai-company/) — 2026-06-26: In 1962, a young salesman at IBM hit his annual sales quota in just two weeks. He spent the rest of the year looking for ways to improve how customers…
- [The Skill That Matters Most in the Age of AI](https://noahberkson.com/age-of-ai/) — 2026-07-10: Everyone keeps asking: "What skills should I learn because of AI?" I think that's the wrong question. The better question is: What becomes more valuable…

## Categories
- [AI](https://noahberkson.com/category/ai/): I think about AI a lot, and I write about it here. Predictions, the human side of the equation, corporate absurdity, and why most of what people believe about AI's future is probably wrong.
- [Best Posts](https://noahberkson.com/category/best-posts/): The posts that got the biggest response. Rejection, birthday roasts, and the people who changed how I think. If you're new here, this is a good starting point. "When Rejection Becomes Protection" tells a startup lesson I had to learn the hard way. Every entrepreneur faces rejection. This post is about the time it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.
- [Business](https://noahberkson.com/category/business/): Profiles of people who built something real, strategies I've tested, and honest takes on how business actually works. I study entrepreneurs the way some people study athletes. "The Billionaire Brand Builder You've Never Heard Of" is about Lynda Resnick. When you list serial entrepreneurs who've built multiple billion-dollar companies, names like Elon Musk and Brad Jacobs come up. Lynda Resnick should be on that list too. I explain why.
- [Events](https://noahberkson.com/category/events/): Conferences, retreats, and gatherings I've attended or spoken at. I go to a lot of events, and the best ones change how I think. These posts capture what happened and what I took away. "Outcove Redefines Tech Gatherings" covers the invite-only retreats happening from Hawaii to Utah that are changing how entrepreneurs and investors actually meet. Forget the conference center ballroom.
- [General](https://noahberkson.com/category/general/): The posts that don't fit anywhere else but still needed to be written. Billionaire profiles, sports confessions, travel recommendations, and the tech tools I actually use every day. "How Stephen Ross Built His Fortune" breaks down how someone ends up worth almost $20 billion. The path is more interesting than you'd think.
- [Media](https://noahberkson.com/category/media/): Podcast appearances, press features, and interviews. These conversations let me tell the longer version of stories that don't fit in a social media post. My conversation with John Furrier of theCUBE and NYSE Wired at the HF0 Residency in San Francisco covered a lot of ground. It's a good introduction to how I think about investing and building.