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• About Noah Berkson : 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.
• 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.
• Now: What I’m Working On : What Noah Berkson is up to lately: building Irreplaceable, leading Austin Capital, growing Commonground, and hosting Outcove gatherings.

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.

• Outcove Redefines Tech Gatherings With Invite-Only Retreats : Noah Berkson and Jess Mah created Outcove, an invite-only retreat for entrepreneurs and investors built for real connection rather than networking pitches.
• The Calibration Gap: Are You Solving the Right Problem? : 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.
• The Entrepreneurial Journey of Proving Them Wrong : 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.
• What I Learned From Holding My Own Birthday Roast : Noah Berkson on hosting a roast of himself for his 28th birthday, what his closest friends actually said, and why playful honesty deepens friendship.

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.

• The New Workplace Battle: Employees Using AI to Replace Each Other : 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.
• Predicting the AI Future: What Founders Need to Know : Noah Berkson on why 1960s predictions of leisure and abundance failed, and what that teaches founders about today's AI forecasts and human nature.
• The Human Skills That Make Us Irreplaceable in the Age of AI : Noah Berkson on the human skills AI cannot replace: emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and connection, drawn from teaching students worldwide.
• OpenAI Announces $1.5 Billion Bonus for Every Employee : 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.
• Why Tech Giants Are Struggling to Poach AI Engineers : 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.
• Future-Proofing Your Kids for an AI-Driven World : Noah Berkson on why STEM alone won’t future-proof kids, and how adaptability, creativity, and emotional intelligence become differentiators in an AI world.

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.

• How SaaS Companies Destroy Customer Relationships Over $3,250 : 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 Billionaire Brand Builder You've Never Heard Of: Lynda Resnick's : Noah Berkson on Lynda Resnick, who turned pomegranates, pistachios, and bottled water into billion-dollar brands with a repeatable system for branding.
• From Car Salesman to Billionaire: The Red McCombs Story : Noah Berkson on Red McCombs, who went from Texas car salesman to billionaire by optimizing for equity over commissions and co-founding Clear Channel.
• Group Therapy for CEOs: Why Founder Peer Groups Work : 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.
• What Successful People Are Really Chasing : 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.
• The Three Letters That Change Everything : 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.
• Why I Never Do First Meetings on the Phone : 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.
• Why Relationships Are Your Future Resume : Noah Berkson on why relationships and human skills like leadership, storytelling, and curiosity will matter more than degrees in an AI-driven workplace.
• The Entrepreneur's Paradox : Noah Berkson on the paradox of entrepreneurship: chasing the dream can threaten your time, health, and relationships, and why a steady anchor matters.
• William Stanley Jr.: A Lasting Legacy : 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 Simple Success Equation Most People Miss : Noah Berkson on a simple success equation: increase your sacrifice or decrease your desires. Why most frustration comes from refusing to choose either.
• The Networking Cheat Sheet I Wish I Had 10 Years Ago : 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.
• The $10 Billion Man You've Never Heard Of : There is a man worth over $10 billion, but you have probably never heard his name. His name is Harry Stine. He did not build an app, nor did he IPO a…
• 7 Hard-Earned Career Lessons Every Founder Should Know : 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.
• 5 Public Speaking Tips That Cured My Stage Fright : 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 Most Impressive Career Jump I've Ever Witnessed : 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? : 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.
• Why Nearly Half of Gen Z Believes Saving Is "Pointless" : 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.
• How to Spot a Unicorn Founder: Lessons From Deel's CEO : Noah Berkson on meeting Deel CEO Shuo Wang and what her relentless, fully present selling revealed about how billion-dollar founders create opportunities.
• When Rejection Becomes Protection: A Startup Lesson : 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.
• Why Great Performers Set Their Own Expectations : 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 : Noah Berkson on Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies, the quant fund built by a math professor and scientists that compounded at extraordinary returns.
• Building Trust and Investing Through Economic Uncertainty : 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 : 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.
• Facing Obstacles and Timing Your Investments Right : 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.
• Investor vs. Founder: Navigating Two Mindsets : Noah Berkson on the two mindsets he's lived through, founder and investor, and how optimism, naivete, and discipline play different roles in each.
• Hindenburg Research:The Impact of Nate Anderson  : Noah Berkson on Nate Anderson stepping down from Hindenburg Research, the firm’s outsized market impact, and the candid farewell letter that resonated.
• What Squid Game Teaches Entrepreneurs About Risk : 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.
• Cal Fussman: What I Learned From a Master Interviewer : Noah Berkson on befriending master interviewer Cal Fussman and what he learned about asking genuinely open questions instead of confirming what you think.
• Why Billionaires Are Buying Professional Sports Teams : Noah Berkson on why pro sports team valuations keep climbing: constrained supply, surging billionaire demand, and new rules letting PE firms buy in.
• The Biggest Advantage In The Business World : 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.
• Learnings From Bryan Johnson at the YPO Under-40 Summit : 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 Importance of Vulnerability In Entrepreneurship : Noah Berkson on the inherent vulnerability of entrepreneurship and why founders so often hide struggle behind a projected image of constant momentum.

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.

• Outcove: Why We're Hosting a Bio and Longevity Retreat in Napa This August : Over the last few years, I've been meeting more founders, scientists, doctors, investors, and operators who are working at the cutting edge of bio,…
• Outcove Redefines Tech Gatherings With Invite-Only Retreats : Noah Berkson and Jess Mah created Outcove, an invite-only retreat for entrepreneurs and investors built for real connection rather than networking pitches.
• Colorado Springs: The Weekend That Changed My Perspective : 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.
• Teaching at Stanford: Human Skills in an AI World : 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.
• Outcove Park City — Event Recap : Noah Berkson recaps Outcove's invitation-only Park City retreat, where founders and investors traded elevator pitches for honest, multi-day conversation.
• Outcove Valley: 70 Entrepreneurs in Park City, Utah : Noah Berkson recaps the inaugural Outcove Valley, where 70 entrepreneurs and investors gathered in Park City for vulnerability and real friendship.
• Summercamp for Adults: Why Entrepreneurs Need It : Noah Berkson on Weekend of Man, an annual summercamp for adults where 26 friends gather on a Wisconsin ranch for competition, challenge, and friendship.

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.

• Workday's CTO Left to Become an Engineer at Anthropic : 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.
• How Din Tai Fung Became a Category-Defining Machine : Din Tai Fung averages $27M per U.S. location across 17 family-run restaurants. Noah Berkson breaks down the operational obsession behind its economics.
• Why Your Oldest Friendships Might Not Be Your Deepest : Noah Berkson on why long friendships can feel important mostly because they are old, and how relationships built on performance rarely get updated.
• The Jess Larson Show: Outcove and The Super Connector Advantage : 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.
• How Stephen Ross Built a $20 Billion Real Estate Empire : 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.
• I don’t watch sports and I rarely go to sporting events. : Noah Berkson rarely watches sports, but argues F1 race weekends are among the best networking environments in the world for founders and investors.
• My Top Travel Destinations : Noah Berkson shares favorite travel destinations, from snowboarding in Niseko, Japan to a safari in South Africa, and how each trip shapes his work.
• 5 Tech Tools I Can't Live Without : 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.

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.

• theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Chief Investment Officer Summit : 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.
• Innovation and Leadership Podcast: Insights From a Young Millionaire : 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.
• You're Only As Good As Your Last Story with Ben Bergman : Ben Bergman of Business Insider joins Noah Berkson and Jess Mah on the nature of tech journalism, legal vetting, and interviewing high-profile founders.
• Creators, Pokemon, Barrys and Billions with Lucy Guo : 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.
• Solving Societies Biggest Problems with Henry Elkus : Henry Elkus joins Noah Berkson and Jess Mah to discuss Helena, his organization tackling major societal problems through nonprofits, business, and policy.
• Burning Man, Shareholder Value, and Dating Rich with Suli Ali : Serial entrepreneur Suli Ali joins Noah Berkson and Jess Mah to discuss his evolving relationship with wealth, status, identity, family, and legacy.
• Permission To Shine Podcast: Noah Berkson Interview : Noah Berkson joins the Permission To Shine Podcast to talk cold outreach, handling objections, and the biggest mistakes people make about networking.
• VIDEO: How To Become An Entrepreneur : 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.