weekly 6 Newsletters
The Weekly 6 Newsletter is a real time glimpse into the life of Max Altschuler. Every week he’ll share with you his Top New Career Hacks, Quotes He’s Pondering, Deep Thoughts, Products He’s Testing, What He’s Listening To, What He’s Watching, What He’s Reading, Where He’s Visiting, Something New He’s Trying, and much more. Plus, you’ll get first access to new podcasts, content, and special deals. By signing up for the Weekly 6 Newsletter, you will only receive one weekly newsletter. No spam or sales pitches here.
Hey Career Hackers!
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Weekly 6, where I go into 6 things I’m pumped on this week.
It’s a lovely morning as I write this hanging in New York City, sipping my morning SUTRA, and expressing gratitude for the work I get to do day in and day out. Be sure to check out my Insta Story to see more!
1. This Week’s Podcast Episode
Kara is the founder and CEO of San Francisco–based hint, which produces the leading flavored water with no sweeteners and nothing artificial. She founded The Kara Network and recently launched the podcast Unstoppable to tell the stories of entrepreneurs and founders. Hear her inspiring story about her days with AOL, and what led her to found a beverage company that today has $100 million in revenue.
2. career hack of the week
I was recently asked on Quora, “What are the must-have negotiation and financial skills that should be developed by the age of 23.”
I think the number 23 is a bit arbitrary as anyone should find value in the answers, but I dive into a few main categories.
- Spreadsheets
- Preparation/Counterpoints
- Creating Win-Wins
- Reading the Room
- Learning Spending Basics
If you want to learn more, you can read the full answer, here!
3. Quote I’m Pondering
“Even today, what to study and how to study it are more important than where to study it and for how long. The best teachers are on the Internet. The best books are on the Internet. The best peers are on the Internet. The tools for learning are abundant. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce.” – Naval Ravikant
You may not know Naval, but he’s one of the brightest, most inspiring, and philosophical figures in the technology. He’s also the founder of AngelList. I love this quote because it’s the reason I joined Udemy 7 years ago. The best education is on the internet and through hands on experience, and the most successful people are lifelong learners.
For a list of a few more insightful and thoughtful quotes from Naval, click here.
4. what i’m Trying
This is not really new to me, but something I put people on to is the Deck of Cards Workout AKA The Prison Workout. I travel a ton, so I need a go-to workout I can do anywhere without a lot of equipment. All I need is a deck of cards and about 20 minutes, and I’m able to get a good workout in anywhere.
I run through the deck and time myself, making sure I can do it all in under 20 minutes. I usually add a few misc things like 20 lunges for Jokers and an additional 20 shoulder presses for Aces. I also finish the deck exercise with 3 mins of planks.
5. what I’m listening to
Lost Frequencies. Great artist for chill summer playlists with a beach vibe. Beautiful Life, Reality, and Are You With Me are the two classics, but a lot of his stuff is similarly solid.
6. what i’m reading
Play Bigger. As venture capital continues to pour into companies in all industries, it’s interesting to understand who’s building a true category king, and who’s just building a company or feature. As someone who makes early stage investments, it’s important to be able to recognize as early as possible if a company could be building a category all on it’s own. Companies like Dollar Shave Club built CPG subscription, Rent The Runway built fashion subscription, Classpass built workout subscription, Salesforce built CRM.
When creating a true category, here’s what you really need to build
Category Blueprint – What will the category, not the product, deliver over time?
Product taxonomy – Think about the current product through the lens of the blueprint.
Use Cases – Look at customers who are using the product and how to showcase them through blueprint vision.
Ecosystem – How are you creating a web of Influencers, Partners, Resellers, Complimentary apps, etc.
And as always, please let me know your requests and suggestions on Instagram. What do you want more or less of? Let me know. Just send a Insta message to @hackitmax and put #TheWeekly6 in there so I can find it. See here for past Weekly 6 Editions.
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Have a wonderful weekend, all!
