Speed > everything.

I've lost millions. I've failed publicly. I've been divorced. I’ve been fired. Every time I thought it was the end, every time I came back stronger. You will survive a lot more than you think. Stop playing small.

Last year I had the most eye-opening conversation with @amasad, the CEO who took Replit from near-death to $100M ARR in 6 months. Since then, Replit has reached a $9B valuation & is aiming for $1B in run-rate revenue by the end of 2026. 6 takeaways from that day that proved to be even more relevant today... 1) AI is Far From Consciousness People often assume that if AI becomes intelligent enough, it must eventually become conscious. Amjad pushed back on that assumption. His argument: LLMs can produce incredibly sophisticated outputs without possessing free will, intention, or an internal experience. Appearing intelligent isn’t proof of being conscious. 2) Contrarians Still Have Blind Spots Amjad pitched Peter Thiel in 2022 before ChatGPT took off. Thiel told him he was using “buzzwords” and selling “hype.” Four years later, Replit is valued at $9B and says people inside 85% of the Fortune 500 use its products. This isn’t to throw shade at Thiel... but rather to highlight: when you question everything, you're bound to miss something. Being contrarian has its advantages but also its blind spots. 3) Vibe Coding Is Redefining Technical Skill Programmers used to spend 80% of their time on infrastructure and only 20% on actual problem solving. This is now reversed. Key skills are shifting to: • Translating business problems into clear instructions • Deep understanding of what needs to be built • The ability to communicate effectively Replit’s latest Agent can build apps, designs, slides, and dashboards from plain-language instructions with no coding required. The definition of “technical” ability has already changed. 4) Always Seek Pain Too many people play startup. To win, you need to seek discomfort. At Replit, product managers interview their most frustrated users every week and bring those failures back to company meetings. This stems from Amjad's principle that delaying pain only builds up a larger debt of it. 5) Geographic Arbitrage Has Gone Digital Anyone can incorporate a Delaware LLC through Stripe Atlas, build on Replit, and sell to US customers without ever visiting America. This shows the democratization of the world's most dynamic market. We’re witnessing entrepreneurship become location-independent at scale: 6) Domain Knowledge Is the New Unused Space Just as Airbnb monetized unused rooms in people’s homes, AI is doing the same for unused intellectual capital. Every human being has domain knowledge that was previously unscalable. Now that expertise can be coded into software and distributed globally. - Search "BigDeal pod Amjad" on youtube to watch our full 90min conversation.

Funny… and true.

You won't ever get hate thrown at you from someone who truly loves themselves. A person at war with themselves will always try to draft you.

Kanye West said it best: "If every time someone asks you a question you try to say the right answer, your entire life is a test. I am not trying to say the right answer. I'm just doing what I feel." Nobody should ever get to grade your life but you.

Do the work. Show the work. Teach the work. Sell the system. Secret to winning.

How to be successful: - fall in love with rejection - be willing to look stupid for years - keep going way longer than anyone else

Why @TheSharkDaymond turned down a billion dollars?

It's never been easier to build a business than it is today. It's also never been easier to binge business content all day and never start one.

Still not over this moment... We gave a $25,000 grant to a small business owner live on stage and this was his reaction... Thank you God for letting me do work that changes people’s lives. I don't take a second of it for granted.

The only 3 things you need to win in business: 1) Referrals 2) Recurring revenue 3) Reviews

Controversial take... if you're sub 35 don't ever let your girlfriend hold you back from moving to take a big opportunity. If she won't move for you, you never had her anyway.

"You’re so lucky." No… You worked. You stayed up late. You lost friends. You ignored the critics. You invested in yourself. You wanted to quit too many times. But you didn't.

Your job, if you wanna be great, is to dedicate your life to something and to continue the pursuit of it when everyone else is trend jumps.

Underrated truth: You'd make more money if you were delusionally confident, there is no better way

Bad: - broke and famous Better: - rich and famous Best: - rich and unknown

Take long walks. Workout out regularly. Go to church on Sundays. Spend time with your family. And you'll be richer than most millionaires ever feel.

When something triggers you, you have a lesson there.