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• About
• Podcast
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Hey everyone! In today’s episode, I share the mic with Naveen Jain, founder of Moon Express and Viome.

Tune in to hear Naveen share how he is leveraging technology today to address some of the world’s largest problems, why he believes it’s imperative for entrepreneurs to be intellectually curious, and how creating an impact on society rather than focusing on making money is what sets billionaires apart from millionaires.

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: How to Be a Billionaire: Naveen Jain On Taking Moon Shots and Having Audacious Goals TRANSCRIPT

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:36 – Leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast
• 00:57 – Eric welcomes Naveen Jain
• 01:27 – Insights into Naveen’s entrepreneurial journey
  • 01:31 – As an entrepreneur, his focus is on solving the biggest problems facing humanity
  • 02:43 – Started Moon Express 7 years back
  • 03:43 – Cost United States 25 billion dollars to land on the moon the first time; set off on his entrepreneurial journey by aiming to bring this number down to $100 million
  • 04:21 – Expects costs to be less than $10 million when they land on the moon later this year
  • 04:55 – Believes that the next 10 years will be the most disruptive 10 years in history
  • 05:28 – When they land on the moon, their small group will be the fourth superpower ever to land on the moon
• 06:22 – Commercial benefits of landing on the moon are huge; the moon is a huge reserve for Helium Three, an excellent source of clean energy
  • 07:25 – Advantageous to become a multi-planetary society in order to negate the possibility of extinction
  • 07:30 – Moon has abundant water resources, the fuel for humanity
• 08:48 – Once you become an expert, you start to think like an incremental expert
• 09:15 – Knowing nothing about healthcare enabled Naveen to have a fresh and original view of the problems plaguing the system
  • 09:37 – Goal at Viome: create a world where sickness is optional
  • 10:37 – The healthcare system today is more about the survival of the fittest
  • 12:24 – Only 1% of our genes come from our DNA; 99% comes from the organisms living inside of our gut
  • 13:20 – Our immune system does not know what to do; it’s trained by this gut bacteria
  • 14:42 – Setting an audacious goal for Viome enabled Naveen to have the best people in the industry come on board
  • 15:49 – The best people joined Naveen to help him realize his “moonshot” of improving healthcare and helping billions of people around the world
  • 16:49 – Listening to TED Talks and attending Singularity University helped Naveen kick off Viome
  • 17:27 – Read six to seven books on one topic to get different opinions about what is going on
  • 18:20 – Figured out that the best way to penetrate the market with innovative products was to enter the system on the edges and empower the customer with information
• 19:29 – Large companies are faced with an innovative dilemma; the system does not allow them to be innovative
• 20:57 – Today, everyone has a platform to attract top talent
• 22:48 – Do not follow the habits of successful people, but follow your own thought processes
  • 23:09 – Respect the other person’s time
• 24:08 – Can solve the largest problems by applying the technology of today
  • 25:05 – Creating beef from stem cells which will negate the need for raising cattle to meet our beef requirement
  • 25:37 – If you care for the environment, stop eating meat; this will do more for the environment than driving a Tesla!
• 26:03 – What is the one big struggle that you faced while growing your business? – Difficult to find funding for Moon Express in its initial years
• 27:23 – Parenting is counter-intuitive; like starting a company, you have to constantly rethink how things are being done
  • 28:20 – Naveen’s daughter developed a passion for neuroscience after going to Singularity University
  • 28:43 – His oldest son started Kairos Society; his youngest son is a junior at Stanford
  • 29:41 – Advice to his children regarding success: “Your self-worth is not what you own but what you create”
  • 30:24 – Love for his children is unconditional, but approval is not
• 31:38 – Imperative for an entrepreneur to be intellectually curious
• 32:57 – What’s one must-read book do you recommend? – The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life, The Human Superorganism: How the Microbiome Is Revolutionizing the Pursuit of a Healthy Life, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, The Epigenetics Revolution, Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, How Will You Measure Your Life?
• 34:26 – What sets billionaires apart from millionaires is their focus on BIG problems rather than making money
• 34:58 – What is one new tool that you have added in the last one year that you have really enjoyed, like Evernote? – Creating a specific newsfeed on Twitter allows him to focus on a subject of interest
• 35:34 – Connect with Naveen via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or e-mail
• 35:51 – Head back to Growth Everywhere for show notes and additional resources; leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast

3 Key Points:

1. Venturing into a new domain allows you to get a fresh perspective on how to tackle problems.
2. Having your “moonshot” (an audacious goal that solves some of the biggest problems for the greater good of the society) is how you can attract and retain some of the best talent in any industry.
3. Billionaires concentrate on the BIG problems rather than making money; money is just a byproduct of solving those problems.

Resources From This Interview:

• Moon Express
• Viome
• TED Talks
• Singularity University
• Kairos Society
• Must-read books:
  • The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life by Jeffrey S. Bland
  • The Human Superorganism: How the Microbiome Is Revolutionizing the Pursuit of a Healthy Life by Rodney Dietert
  • The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge
  • The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance by Nessa Carey
  • Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis
  • How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen
• Naveen on Facebook
• Naveen on Twitter
• Naveen on LinkedIn
• Naveen’s e-mail

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• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.
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Connect with Eric Siu:

• Growth Everywhere
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• Twitter @ericosiu

Billionaires have a fair amount of useful advice when it comes to building a solid lifestyle. Whether it’s reading voraciously like Warren Buffet or learning to diversify like David Koch, you’ll find that one thing is true: all the billionaires maintain a pigheaded discipline when it comes to following their own rules.

From Warren Buffett to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to Microsoft’s Bill Gates, the infographic below has a strong cast of people that you can’t help but respect in some shape or form.

Take these practical tidbits and apply them to your life and see how they affect your future.

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Image credit: kk