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How do you manage your time?Apps/notes/how do you schedule your time to be a full time family man/ entrepreneur and athlete? How many hrs training pw?

Google Calendar and Non-Negotiable Priorities: How I Manage Time

Hi Jason, thanks for the question. If you had were to ask my wife how I manage my time. She would say not very well. I do tend to over commit. A bit that said I live by Google Calendar. And I one of the first things I do every week is I try to put my training time into my calendar to block that out. That's a bit of a non-negotiable. So I just take the workouts that my coach gives me in today's plan. Blackout that time on my calendar. The second thing I do is I have certain family time, that is also non-negotiable whether that's dinner time with the kids or bedtime or things like that, which are just also blocked out on my calendar. And then with my remaining time I try to just schedule meetings that are important for what I'm focused on at this time. And right now, it's really Building this app. So I'm trying to say no to pretty much any other meeting that comes up in order to stay focused because I find that if I don't say no, I'll end up getting tons of distractions and not really accomplishing anything. So I guess I've kind of laid out to you. I have three things on my life, in my life. I'm focused on right now, Family, training and building the startup. And I try to stay focused on those things and don't really do too much else these days. Thanks.

I manage my time by blocking out family and training time on my Google Calendar, and then scheduling important meetings related to my startup. I try to say no to other distractions in order to stay focused.

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Hi Jason, thanks for your question. If you were to ask my wife, she would say I don't manage my time very well because I tend to overcommit. However, I rely heavily on Google Calendar to help me stay organized. One of the first things I do each week is block out time for my training. This is a non-negotiable for me, so I take the workouts my coach gives me and schedule them in my calendar using Today's Plan.

I also have specific family time that is non-negotiable, such as dinner time with the kids or bedtime. I block out these moments on my calendar as well. With the remaining time, I prioritize scheduling meetings that are important for my current focus, which is building my startup app. I try to say no to any other meetings that may come up in order to stay focused. I've found that saying no helps me avoid distractions and allows me to accomplish more.

In summary, I have three main priorities in my life right now: family, training, and building my startup. I stay focused on these areas and try not to take on too much else at the moment. Thanks for asking!

Who are some of your mentors and how have they helped you?

Early advisors and bosses: vital mentors in startup success

So who are my mentors and how have they helped me? Well, when I think about the world of startups, some of my earliest mentors were the people that were on the advisory board of my very first startup, Friendly. These people are all still very close friends of mine, and I learned a lot from each of them, especially when it comes to being an entrepreneur, founding a company, growing a company, finding product market fit, and fundraising, and all of the ups and downs that come with being an entrepreneur. The people on my advisory board included Stan Chudnovsky, Joe Greenstein, Alex Rampell, Greg Tseng, and Johan Schleyer-Smith, just to name a few. We also had some great investors at the time who were mentors of mine, including Jeremy Liu at Lightspeed, who was our lead investor. And then even our company counsel, Ted Wang, was a mentor of mine back when I was doing that first startup. So those are some of the people that come to mind from the early days. And there have been a number along the way since then. You know, at Facebook, my boss, Javier Olivan, was a great mentor. I also, of course, learned a lot from his boss, Mark Zuckerberg, just from watching how he ran what I think is one of the most successful companies in the world. And then at Uber, my boss, Travis Kalanick, also one of the best entrepreneurs I've ever known. I learned a whole lot from working with him and for him for about four years.

My mentors have been people from my first startup's Advisory Board, such as Stan Chudnovsky, Joe Greenstein, Alex Rampell, Greg Tseng and Johann Schleier-Smith. Additionally, Jeremy Liew from Lightspeed, our company counsel Ted Wang, Javier Olivan from Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and Travis Kalanick from Uber have all been mentors for me. I have learned a lot from each of them about being an entrepreneur, founding a company, growing a company, finding product market fit, fundraising, and the ups and downs of running a business.

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When it comes to mentors and their impact on my journey, some notable ones come to mind. In the world of startups, I was fortunate to have a supportive advisory board for my first startup, Friendly. Stan Chudnovsky, Joe Greenstein, Alex Rampell, Greg Tseng, and Johan Schleyer-Smith were among those who provided invaluable guidance on various aspects of entrepreneurship, from founding and growing a company to finding product-market fit and fundraising. Our lead investor, Jeremy Liu from Lightspeed, also served as a mentor during that time. Even our company counsel, Ted Wang, offered mentorship during the early days.

During my time at Facebook, I had the privilege of working under Javier Olivan as my boss. His mentorship was instrumental in my growth. Additionally, observing Mark Zuckerberg's leadership at one of the most successful companies in the world taught me valuable lessons.

At Uber, I had the opportunity to work with Travis Kalanick as my boss. His entrepreneurial brilliance taught me a great deal during our four-year collaboration.

These mentors have played significant roles in shaping my journey and providing insights that have been invaluable along the way.

What’s been the best purchase under $100 that has positively impacted your life?

Life-changing under $100 buys: Electric toothbrush, heart rate monitor, and more!

Best purchase under $100 that is positively impacted my life. I think that would be a couple of things come to mind electric toothbrush. That's a pretty important thing and that was under $100 and my heart rate, monitors and other one that I use almost every day. In fact, that would probably be the number one now that I think about it. Is there anything else? Maybe a pair of shoes.

I think the best purchase under $100 that positively impacted my life is an electric toothbrush and a heart rate monitor.

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The best purchase under $100 that has positively impacted my life would be an electric toothbrush. It's an essential item that has improved my oral hygiene. Another item that comes to mind is a heart rate monitor, which I use almost every day. In fact, that would probably be my number one choice. Additionally, a pair of shoes has also been a worthwhile purchase.

What's your approach to hot/cold therapy?

From Cold Whirlpools to Saunas: Unconventional Therapies for Athletic Recovery

This is my cold Whirlpool here. As you can see, it's in my basement, currently being used for storage. But I used to use it all the time after track workouts, especially in college. That's when I was addicted to this thing these days. I actually prefer hot versus cold therapy. So I really like the sauna. I don't have one here in Cambridge. But when I do have access to saunas, I love to use them. And I might get Back into the cold Whirlpool. I haven't decided yet whether or not that's a useful thing for Triathlon or not.

I used to love using a cold Whirlpool after track workouts but have since switched to preferring the sauna. I haven't decided yet if the cold Whirlpool would be useful for Triathlons.

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What is the top insight that — if you learned of it sooner — would’ve greatly accelerated your development as a triathlete?

Unlocking Potential: Top Triathlete Insights for Faster Development

Hey Malachi. Thanks for your question. I'd have to say the top-end site. For me personally has been with swimming, which is, I've made a lot of improvement. Now that I've finally focused on technique and really, spend a lot of time over the summer working with a swim coach, who was able to give me feedback in the pool, and really helped me adjust things that I was doing and properly. I think I started to spend time. Ron just training harder and getting more fit but not actually getting faster. So for someone who wasn't didn't grow up as a swimmer that was really important for me. And in hindsight. I wish I had done that from the very beginning. I know you only asked for one, but the only other thing that kind of comes to mind as something I've learned over the last few years is the importance of going easy on the easy days or easy recovery workouts at least so So, I've actually significantly reduced my average power for my long rides. I just kind of keep it at where my heart rates at, like, 120 to 130 or as I used to do it, more like 140 to 150. And same thing for my long runs and Recovery runs. I just keep the pace really easy and just put mileage into the legs. I find that helps me recover and then it also allows me to go even harder on my hard days.

Swimming technique and going easy on the easy days are two of the most important lessons I've learned in recent years.

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The top insight that would have greatly accelerated my development as a triathlete, if I had learned it sooner, is the importance of focusing on swimming technique. I made significant improvements once I dedicated time to working with a swim coach and received feedback on my form. Prior to that, I had been solely focused on training harder and getting fitter, without seeing much improvement in my speed. Looking back, I wish I had prioritized technique from the beginning, especially since I didn't have a background in swimming.

Additionally, another valuable lesson I've learned over the years is the significance of taking it easy on recovery days or during easy workouts. I have consciously reduced my average power for long rides, keeping my heart rate around 120 to 130 instead of pushing it to 140 to 150 as I used to. The same applies to my long runs and recovery runs, where I maintain a comfortable pace and focus on accumulating mileage. This approach has helped me recover better and allows me to push even harder on my intense training days.

These two insights have been instrumental in my development as a triathlete and I believe they would have greatly accelerated my progress had I learned them earlier.

What business did you get asked to invest in, that you didn’t, but wished you had?

Missed opportunities: Pinterest and Snapchat seed rounds regret

The first two that come to mind, were the seed rounds of both Pinterest and Snapchat. Ben Silbermann reached out to me to ask if I could recommend any angel investors when he was first building Pinterest. At the time, I had no money so I couldn't invest myself. But I introduced him to a few angel investors. And I think only one of them decided to invest and that was Kevin Hart. And it was, I think, a pretty good investment for him. And then with Snapchat, I met with Evan back when he was about to raise around at a 5 million pre-money valuation. And I was planning to get involved but I was working at Facebook at the time, and ran it by the Facebook conflicts committee and they turned it down so I was not able to get involved. But I did tell Evan that I had had a great experience working with Jeremy Liu, at Lightspeed, who had backed my start-up friendly. And Evan did end up raising money from Jeremy in that round. Also , I think a pretty good return on that investment.

I introduced Ben Silbermann to Kevin Hart for his seed round of Pinterest and I recommended Jeremy Liu from Lightspeed Venture Partners to Evan Spiegel for his seed round of Snapchat.

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Two businesses that come to mind are Pinterest and Snapchat. When Ben Silbermann was building Pinterest, he reached out to me for recommendations on angel investors. Unfortunately, I didn't have the funds to invest myself, but I introduced him to a few potential investors. Only one of them, Kevin Hart, decided to invest, and it turned out to be a good investment for him.

Similarly, I had the opportunity to get involved with Snapchat during its early stages. I met with Evan when they were raising funds at a 5 million pre-money valuation. However, as I was working at Facebook at the time, I had to run it by the Facebook conflicts committee, and they turned it down. Despite not being able to invest, I did recommend Evan to Jeremy Liu at Lightspeed, who had previously backed my startup. Evan ended up raising money from Jeremy, which proved to be a successful investment.

Looking back, I do wish I had been able to invest in both Pinterest and Snapchat, as they have achieved significant success.

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Ed Baker is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive, currently serving as the CEO and Founder of AnyQuestion, an AI powered knowledge sharing platform. Prior to this, he played an instrumental role as the Vice President of Product & Growth at Uber and prior to that he sold a company to Facebook where he joined the team as the Head of International Growth. Ed currently sits on the boards of both WHOOP and Form, and his extensive experience in product management, growth strategies, and consumer technology has made him a sought-after thought leader in the tech industry.