![Giving away your legos with Julien Smith of Breather [S01E17]](https://img.transistor.fm/x_kl45WfJzwKYfldsGKBPXSucb1FY0jXSksZuP8dZU4/rs:fill:800:800:1/q:60/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9lcGlz/b2RlLzM1MzkvMTUz/MzE0ODAwMC1hcnR3/b3JrLmpwZw.webp)
Giving away your legos with Julien Smith of Breather [S01E17]
Summary
Back when I met Julien at SxSW a few years ago, he was a popular blogger and a New York Times bestselling author. Fast forward to today, and he's added a new title to his repertoire: CEO of a venture-backed startup. Today, running that startup, called Breather, is his #1 priority. Very quickly, Breather is growing its team, the cities it operates in, and the number of people that use its spaces. But being a CEO of a startup is no easy feat. I talk to Julien about how he makes it all happen without impending doom levels of stress.
image courtesy of breather.com
Welcome back to another episode of Process!
Let's get to it!
In this episode
Listen below or check out the episode on iTunes:
Julien Smith is my guest on this episode #017 of Process!
Back when I met Julien at SxSW a few years ago, he was a popular blogger and a New York Times bestselling author. Fast forward to today, and he's added a new title to his repertoire: CEO of a venture-backed startup. Today, running that startup, called Breather, is his #1 priority. Very quickly, Breather is growing its team, the cities it operates in, and the number of people that use its spaces.
But being a CEO of a startup is no easy feat. I talk to Julien about how he makes it all happen without impending doom levels of stress.
During our conversation, we cover:
- How past ventures (writing and podcasting) led him to Breather
- What being a startup CEO is really like
- Why he focuses on getting the most amazing collaborators possible
- How he integrated design from the beginning of the project
- What company he considers Breather's biggest competitor—and how he addresses that "threat"
- "Software eats the world" and how that changed his first concept of Breather
- How his disabilities force him to stay healthy
- His favorite activities for disconnecting and staying in the present moment
- What he's currently reading and writing
My favorite moment is when Julien talks about the creative rollercoaster:
"The ups are great, the downs are great, but if you manage to be somewhere in the middle, it's the most productive place to be."
Show notes
Here's everything we mention during the show:
- Breather, on-demand spaces where you can work, meet, or relax
- The Flinch, Julien's book which was edited by Seth Godin
- Two biographies of Charlie Munger, by Tren Griffin and Janet Lowe
Thanks for listening! And a huge thanks to Julien for joining me on this episode #017 of Process.
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Until next week!
xo,
Marcella
Marcella