Dec 28, 2020 · 16m · founders-journal
Poker Should Be a Required Business Class
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In this episode of Founders Journal, Alex Lieberman argues that poker fundamentals should be mandatory in business schools, outlining four core strategic and psychological lessons that directly translate to successful entrepreneurship.
Statements from this episode (7)
Lieberman: Einhorn, Cohen, and Selbst credit poker for business acumen
“In the hedge fund world, you have famous fund managers like David Einhorn, Steve Cohen, and Vanessa Selbst, who attribute their business acumen to the casino game.”
Lieberman: Morning Brew raised only a $750,000 friends and family round
“So you have examples of companies like morning brew where we raised, we weren't entirely bootstrapped, meaning we didn't raise anything, but we just raised a friends and family round raised 750,000 dollars and then built the business from there.”
Lieberman: Emotional volatility causes overconfident or desperate business decisions
“Emotional volatility can be your biggest enemy when running a business. It can cause you to make overconfident decisions when you feel like you're winning or desperate decisions when you're on a cold streak.”
Lieberman: Morning Brew's success stems from co-founders' emotional stability
“I think this is actually one of the strongest connections between poker and entrepreneurship is I attribute so much of morning brews success up to this point to Austin, my co-founder and my ability to stay level headed when shit hits the fan, but also when the…”
Lieberman: Good outcomes do not guarantee methodical decision-making
“What I wish people would realize is that just because a decision led to a good outcome, it doesn't mean that you made a good methodical decision at the time.”
Calacanis records and studies his poker hands to improve decision-making
“Jason Calacanis, in his interview with Shane Parrish, even talked about in the episode how he records the different poker hands he plays
And revisits them after to study how he thought about the hand”
Lieberman: Poker Fundamentals Should Be Mandatory in Business Schools
“Fundamentals of poker should be a required class at every business school. You learn statistics in real life. You learn how to weigh risk reward. You get a crash course in human behavior, and you learn how to act when money is on the line.”