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Jesse Pujji

Founder and CEO, Gateway X · 35 appearances on the record.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

founderexecutiveinvestorhost@jspujji ↗LinkedIn ↗gateway.xyz ↗

Jesse Pujji is a serial entrepreneur best known for co-founding Ampush, a performance marketing agency that managed hundreds of millions in ad spend before its acquisition by Tinuiti. He also co-founded talent provider GrowthAssistant and currently heads Gateway X, a venture studio and holding company.

169statements → 44claims → 13claims resolved → 46%fully supported → 3.88/5average certainty → 1.95/5average debate potential → 46said about them ↓

6 supported 5 partly supported 2 contradicted 2 not yet assessed 29 not checkable as stated how the 44 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

11 predictions · 33 assertions · 10 opinions · 85 insights · 29 disclosures · 1 what if · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 44 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 13 are resolved, 2 are not yet assessed, and 29 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Jesse argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Prediction Held up
Pujji: Sam Bankman-Fried will go to jail
“And it's a good strategy. It's also like incompetence versus, versus shadiness or fraud. And I think it's a good, it's just a good angle, but he is going to go to jail.”
Jesse Pujji Dec 6, 2022 ▶ 48:57 The Genius of Spotify Wrapped and How to Copy It, and How to Sell Your Business for 9 Figures

Their most notable contradicted claim

Prediction Didn’t hold up
Pujji predicts SVB uninsured depositors won't see funds for 3-6 years
“People have told me three to six years, like, we're not going to see that money for three to six years.”
Jesse Pujji Mar 13, 2023 ▶ 20:32 Silicon Valley Bank: What Happened and Why

Expressed certainty vs assessment result

none yet certainty 1
0% certainty 2
100% certainty 3
67% certainty 4
75% certainty 5

weighted support: a fully supported claim counts one, a partly supported claim counts half. Each filled bar is clickable and opens exactly those claims; "none yet" means nothing said at that certainty level has resolved yet

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of Jesse Pujji on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

Everything Jesse Pujji said on Founder's Journal that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Insight
Pujji: Generating $1M SaaS ARR is as hard as $1M services EBITDA
“Getting a million dollar SaaS ARR is probably as hard as getting a million dollars in EBITDA, let's say in a services business. And guess what? They value those streams are valued exactly the same. So like the market is very efficient in terms of how it treats…”
Jesse Pujji May 9, 2023 ▶ 23:50 Is it Time To Pivot ‘The Plunge’?
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Pujji: OpenAI will crush thin horizontal wrapper startups
“I think one of the challenges people to be careful of when building on top of open AI is like, if your solution is too horizontal, they're eventually going to eat your lunch.”
Jesse Pujji May 16, 2023 ▶ 11:56 How Founders Should Be Integrating AI To Their Business
Insight
Worthwhile startup advisors should personally invest $25,000 to $50,000
“Anyone who's worth being an advisor probably should have 25 to 50,000 dollars to put into your company.”
Jesse Pujji May 16, 2023 ▶ 49:33 How Founders Should Be Integrating AI To Their Business
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Pujji: Most nine-figure e-commerce tech businesses do not rely on Shopify
“The biggest thing that, you know, industry or market wise was, dude, there's a bunch of nine figure e-com tech businesses. None of which, like with the exception of Klaviyo and maybe Attentive have anything to do with Shopify.”
Jesse Pujji Apr 11, 2023 ▶ 35:52 The Shameless Entrepreneur, Shoptalk 2023, When To Delegate
Insight
Pujji: Creative is the new targeting in modern Facebook ads
“The new Facebook, you know, at paradigm is targeting like creative is the new targeting. So for anyone listening, running Facebook campaigns, you don't need to target anymore. It's broad. You let Facebook's algorithm figure it out.”
Jesse Pujji Feb 7, 2023 ▶ 44:55 How One Author Raised $41M on Kickstarter
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Pujji: Vertical media will become the dominant internet format in 2023
“I think I predict if we're right about Kahani that sometime this year, it's going to become a must have thing that your e-com site has tons of vertical media integrated into it to have the right rich experience that a user demands. But I think it's going to ha…”
Jesse Pujji Jan 10, 2023 ▶ 14:38 Our 2023 Predictions, from AI to the Creator Economy
Opinion
Pujji: Startups Building on OpenAI Risk Fast Commoditization
“I think a lot of these companies the risk getting commoditized because the real tech, the real deep tech is GPT threes. It's open AIs. And if you're building on top of that, everyone's going to have the same functionality at some point. And so like, I don't kn…”
Jesse Pujji Nov 8, 2022 ▶ 17:44 What Generative AI Means for Startups and Are Executive Coaches Worth It?
Insight
Pujji: Entrepreneurship's true purpose is self-improvement, not wealth or changing the world
“Everybody tells you entrepreneurship is about freedom. They tell you it's about making money so much money that, you know, you want it to do with it, or they tell you it's about changing the world. And I think those are all lies. I mean, I think that the actua…”
Jesse Pujji May 14, 2024 ▶ 8:42 How to Use Entrepreneurship to Propel Personal Growth (Jesse Pujji, Ampush & Gateway X)
Insight
Pujji: The biggest AI winners will dominate narrow vertical matrices
“I think the most successful companies is somewhat obvious or not obviously, but it will take one square of that matrix. Like I said, customer service for banking and go, that is a very specific solution. I'm going to have the best models. I'm going to teach, I…”
Jesse Pujji May 16, 2023 ▶ 12:21 How Founders Should Be Integrating AI To Their Business
Insight
Pujji: Advisory boards distract founders from selling to customers
“Building an advisory board is one of the, I'd put it as one of the many distractions that entrepreneurs create to think that they're going to build a better business instead of just selling stuff to customers.”
Jesse Pujji May 16, 2023 ▶ 46:16 How Founders Should Be Integrating AI To Their Business
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Pujji: The Plunge could be a $10M business generating $2M annual profit
“Cause I think it, I still believe what I've said to you every time, which is, is this going to be a hundred million dollar business? I don't know, but do I think it could be a ten million dollar business that made one to two million dollars a year? A hundred p…”
Jesse Pujji May 9, 2023 ▶ 17:53 Is it Time To Pivot ‘The Plunge’?
Insight
Pujji: Internal company initiatives often yield higher returns than outside investments
“Inside of a company, oftentimes the returns on capital are way higher than even an investor ever gets. Like there's initiatives, hiring five salespeople can have a 500% return in a year if you do it well, right?”
Jesse Pujji May 9, 2023 ▶ 21:32 Is it Time To Pivot ‘The Plunge’?
Insight
Jesse Pujji: Every business problem can be solved with a weekly meeting
“I think every problem can get solved with a weekly meeting.”
Jesse Pujji Apr 25, 2023 ▶ 20:26 Gaining 150k Followers From One Video + Jesse Reveals His New Business
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff requires weekly meetings if leaders miss 20% growth
“Everybody submits a plan, and typically that plan has to grow a minimum of 20%, because that's just, like, Mark Benioff's thing. We grow 20% every year. And if you're hitting the plan, you meet with him once a quarter. And if you're missing the plan, you meet …”
Jesse Pujji Apr 25, 2023 ▶ 21:01 Gaining 150k Followers From One Video + Jesse Reveals His New Business
Insight
Jesse Pujji: Executives should leave operational Slack channels to force team synthesis
“I don't think it's good actually for me to be in these channels. Like, I think it's important that I'm not, actually, because when I'm in them, then it feels like, oh, Jesse's alongside. He knows what's going on, and even we had our first version of those meet…”
Jesse Pujji Apr 25, 2023 ▶ 42:13 Gaining 150k Followers From One Video + Jesse Reveals His New Business
Insight
Pujji: Mid-career VCs mistakenly apply rigid expected-value frameworks to all founders
“The middle ones in my experience, you know, it's sort of the hammer and a nail thing, right? It's like, if you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So everything they look at us through the expected value of how big could this be? If I put a dollar in, w…”
Jesse Pujji Apr 11, 2023 ▶ 19:40 The Shameless Entrepreneur, Shoptalk 2023, When To Delegate
Opinion
Pujji: Claiming employees must have equity to act like owners is manipulative
“I don't think you have to own part of the company. And I think that's like a faux narrative oftentimes that founder, you know, founders will somewhat be manipulative around, oh, everyone's an owner here.”
Jesse Pujji Mar 28, 2023 ▶ 14:24 The Business Behind Conferences + Embracing Confrontation
Insight
Prioritize CEO information access even if it burdens team productivity
“As the leader, sometimes it is important that maybe the team's a little bit less productive for your benefit, because you're ultimately the only person who can see everything that's happening and you're ultimately making most of the decisions. Right. And so it…”
Jesse Pujji Mar 21, 2023 ▶ 30:03 Rolex Is A Nonprofit + When To Disrupt Your Own Business
Insight
Founders should quit their jobs and commit two full years
“I would tell people, most people, if that's similar, like you go give yourself two years, Quit everything, go all in and make it work. And I think that sets you up for more success around entrepreneurial ventures.”
Jesse Pujji Mar 21, 2023 ▶ 48:54 Rolex Is A Nonprofit + When To Disrupt Your Own Business
Opinion
Pujji: SVB's headwinds justified shorting the bank, not FDIC receivership
“Now, all of that is a good reason to short a bank and make money off the equity being worth less. None of that is a good reason for Silicon Valley Bank to now be in receivership.”
Jesse Pujji Mar 13, 2023 ▶ 11:55 Silicon Valley Bank: What Happened and Why
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Pujji predicts SVB uninsured depositors won't see funds for 3-6 years
“People have told me three to six years, like, we're not going to see that money for three to six years.”
Jesse Pujji Mar 13, 2023 ▶ 20:32 Silicon Valley Bank: What Happened and Why
Insight
Pujji: Debating if an idea is 'big enough' stems from ego and fear
“It's the whole conversation of whether the idea is big enough or not too big or no, it's all ego oriented versus just waking up in the morning and going, what will make, you know, what will energize me today? What will be something I'm excited to do? And I thi…”
Jesse Pujji Mar 7, 2023 ▶ 15:58 The Story of Sam Zemurray is Bananas
Insight
Pujji: Fear of Commoditization Is Driven by VCs, Not Founders
“The fear of commoditization of business is totally driven by venture. It's not driven by entrepreneurs because every business you can build a moat around over time and you can build some resilience.”
Jesse Pujji Mar 7, 2023 ▶ 41:40 The Story of Sam Zemurray is Bananas
Insight
Pujji: Validating B2B startups is easier than B2C via direct pitching
“And so that's the one thing about B to B that I think is beautiful is you can just get on the phone and start pitching people. You see their reactions, you get their feedback. It's in some ways it's way easier than B to C.”
Jesse Pujji Feb 21, 2023 ▶ 31:34 Takeaways from Rihanna’s Career & How to Test Your Business Ideas

Show 24statements(145 left)

The other half of the tape: Jesse Pujji's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 44 times in 11 episodes on Founder's Journal. 2 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Alex Lieberman 39Brett Adcock 3Jesse Poogee 2

Statements about Jesse Pujji, by other people (2)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
A Single Twitter Thread Generated 400 Initial Leads For Growth Assistant
“We grew to 50 K in MRR, and I wrote a thread on Twitter as, I think I had 8000 followers and I wrote it, and all of a sudden I had 16,000 followers and 400 leads.”
Jesse Poogee Oct 16, 2023 ▶ 19:03 How My Company Went From Zero to a $10 Million Run Rate
Disclosure
Lieberman plans to incubate and self-fund businesses over next 10 years
“My dream over the next 10 years is to incubate many businesses, self-fund those businesses, find CEOs to run those businesses, a lot like what my co-host Jesse is doing with GatewayX.”
Alex Lieberman Mar 23, 2023 ▶ 1:54 The Art of Scrappiness

Every mention by year

tap a year for its mentions
00204408202320242025episodesmentions
048202320242025episodes it came up in
002.5458202320242025episodesmentions per episode
2025 4 mentions in 1 episode
2024 9 mentions in 2 episodes 5 per episode
2023 31 mentions in 8 episodes 4 per episode

Appearances (35)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
How to Use Entrepreneurship to Propel Personal Growth (Jesse Pujji, Ampush & Gateway X) May 14, 2024 18m
How to Delegate Effectively Nov 22, 2023 11m
How Founders Should Be Integrating AI To Their Business May 16, 2023 26m
Is it Time To Pivot ‘The Plunge’? May 9, 2023 23m
Are Your Goals Motivated by Joy or by Fear? May 2, 2023 3m
Gaining 150k Followers From One Video + Jesse Reveals His New Business Apr 25, 2023 28m
The Shameless Entrepreneur, Shoptalk 2023, When To Delegate Apr 11, 2023 26m
The Business Behind Conferences + Embracing Confrontation Mar 28, 2023 29m
The Art of Scrappiness Mar 23, 2023 2s
Rolex Is A Nonprofit + When To Disrupt Your Own Business Mar 21, 2023 26m
Silicon Valley Bank: What Happened and Why Mar 13, 2023 23m
The Story of Sam Zemurray is Bananas Mar 7, 2023 25m
How a 26-Year Old With Autism Built a $10 Million Samurai Sword Business Feb 28, 2023 6m
Takeaways from Rihanna’s Career & How to Test Your Business Ideas Feb 21, 2023 21m
The Story of Richard Branson & How to Find Product-Market Fit Feb 14, 2023 29m
How to Crush Investor Updates Feb 9, 2023 2s
How One Author Raised $41M on Kickstarter Feb 7, 2023 22m
How to Build Your Second Brain (BONUS EPISODE) Feb 2, 2023 2s
Exclusive: Selling My Company & Making Life-Changing Money Jan 31, 2023 53m
Jonathan Swanson on Building a Unicorn and Delegating 90% of Your Life Jan 24, 2023 5m
How an Entrepreneur Turns Self-Hate into Love Jan 17, 2023 16m
Our 2023 Predictions, from AI to the Creator Economy Jan 10, 2023 19m
Building a Multimillion Dollar Business…By Yourself Dec 27, 2022 11m
We Give Away 7 Profitable Side Hustle Ideas for 2023 Dec 20, 2022 13m
Why Airlines Are Banks, How to Annual Plan for Your Business & The Biggest Myths About Fou Dec 13, 2022 13m
The Genius of Spotify Wrapped and How to Copy It, and How to Sell Your Business for 9 Figu Dec 6, 2022 14m
How the Founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK Built His $700M Empire Nov 29, 2022 2s
How Codie Sanchez Built a $50 Million Portfolio of Boring Businesses, and the #1 Skill to Nov 22, 2022 2s
What You Need to Know Before Raising Capital, and The Billion-Dollar Media Company You’ve Nov 15, 2022 20m
What Generative AI Means for Startups and Are Executive Coaches Worth It? Nov 8, 2022 14m
Can Elon Turn the Twitter Ship Around? Nov 3, 2022 5m
How Did Mr. Beast Build a $1.5 BILLION Empire, the 5 Ways to Brainstorm Business Ideas and Nov 1, 2022 7m
How to & How NOT to do Layoffs, the Tax Tip to save you MILLIONS and is the Gas App Going Oct 25, 2022 14m
How Spirit Halloween Makes $600M in 2 Months, The Journey of a CEO & Is a Recession Coming Oct 18, 2022 7m
How Liquid Death got a $700 Million Valuation, Making Your Pitch Deck Undeniable & The Hid Oct 11, 2022 15m

Played on the show (8)

Episodes where a recording of Jesse Pujji was played rather than Jesse taking part, or where the tape carries an address with nobody putting questions to them. Listed because the words are on the record, kept out of every score on this page because they were not said on this show. We read this off the tape: who was spoken to, who was asked something, who answered whom.

EpisodeDateOn tapeWhat it is
I Started Another Business. It Was By Accident. May 30, 2023 2s clip played
“Build An Elite Navy Seals of Business” - Lessons from Airbnb’s Founder May 18, 2023 2s clip played
I Suck at Delegating. My 2 Ways to Get Better at it. Apr 27, 2023 2s clip played
This Content Agency Will Change The Game for Founders Mar 30, 2023 2s clip played
How To Die…With Zero Mar 29, 2023 2s clip played
How To Get Your Initial Customers Mar 16, 2023 2s clip played
How to Not F*ck Up Your Meetings Mar 9, 2023 2s clip played
How To Deal With Imposter Syndrome Feb 23, 2023 2s clip played
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