Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg dive deep into the concept of a 'live player', and compare and contrast three prominent live players: Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk. Moment of Zen is sponsored by Shopify: shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period This episode is a feed drop of our newest show at Turpentine, Live Players, where Erik and Samo analyze more of the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. Listen and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. – SPONSORS: SHOPIFY | VANTA | NETSUITE SHOPIFY: shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: shopify.com/momentofzen VANTA: www.vanta.com/zen for $1000 off Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: www.vanta.com/zen NETSUITE: netsuite.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: momentofzen.substack.com/ – X / TWITTER: @SamoBurja (Samo) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (00:57) The Role of Conventions in Society (02:08) The Rarity of 'Live Players' and Their Impact (04:38) The Importance of Historical Knowledge (09:29) Reflections on Energy Transition (14:22) Discussion on Sam Altman and OpenAI (21:31) Comparing Live Players: Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel (21:54) Sponsors: Shopify, Vanta (24:24) Comparing Live Players Cont. (28:05) Understanding Different Perspectives on Capitalism (28:49) The Role of Live Players in Society (30:12) The Importance of Live Players in Innovation and Change (33:52) The Concept of a Live Players Academy (34:47) Sponsors: MasterClass, NetSuite (35:50) Live Players Academy Cont. (38:28) The Evolution of Live Players Over Time (42:55) The Transition from Capitalism to Philanthropy (51:06) The Paradox of Open Society Advocates