Today’s interview is high energy, insightful and fun.

Wes Kao is an entrepreneur, marketer, coach, advisor, and fellow newsletter author. Wes has co-founded two companies: Maven, an edtech company that raised $25M from First Round and Andreessen Horowitz, and the altMBA, which she co-founded with bestselling author Seth Godin. Over 250,000 people follow Wes across LinkedIn, X, and Substack.

Wes is a force to be reckoned with.

Keeley and I (Peter) first met Wes back in 2016 when we both participated in one of the first cohorts of the altMBA.

For those who aren’t familiar, altMBA is essentially a month-long online leadership bootcamp. The work we did and the frameworks we learned during that month continue to influence our work - and we have Wes to thank for that.

Since our time in the altMBA, we have followed Wes’s career with interest, as she co-founded another company (Maven) and then struck out on her own to help individuals and teams level up.

Every week, Wes’s newsletter pushes us to hold ourselves and others to a higher standard. Wes is rigorous, thoughtful, and good at coining memorable frameworks (some of which we discuss today!)

This was a super fun conversation. Keeley and I enjoyed debriefing this one (which you can listen to after the interview).

Enjoy this conversation with Wes Kao.

Topics Discussed:

• [00:00] Teaser Clip and Introduction
• [03:08] Wes’s background
• [03:55] What it means to be a high performer
• [08:52] Wes’s career arc
• [14:03] Lessons that Wes learned from Seth Godin, and what they disagree about
• [21:07] “Spiky points of view”
• [28:46] The “state change method”
• [31:17] Wes’s big vision for her business
• [35:47] Coaching
• [40:37] Organizational resilience, leadership succession, and getting raises
• [48:33] Toronto
• [49:42] Newsletters
• [52:05] YouTube
• [52:46] Houseplants
• [55:04] Book recommendations
• [55:48] Post-interview debrief with Peter and Keeley

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We would love your feedback, comments, and questions. Please leave a comment directly on the post or email us at hello@lumogroup.co.

Thank you!

Peter & Keeley
Partners, Lumo Group