David Senra

Ben Wilson is the host of “How To Take Over The World,” which is one of my favorite podcasts. How To Take Over The World examines history’s greatest leaders and conquerors, and has benefited millions of people. In this episode, we talk about the common traits among the individuals he has studied such as Napoleon, Leonardo da Vinci, Joan of Arc, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more.

We also discuss the fact that Ben is battling advanced cancer.

He’s a good guy, a close friend, and one of my favorite podcasters. He has four young children.

Please watch this episode and see if you can help with medicine, introductions, or donations.

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ben-fight-cancer-support-his-treatment

Ben's email: ben@takeoverpod.com

(00:00:00) What Ben has learned from making How to Take Over the World and studying history’s greatest leaders.

(00:55:51) Living like you're dying. Ben on facing cancer.
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Alexandr Wang is the chief AI officer of Meta and co-founder of Scale AI. We talk about the seven-month effort to build Muse, why Meta focused on personal AI agents instead of coding, and how Mark Zuckerberg and Nat Friedman helped shape the product. Alexandr shares how Zuckerberg recruited him after Meta's Llama 4 setback, why he left Scale after nine years, and how he's rebuilding Meta's AI lab around small teams, exceptional talent, and minimal bureaucracy. We also discuss using memes to make a product go viral, the importance of having a single point of view, and why Alexandr believes AI could give everyone the ability to pursue bigger ambitions.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/alexandr-wang

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Chapters

(00:00:00) The vision behind Muse

(00:01:32) Discovering the potential of personal AI agents

(00:03:34) Three years of therapy in one AI session

(00:05:46) Building Muse in 7 months

(00:09:16) Why Meta bet on personal AI

(00:16:51) Mark Zuckerberg's obsession with improving products

(00:20:15) How Meta knew Muse was ready to launch

(00:23:32) Why great products need a single point of view

(00:25:56) Making Meta cool again with memes

(00:34:38) Building trust with AI agents

(00:38:43) The future of human ambition

(00:45:22) The call from Mark Zuckerberg that changed everything

(00:52:13) Leaving Scale AI for Meta

(00:55:19) Rebuilding Meta's AI lab from scratch

(00:58:13) From founder to coach

(01:05:55) The future billionaires at Alexandr's 19th birthday party

(01:08:04) Diamond mining vs. building skyscrapers

(01:09:21) Why Alexandr has more than 200 direct reports
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Ari Emanuel is the co-founder of Endeavor, executive chair and CEO of TKO, executive chairman of WME Group, and founder of MARI. We talk about his $4.2 billion bet on the UFC, the ESPN deal that proved it right, lessons from Egon Durban and David Geffen, and how constantly making calls creates opportunities you can’t plan for. Ari also opens up about dyslexia, decades of insecurity, and learning to enjoy his life without losing the drive that built his businesses.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/ari-emanuel

Made possible by

Ramp: https://ramp.com

AppLovin: https://applovin.com/senra

Deel: https://deel.com/senra

Chapters

(00:00:00) The UFC negotiation that blew up

(00:03:33) Meeting Egon Durban and buying IMG

(00:07:30) Betting $4.2 billion on the UFC

(00:15:16) Getting the ESPN deal done

(00:22:58) Taking over William Morris

(00:30:02) Starting Endeavor with a table and a phone

(00:32:53) Why you won’t remember the extra $400 million

(00:35:01) Stop telling yourself stories

(00:39:21) David Geffen: Get in traffic and get hit

(00:45:19) Why Ari rolls the calls

(00:49:35) Building your own school of entrepreneurship

(00:51:56) Learning from Elon Musk and betting on live events

(00:53:58) Learning from Hollywood’s greatest agents

(01:00:23) Outgrowing rage without losing ambition

(01:10:10) Psychedelics, purpose, and letting go of legacy

(01:18:18) How Entourage changed Ari’s life

(01:22:32) Ari never had a plan B
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Jeremy Stern is the editor-in-chief of Colossus, where he writes long-form profiles of leading entrepreneurs and investors. He goes behind the scenes of his reporting on Mark Zuckerberg, explaining how months of interviews revealed Zuckerberg’s fascination with Augustus, relentless competitive drive and commitment to building Meta for decades. Jeremy discusses why Meta’s distribution and infrastructure could give it an advantage in AI and why some founders seem incapable of walking away. He explains how a question about defense technology became his first profile, on Palmer Luckey, and why he brings the craft of fiction and poetry to writing about business. Jeremy also describes Scott Wu’s combination of mathematical genius, natural leadership and authenticity, and how Josh Kushner’s family history shaped his exploration of Thrive Capital and the American dream. The conversation closes with the story of Jeremy’s Russian professor, whose belief that people have an obligation to their gifts changed his life and helped shape how he sees the people he writes about.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/jeremy-stern

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Ramp: https://ramp.com

Deel: https://deel.com/senra

AppLovin: https://applovin.com/senra

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Alexander Taubman is the co-founder and CEO of Long Lake, a company that buys established service businesses and uses AI to improve how they operate. He explains Long Lake’s $6.3 billion deal for American Express Global Business Travel, why deploying AI in the real economy is difficult and why he sees productivity gains creating more jobs as businesses grow. Alex describes how Nexus, Long Lake’s AI platform, connects models to business data and workflows, why its engineers work alongside employees in the field and why he wants to own businesses rather than sell software. He shares how his grandfather’s idea of “threshold resistance” applies to AI adoption, what he learned at Goldman Sachs and Oaktree and how investing in founder-owned businesses through Taubman Capital prepared him to build Long Lake. Alex also discusses the influence of Danaher, Henry Singleton and John Malone, why he values partners who make him more ambitious and why Long Lake plans to hold its businesses for decades. Including Amex GBT, he expects more than $4 billion in combined revenue the following year and explains why he believes long-term compounding could eventually build a trillion-dollar company.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/alexander-taubman

Made possible by

Ramp: https://ramp.com

AppLovin: https://applovin.com/senra

Deel: https://deel.com/senra

Chapters

(00:00:00) The $6.3 billion Amex GBT deal

(00:01:21) Bringing AI to the real economy

(00:06:17) Why greater productivity can mean more jobs

(00:11:29) A prepared mind and a tight acquisition filter

(00:16:01) Nexus and the AI platform behind Long Lake

(00:17:32) Put the engineers where the work happens

(00:20:36) Why own the businesses instead of selling software?

(00:22:28) Build tools people want to use

(00:25:24) A high bar for talent, acquisitions and technology

(00:28:03) What his grandfather taught him about removing friction

(00:36:40) Learning capital allocation at Goldman Sachs and Oaktree

(00:41:01) Buying founder-owned businesses with permanent capital

(00:44:35) How the Long Lake team came together

(00:47:26) The best partners make you more ambitious

(00:49:28) More than $4 billion in projected revenue

(00:53:32) Why going public could expand Long Lake’s ambition

(00:54:23) Henry Singleton and staying flexible

(00:55:57) John Malone and the businesses that will endure

(00:57:57) Why Long Lake doesn’t plan to sell

(01:00:13) Could Long Lake become a trillion-dollar company?
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