"Being honest about the ecosystem, the industry players, and what it takes to build a successful startup doesn't mean that I'm trying to be pessimistic or cynical. It doesn't mean I want to be destructive. I want to be growth-oriented but also honest because I believe that people want to hear the truth. And that's the tribe that I'm trying to hang out with. Realism and pragmatism are really key to have." - Jeremy Au
"The podcast I'm releasing today will be the worst podcast in the next four years. That means that podcast is going to be better than today's podcast. Pushing yourself to be that frontier of knowledge allows you to get into that continual improvement cycle. Whereas if I was pretending to be as good as where I was four years ago, then the truth of the matter is that I'm not going to be improving as a person. That's a very good learning about mastery. At some level, you'd acknowledge that you are an expert in certain things, not necessarily the world's best expert so you have to be comfortable with that, but not be arrogant about it. Use that to have the self-confidence, and the self-esteem needed to push hard to the next level." - Jeremy Au
"What I realized was that the podcast was scratching my itch of craftsmanship. I don't think we use that word a lot these days. A startup is all about repeatability and scalability, but craftsmanship is this concept of individual mastery. And it's very small, not in a derogatory way, but in a focus, depth, presence, flow, kind of mindset. I didn't realize it, but I do have a very strong sense of craftsmanship. I enjoyed it because it's about being present and mindful of the conversation. It's about being thoughtful and being an active listener." - Jeremy Au
"For the 400th BRAVE episode, Jeremy discussed the hard 4-year journey of founding the podcast during the global pandemic to becoming Southeast Asia's #1 tech podcast. He shared why he decided to spotlight local tech stories and how he almost quit due to burnout multiple times. He learned to value "oyakodon" craftsmanship over maximalism, continue "kaizen" continual improvement and prioritize authentic conversations. Jeremy's vision for BRAVE is fostering a stronger community with more features for premium membership, writing his second in-depth book and being more honest (yet growth-oriented) about the region's true tech ecosystem while bringing in more of his personal humor and interests." - Jeremy Au
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks on the struggle towards 400 podcast episodes, why I almost quit, key learnings, and the future of BRAVE.
Keywords: 400 Podcast Episodes, Why I Almost Quit, Key Learnings, Future of BRAVE, Southeast Asia, Purpose, Thought Leadership
