Description

John Coogan & Jordi Hays are the hosts of TBPN (X, YouTube, Spotify, Substack), a daily live show covering the technology business. TBPN was launched only about a year ago, but has become a mainstay in tech culture and a center of gravity forterminally online technologists.

John was previously an EIR at Founders Fund and tech YouTuber. He co-founded Lucy Nicotine and Soylent. Jordi has co-founded and invested in many business including Party Round/Capital and Branded Native, a podcast and youtube ad network.

We cover the origins of TBPN, or the Technology Business Programming Network, from its beginnings as “Technology Brothers” to the interplay between John’s love for technology and Jordi’s for business. They share how they’ve built a media business in an era of infinite competition by leaning into high volume and constant iteration, all while treating media as the “main thing.”

We discuss brand building and innovating on form by borrowing ideas from outside the tech industry—from Formula One and SportsCenter to Hollywood films—to avoid tech’s tendency toward circular references. We also talk about their focus on X/Twitter and a niche, highly informed audience, rather than trying to go too wide. We also chat about what makes their partnership work and how they take the work incredibly seriously while not taking themselves seriously at all.

Timestamps

00:00: Opening Highlights
03:18: Intro & Background
06:08: Technology vs. Business and the Strategy behind TBPN
12:08: Building a Media Business when Distribution is not Scarce
22:26: Being Entrepreneurs and Talent