Unreasonable

02. Ernesti Sario & Nantte Kivinen - Building Hogwarts For Hyper Ambitious Young People

There are very few people out there like Nantte [http://fi.linkedin.com/in/nantte-kivinen] and Ernesti [http://linkedin.com/in/ernestisario]. University dropouts, wise beyond their (limited) years, and building what could well be the next big Nordic tech sensation, as well as a model for where higher education goes in the AI era. FR8 [http://fr8.so] is a shifting, mercurial beast - separately described as a hacker hotel, a finishing school for precocious young builders, Hogwarts for hyper ambitious young people, and a place where you can find your personal religion. What is clear however is the cult-like status is has picked up in an incredibly brief period, the passion the two founders bring to the table, and the unbelievable talent magnet it has become. As such, we could think of no better two people for our second outing as Unreasonable [null]. We spent an hour with the guys in the magnificent board room of their Helsinki palace (no joke) talking meaning, purpose, reframing ambition and what the future of education could look like. Marvellous fun all round and we hope an equally enjoyable listen or watch. We covered: * Almost getting killed by presidential bodyguards at Davos * Negotiating a 12,000 square metre palace in central Helsinki for a fraction of what anyone reasonable would have paid * Why “the best people don’t need help” - and what that means for how they run cohorts * The asymmetry that makes unreasonable bets rational - why the odds don’t change but the outcomes do * Why manifestation isn’t some mystical idea - and more a rigorous observation about how ambition actually moves resources * How to Americanise Europeans (on sales) while keeping the values and integrity * Creating community and meaning and how this enables people to do their best work Timestamps: * 00:00 Cold open: who are Nantte & Ernesti? * 03:18 What is FR8? Hogwarts for the hyper-ambitious * 04:29 Why Nantte said yes: visiting the stars * 06:57 A new model for education in the AI era * 09:29 Walking into fundraising rooms with no track record * 11:23 Turning crazy vision into daily action * 15:25 Speed-running ambition: can you skip the levels? * 18:07 Inside a FR8 cohort: 30 people, 3 months, no rules * 21:05 Selecting a FR8 Maverick * 23:39 A home for outcasts * 26:34 Why FR8 only takes the young * 32:48 Unbundling the university * 35:11 From mansion to hotel to 12,000m² palace * 38:46 What manifestation actually means * 41:24 When belief breaks: the dark days * 43:23 "You can always send me an email" * 44:26 Owing it to humanity * 45:52 European bureaucracy and getting through walls * 47:09 The Davos story * 51:34 Why build in Finland * 54:29 The European emigration question * 58:43 Quickfire

01. Harvey Hodd - Does It Make The Boat Go Faster?

Welcome to Unreasonable - a podcast about ambition. In our first episode, we chat to the inimitable Harvey Hodd [https://www.linkedin.com/in/harveyhodd/] of Rivan Industries [rivan.com] - a company building modular solar powered direct air capture-> e-fuels systems to tackle carbon, reliance on dirty natural gas and energy security. Harvey is a third time founder, ex-professional footballer, next level autodidact and thoroughly good human being. He's raised +£40m to date for Rivan from top tier investors including Plural (Wise Founders), the Collison Brothers (Stripe), Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, IQ Capital and more. He's also the perfect introductory guest for Unreasonable - someone who pursues utterly unreasonable goals in a genuinely unreasonable manner. Inspiration for anyone doing anything, anywhere. We covered: * Why Harvey spent 18 months alone in a factory before hiring anyone * Why Rivan doesn't hire from elite universities — and what they ask instead * The kettle, the go-kart, and the Olympic swimmers: what "does it make the boat go faster" actually looks like in practice * Why aiming for 70% right is better than 100% * "No miracles required" — why synthetic fuels can work today Timestamps: * 00:00 Introduction * 00:35 How to choose a good quest * 04:22 Making the complex, simple and starting from base principles * 07:11 Learning how to think * 08:33 The reality of learning through failure * 09:09 Hiring for attitude, not CV * 10:50 Reframing getting stuck * 14:01 From driven to RIVAN * 16:05 Sustaining performance at a consistently high level * 18:17 Optimising for chaos * 19:58 Being fast vs being right * 21:38 The kettle and the go-kart * 23:37 Translating a very big vision into something people can understand * 26:17 Clarity of communication as a key founder skillset * 27:44 Vertical Integration: A Strategic Necessity * 27:44 Setting a standard for excellence without external input * 29:29 The false dichotomy of perfection vs. momentum * 31:00 Using proof of work to attract top talent * 33:02 How every new hire needs to add to cultural density * 35:08 Surrounding oneself with great people * 36:44 Work-life balance * 39:04 Delegating decision making and removing key man risk * 39:57 Learning and Adapting in Complex Environments * 39:58 (Not) thinking about failure * 41:42 The RIVAN system explained * 45:28 Having one clear KPI for the business * 47:39 Making synthetic fuels ubiquitous * 49:26 Announcing the round and broader fundraising strategy * 52:41 Quick fire finish