I interviewed Derek Sivers

Circus clown to $22M exit

Author

Jason Levin
September 12, 2024

I interviewed one of my heroes.

Meet Derek Sivers: entrepreneur, author, programmer, musician, and former professional circus clown. In 2008, he sold his company CD Baby for $22M, went off-grid to New Zealand, and since has written 5 books.

We talked about:

  • Choosing the belief that is most useful to you

  • Using philosophies as tools

  • How CD Baby’s acquisition changed him

  • Derek’s “fuck Amazon” stance

  • Why Derek crafts his own software

  • The “algorithm ass-kissing” phenomenon

  • Writing the shortest and most useful book possible

Watch here or listen to The Jason Levin Show on Spotify or Apple.

Thanks for reading, nerds.

Let’s blow up the internet together.

Jason Levin