E39: Bull/Bear Case for Vivek and Erik’s interview with Vivek Ramaswamy

On this episode, Erik Torenberg and Dan Romero analyze what Vivek Ramaswamy’s rise in the polls really means, where he goes from here, and we air Erik’s full interview with Vivek from this spring. Vivek discusses his transformation from founder to candidate, his views on Silicon Valley, his concept of meritocracy, depoliticizing corporations, and lays out his policy proposals. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com. TOPICS DISCUSSED: (00:00) Episode Preview (02:23) What is the excitement about Vivek really about? (05:00) Why don’t democrats nominate business people? (06:28) Who is Vivek’s constituency? (08:18) What happens in a world where Trump doesn’t exist? (10:20) Immigration stance differences between Trump and Vivek (14:57) Vivek’s anti woke platform vs DeSantis’ anti woke legislations (16:50) Vivek as a right wing Elizabeth Warren Civility (19:15) Is there a way for a republican to be cool? (22:45) Republicans want an attack dog (24:00) 2028 and beyond (29:55) Interview: When Vivek set his sights on running for president (36:20) Vivek’s presidential platform: Affirmative action, Climate, Fed, Drug crisis (44:11) Where Vivek overlaps/differs with Silicon Valley: free speech, DEI, SVB (51:20) How Vivek conceptualizes a meritocracy (58:00) How to remove politics from corporations (01:05:32) Silicon Valley should empathize more with the rest of the country? (01:16:35) Defining “woke” (01:22:40) What’s it like to run a presidential campaign X / Twitter @VivekGRamaswamy (Vivek) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast SPONSORS: Beehiiv | Shopify | Vanta | NetSuite Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox. 🐝to https://Beehiiv.com and use code "MOZ" for 20% off your first three months. SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.