At Large with Scott Norton – Details, episodes & analysis

So far, Kareem Rahma has packed more into his 38 years than most people do into a lifetime. Egyptian? Yes. Midwesterner? Yes. New Yorker? Yes. Brooklynite? Yes.  Corporate employee? Yes. Post-exit founder? Yes. Media entrepreneur? Yes. Comedian? Yes. Musician? Yes. Published author? Yes. Film producer? Yes. Pizza gallerist? Improbably, yes Is there anything that isn’t a “yes” for Kareem? Well, tune into his viral Instagram series @subwaytakes and indeed, he’s not afraid to blast “100% disagree” when it’s time to say no.  In this episode of At Large, we’ll hear how Kareem Rahma built a livelihood pioneering essentialist internet video formats for a divided nation with a shrinking attention span, without losing his fresh optimism and vibe of disheveled cool. Between commandeering the L train for his impromptu hit talk show and hopping into yellow cabs to tell drivers “take me to your favorite place in the city and keep the meter running,” Kareem has collapsed the distance between what he wants and what he does by refusing to let asking for permission be part of his creative process.  Thanks to Primary Venture Partners, who generously provided their office studio for this interview in NYC. — Website Show Notes: Subway takes https://www.instagram.com/subwaytakes/ Keep the meter running https://www.youtube.com/channel/UComL0zTx23pc036EI4qojcQ Vice media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_Media Vice guide to North Korea https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL10943F1A08C72A17 The Museum of Pizza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcbWIEm14z0 Out of order https://youtu.be/MVu4igkDcgM?si=tL8uKix4_eRG7Vvz Or Something film - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26599297/ No Worries if Not https://open.spotify.com/album/4RUqfq8D23n9XIQOKEUVJx?si=2oElDnPaT8KngoZPqZLTMA The Last Stop: https://youtu.be/1w7qwsROk10?si=Z8hIDuPBB26Y6J1J Sheel Mohnot's takes: https://x.com/pitdesi/status/1832599305699651754 Jacques Pepin scrambled eggs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqKq0bQHnZU 📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your audio platform and comment below your favorite part of the episode. See you next week!

Cool, calm, and collected, you’d never peg Food52 founder Amanda Hesser as having an insatiable appetite for risk. Self-described as “impulsive” and described by others as “frighteningly ambitious,” Amanda comes off as conscientious and considered as she does intelligent and industrious. So what makes her tick? After following her sense of adventure and love of food to a chateau in Burgundy where she wrote about seasonal cooking, she went on to unexpectedly land a job writing for the food section of the New York Times, where she ultimately rose to food editor of the Times Magazine, and authored The Essential New York Times cookbook. Then in 2009, when internet media and food media were becoming intertwined, she co-founded Food52 as a website and marketplace for people who put food at the center of their life.  In this conversation, Amanda talks about the interconnected ecosystem of Food52’s business model, including its strong community, advertising model, marketplace, and recent acquisitions for vertical integration with heritage brands. She’ll share stories of partnering with private equity investors, the importance of delighting customers in inefficient yet effective ways, and operating in “founder mode.” Prepare to be very hungry (and itching to make chocolate cake) by the end of this episode. Thanks to Primary Venture Partners, who generously provided their office studio for this interview in NYC. “In so many ‘consumer’ business, the consumer gets forgotten and treated like some sort of widget” Website Show notes: Food52 http://food52.com The Essential New York Times Cookbook https://store.nytimes.com/products/the-essential-new-york-times-cookbook?variant=39431971176518 Paul Graham - Founder Mode https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html Paul Graham - Do Things that Don't Scale https://paulgraham.com/ds.html Food52’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/food52/?hl=en Amanda Hesser’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amandahesser/?hl=en TCG - The Chernin Group https://tcg.co/ Dansk Købenstyle https://www.dansk.com/collections/kobenstyle Uunifetapasta https://www.tiktok.com/@liemessa/video/6923943550111550726?lang=en A2 Milk https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-a2-milk https://puck.news/ Amanda’s Chocolate Dump It Cake recipe https://food52.com/recipes/5102-chocolate-dump-it-cake 📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your audio platform and comment below your favorite part of the episode. See you next week!

For John Fiorentino, finding creative ideas is like hunting big game. It’s unpredictable, requires innate skill, and is an all-consuming quest defined by feast and famine. John’s hunt for ideas led him to create a product inspired by nights sleeping on the New York City subway which invented a category: the Gravity Blanket. Since launching this product, John has founded a collection of other product-driven businesses which have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue since inception without relying on outside investment. With an evident contrarian streak, John embraces his “truth-telling phase” in this interview and holds forth on how good ideas are undervalued, how organized religion has become counterculture, whether G-Wagons are tacky, and the hidden trap of fame.  📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

Today we sit down with Eric Ryan, founder of Method Soap, OLLY Vitamins, and a growing collection of new brands. We discuss Eric’s creative practices when originating companies and the leadership lessons he’s learned over 25 years as a serial entrepreneur and marketing strategist. 📸 @swhnorton 🐦 @swhnorton 🖥️ www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.

Join Scott Norton for conversations with world-class creatives who have achieved commercial success and lived to tell the tale. At Large explores the many ways the creatives that have shaped our world navigate business and use commerce to scale their craft.  Whether guests are artists, actors, designers, authors, or inventors of their own genre, this show illustrates that there is no one way for a creative to make a living. A creative entrepreneur behind Sir Kensington’s condiments, Scott evokes candor and intimacy in these luminaries about their unexpected, perhaps chaotic, and sometimes deliberate path integrating their artistic vision into their livelihood. Scott will also quiz guests to share their hot takes, critique cultural phenomena, explain topics of their expertise in fine detail, comment on the trending memes and describe their favorite recipes. First episode comes out June 26th! Learn more at atlargeshow.com and @swhnorton ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

For someone who’s ridden the highs and lows of life’s roller coaster, Shane Heath comes across as remarkably grounded.  Between the death of a college roommate, the unexpected chapter of fatherhood, and leading a hypergrowth company in an ultra-competitive industry, there are plenty of challenges that most people would be overwhelmed by. Shane doesn’t easily get overwhelmed, but he isn’t exactly easygoing. As charismatic as he is introverted, his cool demeanour belies a deep-seated intensity and unrelenting quest for existential investigation. He’s propelled forward by the moments of intensity in his life to keep creating, keep asking why, and will literally wake up compelled to do a surprise triathlon just because it’s hard. As Shane would say: No mud, no lotus. Shane is the CEO and co-founder of MUD\WTR, a product he created to drink less coffee which turned into a category-creating company of significant scale that he continues to lead. In this interview, we’ll talk about Shane’s co-existing roles of interdisciplinary creative and CEO, his daily practices for energy and creativity, and the changing perception of psychedelics in American society.  Note that as of the time of this episode’s publishing, I am an investor in MUD\WTR and that this interview is separate from my professional relationship with the company. Website Show notes: MUD\WTR http://mudwtr.com Sympathetic Nervous System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_nervous_system Ikigai https://hyperisland.com/en/blog/thought-leadership/feeling-drained-at-work Iboga https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWdLGJkdS_U The Confident Mind & Journaling practices https://www.amazon.com/Confident-Mind-Battle-Tested-Unshakable-Performance/dp/0063014831 📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your audio platform and comment below your favorite part of the episode. See you next week!

Most people just dream of going viral. Michael Dubin has actually pulled it off. Mike went from being rejected from every business school he applied to and being laid off from Sports Illustrated to revolutionizing how razors are sold in America with Dollar Shave Club. Beyond operational ingenuity and opportunity spotting, Mike made use of his talents in sketch comedy and improvisation to create a video in 2012 that lit the internet on fire and birthed a generation of “direct-to-consumer” businesses. Four years later, Dollar Shave Club counted over 3M subscribers and secured a $1B sale to Unilever.  Has fame and fortune changed him? Not really.  In this interview, we’ll talk about the cultural undercurrents that enabled Dollar Shave Club and provide a peek behind the curtain of how multinational corporations approach acquisitions and divestitures. We’ll also drink a lot of MUD\WTR as Mike talks about his latest creative endeavors in screenwriting, his pause practice with Vedic meditation, and the sentimental bowl in which I serve mike a homemade peach and fennel salad. Finally, if you’re interested in joining our Friday morning Santa Monica swim club called The Starfish, send me a DM on Twitter or Instagram @swhnorton  — Website Show notes: Dollar Shave Club Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI Michael Dubin on How I Built This with Guy Raz https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/live-episode-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin/id1150510297?i=1000425929182 Career advice from Barack Obama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNY4UFaHbP4 LTV/CAC explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orzsmq2_oXU&t=1s Dan Deacon - Drinking out of cups (Not my chair, not my problem) [Explicit] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrIPLAo0_iQ Vedic Meditation https://thomknoles.com/what-is-vedic-meditation/ SNAG: Sensitive New Age Guy https://www.thesensitiveman.com/blog/the-sensitive-man-are-you-a-sensitive-new-age-guy-snag 📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your audio platform and comment below your favorite part of the episode. See you next week!

This week, Scott turns the tables by serving as guest on his own show. The adept interviewer Kyle Thiermann graciously hosts this episode so listeners can better get to know Scott as the host of At Large. Kyle is a journalist, copywriter, activist, humorist, and a professionally sponsored big wave surfer. On today’s episode, we discuss the moment that sparked the idea for Sir Kensington’s, the power of play in business, and threading the needle in product design between novelty and nostalgia. Scott shares the emotional experience of building a startup and the unexpected emotions around selling a company. He gives hot takes on non-alcoholic beer, what he looks for in startups as an investor, and provides a detailed recipe for Japanese Tonkatsu. — Website Show notes: Kyle Thiermann https://www.kylethiermann.com/ Sir Kensington’s http://sirkensingtons.com Fela Kuti https://open.spotify.com/track/6jzbUvXYVbH6NrUS3WRMoL Sir Kensington’s Story on How I Built This https://open.spotify.com/episode/1SdBI4ymo58bJgk6dcsETL Jonathan Swift - A Modest Proposal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal Fries of New York https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/17/side Japanese Tonkatsu https://www.justonecookbook.com/tonkatsu/ The Kyle Thiermann Show https://open.spotify.com/show/5cAqgvVo9x4T8aDFx2Dp0v 📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your audio platform and comment below your favorite part of the episode. See you next week!

Is there any greater responsibility than educating and entertaining children?  Our guest today is an inspiring, creative, and formidable television screenwriter and producer who created Doc McStuffins. Her show went on to be a global sensation and Disney’s longest running series other than Mickey Mouse, featuring a Black girl who looks up to her mother, a doctor, and cares for her many ailing stuffed animals. Working with both Disney and Netflix, Chris has created a fleet of shows, both independently and with the Obamas, for which she’s won three Emmys, five NAACP Image awards, a peabody award, and the humanitas prize. She explains the key negotiation points for creatives in the TV industry, including “overall” deals, “backend” performance participation, and the imperative of controlling your own IP. Chris and I talk about how ocean swimming develops muscles of courage, her views on wokeness in America, and advice to creatives coming up in the entertainment industry. Website Show Notes: Doc McStuffins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_McStuffins Vampirina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampirina Joan Ganz Cooney https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Ganz_Cooney Cocomelon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1nCXPPiVL8 📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your audio platform and comment below your favorite part of the episode. See you next week!

Sooner or later, we needed to do a show about film.  With its potential for scale, resource intensiveness, and power to transfix the viewer, film is in many ways the ultimate creative business.  Fabien Riggall is the founder of Secret Cinema, a London-based immersive theatrical experience that puts the audience at the heart of the story. He is the inventor of a hybrid genre between film and theater, creating inhabitable cinematic worlds in which participants are both members of the scene and audience to a film screening. Under Fabien’s direction, Secret Cinema welcomed over 1.5 million guests to 60 productions from Shanghai to Los Angeles, and after 16 years was acquired in a reported $100M sale. During this interview, Fabien walks listeners through what it’s like to attend a Secret Cinema production and the narrative devices used for immersive worldbuilding. He answers questions about scaling the business and the human desire for escapist, transportive experiences. We discuss social media addiction, UK rave culture, the allure of wild swimming, and the imperative to choose investors wisely. We conducted this interview in London’s Somerset House, former seat of the Royal Navy Admiralty.  Website Show notes: Secret Cinema: https://www.secretcinema.com/ Once Upon a Time in America (1984) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_America Stanford prisoner experiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment La Haine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Haine Battle of Algiers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Algiers Black Flies / Asphalt City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_City Johnny Mad Dog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mad_Dog The Printworks London https://printworkslondon.co.uk/ Guy Debord & Situationist International https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International Everybody in the Place - An Incomplete History of Britain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thr8PUAQuag Adam Curtis - Hypernormalisation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr7T07WfIhM&themeRefresh=1 Lost in London https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_London Love in the time of Cholera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_in_the_Time_of_Cholera Victoria (2015): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_(2015_film) Good Time (2017) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Time_(film) Hampstead Heath - Wild Swimming: https://www.hampsteadheath.net/swimming-ponds 📸@swhnorton  🐦@swhnorton 🖥️www.atlargeshow.com ……. This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services.