Pieter Levels: Programming, Viral AI Startups, and Digital Nomad Life | Lex Fridman Podcast #440

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See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
0:00 - Introduction
2:03 - Startup philosophy
9:34 - Low points
13:03 - 12 startups in 12 months
19:55 - Traveling and depression
32:34 - Indie hacking
36:37 - Photo AI
1:12:53 - How to learn AI
1:21:30 - Robots
1:29:47 - Hoodmaps
1:53:52 - Learning new programming languages
2:03:24 - Monetize your website
2:09:59 - Fighting SPAM
2:13:33 - Automation
2:24:58 - When to sell startup
2:27:52 - Coding solo
2:33:54 - Ship fast
2:42:38 - Best IDE for programming
2:52:09 - Andrej Karpathy
3:01:34 - Productivity
3:15:21 - Minimalism
3:24:07 - Emails
3:31:20 - Coffee
3:39:05 - E/acc
3:41:21 - Advice for young people

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/pieter-levels-transcript

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EPISODE LINKS:
Pieter's X: https://x.com/levelsio
Pieter's Techno Optimist Shop: https://levelsio.com/
Indie Maker Handbook: https://readmake.com/
Nomad List: https://nomadlist.com
Remote OK: https://remoteok.com
Hoodmaps: https://hoodmaps.com

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pieter levels software is so fkin shit. it looks like crap, and behaves like crap.
he is the worst and most overrated developer. none of his "startups" have exited because his codebase is complete crap.

i bought a subscription from one of his software and it made a mistake and charged the annual bill.

no customer service.

no email that was working. even his "legal" email was going to an error.

he is a big time scammer.

had to go through my bank and visa to get my money back.

he didnt reply on X either.

just take a look at his websites, all look unprofessional

"using vanilla HTML"...lol

2:03:00

2:05:00

Totally true this continuos move to a new framework is nonsense. JQuery can still do an excellent job, especially for prototypes. And to pivot quickly a business you need pragmatism, not fancy tools and elegant tech solutions. I now use node js on aws lamnda with dynamo, jsdoc, serverless, very pragmatic tools, and no worries with downtimes and scaling

30:06 Yeah man knows BJJ but a gun fires at 800m/s 😂

You are not going to read this but is a +1 comment. Great interview, thanks both.

i have started feeling like i am in a race of innovation and i am losing my money by sitting idle, where i can just start doing something innovative or helpful for the community which will benefit both of us. feel like i can make money i just have to start thinking like i am an innovator, bcz i am feeling like someone else is gonna grab this opportunity if i don't start right now

Great video about podcast. Thanks for sharing!

In 2005 Nike had a letter of commitment to Messi it wasn’t a full on contract it’s for this likely reason Messi’s father’s email was overlooked. When in 2006 Messi switched to Adidas and they offered him a contract Nike woke up and they went to court but Messi won as the judge sided with them citing he only had a letter of commitment with Nike. Christiano Ronaldo signed a lifetime deal with Nike in 2015 and Messi signed a lifetime deal with Adidas in 2016.
I personally believe as football (soccer) is a far reaching global sport compared to basketball and played non professionally by kids to adults in every continent Messi’s overall sponsorship deal could prove more lucrative even though it’s purely on football boots and training gear and football shirts etc. Additionally Messi will have a cut of Apple TV MLS percentages and his sports drink is already supplying ALL MLS pro teams so I think he will gradually end up becoming a wealthier billionaire when compared to MJ who is currently wealthier at about $3 compared to Messi’s approx net worth of $1.49B.

The use of production directly without testing is crazy but it makes him very funny haha he is right about big companies but If I was him I would use at this level a testing env , maybe not in the beginning but in that stage sure!

I'm from Russia. Since 2006 i've been released electronic music on independent record labels. It took about 10-12 years that i started obtaining royalties from my music. I just started feeling happy for it that made me free to travel and pay for cheap houses enough paying part of expenses. Then started known war and of course distribution companies cut me off everything arguing that is sanction politic to do not pay to me anymore. In 2022 i decided to change something in my life tried to earn by coding that probably should make me potential to travel and work everywhere.I started exploring Python backend things and Next.JS hoped to get the remote job. But it's sad to say that i can't get job since April though i started working as junior dev for companies. Looks like i've been banned by hidden power. Currently living in basement area in Moscow with totally no money no power to be creative like deeply depressed. Feels like ruined my life because of political issues. Anyway i wanna say thanks to people who supports open technologies and free education that makes people choosing their lifestyle and thinking how. Thanks for interview with Peter that was really inspirational for me also i took energy and hope from it !

I'm from Russia. Since 2006 i've been released electronic music on independent record labels. It took about 10-12 years that i started obtaining royalties from my music. I just started feeling happy for it that made me free to travel and pay for cheap houses enough paying part of expenses. Then started known war and of course distribution companies cut me off everything arguing that is sanction politic to do not pay to me anymore. In 2022 i decided to change my behavioural pattern try to earn by coding that probably should make me potential to travel and work everywhere.I started exploring Python backend things and Next.JS hoped to get the remote job. But it's sad to say that i can't get job since April though i started working as junior dev for companies. Looks like i've been banned by hidden power. Currently living in basement area in Moscow with totally no money no power to be creative like deeply depressed. Feels like ruined my life because of political issues. Anyway i wanna say thanks to people who supports open technologies and free education that makes people choosing their lifestyle and thinking how. Thanks for interview with Peter that was really inspirational for me also i took energy and hope from it ! 2:41:26

As a nomadlist customer, the abandonware feel of it was disappointing. Not bashing him for it - from an earnings perspective probably the right play. But it kinda sucked from a user pov. A lot of prominent nomads at the time were hawking it for commission and it felt very overpromised/underdelivered.

4 cups of coffee != a lot of you take l-theanine

1:42:16

Looks like Lex didn't sleep well last night 😀

Listening to this at 5 a.m. in Thailand while working on my own ideas. Your podcast is genuinely motivating. Thank you for keeping curiosity and clear thinking alive. Warm greetings from Southeast Asia.

"i do it for you"...it's very hilarious 😂😂
I couldn't stop laughing 😂

This guys comments on Google AI just show how blinkered and short sighted he is. Numpty.

cool bro !

I love the fact that two poeple who actually build and ship stuff have never tried serverless frameworks. It's just shows that it doesn't really matter what you use to accomplish whatever you set yourself to accomplish

OMG, I'm too old. Remember Flash and ActionScript too ))

Great at every aspect. Thank you Lex and Peter for sharing this. Good Luck with your projects 🙏

I just love both of these men for their humility and honesty. Pieter never, ever tries to convince you of anything but his ignorance (in the good sense) and his willingness to do the work needed to overcome deficits in his knowledge and skills, but only where needed -- he remains ever aware of the shortness of his days. I was delighted to be surprised by how good this interview was. I've been surprised by a number of Lex's podcasts that I thought wouldn't really be my cup of tea, but turned out to be mesmerizing listening. The interview with Peter Wang (#250) was another that surprised me -- I mean I like Python (strictly as a hobbyist) but nearly three hours with a Python guy? But there was so much more than just programming stuff. Hikaru Nakamura (#330) had my complete attention, too. And my knowledge of chess is limited to the basic rules and a history of pretty much losing every game I've ever played. But Hikaru, though very different from Pieter, showed the same openness, vulnerability, and humility that Pieter did. Both have achieved so much. And that drew me in. There's a lesson in there somewhere.

This is the type of techbro that "making the world a worse place" is just a competition for him

Лекс, спасибо! Не грусти)

20:00 Fridman feels like a loser (sometimes)? That's pretty surprising. Probably good sleep is all you need. I write a song, and if 1 person likes it, I feel fulfilled :) ... with 4. 8M subscribers, you should feel needed. Or is it overwhelming? ... It must be insufficient sleep! :)

(ah yes, I am listening to this lying in a dark room, but this piece feels pretty joyous!)

Best podcast so far ❤ Would love to hear more about the nomad coding lifestyle.

THERE'S BEAUTY IN THE DARKNESS...........💓

Brilliant interview. Laughed out loud several times 😂. Every idea you mentioned I want to do, but won't end up doing it!

Did they cut the part talking about people saying he had a face like a hammer head shark?

Am I the only one who sees a connection with nassim Talebs Lindy effect? Use the old. Old is good

America best.

🎉

thank you so much for the opportunity to observe this conversation. And a sense of humor - I laughed out loud from time to time)))