Today's guest has been massively influential on Dan and Ian from the very start of their journey. Seth Godin is something of a legend in entrepreneurial circles, and he hardly needs an introduction. His books about marketing, creativity, building companies, and personal development include Purple Cow, Meatball Sundae, The Dip, and Linchpin. These books are frequent recommendations on this podcast and have long been shared among our listeners. In addition to his books, Seth has founded an intensive four-week alternative online MBA called altMBA.  He has also created several podcasts including the popular Startup School. Seth's newest project is a brand new podcast called Akimbo. Today's show features a wide-ranging interview, which touches on a variety of topics including Seth's history as a writer and podcaster, what the business world can offer society, and much more. 

This week's episode is about a question that Dan and Ian are struggling to answer right now: What is the best way to go about naming a new business or product? A lot of times you only get one chance to get people's attention. Choosing the right name could unlock the door to great success, and branding your business incorrectly could prove disastrous. Today's guest knows this challenge better than anyone. Alexandra Watkins is the founder of a company called Eat My Words, which specializes in naming brands and products. She is also the author of a book on the subject called "Hello, My Name is Awesome".This interview originally started out as a discussion about Alexandra's book, but it ended up taking a serious turn about halfway through, when Alexandra went to great lengths to help Dan and Ian find a new name for this podcast.

If you are anything like Dan and Ian, then you have likely spent years geeking out on the writings of this week's guest. Cal Newport is a computer science professor, and he has been operating a blog on his website since 2007. He has also been writing books since he was in college, and his most recent book is called Deep Work, which is about the benefits and practical steps to getting more done in the internet age. This interview covers a wide range of subjects, including distributed algorithms at the extremes, why Cal uses walking to enhance his productivity, and why creativity is more workmanlike than most people realize.

Today's guest is easily one of Dan and Ian's favorite writers online. Tim Urban is the man behind Wait But Why. He writes long-form, stick figure illustrated blog posts on a variety of topics. Better yet, he has turned his own procrastination into success. As you'll find out during this episode, Tim is more than just a blogger. He is a business owner, and all-around creative persona. His blog has even attracted people like Elon Musk, who enjoyed Tim's blog so much that he reached out to him directly to ask him to write about some of his projects. This week, Tim shares the story behind the creation of his blog, his business partnership, and what the future holds in store for him.

On today's show, Dan and Ian are going to be speaking with someone who has inspired them both for a very long time. In fact, he is the author of one of the most cited books on this podcast. Maverick is Ricardo Semler's account of how he was able to transform his family's traditional manufacturing business into an experiment that introduced the world to his innovative business practices. Even though the book is over 20 years old, today's entrepreneurs are still looking to it for inspiration. Ricardo opens up about what his life has looked like since the book was published, and how he has began to spread those innovations to other aspects of society.

Today's guest is one of Dan and Ian's all time favorite writers, Mark Manson. Many of you may know him from his blog at MarkManson.net, where he has written about a wide range of subjects including digital nomadism, living with anxiety, and toxic relationships. Recently, Mark made the decision to sign with Harper Collins and publish his first book, titled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. Mark is going to be sharing a few excerpts from that book on this show, as well as talking about how he got into blogging, his values as a writer, what he thinks the state of the blogosphere is today, and much more.

Last week we teased a very special guest for this week's episode. Today, Dan and Ian are very pleased to reveal that guest to be Alex Blumberg, the CEO of Gimlet Media and the host of one of our very favorite podcasts, Startup. As entrepreneurs, many of us have grown up listening to Alex's work on shows like This American Life and Planet Money. His recent foray into the realm of podcasting has had a huge impact on how podcasts are being produced today, and you'll hear him talk all about that journey on this week's episode.

On today's podcast, Dan and Ian have decided to dig into a topic that isn't usually covered on this show. We are going to be talking about one of Ian's favorite things in the world: cars. If you don't consider yourself a vehicular aficionado, have no fear. This episode is about the journey of Matt Farah, a successful automotive journalist who rose to fame through his YouTube channel, The Smoking Tire. You're going to be hearing a pretty compelling story about how Matt bootstrapped himself into the position that he's in today. And yes, there is a little bit of car talk in there too. Stay tuned until the very end of the episode to hear a bonus lightning round of automotive questions.

On this week's show, Dan and Ian had the opportunity to interview one of their all-time favorite bloggers, "Mr. Money Mustache" Peter Adeney. Peter was recently the subject of a profile in The New Yorker, and you'll hear him share his opinions about that piece. You'll also hear how he was able to retire at the age of thirty, why he believes we should be optimizing for our own happiness, as well as his thoughts on achieving freedom through frugality. Stick around after the credits for a little bit of a bonus conversation with Mr. Money Mustache about how the Mustachian community holds events.

Today's episode is the second of a two part series in which Dan and Ian are speaking with the co-founder of Basecamp and creator of Ruby on Rails: David Heinemeier Hannson. This episode is all about business relationships. You'll hear about the origins of David's relationship with his business partner Jason Fried, as well as David's many interesting thoughts on business partnerships and how they can evolve over time.

Today's episode is the first of a two part series where Dan and Ian are speaking with David Heinemeier Hannson. David is the co-founder of Basecamp and the creator of Ruby on Rails. Truth be told, DHH has been a huge influence on the Tropical MBA podcast. In this episode, we're going to be talking about a subject that some see as a blueprint to getting rich, and others see as a dirty word: Venture Capital. Later on in the show, you'll hear from Zapier co-founder Wade Foster on his thoughts and experiences on seeking venture capital funding for his own company.