#197 - Building a brand in the direct-to-consumer space | Nik Sharma & Ben Grynol

Levels CEO, Sam Corcos, sat down with Latitud, a fund and Incubator that focuses on nurturing and building tech founders in Latin America. Sam chatted about his own startup experience and some of the ways we approach building our own company. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health (06:10) – Be mindful of your time (09:44) – Schedule both work and rest (11:52) – Don’t get distracted (13:02) – Raise money before you need it (16:00) – Make people want to work for you (23:03) – CEOs are the decision-makers (24:41) – How to avoid burnout (25:40) – CEOs have to delegate (31:02) – Hire people who share your vision (39:01) – Your company is not a family Transcripts & Show Notes Watch the video – https://youtu.be/brlQVzP7vFY

3 Maalis 202241min

Levels Head of Growth, Ben Grynol, and Head of Operations, Michael 'Miz' Mizrahi, discuss the concept of acting in the best interest of the company, a principle from Reed Hastings’ book, "No Rules Rules." They dug into what this actually means and how it's relevant to our culture here at Levels. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health (05:19) – Align your interests with the company (08:05) – Think differently about company money (09:01) – Time is a currency (20:09) – Think long term (21:12) – Don’t get bureaucratic (22:37) – Keep it simple (23:31) – Be an owner, not a renter (28:09) – Hire people with good judgment (30:51) – Leaders set the tone for integrity (33:48) – Take care of your employees Transcripts & Show Notes Watch the Video – https://youtu.be/hFIXR4_eIsk

28 Helmi 202235min

Sam Corcos, Levels CEO, sat down with David Perell, writer, teacher and podcaster for North Star Podcast. They chatted about the mental barriers to writing, especially when it requires deep thought and articulation. They also dug into the best approaches for when, where and why to use writing in certain forms of communication. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health (08:54) – Writing feels hard (10:12) – Preserve your ideas through text (12:20) – Look at each individual part (14:20) – Writing offers rich content (16:33) – Different mediums offer different levels of depth (28:08) – Writing is a mental and emotional commitment (34:13) – Exercise your mind (42:57) – Writing conveys authority and trust (47:47) – Know when to speak in-person and when to write (48:43) – Deliver criticisms verbally Transcripts & Show Notes Watch the Video – https://youtu.be/4NUwnRQp9AE

25 Helmi 202253min

Biological observability, or bio-observability, is the act of observing our bodies and making informed decisions about food, sleep, and exercise based on data. Levels co-founders Sam Corcos & Josh Clemente also dig into why bio-observability matters, why it's crucial for our future, and how personalized data may change the healthcare industry. Look for multiple new shows per week on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations about metabolic health and how the Levels startup team builds a wellness movement from the ground up in the health and wellness tech industry. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health 🎙 What Josh Clemente & Sam Corcos discuss: (04:24) - We have observability of machines, not bodies (09:54) - Observability theory (12:58) - Why we want to have a trace in biological systems (16:01) - Observability leads to controllability (21:37) - Trace and then offer better suggestions (24:32) - Humans need evidence to invest in better habits (31:54) - We need more markers than glucose (34:42) - Add multiple signals (40:27) - Our bodies don’t know how to respond to modern stress cycles (43:56) - It’s very hard to measure things within the body Transcript & Show notes 🔗 Helpful links: Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/lWcQBcxgUsg Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1

23 Helmi 202252min

Levels Editorial Director, Mike Haney, and Software Engineer, Jeremy Phelps, sat down to discuss Jeremy’s path into Levels, his current role as an engineer and what he’s learned during his time here. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health (06:33) - Harnessing a sense of urgency (08:22) - A self-taught developer (12:54) - Hunger is a great motivator (17:24) - Learn what it’s like in a toxic environment (22:46) - Learn common CS language (28:49) - Finding a better work environment (31:56) - Uncover company culture (36:16) - Figure out how people will fit in (39:09) - The benefits of async work (44:30) - Consistently take vacation Transcripts & Show Notes

21 Helmi 202246min

Levels CEO, Sam Corcos, sat down with Lenny Rachitsky, an early team member of Airbnb and one of our Levels investors. Sam and Lenny deconstructed the idea of a PM, Product Manager, as well as what it means and what are some of the implications of having PMs across a company. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health (05:34) - Tasks of a product manager (09:45) - Develop a product sense (12:24) - Refocus priorities and get soft and fuzzy (17:07) - A great PM makes life easier (21:37) - Pave the road for the team (30:41) - Get up to speed through repetition and a good mentor (34:35) - Gradually bring in engineers (38:43) - Keep your eye on the problem (40:54) - Act as moderator Transcripts & Show Notes Watch the Video – https://youtu.be/arNu6KOTmOg

17 Helmi 202246min

Levels Head of Operations, Michael Mizrahi, and Head of Business, Maz Brumand, sat down to discuss the concept of cultural values and how it applies to our own culture here at Levels. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health (03:46) - Cement your culture at a pivotal moment (04:31) - Do you hire or develop culture? (07:08) - When hiring, consider three categories (11:39) - The value of trust (21:15) - The concept of short toes (31:54) - Grading employees on culture (35:42) - Use stories to cement values (51:18) - Mentally buying into group memberships Transcripts & Show Notes

14 Helmi 202252min

How easy is it for you to give and receive feedback at work—and how does feedback work remotely and with an async culture? Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl In this episode, Ben Grynol (Head of Growth) and Michael “Miz” Mizrahi (Head of Operations) of Levels take a deep dive into: How to give good, actionable, specific, and timely feedback How to receive feedback best—and how to decide if you’ll accept it Types of feedback, from objective vs. subjective and execution- vs. performance-based When and how to give feedback, especially in a remote and async environment Building a trustworthy breeding ground for rich feedback Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health (06:19) - The importance of feedback (09:45) - Giving positive feedback (13:54) - Make feedback actionable and tie it to OKRs (17:41) - Subjective feedback (25:30) - Feedback timing (30:11) - When feedback isn’t getting through (35:46) - Determine if your feedback is necessary (46:19) - Nail your delivery Transcripts & Show Notes Watch the Video – https://youtu.be/8UWO6qJHxbM

10 Helmi 202247min