California has been the greatest economic miracle in modern history. People came here to build, to dream, and to better their lives. But today I believe we are living off the inheritance of past generations instead of building a future of our own.

In this solo episode, I make the case that California has become a “trust fund society.” We are coasting on the wealth and institutions created before us while making it harder to build, harder to afford a home, and harder to run a business.

I walk through the anti-growth movement, the housing crisis, and the paradox of Silicon Valley’s dominance at the same time Sacramento seems hostile toward tech. I argue that California has ignored a basic truth: prosperity depends on building. Drawing on history, economics, and culture, I explore what it means to inherit greatness and what it will take to reclaim California’s role as the world’s engine of dynamism.

This episode also wraps up Season 1 of the Podcast! I am pausing the show as my wife and I welcome our second child. Thank you for all of you who have followed along with the journey so far. See you in the future.

Chapters:

00:00 – Pausing the Pod

02:04 – California as a Trust Fund Society

04:30 – The Cyclical Nature of Wealth

06:15 – California’s Past Success

08:34 – California’s Stagnation

12:49 – California Beats Up Our Tech Sector

20:12 – European Decline

22:07 – We’re Killing the California Dream

Keywords:

California, California Dream, trust fund society, California politics, California history, California economy, California housing crisis, California anti-growth movement, California building crisis, Pat Brown, Jerry Brown, CEQA, California infrastructure, California water, California aqueduct, Silicon Valley, California tech industry, California tech policy, California business climate, California stagnation, California GDP, California per capita income, California poverty rate, Public Policy Institute of California, PPIC, California high speed rail, California renewable energy, Texas vs California, California vs Texas economy, California companies leaving, Oracle California, Chevron California, HP California, In-N-Out Tennessee, housing affordability California, California regulation, California future, California innovation, California Future Society

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El Segundo is five square miles of extremes: a small-town beach community with Fortune 500 headquarters, a refinery, three pro sports teams, toy showrooms, rocket labs, and more PhDs per capita than almost anywhere in California. Mayor Chris Pimentel pulls back the curtain on how this tiny South Bay city became one of the most dynamic economic hubs in the state and the culture within city hall. We dig into El Segundo’s advantages, the culture that attracts global innovators, and what other cities can (and can’t) copy.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

05:46 – How El Segundo punches above its weight

10:40 – Culture at city hall and lessons

17:59 – The cultural role of startups

22:15 – Reindustrializing LA

25:00 – CA housing politics

30:11 – Restoring the CA dream

35:42 – Hope for CA's future

Keywords: El Segundo, Chris Pimentel, California cities, South Bay, Fortune 500 companies California, aerospace California, hard tech startups, deep tech startups, California innovation, LA economic development, small city big economy, red carpet not red tape, municipal governance, business friendly cities, California housing policy, industrial California, California manufacturing, Los Angeles County cities, regional collaboration California, California Future Society.

I sit down with my friend Chris Lengerich, a researcher, investor, and founder of Context Fund, to map the AI “gold-rush” reshaping California’s most important economy. After talking about how we ended up with nine-figure talent bidding wars for AI talent, we discuss how smaller teams, AI-accelerated funding, and vertically-integrated TechBio firms will upend SaaS economics and, could let us “asymptote to having no disease.” We finish by weighing whether California’s network effects keep it the epicenter of the AI boom and what get Chris most excited about the future.

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

03:47 – The AI Gold Rush

06:53 – The War for Top AI Talent

11:39 – Verification: The New Frontier

14:12 – Automating the VC Funding Process

25:37 – AI-Powered Teams and Startup Dynamics

29:16 – AI in Drug Discovery & Development

37:11 – Personalization & Reducing Friction

40:30 – California’s Role in the AI Gold Rush

45:37 – The Inner vs. Outer AI Economy

48:23 – Curing Disease with AI

Keywords:

AI gold rush, California tech economy, talent wars, verification APIs, reinforcement learning, funding automation, Context Fund, build-vs-buy, TechBio, personalized tooling, mainframe renaissance, data-center energy, venture capital, vertical integration, disease-cure asymptote, global verification hubs, policy competition, inner-vs-outer economy, network effects.