What Startup Founders Can Steal From The Entertainment Industry
EP 144 of The Logan Bartlett Show: For people building companies - from the people who’ve done it.
What happens when you mix Silicon Valley tech and Hollywood storytelling?
Jeffrey Katzenberg (co-founder of DreamWorks) and Sujay Jaswa (former Dropbox CFO) have spent the last decade building and investing together through WndrCo and bridging two worlds that rarely collide: entertainment and tech.
We discussed what tech founders can learn from Hollywood, why emotional intelligence is often undervalued in Silicon Valley, and how the best companies (and partnerships) come from embracing taste and the human side of building.
Watch on Youtube | Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
✉️ Episode Memo
➡️ Mentorship and partnership as force multipliers.
Behind every chapter of Jeffrey Katzenberg’s career (from politics to Dreamworks, Disney, and now venture capital to DreamWorks), he credits his success to a partner or mentor who filled the gaps he couldn’t. Finding Sujay Jaswa took 300 conversations, but Katzenberg says it’s one of the best decisions he’s made.
➡️ The contradiction around good ideas
To back or build something great, you have to step into someone else’s vision and actually see it. But you also need to question it—over and over again.
Sujay Jaswa cycles through both modes constantly. One minute it’s “greatest idea ever,” the next it’s “this is stupid.” Same idea. Same day. It’s not indecision - it’s part of his filtering process (out loud) for separating the best ideas from the noise.
➡️ Founders build products. Entertainers are the product.
A failed startup hurts, but you move on, start another, and iterate. In entertainment, rejection feels personal - people are judging you, not just your work. That emotional risk shapes how creatives lead, often with taste, vulnerability, and presence.
Tech over-indexes on logic, but great products don’t just work—they resonate. Founders can learn from media how to communicate with emotion, shape narrative, and design experiences that move people.
⭐ Trailer
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