#192 David Segal: Yearly Planning, Daily Action

Working in a business and working on a business are two different things. Without the former, nothing gets done; without the latter, the wrong things get done. David Segal has a unique way of managing that tension, and this episode, he reveals all his business operating secrets and explains how he failed along the way.

Shane and Segal discuss what entrepreneurship really is, where motivation comes from, and what Segal learned building a $200 million tea business. Shane and David also dive deep into the dark side of success and the radical depression that can strike when you get a big payday, life and business lessons they learned from Warren Buffett, and the value of time management.

David Segal is the co-founder of Firebelly Tea. He’s also best known as “the David” of DAVIDsTEA. During his time at DAVIDsTEA, Segal grew the company from a single store to a $200 million retail giant. Segal left DAVIDsTEA in 2016 and started Mad Radish—a quick service restaurant concept. Mad Radish is all about providing healthy, gourmet fast foods. In 2021, Segal started Firebelly tea to create exceptional loose leaf teas tailored to modern living.
Listeners of The Knowledge Project can receive a special 15 percent discount on Firebelly Tea products by heading to www.firebellytea.com and entering the code Shane15 at checkout.
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(00:00) Intro
(04:59) What entrepreneurship really is
(07:10) How to manage your psychology
(10:40) Yearly planning, daily action
(15:50) Avoiding "ivory-tower syndrome"
(18:30) Segal's childhood and background
(25:15) The history of DAVIDsTEA and Firebelly
(36:40) The evolution of tea and business over the last twenty years
(42:30) On failures
(49:00) Dealing with depression
(52:30) Lessons about money
(56:55) Business and life lessons from Warren Buffett
(1:00:00) On time management
(1:04:50) What's missing in Segal's life
(1:08:39) On success