From Pyramids to Burning Teslas: Conspiracies, Business Breakthroughs and Land Cruisers

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/0f/1e/42/0f1e4298-c087-d39c-2e12-f70ca5d3de94/mza_17050667941820385462.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

WORK IN PROGRESS

Wes Botman, Ian Piepenbrock

22 episodes

6 days ago

WORK IN PROGRESS is a raw, unfiltered look at the grind of building and scaling in tech and services. Hosted by founders Ian Piepenbrock and Wes Botman, it’s for those in the trenches—still learning, still failing, still pushing. Each episode dives into the reality of running a business: the wins, the losses, and the lessons earned through hard work and constant experimentation. If you’re scaling, building, or just obsessed with the process, WORK IN PROGRESS delivers insights from founders in it, day in and day out.

Entrepreneurship

Business

RSS

All content for WORK IN PROGRESS is the property of Wes Botman, Ian Piepenbrock and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Entrepreneurship

Business

https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_episode/42264917/42264917-1743343698548-3117c1a10b7c5.jpg

From Pyramids to Burning Teslas: Conspiracies, Business Breakthroughs and Land Cruisers - Episode 19

WORK IN PROGRESS

1 hour 23 minutes 46 seconds

7 months ago

From Pyramids to Burning Teslas: Conspiracies, Business Breakthroughs and Land Cruisers - Episode 19

Ian and Wes take you on a wild ride through Episode 19, unpacking pyramid power plant theories with nods to Graham Hancock, debating Bob Lazar’s alien whistleblowing saga, and wrestling with Europe’s Tesla vandalism wave. The stakes get real as Wes wraps Eli5’s intense hiring sprint, seven new hires streamlined with lessons for the future, while Ian revels in Noco’s overflowing pipeline, plotting faster marketing experiments with X’s Grok-powered ads. From Edge Impulse’s Qualcomm coup to the rise of Chinese car tech, hello BYD suspension, they explore growth, innovation, and legacy. Then it’s personal. Wes pitches “reality transurfing” to ditch futile rants, Ian confesses his fear of failure, and a Toyota Land Cruiser dream ties it to family roots.Chapters(0:00) - Intro and Pyramid Theories(4:40) - Alternative Tech and Lost Knowledge(7:00) - Aliens and Bob Lazar’s Story(10:40) - Geo Scotty and Classic Beauty(12:49) - Eli5 Hiring Update(16:20) - Recruitment Lessons and Tools(21:40) - Onboarding New Hires at Eli5(26:48) - Noco’s Pipeline and Growth(32:40) - Noco’s Challenges and Experimentation(38:20) - X Ads and Marketing Speed(41:40) - Eli5’s Client Diversity and Focus(46:25) - Edge Impulse and Qualcomm Deal(51:00) - Serving Clients at Scale(55:00) - Decel Mindsets and Personal Traits(1:04:20) - Tesla Vandalism and Chinese Cars(1:18:20) - Toyota Land Cruiser DreamsThe WORK IN PROGRESS podcast hosted by Ian Piepenbrock and Wes Botman, two founders who are scaling and refining their businesses every day.Wes Botman is founder and CEO at ⁠⁠Eli5⁠⁠ (https://eli5.io), a software studio making complex ideas simple and accessible.Ian Piepenbrock is CEO at ⁠⁠Noco⁠⁠ (https://noco.agency), an agency dedicated to helping B2B SaaS and tech companies grow through strategic web design and branding.Watch/listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2cOqBRMjjgcXKSDDIboKrt?si=6990da66e09e4ef2Follow us on X for more raw insights, thoughts, and a good dose of founder reality:Wes: ⁠⁠@wesbotman⁠⁠ (https://x.com/wesbotman)Ian: ⁠⁠@lamswolprins (https://x.com/lamswolprins)