Alexa McKnight
📍 Austin, TX | Interviewing Interesting Humans/Founders!
📝 Editor’s Note
Do not let your eyes roll.
I found a pretty cool ChatGPT use case. It spawned from boomeranging back to preferring to watch movies over random TV shows on demand.
A few years ago, I spent too much time manually creating a chart of all the Oscar Best Picture Winners, Runner-Ups and their various Rotten Tomato scores and streaming platforms. At the time there was no list available on google and my old list is no doubt out of date on where to watch.
Of course, when I spend 30 seconds typing a short prompt into ChatGPT and I get my hour of work in under 1 minute.
Check out the — Oscar Best Picture Watch List
I hope this list gives you high quality “what should we watch” inspiration.
Without further ado….
Why Alexa?
Alexa came highly recommended from Kate Fitzsimmons who I also profiled a few months back. Kate recommended Alexa because she is the “most curious, enthusiastic, and creative person I’ve ever known”. High praise!
Follow Alexa on Linkedin
Self-Description
Daydreaming optimist operating (and talking!) at 1,000 miles per minute!
"Live from the heart; shoot from the hip" is my personal motto :)
Alexa’s Recommendations
Written in her own words…
Content
Joseph Campbell - The Power of Myth
I always love reading something that becomes your new "Roman Empire" of sorts: once you read it, you can't unsee its relevance to your daily life. The Power of Myth is exactly that, exploring how universal themes in myths influence our daily lives and ultimately guide our personal transformation. Fun fact: George Lucas credits Campbell's other popular work The Hero with A Thousand Faces, as a huge inspiration/creative force *no pun intended* behind Star Wars; so that one's next on my list! Fair Warning: If you don't like abstract concepts, you will not jive with this book.
Digital Tool
Ok, this one's... quirky... but I downloaded a magic 8-ball app on my phone recently, and I use it to make small decisions. It introduces a little extra element of play into my day-to-day and is always fun to whip out when hanging out/joking around with friends. Plus, when you ask it something, and you're disappointed by the answer, that feeling *is* your answer. ;)
Gift
I just hosted my sister's bachelorette party. We gave her a surprise "gift" of a video/game called "Hot Seat" with her fiancé. He recorded himself answering questions like "Describe your first date with Olivia." "Who said I love you first? Tell the story.," etc. Then, we put the vid up on the big screen and would have her pause it to predict his answer to each question. A great, totally free and thoughtful idea for birthdays, anniversaries, etc! :)
Music
Don't Call My Name by Skinshape is a cool, tranquil tune I can loop upwards of 50 times without even realizing it. Check it out:
Travel
Jackson Hole, Wyoming 100%. If you're a skier, there's limitless challenging terrain. If you're not, go in the summer. It's otherworldly.
Check out the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar; Bin22 for tapas & vino; Cloudveil rooftop in the summer; & take a drive through the elk reservation in the winter!!!
Open
Take drum lessons— or any structured lessons that'll push your comfort zone and challenge your self-concept.
Plug
I feel lucky to say I LOVE my job at Hampton, where I interview founders running high-growth, tech-enabled companies (all doing $1M+ in revenue) who want to join our community. If that sounds like you, I'd love to hear from you! We do a deep dive on your entrepreneurial journey, and it ends up being a super fun convo. We also put out some really interesting industry reports for anyone interested! You can check it all out here: https://joinhampton.com.
Want to reach Alexa? If so, email her at alexa@myhampton.com or DM her on linkedin
P.S. from Rambull — Bill Johnston, who was profiled several months back, and his wife recently started running Dempsey Bag Co. These products, including the one below, are made from premium Italian Leather.
My wife and I were very impressed when we our ‘weekender bag’ from Bill. It is clearly well made, looks stylish, and it was perfect for a recent weekend trip we took to the lake. I’m excited to keeping using this for future trips and I have no doubt that this bag will make it onto the 2024 Holiday Gift Guide.
If you are looking to level up your weekender game, Bill was kind enough to provide a discount code: “RAMBULL20” for 20% off. (IG)
Great recommendations! Completely agree on Joseph Campbell. I found his books at a time in my life where I really needed direction, and he helped me rethink a lot of old and no longer useful paradigms.