Josh Wolfe

Josh is a Co-Founder & Managing Director of VC fund Lux Capital, in NYC and Palo Alto investing in people, inventing the future. Josh focuses on contrarian investments in emerging technology.

On his morning routine.

I usually wake up between 6:30 and 7 AM. I wish I could say it was my alarm clock or natural biology, but it’s almost always my youngest kid. 

Coffee is the first thing in the day for me. It’s my driving force. I kick the day off with one or two cups of espresso right out of the machine. Overall I’m probably drinking anywhere from 4 to 10 cups of coffee a day.

Coffee and chocolate are my two stimulant addictions.

On work ethic and stamina.

The quarterly letters that I write are definitely fueled by a mix of my two favorite stimulants: caffeine and chocolate!

But I think my stamina stems from the fact that what I do doesn’t seem like “work” to me. I have this innate competitive thrust that forces me to be intellectually rigorous. A lot of it’s probably rooted in insecurity, stemming from people who doubted me in the past.

I always come back to this line: Chips on shoulders put chips in pockets.

I definitely have something to prove, and for me, it’s about being able to talk to anybody who I respect in any field about whatever they do.

When I was younger, a famous scientist gave me some great advice: Avoid boring people. It was a subtle double entendre which basically meant not being boring to people and avoid people who are not interesting.

I’ve always sought to be interesting, and that innately comes from being interested. If you're interested in a lot of things, you can connect things between different disciplines with ease. It's just intellectually stimulating. 

I’m obsessed with reading and forming ideas and going down rabbit holes.

On information flows.

I usually read or listen to the morning paper while sitting with my kids. I actively try to consume as much information as I can, mostly out of the self-imposed information anxiety I have. 

I read the paper versions because they contain meta-information that I feel a lot of people miss out on. I like to consume information surrounding things that are weighted low by an editor but might have a high signal. 

If there’s an article that’s non-obvious or somewhat contrarian, I’ll take a quick screenshot so I can go back to it. I carve out time throughout the day to try and read as much as possible. 

I’m pretty voracious on Twitter too. 

It’s usually some combination of output and input. My input is a curated list that ranges from global macro to sophisticated capital markets to complex science and beyond. Then, it’s just a flurry of emails, board decks, and calls from CEOs and colleagues.

It’s a never-ending flood of information that I’m constantly trying to prioritize.

On productivity tools.

I used to pride myself on being an early adopter to every productivity tool, be it Evernote or Notion.

But, what I came to find is that a simple pen and paper usually suffice. 

I highlight books, take notes in the margins, and have always admired those who keep a daily diary because they can look back a decade later and see what they were thinking or feeling. 

There’s no systemic way for me to remember where I read what I read.

It’s an amalgamation of weird sources that build up my base of knowledge and allow me to have educated opinions on a variety of different topics.

On biohacking and health.

I played around with adaptogens and nootropics for a bit but had a really bad experience with them psychologically.

I went to this Bulletproof coffee shop in downtown Tribeca and had their usual coffee, which had butter, fats, and B-vitamins. 

I typically drink my coffee straight black, so it was a nice change to get some sweet tasting coffee. But as I was leaving I saw some rings labeled “grounding bracelets” that supposedly “ground” you to the Earth. It’s utter nonsense. 

That experience turned me off to the new wave biohacking movement. 

I have friends who are obsessed with sleep, but there are really only a handful of things you need to get a good night’s sleep.

Our collective obsession with devices, quantified bracelets, rings, and beds are all a bit overkill and aren’t necessary to live a good, healthy life. 

All that really matters for your health is where you live, what your job is, and who your partner is. 

The meaning you get from relationships and how that develops your sense of self-worth is a big part of living a simple and enjoyable life.

On variable training.

During quarantine, my workouts usually land in the late morning. 

Pre-COVID, they would have been around 6 in the evening, varying between basketball once or twice a week, boxing twice a week, and yoga and pilates once a week. Sometimes, I’d switch it up and hit Equinox two or three mornings a week and read the paper while riding a bike.

On his evening routine.

I find that I’m most productive between 10 PM and 1 AM, considering my wife is asleep and I tend to be motivated by the fact that other people are sleeping while I’m still learning something. 

Because I’m up late at night, I don’t have any rules surrounding screen time. The only filter that I have is the nightlight setting on my phone, but I have no idea if that actually helps. 

I really don’t have any trouble falling asleep.

My eyes will literally start to drift while I’m reading an article or watching something, and that’s my cue to put down the headphones, put down the phone, turn on a white noise machine, and doze off.