Introducing ABSRRD (@itsabsrrd) - my apparel, merch, and personal care arm of my nonsensical work. More on this in 2026.

School didn't know what to do with dyslexic kids back then. He looked around thinking: "I'm just not good at math." That room is where he made a decision that would lead to: - Directing Radiohead - Running creative for Red Bull at 23 - And now building open AI infrastructure. Here's what happened 👇 @jessebryan grew up on an army base. Dad was NSA. Gone constantly. Movies became his escape. "You can interact with a family without having to be there." He spent hours reverse-engineering stories like puzzles, trying to figure out why they worked. Dyslexic kids were an anomaly back then. So they put him in special ed confused as to what was wrong with him. Sitting in that room, he made a promise to himself: "I have to get so good at something. There's no outro." No connections. No experience. Just a college freshman who met a video director for Radiohead and Sublime at a concert. His pitch? "I'll move boxes. Help load in, load out. I just want to be around." Then one of the director's filmmakers didn't show up. Jesse got handed a camera. Payment: 5 drink tickets. End of the night: "You can shoot for me whenever you want." Jesse's response: "I'll see you tomorrow." 4 shows later, he was directing. The X-Men producer told him something he never forgot: "The only thing you want from powerful people is wisdom. Don't ask for anything else." No scripts to read. No investment asks. No intros. Just: help me understand. His mentor hack? "Target retired people. They're badasses. So f**king smart. And the world throws them away once they hit 60." He flies to New Mexico just to have dinner with a woman who ran Citibank. The wisdom is just sitting there. Nobody's asking. His pitch to every client? "I believe the truth is enough. You can tell the truth and make money." His closing rate? Insane. His clients? Became lifelong friends. His results? Campaign of the year. Now he's building @thinkagents: open source AI you run locally. Own your data. Pick your own values. 6 companies incubating. Multiple more being built in community. Why? "If we don't get to custody our own data... we end up in the weirdest dystopian future. Your next ideology brought to you by Samsung." His answer: "The only way to compete with the powerful few is organizing the many." 20 years after that special ed classroom, here's what he knows: "When I was younger, I thought I was stupid. Now I know I'm not. I don't even flinch anymore." The truth was always there. He just had to get so good at finding it that nobody could ignore him. This is one of the podcasts of the year. Don't miss it. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0ix… Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas… If you're a founder ready to tell your human story. Send me a DM ASAP for an intro call. Let's grow together.