THE SHOW
Anne-Laure Le Cunff, founder of Ness Labs and author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World, joins Lisa to reveal her unconventional career journey from Google engineer to startup founder to neuroscience student to successful entrepreneur with Ness Labs. Growing up outside Paris with parents who prioritized financial security, she landed a dream job at Google with the status and paycheck that signaled success. But she soon realized that the ladder she was climbing was leaning against the wrong wall.
After starting a company and shutting it down, she was forced to confront what she wanted rather than what others expected. This led her to school to study neuroscience – her childhood passion for understanding how the brain works. What began as a personal newsletter to solidify her learning accidentally became a thriving business with readers around the world.
This conversation explores cognitive scripts that keep us stuck, the importance of experimentation over rigid goal-setting, navigating uncertainty, and designing a life aligned with internal rather than just external metrics of success. Anne-Laure shares insights on managing different types of burnout, the psychology of major transitions, and how she uses tools like journaling and AI to support her work and decision-making.
Behind Her Brilliance: Curiosity
Say hi to Anne-Laure on X/Twitter: @neuranne
THE GUEST
ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF | FOUNDER, NESS LABS + AUTHOR, TINY EXPERIMENTS
Anne-Laure Le Cunff is an award-winning neuroscientist and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Ness Labs, where her weekly newsletter is read by more than 100,000 curious minds. Her research at King’s College London focuses on the psychology and neuroscience of lifelong learning, curiosity, and adaptability. Her first book, Tiny Experiments, is a transformative guide for living a more experimental life and turning uncertainty into curiosity. Previously, she worked at Google as an executive on digital health projects. Her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Financial Times, WIRED, and more.
TOPICS COVERED
- Breaking free from cognitive scripts
- The problem with traditional goal-setting
- Building an experimental mindset
- Why “feeling lost” is the price we pay for having freedom
- Career transitions and identity beyond job titles
- Navigating impostor syndrome
- Burnout (including when you love your work!)
- Redefining success using internal vs. external criteria
- Managing time and energy without a corporate structure
- Redefining the relationship between time, money, and personal values
- Building a business organically and leveraging momentum
- Using AI as a creative thinking partner
- Growing up with multicultural influences
- Examining default coping mechanisms like alcohol (and Anne-Laure’s journey to sobriety)
- Letting curiosity lead personal and professional decisions
- And much more!
STUFF MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Anne-Laure LeCunff
- Ness Labs
- Tiny Experiments – Anne-Laure’s book
- It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
- Buffer buying back company from investors
- Philosophy of Mind by David Chalmers – Anne Laure’s book pick
