Essays - Benedict...
Competing in search
A quarter century after 'don't be evil', a judge has found that Google is
abusing its monopoly in...
4 months ago
A quarter century after 'don't be evil', a judge has found that Google is
abusing its monopoly in search. But no-one knows what happens next, and
whether this ruling will change anything. Will Apple build a search engine?
Will ChatGPT change search? Does it matter?
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Pivoting
My Hunch cofounders and I frequently ask ourselves: “If we were to start over today, would we build...
over a year ago
My Hunch cofounders and I frequently ask ourselves: “If we were to start over today, would we build our product the same way we had so far…
Tom Blomfield
Making something people want - The GoCardless story
I’m a co-founder of GoCardless, a direct debit payments company in London. This is the story of our...
over a year ago
I’m a co-founder of GoCardless, a direct debit payments company in London. This is the story of our first two years and the people we’ve met along the way.
Making something no-one wants
One startup I know very well in San Francisco was started by 3 ex-financiers. Their idea...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The myth of the overnight success
Angry Birds was Rovio’s 52nd game. They spent eight years and almost went bankrupt before finally...
over a year ago
Angry Birds was Rovio’s 52nd game. They spent eight years and almost went bankrupt before finally creating their massive hit. Pinterest is…
Paul Graham: Essays
The Four Quadrants of Conformism
over a year ago
Noahpinion
The danger of another American civil war is low
Re-upping some arguments I've made before.
a year ago
Re-upping some arguments I've made before.
Stephen Diehl
Currency in the Age of Digitization
over a year ago
Paul Graham: Essays
Do Things that Don't Scale
over a year ago
AVC
Art On The Wall
I’ve written about this topic a bunch over the years. It is something I’ve been interested in for...
a year ago
I’ve written about this topic a bunch over the years. It is something I’ve been interested in for quite a while. Our homes are filled with big hunks of plastic hanging on the wall that are off most of the time. They look like this: Now that’s a lovely scene. Some nice plants. A...
Blog posts of...
Drafting your first investment round.
The topic of investing is omnipresent in our startup world. Sooner or later most startup founders...
over a year ago
The topic of investing is omnipresent in our startup world. Sooner or later most startup founders look for external funding. And i...
Noahpinion
Why it's so hard to fix the information ecosystem
Misinformation is a job; correcting misinformation is a hobby.
a year ago
Misinformation is a job; correcting misinformation is a hobby.
Rest of World -...
Can someone please make an iPhone-theft thriller already?
Forget the Apple store heist in Seattle; South Asia has a pretty riveting script on cross-border...
a year ago
Forget the Apple store heist in Seattle; South Asia has a pretty riveting script on cross-border smartphone theft waiting to be written.
Rest of World -...
The Genius Bar in a country where iPhones can’t legally be sold
In the land of the U.S. embargo, Cuba’s Apple technicians are kings.
a year ago
In the land of the U.S. embargo, Cuba’s Apple technicians are kings.
Noahpinion
America's supply chains are a disaster waiting to happen
A guest post by Yann Calvó López and Ben Golub.
2 months ago
A guest post by Yann Calvó López and Ben Golub.
Business Brainstorms
Hiring a geo-guesser, change merchants, one distribution channel is all it takes
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write...
a year ago
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write this email to share the most interesting trends, frameworks, opportunities, and ideas with you. Let's dive in! 💡 Opportunities “request for service: roast my onboarding for SaaS...
Dustin Curtis
The 16-inch MacBook Pro: A Faster Horse
From Apple’s announcement of the 16-Inch MacBook Pro a couple of weeks ago:
“Our pro customers tell...
over a year ago
From Apple’s announcement of the 16-Inch MacBook Pro a couple of weeks ago:
“Our pro customers tell us they want their next MacBook Pro to have a larger display, blazing-fast performance, the biggest battery possible, the best notebook keyboard ever, awesome speakers and massive...
Paul Graham: Essays
Why Smart People Have Bad Ideas
over a year ago
cdixon.org RSS Feed
"A standard protocol for machines to negotiate bitcoin payments for resources"
Great idea from Brian Armstrong of Coinbase: 1/ Seems like there should be a standard protocol for...
over a year ago
Great idea from Brian Armstrong of Coinbase: 1/ Seems like there should be a standard protocol for machines to negotiate bitcoin payments…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Lessons from the PC video game industry
The future of media is here — it’s just not evenly distributed The success or failure of tech and...
over a year ago
The future of media is here — it’s just not evenly distributed The success or failure of tech and media products depends on complicated…
Tech + Economics +...
There is only one form of passive income worth celebrating. It’s a UBI.
The romanticised notion of passive income typically conjures up picturesque
images of digital...
a year ago
The romanticised notion of passive income typically conjures up picturesque
images of digital nomads lounging on immaculate beaches, their bank
accounts growing with the profits from their latest online course on
becoming a digital nomad.
Dividends from investments in...
Noahpinion
Sizing up the New Axis
A timely repost.
8 months ago
Noahpinion
Why skilled immigration (usually) benefits both countries
When to worry about brain drain, and when not to worry.
a year ago
When to worry about brain drain, and when not to worry.
Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
#1 💡 Action produces information. Just keep doing stuff. Trying to solve the issue by thinking...
10 months ago
#1 💡 Action produces information. Just keep doing stuff. Trying to solve the issue by thinking about it only makes it worse. Don't stop. Trust the process. Eventually the right opportunity will appear right in front of you and the choice will be crystal clear.
AVC
What Will Happen In 2023
I want to focus this post on the macro environment for tech, startups, web3, and climate because...
a year ago
I want to focus this post on the macro environment for tech, startups, web3, and climate because that is where my head is at right now. I believe that sometime in the first half of 2023, the central banks around the world will start backing off the tightening that they have been...
Noahpinion
Interview: Heather Boushey, economist and member of the Council of Economic Advisers
In which we talk all about Bidenomics.
a year ago
In which we talk all about Bidenomics.
Steve Blank
Is a $100 Million Enough?
Capitalism has been good to me. After serving in the military during Vietnam, I came home and had a...
9 months ago
Capitalism has been good to me. After serving in the military during Vietnam, I came home and had a career in eight startups. I got to retire when I was 45. Over the last quarter century, in my third career, I helped create the methods entrepreneurs use to build new startups,...
Essays - Benedict...
The FTC versus tech M&A
The US is fundamentally rethinking its approach to regulating competition,
and M&A, and tech, and...
over a year ago
The US is fundamentally rethinking its approach to regulating competition,
and M&A, and tech, and big tech buying startups. The FTC’s attempt to block
Meta from buying Within is a test case for all of this. So, how many
interesting problems can we count?
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Some thoughts on when to raise money, and the current financing environment
A key question for founders is when they should try to raise money. More specifically, they often...
over a year ago
A key question for founders is when they should try to raise money. More specifically, they often wonder whether to raise money now or wait…
Rest of World -...
Casualties of the Chip War
The biggest threat to Nvidia isn’t coming from China
a year ago
The biggest threat to Nvidia isn’t coming from China
Rest of World -...
What comes after big data?
A new push to carve data collection out of the humanitarian tech stack.
10 months ago
A new push to carve data collection out of the humanitarian tech stack.
SatPost by Trung...
Beware value capture
Tech apps influence our behaviour through metrics. Don't follow them blindly.
11 months ago
Tech apps influence our behaviour through metrics. Don't follow them blindly.
Noahpinion
The Democrats are a strong party, the Republicans are a weak party
It's Boss Tweed vs. Boss Tweet.
2 months ago
It's Boss Tweed vs. Boss Tweet.
XO Capital - Field...
How to 10x an acquisition
I'm going to break down how we more than 10x-ed ScreenshotAPI and why this acquisition worked when...
3 months ago
I'm going to break down how we more than 10x-ed ScreenshotAPI and why this acquisition worked when others didn't. Not everything here is generalizable, but I'll pull out what worked well from our first interactions with the seller to the deal closing a few
Rest of World -...
Rest of World’s 2024 reading guide
Global tech leaders share 12 books to add to your must-read pile.
6 months ago
Global tech leaders share 12 books to add to your must-read pile.
Aaron's Essays
Fooled by experts
Experts are generally right until they're wrong. Unfortunately, it's very easy to get fooled into...
over a year ago
Experts are generally right until they're wrong. Unfortunately, it's very easy to get fooled into thinking that experts are always right. This is because they are...experts. They are authoritative and knowledgeable. This is especially true when it comes to trying new things in...
Noahpinion
Secrets of Japanese urbanism (part 2)
A review of "Emergent Tokyo", by Jorge Almazan and Studiolab
9 months ago
A review of "Emergent Tokyo", by Jorge Almazan and Studiolab
Platformer
Inside Discord’s reform movement for banned users
Most platforms ban their trolls forever. Discord wants to rehabilitate them
a year ago
Most platforms ban their trolls forever. Discord wants to rehabilitate them
haseeb qureshi
What explains the rise of AMMs?
Imagine a college friend reached out to you and said, “Hey, I have a business idea. I’m going to run...
over a year ago
Imagine a college friend reached out to you and said, “Hey, I have a business idea. I’m going to run a market making bot. I’ll always quote a price no matter who’s asking, and for my pricing algorithm I’ll use x * y = k. That’s pretty much it. Want to invest?”
You’d run...
Working Theorys
The Taste Discount
Everything is easier when tastes align.
8 months ago
Everything is easier when tastes align.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Are We Watching The Internet Die?
Sometime this month, Reddit will go public at a valuation of $6.5bn. Select Redditors were offered...
9 months ago
Sometime this month, Reddit will go public at a valuation of $6.5bn. Select Redditors were offered the chance to buy stock at the initial listing price, which it hasn’t announced yet but is expected to be in the range of $31-34 per share. Regardless of the actual
Internal Tech Emails
Travis Kalanick on Google
A meeting with Larry could calm this down if it's not true but he has been avoiding any meeting with...
a year ago
A meeting with Larry could calm this down if it's not true but he has been avoiding any meeting with me since last fall.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The new economy
According to the Business Insider, Facebook is “‘Beating The S— Out Of Its Numbers’ Thanks To...
over a year ago
According to the Business Insider, Facebook is “‘Beating The S— Out Of Its Numbers’ Thanks To Zynga’s Virtual Goods.” I wanted to try to…
Blog posts of...
🇮🇳 India in 2024
In February I made my first business trip to India. Three weeks deep in the Indian tech ecosystem....
8 months ago
In February I made my first business trip to India. Three weeks deep in the Indian tech ecosystem. My summary is simple: I feel like the world needs an update how we view India
Nadia Asparouhova
The New American University
I had the pleasure of stumbling upon the work of Michael Crow, Arizona State University’s president,...
over a year ago
I had the pleasure of stumbling upon the work of Michael Crow, Arizona State University’s president, earlier this year, and I so enjoyed his thoughts on knowledge production that I immediately wondered how his philosophy would translate to ASU as an organization. Turns out,...
Rest of World -...
Self-checkout is putting elderly grocery baggers out of work in Mexico
Volunteer packers at stores like Walmart say they’re receiving 50% fewer tips than before the...
a year ago
Volunteer packers at stores like Walmart say they’re receiving 50% fewer tips than before the pandemic.
Working Theorys
The Time-Boxed Startup
What if startups had an expiration date?
9 months ago
What if startups had an expiration date?
Noahpinion
Insurance companies aren't the main villain of the U.S. health system
It's mostly the providers overcharging you, not the middlemen.
a week ago
It's mostly the providers overcharging you, not the middlemen.
Noahpinion
Do poor countries need a new development strategy?
Bangladesh and Southeast Asia are defying the economists who say industrialization is dead.
10 months ago
Bangladesh and Southeast Asia are defying the economists who say industrialization is dead.
Rest of World -...
Four predictions for 2024
It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
a year ago
It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Matt Stoller Explains Monopolies
The latest episode of my podcast Better Online is a conversation with Matt Stoller — America’s...
3 months ago
The latest episode of my podcast Better Online is a conversation with Matt Stoller — America’s leading voice on monopoly and antitrust matters, and a thoughtful and prolific writer. You can find Matt on Twitter here, and his newsletter here.
It was a timely conversation. At the
SatPost by Trung...
Who Will Run Berkshire After Buffett?
PLUS: Group Chat Rules, 5 Banks in Disguise, Chipotle's Memo.
6 months ago
PLUS: Group Chat Rules, 5 Banks in Disguise, Chipotle's Memo.
Noahpinion
Refusing to teach kids math will not improve equity
We have public schools for a reason.
a year ago
We have public schools for a reason.
Internal Tech Emails
Samsung vs. iPhone | Elon Musk's schedule
Steve Job's passing has led to a huge wave of press coverage of Apple's and iPhone's "superiority",...
over a year ago
Steve Job's passing has led to a huge wave of press coverage of Apple's and iPhone's "superiority", all created by the, "passionate, tireless, perfectionist..." The point here is that there is an unintended benefit for Apple, since the external messages by 3rd parties are all...
Devmoh
Why did Meta open-source Llama 2?
Meta seems to be all in on open-source AI. They released Llama 2, which features some impressive...
a year ago
Meta seems to be all in on open-source AI. They released Llama 2, which features some impressive benchmarks compared to other open source language models. Why does Meta keep releasing open-source models? What is their incentive? To attract and retain top AI talent.
Unpacked
Tech's Pledge To Fight AI Election Interference & Twillio’s woes with Segment | EP 6
Last week, 20 tech companies across Big Tech, social networks and AI providers signed a voluntary...
10 months ago
Last week, 20 tech companies across Big Tech, social networks and AI providers signed a voluntary pledge to fight election interference from AI-generated content going through 2024. We dive into the timing of the announcement (2024 is a big election year across the globe), some...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Founder vesting
The most important term in a startup term sheet that no one seems to think carefully about is...
over a year ago
The most important term in a startup term sheet that no one seems to think carefully about is founder vesting. There are two key points…
Rest of World -...
Uber’s largest vehicle financing partner is an African startup with global ambitions
From India to the U.K., UAE, and Thailand, Nigeria-founded Moove is chasing profitability.
8 months ago
From India to the U.K., UAE, and Thailand, Nigeria-founded Moove is chasing profitability.
Rest of World -...
How Zimbabwe’s biggest fast-food company became a popular fintech solution
Innbucks started as an app to receive loose change at some restaurants. Now, it’s a licensed...
a year ago
Innbucks started as an app to receive loose change at some restaurants. Now, it’s a licensed microfinance institution.
Noahpinion
Five big trends that have changed in the last few years
In which I pay attention to the world so you don't have to.
a year ago
In which I pay attention to the world so you don't have to.
David Perell
Should You Write Every Day?
When I started working out, I hated it. I wanted to gain muscle but dreaded working out. Eventually,...
over a year ago
When I started working out, I hated it. I wanted to gain muscle but dreaded working out. Eventually, a friend got fed up with my laziness and told me what I needed to hear: “If you want to build the habit, go to the gym every single day without fail.” So that’s what I did.
The...
Noahpinion
Heat pumps, heat pumps, heat pumps!!
A simple but incredibly useful machine is quietly transforming our buildings.
a year ago
A simple but incredibly useful machine is quietly transforming our buildings.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
We asked for flying cars and all we got was the entire planet communicating instantly via pocket...
Benedict Evans has a new presentation about the explosive growth of internet-connected smartphones....
over a year ago
Benedict Evans has a new presentation about the explosive growth of internet-connected smartphones. By 2020, 80% of adults on earth will…
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things for the middle of your week (#40)
Europe's Greens; jobs and the Great Replacement; tariffs and development; rent control; service...
6 months ago
Europe's Greens; jobs and the Great Replacement; tariffs and development; rent control; service costs
Noahpinion
Industrial policy doesn't have to succeed right away
Progressive approaches need to fail before they can change.
a year ago
Progressive approaches need to fail before they can change.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
The Descent of Elon Musk
Money can't buy happiness, but it can get you pretty damn close. As the second richest man alive, ...
8 months ago
Money can't buy happiness, but it can get you pretty damn close. As the second richest man alive, Elon Musk should be rolling electric coal down Rodeo Drive in a cybertruck, smugly aware of the fact that, despite what the haters say, he's kind of
Noahpinion
How not to be fooled by viral charts
Part 1: How to spot misinformation, mistakes, and meaningless data
a year ago
Part 1: How to spot misinformation, mistakes, and meaningless data
Ed Zitron's Where's...
The Other Bubble
Buried in the 8000 words I wrote last week was a worrying story — that Microsoft considered drastic...
2 months ago
Buried in the 8000 words I wrote last week was a worrying story — that Microsoft considered drastic measures to free up capacity in its US-based servers for GPUs to power the AI boom.
In an email shared with me by a source from earlier this year, Microsoft'
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Instrumenting the offline world
In the last decade there have been major advances in storing, analyzing, and acting upon extremely...
over a year ago
In the last decade there have been major advances in storing, analyzing, and acting upon extremely large data sets. Data sets that were…
Aaron's Essays
Conflicted Capital
I’ve spent a long time wrestling with how to advise founders about investors and the conflicts of...
over a year ago
I’ve spent a long time wrestling with how to advise founders about investors and the conflicts of interest generated by opposing incentives.[1] These considerations are especially important when a founder thinks about fundraising. The founder needs to figure out how to treat...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
App store shenanigans
I’ve downloaded and tested a few hundred iPhone and iPad apps. One thing that I’ve noticed is that...
over a year ago
I’ve downloaded and tested a few hundred iPhone and iPad apps. One thing that I’ve noticed is that many of the top rated and ranked apps…
Tech + Economics +...
Another 3 men raise another few million
From Relevance AI (emphasis mine)
We're thrilled to announce our USD$10M raise by leading...
a year ago
From Relevance AI (emphasis mine)
We're thrilled to announce our USD$10M raise by leading investors from
around the world including King River Capital, Peak XV Partners,
Insight Partners and Galileo Ventures supporting Relevance’s mission to
enable any...
Rest of World -...
The apps were designed for home security. They’re being used to watch and harass domestic workers
Tiger Global-backed MyGate and Google-backed NoBrokerHood are digitizing social biases.
a year ago
Tiger Global-backed MyGate and Google-backed NoBrokerHood are digitizing social biases.
Stephen Diehl
Cooking Classes with Datatype Generic Programming
over a year ago
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Introducing: Better Offline
Episodes 1 and 2 Out Now
Hello everybody! A short newsletter today to announce the launch of my new...
10 months ago
Episodes 1 and 2 Out Now
Hello everybody! A short newsletter today to announce the launch of my new podcast Better Offline - my new tech show from iHeartRadio and Cool Zone Media.
It's a weekly exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society -
Internal Tech Emails
Bill Gates: "The quality is giving us a bad name"
I don’t know how unique I am but my experience in clicking on streaming media stuff and seeing if it...
8 months ago
I don’t know how unique I am but my experience in clicking on streaming media stuff and seeing if it works is still less than 50%.
Rest of World -...
How Apple’s India gamble paid off
India’s growing middle class is fueling a billion-dollar sales surge.
5 months ago
India’s growing middle class is fueling a billion-dollar sales surge.
Noahpinion
China's demographics will be fine through mid-century
There is no imminent crisis.
6 months ago
There is no imminent crisis.
David Perell
The Stupid Test
Whenever you're trying to solve a problem, ask yourself: "What answer am I missing because it seems...
over a year ago
Whenever you're trying to solve a problem, ask yourself: "What answer am I missing because it seems too stupid?"
The post The Stupid Test appeared first on David Perell.
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things: The new conservative era (#53)
Conservative poll shift; Democratic machine politics; science and politics; some good news; better...
3 weeks ago
Conservative poll shift; Democratic machine politics; science and politics; some good news; better teachers; the AI slowdown; consumer confidence
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Timing your startup
I never had the opportunity to invest in YouTube but I have to admit that if I did I probably would...
over a year ago
I never had the opportunity to invest in YouTube but I have to admit that if I did I probably would have passed (which of course would have…
SatPost by Trung...
MicroStrategy's $37B+ Bitcoin Bet
How Michael Saylor turned a B2B software company into one of the world's largest owners of Bitcoin.
3 weeks ago
How Michael Saylor turned a B2B software company into one of the world's largest owners of Bitcoin.
Steve Blank
The Venture Mindset – Worth A Read
Ilya Strebulaev at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Director of the Stanford Venture...
7 months ago
Ilya Strebulaev at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Director of the Stanford Venture Capital Initiative just came out with a book that should be on your reading list – The Venture Mindset. The books premise is that Venture Capitalists (who were responsible for the...
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things for your weekend (#26)
The U.S. economy, U.S. energy, Millennial wealth, medical administrators, and standardized tests
11 months ago
The U.S. economy, U.S. energy, Millennial wealth, medical administrators, and standardized tests
Roberto Vitillo's...
I am back
It's been three years since my last post on my old Wordpress blog! You can still find my earlier...
over a year ago
It's been three years since my last post on my old Wordpress blog! You can still find my earlier posts there as I was too lazy to move…
Platformer
Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first
After his Super Bowl tweet did worse numbers than President Biden’s, Twitter’s CEO ordered major...
a year ago
After his Super Bowl tweet did worse numbers than President Biden’s, Twitter’s CEO ordered major changes to the algorithm
Rest of World -...
What we learned in a year of reporting on labor and technology
Rest of World’s four Labor x Tech fellows reflect on their year reporting about the global tech...
7 months ago
Rest of World’s four Labor x Tech fellows reflect on their year reporting about the global tech industry’s impact on its workers.
Rest of World -...
Nigeria’s currency devaluation is a disaster for startups
“So many businesses will die. It’s not a matter of if but when.”
a year ago
“So many businesses will die. It’s not a matter of if but when.”
SatPost by Trung...
Best of SatPost (First Half of 2024)
PLUS: Solar Industry, LVMH Real Estate, Delta Airlines is Winning.
5 months ago
PLUS: Solar Industry, LVMH Real Estate, Delta Airlines is Winning.
Noahpinion
What just happened in San Francisco politics?
A guest post by Armand Domalewski
9 months ago
A guest post by Armand Domalewski
Noahpinion
In which British writers scold America on trade
If you don't acknowledge the point of tariffs, how can you hope to criticize them?
7 months ago
If you don't acknowledge the point of tariffs, how can you hope to criticize them?
Steve Blank
Reorganizing the DoD to Deter China and Win in the Ukraine – A Road Map for Congress
This article previously appeared in Defense News. It was co-written with Joe Felter, and Pete...
a year ago
This article previously appeared in Defense News. It was co-written with Joe Felter, and Pete Newell. Today, the U.S. is supporting a proxy war with Russia while simultaneously attempting to deter a China cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. Both are wakeup calls that victory and...
Working Theorys
Taste is Eating Silicon Valley.
Just as software ate the world and dramatically transformed industries in the last era, taste is now...
3 months ago
Just as software ate the world and dramatically transformed industries in the last era, taste is now eating software—and with it, Silicon Valley.
Rest of World -...
The phrase that ruled the Indian internet in 2023
Looking like a wow.
a year ago
Paul Graham: Essays
What Business Can Learn from Open Source
over a year ago
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Graphs
It has become customary to use “graph” to refer to the underlying data structures at social networks...
over a year ago
It has become customary to use “graph” to refer to the underlying data structures at social networks like Facebook. (Computer scientists…
David Perell
How Learning Happens
From music, we learn what humanity has always known but schools have forgotten: learning begins with...
over a year ago
From music, we learn what humanity has always known but schools have forgotten: learning begins with inspiration.
The post How Learning Happens appeared first on David Perell.
Tech + Economics +...
Why are we so obsessed with the multiverse?
Why are we so drawn to the idea of multiple realities? More than a trend,
it seems to come from a...
a year ago
Why are we so drawn to the idea of multiple realities? More than a trend,
it seems to come from a deep emptiness within us—a longing for a place
where our world's limits don't exist, where anything is possible. From the
alternate timelines and worlds of Scott Pilgrim Takes...
Essays - Benedict...
Remaking the app store
The EU has finally made Apple redesign the App Store, 15 years after we
started arguing about it,...
10 months ago
The EU has finally made Apple redesign the App Store, 15 years after we
started arguing about it, and no-one is happy with the result. In the next
few years there’ll be a lot of shouting and some giant fines, but in the
end, nothing much will change.
Internal Tech Emails
Instagram cofounder on Mark Zuckerberg
will he go into destroy mode if I say no
a year ago
will he go into destroy mode if I say no
AVC
The Cleanse
I’ve never done a cleanse. But many of my friends and family members have done them. There are...
a year ago
I’ve never done a cleanse. But many of my friends and family members have done them. There are various flavors of cleanses but the basic idea is you cut back your consumption of food and drink and replace it with mostly liquid nutrition for anywhere from a day to a month. I...
Rest of World -...
Why African startups must invest in tech policy conversations
Oswald Osaretin Guobadia discusses the biggest challenge startups face when dealing with government...
a year ago
Oswald Osaretin Guobadia discusses the biggest challenge startups face when dealing with government policies and regulators.
Tech + Economics +...
Breaking up with Slack and Discord: why it's time to bring back forums.
When I first found my people online, forums were the main way people
gathered to discuss shared...
11 months ago
When I first found my people online, forums were the main way people
gathered to discuss shared interests. Web-based bulletin boards allowed
members to have ongoing, asynchronous conversations over days or weeks as
participants logged in to read and respond on their own...
Rest of World -...
This renewable energy startup helps companies decarbonize across the Pacific
Bor Hung Chong from Nefin Group discusses green energy solutions beyond solar panels.
a year ago
Bor Hung Chong from Nefin Group discusses green energy solutions beyond solar panels.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
You Can't Make Friends With The Rockstars
You cannot make friends with the rock stars...if you're going to be a true journalist, you know, a...
2 months ago
You cannot make friends with the rock stars...if you're going to be a true journalist, you know, a rock journalist. First, you never get paid much, but you will get free records from the record company.
[There’s] fuckin’ nothin' about you that is
Rest of World -...
The Book of Unexpected
Make way for the robot elephants: Technology is providing surprising updates to long-standing...
2 months ago
Make way for the robot elephants: Technology is providing surprising updates to long-standing traditions.
Working Theorys
Unbundling Cash & Equity | Theory No. 15
a heretical take on "total compensation"
a year ago
a heretical take on "total compensation"
SatPost by Trung...
The Tale of Two Phones
Notes on trying to break my smartphone addiction: by having a "Cocaine Phone" and a "Kale Phone".
a year ago
Notes on trying to break my smartphone addiction: by having a "Cocaine Phone" and a "Kale Phone".
Platformer
TikTok nears the endgame
Breaking off TikTok from ByteDance might be the right thing to do — but it will come at a high cost....
a year ago
Breaking off TikTok from ByteDance might be the right thing to do — but it will come at a high cost. PLUS: How Twitter keeps competitors off its For You page
Internal Tech Emails
Microsoft's gaming strategy
we are exactly like Polaroid. We are core gaming which isn't growing its TAM (analogous to film...
a year ago
we are exactly like Polaroid. We are core gaming which isn't growing its TAM (analogous to film photographers) while mobile gaming MAU is growing WW at a significant rate (like digital photography was growing).
Noahpinion
The death (again) of the internet as we know it
A few big changes are making the online world a more boring place to hang out.
7 months ago
A few big changes are making the online world a more boring place to hang out.
Working Theorys
The "High Potential" Handicap | Theory No. 20
"Smart" kids are always praised for their high potential. They’re deemed inherently capable of so...
a year ago
"Smart" kids are always praised for their high potential. They’re deemed inherently capable of so much, largely because of their natural talents. They can do anything they want, if they just try.
Noahpinion
Who's "weird"?
A campaign insult offers a window into American society in the 2020s.
4 months ago
A campaign insult offers a window into American society in the 2020s.
Roberto Vitillo's...
Leader election best practices
Sometimes a single process in a system needs to have special powers, like being the only one that...
over a year ago
Sometimes a single process in a system needs to have special powers, like being the only one that can access a shared resource or assign…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The idea maze
The pop culture view of startups is that they’re all about coming up with a great product idea....
over a year ago
The pop culture view of startups is that they’re all about coming up with a great product idea. After the eureka moment, the outcome is…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Why the web economy will continue growing rapidly
Here’s the really good news for the web economy over the next decade. Consumers are spending more...
over a year ago
Here’s the really good news for the web economy over the next decade. Consumers are spending more and more time online, yet only about 1…
Stephen Diehl
FTX: Greed, Grift and Grandiosity
over a year ago
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things for the end of your week (#16)
Michael Lewis and SBF, how to win Cold War 2, American manufacturing, Target and shoplifting, and...
a year ago
Michael Lewis and SBF, how to win Cold War 2, American manufacturing, Target and shoplifting, and yet more on housing supply
Nothing Human
Metrics, Cowardice, and Mistrust
why we need better ideologies than "data driven decision making"
a year ago
why we need better ideologies than "data driven decision making"
Tom Blomfield
Startup Series Part 1: Interviewing Engineers
There’s been a huge volume of literature written on the subject of startup methodologies and...
over a year ago
There’s been a huge volume of literature written on the subject of startup methodologies and philosophies. This is a positive thing for the ecosystem - just as new software tools mean it’s simpler and cheaper to start a company, these methodologies allow first-time entrepreneurs...
SatPost by Trung...
Second Winds
Why are so many famous YouTubers quitting? A legendary essay by Václav Havel — a Czech playwright...
10 months ago
Why are so many famous YouTubers quitting? A legendary essay by Václav Havel — a Czech playwright and former President — helps to explain this trend.
Working Theorys
Companionship Content is King | Theory No. 29
Why short-form video has a ceiling & how companionship content escapes it.
10 months ago
Why short-form video has a ceiling & how companionship content escapes it.
Rest of World -...
A former fish farmer’s startup is flourishing during a tech downturn
Gibran Huzaifah’s eFishery made a case for tech companies solving rural issues.
a year ago
Gibran Huzaifah’s eFishery made a case for tech companies solving rural issues.
Steve Blank
Be Where Your Business Is
This post previously appeared on the readwrite blog. A CEO running a B-to-B startup in needs to...
a year ago
This post previously appeared on the readwrite blog. A CEO running a B-to-B startup in needs to live in the city where their business is – or else they’ll never scale. I was having breakfast with Erin, an ex-student, just off a red-eye flight from New York. She’s built a...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Facebook, Zynga, and buyer-supplier hold up
The brewing fight between Facebook and Zynga is what is known in economic strategy circles as...
over a year ago
The brewing fight between Facebook and Zynga is what is known in economic strategy circles as “buyer-supplier hold up.” The classic…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Incubators
It seems like every successful entrepreneur I know at one point or another kicks around the idea of...
over a year ago
It seems like every successful entrepreneur I know at one point or another kicks around the idea of creating an incubator. The appeal is the…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
How We Got To Now
I really enjoyed Steven Johnson's How We Got To Now. I read a lot of history and science books, but...
over a year ago
I really enjoyed Steven Johnson's How We Got To Now. I read a lot of history and science books, but this book stood out because 1) the…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The most important question to ask before taking seed money
There is a certain well respected venture capital firm (VC) that has a program for fledgling...
over a year ago
There is a certain well respected venture capital firm (VC) that has a program for fledgling entrepreneurs. The teams that are selected…
Rest of World -...
TikTok creators are being arrested for violating religious laws in Nigeria
Digital rights advocates say social media companies like TikTok have a responsibility to protect...
a year ago
Digital rights advocates say social media companies like TikTok have a responsibility to protect their users in these situations.
Rest of World -...
WhatsApp voice notes are revolutionizing farming in Senegal
For farmers in Senegal who struggle to read or write, sending voice notes has unlocked a new world...
a year ago
For farmers in Senegal who struggle to read or write, sending voice notes has unlocked a new world of collaboration across the industry.
Rest of World -...
Argentina’s “TikTok nun” is bringing Catholicism to the masses
Sister Cattaneo has gained 200,000 followers through cumbia dances, influencer collabs, and...
2 months ago
Sister Cattaneo has gained 200,000 followers through cumbia dances, influencer collabs, and preaching
SatPost by Trung...
Gordon Ramsay's Apprenticeship
The iconic chef said a top-tier mentor (Marco Pierre-White) taught him the value of learning high...
8 months ago
The iconic chef said a top-tier mentor (Marco Pierre-White) taught him the value of learning high standards and how to take the reins.
Business Brainstorms
Reference checks as a service, the need for more competition everywhere, GPT travel planning,...
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write...
a year ago
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write this email to share the most interesting trends, frameworks, opportunities, and ideas with you. Let's dive in! 💡 Opportunities “Business idea: Reference checks as a service. Do...
Paul Graham: Essays
The Real Reason to End the Death Penalty
over a year ago
Paul Graham: Essays
Default Alive or Default Dead?
over a year ago
Noahpinion
A pivotal moment for Japan's national defense
A guest post by Jonathan Grady
7 months ago
A guest post by Jonathan Grady
Aaron's Essays
Fundraising isn't predictable
I recently had a conversation with a founder who'd just finished a number of unsatisfying...
over a year ago
I recently had a conversation with a founder who'd just finished a number of unsatisfying conversations with investors. The founder's company was growing well, had crossed $1mm ARR, but still couldn't raise money. According to conventional wisdom, that should have been enough to...
Noahpinion
How did the U.S. achieve a soft landing?
Four simple theories.
a year ago
Platformer
How the attacks in Israel are changing Threads
Three months into its existence, the app’s purpose may be coming into focus — if Meta will embrace...
a year ago
Three months into its existence, the app’s purpose may be coming into focus — if Meta will embrace it
Rest of World -...
A U.S. outsourcing company brought lofty promises to Nepal. Then came the layoffs
Former employees say the company killed the dream it once sold them.
a year ago
Former employees say the company killed the dream it once sold them.
Rest of World -...
How China’s hottest social media app turned Düsseldorf into a foodie destination
The trendiest food city in Europe isn’t Paris or London. It’s Düsseldorf — thanks to Xiaohongshu.
a year ago
The trendiest food city in Europe isn’t Paris or London. It’s Düsseldorf — thanks to Xiaohongshu.
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things to start your week (#34)
Woke capital, university rigidity, social media toxicity, SUVs and pedestrians, and crime and...
8 months ago
Woke capital, university rigidity, social media toxicity, SUVs and pedestrians, and crime and urbanization
Raw Thought (from...
What are the optimal biases to overcome?
over a year ago
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Gadgets and Computers
From Benedict Evans’ Cars as Feature Phones: This is a common theme in many classes of device: you...
over a year ago
From Benedict Evans’ Cars as Feature Phones: This is a common theme in many classes of device: you start with a product that has a few…
Platformer
How two insurgents are taking on Twitter
Artifact's Kevin Systrom on the disruptive power of good comments. PLUS: Substack's naïveté around...
a year ago
Artifact's Kevin Systrom on the disruptive power of good comments. PLUS: Substack's naïveté around Notes
Internal Tech Emails
Travis Kalanick on self-driving | SBF and the Bahamas
Basically got to keep bezos, cook, musk, zuck, page on our minds
over a year ago
Basically got to keep bezos, cook, musk, zuck, page on our minds
SatPost by Trung...
Roger Ebert, MKBHD and the Job of a Critic
The best critics (or reviewers) educate, entertain and help us spend our time better.
8 months ago
The best critics (or reviewers) educate, entertain and help us spend our time better.
Noahpinion
Progressives need to embrace progress
Stasis won't lead to a prosperous or equitable society.
a year ago
Stasis won't lead to a prosperous or equitable society.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Expectations Versus Reality
A few months ago, OpenAI showed off “Sora,” a product that can generate videos based on a short...
7 months ago
A few months ago, OpenAI showed off “Sora,” a product that can generate videos based on a short prompt, much like ChatGPT does for text or DALL-E does for images, and I asked myself a pretty simple question:
"...how can someone actually make something useful out of
Noahpinion
Uh, guys, we really should think about spending more on defense
That's not a message many people want to hear, but it's true.
a year ago
That's not a message many people want to hear, but it's true.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Facebook’s response to Yahoo’s patent lawsuit
Like many in tech, I believe all software patents should be abolished. That said, I think Facebook...
over a year ago
Like many in tech, I believe all software patents should be abolished. That said, I think Facebook made the right move by filing a lawsuit…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Shutting down
I’ve seen a number of situations recently where entrepreneurs decided to shut their startups down...
over a year ago
I’ve seen a number of situations recently where entrepreneurs decided to shut their startups down while they still had cash in the bank…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
"A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket"
Nikola Tesla predicted the development internet-connected smartphones back in 1926: From the...
over a year ago
Nikola Tesla predicted the development internet-connected smartphones back in 1926: From the inception of the wireless system, I saw that…
Rest of World -...
Traditional sellers in Vietnam still aren’t sold on e-commerce
As online shopping booms, local merchants are struggling to adapt, despite government help.
a month ago
As online shopping booms, local merchants are struggling to adapt, despite government help.
Essays - Benedict...
Generative AI and intellectual property
If you put all the world’s knowledge into an AI model and use it to make
something new, who owns...
a year ago
If you put all the world’s knowledge into an AI model and use it to make
something new, who owns that and who gets paid? This is a completely new
problem that we’ve been arguing about for 500 years.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Some thoughts on incumbents
Reposted from Oct 7, 2010 from cdixon.posterous.com By “incumbents” I mean the big companies that...
over a year ago
Reposted from Oct 7, 2010 from cdixon.posterous.com By “incumbents” I mean the big companies that are loosely competitive to your startup…
Noahpinion
How Pakistan can join the South Asia growth boom
A guest post by Murtaza Hussain
a year ago
A guest post by Murtaza Hussain
Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
🪄 Growth Magic
4 months ago
Data Boutique
Case Study: MatchesFashion Inventory Outflows
Web data for market insights
9 months ago
Web data for market insights
Noahpinion
No, NEPA really is a problem for clean energy
A guest post by Aidan Mackenzie and Santi Ruiz
a year ago
A guest post by Aidan Mackenzie and Santi Ruiz
Aaron's Essays
Avoiding Errors in Demo Day Fundraising
I’ll be addressing the topic below along with Alfred Lin from Sequoia and Ilya Sukhar from Matrix on...
a year ago
I’ll be addressing the topic below along with Alfred Lin from Sequoia and Ilya Sukhar from Matrix on 3/24: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qgghYDq4QxCiW9REOOrbmw
It would be challenging to name all the fundraising mistakes that founders make during the many demo days...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Keybase: bringing public-key cryptography to mainstream users
Today I’m excited to announce that a16z is leading a $10.8M Series A financing of Keybase, a company...
over a year ago
Today I’m excited to announce that a16z is leading a $10.8M Series A financing of Keybase, a company that is trying to make the internet…
Tom Blomfield
Unit Economics
The old joke describes a lot of companies at the moment - “I’ll sell at a loss but make it up on...
over a year ago
The old joke describes a lot of companies at the moment - “I’ll sell at a loss but make it up on volume.” Pilloried in the press, startups burn through vast sums of capital before spectacularly imploding.
Let’s go back to 2012-13. The world was finally emerging from a punishing...
Rest of World -...
India wants to make influencers register with the government
Under the proposed bill, anyone from local content creators to Taylor Swift could be classified as a...
4 months ago
Under the proposed bill, anyone from local content creators to Taylor Swift could be classified as a “digital news broadcaster.”
Internal Tech Emails
Facebook and Google "at Defcon 2"
From: Sheryl Sandberg We really want a deep relationship – or at this point any relationship – with...
6 months ago
From: Sheryl Sandberg We really want a deep relationship – or at this point any relationship – with Google
Rest of World -...
Desperate for dollars, Argentina just gave digital nomads another advantage over locals
Foreign bank card holders now get better exchange rates than Argentines.
a year ago
Foreign bank card holders now get better exchange rates than Argentines.
Rest of World -...
Latin American startups embrace OpenAI, but at what cost?
The region’s early-stage startups get less funding than their U.S. counterparts, making AI...
a year ago
The region’s early-stage startups get less funding than their U.S. counterparts, making AI tools-for-hire an onerous new expense.
SatPost by Trung...
Steve Ballmer, Larry Ellison and That Sweet Sweet Tech Equity
The backstories for how the single biggest shareholders in Microsoft and Oracle built their stakes.
3 months ago
The backstories for how the single biggest shareholders in Microsoft and Oracle built their stakes.
haseeb qureshi
Launching the Introduction to Cryptocurrency
Today I’m launching Introduction to Cryptocurrency, an online course teaching the basics of...
over a year ago
Today I’m launching Introduction to Cryptocurrency, an online course teaching the basics of programming cryptocurrencies. The first two modules are already released, and the remainder of the course will be coming out over the next few months.
Introduction to Cryptocurrency is a...
Working Theorys
Zero-Sum vs. Positive-Sum Product Theory | Theory No. 25
What kind of product are you building?
11 months ago
What kind of product are you building?
Internal Tech Emails
Mark Zuckerberg: "Ship the app"
I think it's a really big deal that we ship this photos app quickly.
2 months ago
I think it's a really big deal that we ship this photos app quickly.
Noahpinion
Why some franchises go downhill while others stay great
A little break from our typical economics fare.
6 months ago
A little break from our typical economics fare.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Which VC firm should I pitch?
A friend asked me the other day “Which VC firms should I pitch?” and I started to respond to him,...
over a year ago
A friend asked me the other day “Which VC firms should I pitch?” and I started to respond to him, but then realized that most of my…
Steve Blank
Founders Need to Be Ruthless When Chasing Deals
One of the most exciting things a startup CEO in a business-to-business market can hear from a...
8 months ago
One of the most exciting things a startup CEO in a business-to-business market can hear from a potential customer is, “We’re excited. When can you come back and show us a prototype?” This can be the beginning of a profitable customer relationship or a disappointing sinkhole of...
Tech + Economics +...
Sam Bankman-Fried is a feature, not a bug.
Imagine a philosophy so focused on the ends that it becomes blind to the
means. This is the...
a year ago
Imagine a philosophy so focused on the ends that it becomes blind to the
means. This is the seductive trap of Effective Altruism (EA), a doctrine
born to the rationalist cradle, promising to solve the world's woes through
a calculator. Into this world stepped Sam...
Steve Blank
The Department of Defense Is Getting Its Innovation Act Together – But More Can Be Done
This post previously appeared in Defense News and C4SIR. Despite the clear and present danger of...
11 months ago
This post previously appeared in Defense News and C4SIR. Despite the clear and present danger of threats from China and elsewhere, there’s no agreement on what types of adversaries we’ll face; how we’ll fight, organize, and train; and what weapons or systems we’ll need for...
Tom Blomfield
Getting Shit Done
I was recently talking to a handful of successful startups founders about issues they were facing as...
over a year ago
I was recently talking to a handful of successful startups founders about issues they were facing as they scaled up their companies. Unanimously, hiring and retaining people who “get shit done” seemed to be their biggest problem. I’ve been thinking about this for the last few...
Rest of World -...
MercadoLibre is a massive fish in a medium-sized pond
The Argentine e-commerce company is no doubt beating the likes of Amazon in Latin America, but how...
a year ago
The Argentine e-commerce company is no doubt beating the likes of Amazon in Latin America, but how comparable are the two?
Rest of World -...
Our favorite Rest of World photos from 2023
39 photographers, 31 cities, 22 countries. This is what global tech looked like this year.
12 months ago
39 photographers, 31 cities, 22 countries. This is what global tech looked like this year.
Internal Tech Emails
Mark Zuckerberg: "speed and strategy"
One way to make sure we can move quickly is for everyone to understand our strategy behind the major...
a year ago
One way to make sure we can move quickly is for everyone to understand our strategy behind the major product areas we're working on. I've tried to summarize some of the key ones here.
Noahpinion
Pakistan needs a plan
The country can't go on like this. It needs stability, privatization, education, foreign investment,...
10 months ago
The country can't go on like this. It needs stability, privatization, education, foreign investment, and peace.
Rest of World -...
What the AI boom is getting wrong (and right), according to Hugging Face’s policy chief
Irene Solaiman on tackling racial bias, language equity, consent, and why there are so many AI...
6 months ago
Irene Solaiman on tackling racial bias, language equity, consent, and why there are so many AI girlfriends.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Converts versus equity deals
There has been a debate going on the past few days over whether seed deals should be funded using...
over a year ago
There has been a debate going on the past few days over whether seed deals should be funded using equity or convertible notes (converts…
Paul Graham: Essays
Chapter 1 of Ansi Common Lisp
a year ago
David Perell
What’s Up with Austin?
Austin is a mediocre city, but a great place to live.
The post What’s Up with Austin? appeared...
over a year ago
Austin is a mediocre city, but a great place to live.
The post What’s Up with Austin? appeared first on David Perell.
Articles -...
How to raise money
In this article, I will walk you through my fundraising formula that has helped me raise over $1...
a year ago
In this article, I will walk you through my fundraising formula that has helped me raise over $1 billion of capital in my career. I’ll also walk you through building a predictable and repeatable fundraising machine.
The probability of success for a high growth company is...
Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
#1 💡 #2 💡 Tons of companies are looking to hire someone like this but no one knows how to do it...
9 months ago
#1 💡 #2 💡 Tons of companies are looking to hire someone like this but no one knows how to do it reliably. There are also tons of people who would like to work in such a role but they are hard to find as there is no generally accepted job title. Seems like a huge opportunity if...
essay – snarfed.org
Breakfast tour
Like all of you, I got a little stir crazy over the last year. I made it outside plenty, but I still...
over a year ago
Like all of you, I got a little stir crazy over the last year. I made it outside plenty, but I still felt cooped up now and then, and I dearly missed going new places and seeing new things. On another note, I really, really like breakfast. Like, a lot. So naturally, I put these...
Rest of World -...
This Chinese startup believes it can take augmented reality glasses mainstream
Peng Jin, co-founder and head of commercialization at AR glasses startup Nreal, discusses how his...
a year ago
Peng Jin, co-founder and head of commercialization at AR glasses startup Nreal, discusses how his product will revolutionize the display experience.
Tom Blomfield
Automate Everything
Performing manual, repetitive tasks enrages me. I used to think this was a corollary of being a...
over a year ago
Performing manual, repetitive tasks enrages me. I used to think this was a corollary of being a programmer, but I’ve come to suspect (or hope) that this behaviour is inherent in being human.
But being able to hack together scripts simply makes it much easier to go from a state of...
SatPost by Trung...
The $650m+ Spirit Halloween business
Spirit Halloween has over 1,450 pop-up shops and makes all its money in only 2 months (September,...
a year ago
Spirit Halloween has over 1,450 pop-up shops and makes all its money in only 2 months (September, October)
Blog posts of...
Q-Codes; Or… Stop repeating yourself ⌨️
I use apple’s keyboard “text” shortcodes to setup a lot of things i have to type regularly. It’s...
over a year ago
I use apple’s keyboard “text” shortcodes to setup a lot of things i have to type regularly. It’s easily one of my favorite productivity hacks!
Rest of World -...
Mexico’s $100-billion auto parts industry is reinventing itself for the EV era
Behind the excitement around electrification, Mexican manufacturers are figuring out what their own...
a year ago
Behind the excitement around electrification, Mexican manufacturers are figuring out what their own transition will look like.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Some thoughts on startup crowdfunding
Like a lot of people, I’m excited about crowdfunding, and specifically the crowdfunding of startups...
over a year ago
Like a lot of people, I’m excited about crowdfunding, and specifically the crowdfunding of startups now that’s it’s legal in the US. Based…
Roberto Vitillo's...
Differential privacy for dummies
Technology allows companies to collect more data and with more detail about their users than ever...
over a year ago
Technology allows companies to collect more data and with more detail about their users than ever before. Sometimes that data is sold to…
Working Theorys
Invisible Duels
You didn’t agree to this duel. Yet it’s happening.
2 weeks ago
You didn’t agree to this duel. Yet it’s happening.
Stephen Diehl
The Political Case for a Blanket Cryptocurrency Ban
over a year ago
Platformer
Microsoft just laid off one of its responsible AI teams
As the company accelerates its push into AI products, the ethics and society team is gone
a year ago
As the company accelerates its push into AI products, the ethics and society team is gone
Rest of World -...
Uber drivers in Kenya are ignoring the app and charging their own rates
The local gig workers’ union defends the practice, which Uber forbids, as a form of peaceful...
3 months ago
The local gig workers’ union defends the practice, which Uber forbids, as a form of peaceful pushback against low earnings.
Rest of World -...
How WhatsApp ate the world
WhatsApp is already the world’s most widely used messaging app. Meta wants it to be a lot more.
a week ago
WhatsApp is already the world’s most widely used messaging app. Meta wants it to be a lot more.
Tom Blomfield
Growth
“When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.”
- Creighton Abrams
I was chatting with an...
over a year ago
“When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.”
- Creighton Abrams
I was chatting with an investor a year or two ago, shortly after our Series A, and the subject of revenue goals came up.
At the time, our revenue was pretty low - less than 10% of monthly costs. We estimated...
Noahpinion
Some ideas for science fiction in the 2020s
The future ain't what it used to be.
a year ago
The future ain't what it used to be.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The computing deployment phase
Technological revolutions happen in two main phases: the installation phase and the deployment...
over a year ago
Technological revolutions happen in two main phases: the installation phase and the deployment phase. Here’s a chart (from this excellent…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Anatomy of a bad search result
In a post last week, Paul Kedrosky noted his frustration when looking for a new dishwasher using...
over a year ago
In a post last week, Paul Kedrosky noted his frustration when looking for a new dishwasher using Google. I thought it might be interesting…
tomcritchlow.com
LinkedIn is not a social or professional network, it's a learning network
The world of work is changing.
9 months ago
The world of work is changing.
David Perell
The Jerry Seinfeld Guide to Writing
Writing and editing should be separate activities. When I’m in this creation mode, I shoot for a...
over a year ago
Writing and editing should be separate activities. When I’m in this creation mode, I shoot for a flow state. I keep my fingertips on the keyboard and measure progress by how many words I put on the page. My physical environment helps me be generative too. If I’m sitting down at...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Regulatory hacks
A common way to think of business regulations is by analogy to sports: the rules are specified up...
over a year ago
A common way to think of business regulations is by analogy to sports: the rules are specified up front, and the players follow the rules…
Rest of World -...
Argentina’s far-right front-runner is not the crypto candidate fans think he is
Milei’s plans for the dollarization of Argentina’s economy might even depress crypto adoption.
a year ago
Milei’s plans for the dollarization of Argentina’s economy might even depress crypto adoption.
SatPost by Trung...
OpenAI, Humane and Apple's Shadow
The future of consumer AI hardware is coming into focus. Who will win?
a year ago
The future of consumer AI hardware is coming into focus. Who will win?
Paul Graham: Essays
Chapter 1 of Ansi Common Lisp
over a year ago
Aaron's Essays
Asking questions
Small children are great at asking questions. Their questions are simple, direct, and utterly...
over a year ago
Small children are great at asking questions. Their questions are simple, direct, and utterly without ego. If you spend time with 2-5 year olds, you’ll find yourself answering a near infinite series of progressively more challenging questions. This is one of the main paths by...
42!
The folly of trying to replace spreadsheets
Our very earliest marketing copy for our HR SaaS was “Replace your spreadsheet nightmare with a nice...
a year ago
Our very earliest marketing copy for our HR SaaS was “Replace your spreadsheet nightmare with a nice clean HR database…”
We thought it was a cute and quirky tagline, and that it would immediately relatable to our target audience of business and human resource managers. After all...
SatPost by Trung...
8 Lessons from "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
What Larry David's legendary sitcom can teach about creativity and work.
10 months ago
What Larry David's legendary sitcom can teach about creativity and work.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Some thoughts on SEO
“SEO” (==”Search Engine Optimization”) is a term widely used to mean “getting users to your site via...
over a year ago
“SEO” (==”Search Engine Optimization”) is a term widely used to mean “getting users to your site via organic search traffic.” I don’t like…
Rest of World -...
The ByteDance streaming app that’s quietly going global
Resso could give Spotify a run for its money.
a year ago
Resso could give Spotify a run for its money.
Stephen Diehl
Exotic Programming Ideas: Part 3 (Effect Systems)
over a year ago
Noahpinion
Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
Writing about military spending is difficult.
8 months ago
Writing about military spending is difficult.
XO Capital - Field...
Acquisition #12 - Onsched
We've been a little quiet over here as we start rolling out XO 2.0, using outside capital instead of...
4 months ago
We've been a little quiet over here as we start rolling out XO 2.0, using outside capital instead of our own cash to acquire larger businesses. It's taken a bit of time from deal #11 to #12. We didn't buy anything for 9
Internal Tech Emails
Steve Jobs and Palm
This is not satisfactory to Apple.
a week ago
This is not satisfactory to Apple.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Incumbents
Almost every startup has big companies (“incumbents”) that are at some point potential acquirers or...
over a year ago
Almost every startup has big companies (“incumbents”) that are at some point potential acquirers or competitors. For internet startups that…
Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
#1 💡 “When I've worked for organizations without QA teams, I introduce the concept of "sniff...
a year ago
#1 💡 “When I've worked for organizations without QA teams, I introduce the concept of "sniff tests". This is a short (typically 1 hour) test session where anybody in the company / department is encouraged to come and bash on the new feature. The feature is supposed to be...
Paul Graham: Essays
Holding a Program in One's Head
over a year ago
Rest of World -...
The chilling power of Gaza’s internet blackout
Ongoing bloodshed makes the territory’s digital ties even more important.
a year ago
Ongoing bloodshed makes the territory’s digital ties even more important.
AVC
The Rebrand
I’d guess that upwards of half of USV’s portfolio companies have changed the name of their company...
a year ago
I’d guess that upwards of half of USV’s portfolio companies have changed the name of their company during their lifetime. It is not hard to understand why. Founders start out with an idea and not much more. By the time they have built a product, built a team, and found product...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
“The typical path of how people respond to life-changing inventions
I’ve never heard of it. I’ve heard of it but don’t understand it. I understand it, but I don’t see...
over a year ago
I’ve never heard of it. I’ve heard of it but don’t understand it. I understand it, but I don’t see how it’s useful. I see how it could be…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Plans are nothing, but planning is indispensable
It is widely believed that writing a business plan is a waste of time, because: 1) very few people...
over a year ago
It is widely believed that writing a business plan is a waste of time, because: 1) very few people will read it, and 2) you’ll end up…
Platformer
The unbearable slowness of Meta's Oversight Board
A 234-day wait to get a ruling in a case about incitement to violence suggests that something...
a year ago
A 234-day wait to get a ruling in a case about incitement to violence suggests that something important is broken
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Pivoting into a new corporate structure
This hasn’t happened to me, but I keep hearing stories about situations like the following: 1)...
over a year ago
This hasn’t happened to me, but I keep hearing stories about situations like the following: 1) startup raises a seed financing round while…
Tech + Economics +...
“Walking meetings” are not going to bring people back to the office.
Joy Adan, senior thought leadership manager at Reward Gateway, an
Australian human resource...
a year ago
Joy Adan, senior thought leadership manager at Reward Gateway, an
Australian human resource consulting company, said that connecting with
co-workers and building those relationships were a critical part of
work and should not be trivialised.
“Coffee badging...
Noahpinion
Why you should not ignore economists
They aren't always right, but they almost always have something important to add.
3 months ago
They aren't always right, but they almost always have something important to add.
Platformer
How the Kids Online Safety Act puts us all at risk
Anti-speech laws are spreading from states to Congress, and the future of online speech could hang...
a year ago
Anti-speech laws are spreading from states to Congress, and the future of online speech could hang in the balance
Rest of World -...
Small-scale investors are building Vietnam’s EV charging network
Anyone with spare land in a good location can become a franchisee for a charging company, but with...
2 weeks ago
Anyone with spare land in a good location can become a franchisee for a charging company, but with no government support it can take years to break even.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
It’s hard to believe today, but 10 years ago Wikipedia was widely considered a doomed experiment…
Today, Wikipedia is widely considered an invaluable resource. There are occasional errors and...
over a year ago
Today, Wikipedia is widely considered an invaluable resource. There are occasional errors and controversies, but for the most part it…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Inferring intent on mobile devices
[Google CEO Eric] Schmidt said that while the Google Instant predictive search technology helps...
over a year ago
[Google CEO Eric] Schmidt said that while the Google Instant predictive search technology helps shave an average of 2 seconds off users…
tomcritchlow.com
What are Executive Off-Sites Good For?
A blessed Q4 be upon you. And you as well.
over a year ago
A blessed Q4 be upon you. And you as well.
Rest of World -...
The U.S. is racing to source chips from Vietnam — but engineers are scant
A deficit of 15,000 engineers is predicted in the next five years. Just 89 students are enrolled in...
a year ago
A deficit of 15,000 engineers is predicted in the next five years. Just 89 students are enrolled in the country’s only comprehensive chip engineering degree.
Unpacked
Y Combinator W23 batch, AI value chain and startup trends
YCombinator (YC), the renowned Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator, recently announced their...
a year ago
YCombinator (YC), the renowned Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator, recently announced their Winter 2023 cohort and, unsurprisingly, ~31% of startups have a self-reported AI tag.
Rest of World -...
Brazil banned X. Right-wing politicians are still using it
Echoing Elon Musk, the politicians claim they are defending free speech.
3 months ago
Echoing Elon Musk, the politicians claim they are defending free speech.
Paul Graham: Essays
The Pooled-Risk Company Management Company
over a year ago
Rest of World -...
Hong Kong politicians are making a splash on Chinese social media – and finding mainland fans.
Users have responded enthusiastically to their selfies, food pics, and Father’s Day updates.
a year ago
Users have responded enthusiastically to their selfies, food pics, and Father’s Day updates.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The Internet is for snacking
Web products have followed a steady evolutionary path from the compound to the atomic. Today’s...
over a year ago
Web products have followed a steady evolutionary path from the compound to the atomic. Today’s popular social sites are spin outs of…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Three levels of enthusiasm for technology
Most businesses today believe that technology can dramatically improve the way they operate. But...
over a year ago
Most businesses today believe that technology can dramatically improve the way they operate. But they embrace technology with varying levels…
Rest of World -...
Sierra Leone’s first lady hopes going viral on TikTok will secure Saturday’s elections
Amid economic turmoil, President Julius Maada Bio is seeking re-election in Sierra Leone. His wife,...
a year ago
Amid economic turmoil, President Julius Maada Bio is seeking re-election in Sierra Leone. His wife, Fatima, is dancing to a crowd of over 200,000 on TikTok to drum up votes.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Thanks…
I got my first computer (TRS-80 Model 1) in 1980 at the age of 8. I got my second computer – an...
over a year ago
I got my first computer (TRS-80 Model 1) in 1980 at the age of 8. I got my second computer – an Atari 800 – two years later. I was…
Rest of World -...
23 Rest of World stories that defined 2023
This year, Rest of World published around 500 articles from more than 50 countries. Here are our...
12 months ago
This year, Rest of World published around 500 articles from more than 50 countries. Here are our favorites.
haseeb qureshi
Another decade
I recently turned 30. When the decade began in 2010, I was still 20, a professional poker player, a...
over a year ago
I recently turned 30. When the decade began in 2010, I was still 20, a professional poker player, a college dropout, and deeply unhappy. What did I believe I’d be doing a decade later? I don’t think I knew, only that I definitely wouldn’t be playing poker anymore. I’d be doing...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Steve Jobs single-handedly restructured the mobile industry
With the introduction of the iPhone, Steve Jobs achieved something that might be unique in the...
over a year ago
With the introduction of the iPhone, Steve Jobs achieved something that might be unique in the history of business: he single-handedly…
Rest of World -...
The AI project pushing local languages to replace French in Mali’s schools
RobotsMali uses ChatGPT, Google Translate, and other AI tools in hopes of helping young students...
9 months ago
RobotsMali uses ChatGPT, Google Translate, and other AI tools in hopes of helping young students learn faster and stay in school.
Working Theorys
Weekend Theorys No. 3
Books as athleisure, Twitter/X goes Substack, and oh yeah, Apple's Vision Pro
10 months ago
Books as athleisure, Twitter/X goes Substack, and oh yeah, Apple's Vision Pro
essay – snarfed.org
Moderate people, not code
Dixit / Marie Cardouat The scope of the fediverse has been hotly debated recently. Are we a big...
11 months ago
Dixit / Marie Cardouat The scope of the fediverse has been hotly debated recently. Are we a big fedi? Or a small fedi? Are instances just nodes? Or networked communities? Which Camp of Mastodon are we in? How far should our replies travel? How about our blog posts and Bluesky...
Noahpinion
The Big Tariffs are here
Biden just slapped a 100% tax on Chinese car imports. Here's what that will and won't accomplish.
7 months ago
Biden just slapped a 100% tax on Chinese car imports. Here's what that will and won't accomplish.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
If Verizon’s Droid is good, that’s bad for the wireless ecosystem
I carry around an iPhone and a Blackberry Tour. I know that’s ridiculous. The iPhone is a great...
over a year ago
I carry around an iPhone and a Blackberry Tour. I know that’s ridiculous. The iPhone is a great device on an awful network; the Tour is an…
Steve Blank
Why Large Organizations Struggle With Disruption, and What to Do About It
Seemingly overnight, disruption has allowed challengers to threaten the dominance of companies and...
4 months ago
Seemingly overnight, disruption has allowed challengers to threaten the dominance of companies and government agencies as many of their existing systems have now been leapfrogged. How an organization reacts to this type of disruption determines whether they adapt or die. I’ve...
Noahpinion
Biden did stuff, and it looks like it's working so far
Only one President has taken actual concrete steps to address U.S. industrial weakness vis-a-vis...
3 months ago
Only one President has taken actual concrete steps to address U.S. industrial weakness vis-a-vis China.
Steve Blank
How Saboteurs Threaten Innovation–and What to Do About It
“Only the Paranoid Survive” Andy Grove – Intel CEO 1987-1998 I just had an urgent “can we meet...
2 months ago
“Only the Paranoid Survive” Andy Grove – Intel CEO 1987-1998 I just had an urgent “can we meet today?” coffee with Rohan, an ex-student. His three-year-old startup had been slapped with a notice of patent infringement from a Fortune 500 company. “My lawyers said defending this...
Steve Blank
What Does Product Market Fit Sound Like? This.
I got a call from an ex-student asking me “how do you know when you found product market fit?”...
2 months ago
I got a call from an ex-student asking me “how do you know when you found product market fit?” There’s been lots of words written about it, but no actual recordings of the moment. I remembered I had saved this 90 second, 26 year-old audio file because this is when I knew we had...
Platformer
The synthetic social network is coming
Between ChatGPT’s surprisingly human voice and Meta’s AI characters, our feeds may be about to...
a year ago
Between ChatGPT’s surprisingly human voice and Meta’s AI characters, our feeds may be about to change forever
Platformer
Why note-taking apps don't make us smarter
They're designed for storage, not sparking insights. Can AI change that?
a year ago
They're designed for storage, not sparking insights. Can AI change that?
Rest of World -...
How InstaDeep became Africa’s biggest AI startup success
Karim Beguir is the co-founder and CEO of InstaDeep, a Tunisian startup that was acquired for $682...
3 months ago
Karim Beguir is the co-founder and CEO of InstaDeep, a Tunisian startup that was acquired for $682 million by BioNTech.
Noahpinion
Is U.S. industrial policy learning from its mistakes?
I hope so, because mistakes are being made.
11 months ago
I hope so, because mistakes are being made.
XO Capital - Field...
Deal Structures
A couple of people have asked about deal structures so here are a few we commonly use for buying...
10 months ago
A couple of people have asked about deal structures so here are a few we commonly use for buying micro saas companies.
All Cash
Pretty straight forward. You do all cash. Usually it's 100% into escrow.com and release maybe 50% before asset transfer and 50% after asset
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Managing Up
Over the last two newsletters (three, if you include my reply to Google’s “rebuttal” of the...
7 months ago
Over the last two newsletters (three, if you include my reply to Google’s “rebuttal” of the Prabhakar Raghavan newsletter), I’ve made the case that while rot economics are responsible for making technology products manifestly worse, this transformation was only possible thanks to...
Tech + Economics +...
How we turned into assholes
The internet was supposed to unite us.
So what the fuck happened?
And how did we become a...
a year ago
The internet was supposed to unite us.
So what the fuck happened?
And how did we become a cross-generational digital nation of assholes?
We dreamed of a global, decentralized network spreading information,
enabling communication, and connecting humanity. But somewhere...
Rest of World -...
The company building AI dubbing that preserves original voices
Seamus McAteer, the founder of Speechlab, discusses AI-generated speech and the importance of...
a year ago
Seamus McAteer, the founder of Speechlab, discusses AI-generated speech and the importance of translating accents.
XO Capital - Field...
2023 sucked
2023 was a tough year for us. A pure grind.
What worked:
The business model
Our Team
Raising $ +...
11 months ago
2023 was a tough year for us. A pure grind.
What worked:
The business model
Our Team
Raising $ + deploying it
What didn't work:
Growth was tough
We got bit by platform risk
Too many small portfolio companies is death by a thousand cuts
We have two relatively passive
Business Brainstorms
Feedback panel SaaS, gift ideas, selling futures, industrial grade calendaring, ...
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write...
a year ago
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write this email to share the most interesting trends, frameworks, opportunities, and ideas with you. Let's dive in! 💡 Opportunities “An idea for an AI tool I'd love to use — I upload chat...
Inverted Passion
Notes on how Supercell is run
Supercell, the company behind the massively popular Clash of Clans game, has one of the highest...
a year ago
Supercell, the company behind the massively popular Clash of Clans game, has one of the highest valuation per employee figures out there: they’re valued at $32mn per employee. That’s insane! How do they do it? 1/ What struck me is the sheer number of games they kill each year?...
Noahpinion
Our climate change debates are out of date
Solar and batteries are going to win, and our thinking needs to adjust accordingly.
a year ago
Solar and batteries are going to win, and our thinking needs to adjust accordingly.
Noahpinion
Happy fun Cold War 2 update
It's getting a little warmer out there.
6 months ago
It's getting a little warmer out there.
Tech + Economics +...
Elon Musk’s freedom from consequences is once again denied.
Elon Musk's X Corp. has hit a snag trying to block California's AB 587, a
law that aims to clean...
11 months ago
Elon Musk's X Corp. has hit a snag trying to block California's AB 587, a
law that aims to clean up the online environment by requiring transparency
in content moderation.
Peter Blumberg and Malathi Nayak in Bloomberg
In an eight-page ruling Thursday, a federal...
Rest of World -...
Argentina’s OnlyFans stars are becoming coaches for a new generation of performers
Lessons include tips to attract customers with provocative poses and seductive words, and how to...
6 months ago
Lessons include tips to attract customers with provocative poses and seductive words, and how to withdraw money from the platform.
Noahpinion
Book Review: "The End of the World is Just the Beginning"
Peter Zeihan gives us his vision of the collapse of globalization.
a year ago
Peter Zeihan gives us his vision of the collapse of globalization.
Rest of World -...
The secret ingredient to hustle culture: A virtual assistant in the Philippines
How the office grind is being outsourced from Silicon Valley to Manila.
a year ago
How the office grind is being outsourced from Silicon Valley to Manila.
Paul Graham: Essays
Could VC be a Casualty of the Recession?
over a year ago
Stephen Diehl
Haskell for Web Developers
over a year ago
tomcritchlow.com
Notes on my Remarkable Tablet
I love my Remarkable 2. I’ve been using it pretty heavily for almost a year now. It’s my every day...
10 months ago
I love my Remarkable 2. I’ve been using it pretty heavily for almost a year now. It’s my every day companion device. Here’s some notes and ideas.
SatPost by Trung...
The speed of information
Putting social media coverage of Israel-Palestine into historical context.
a year ago
Putting social media coverage of Israel-Palestine into historical context.
Platformer
The AI is eating itself
Early notes on how generative AI is affecting the internet
a year ago
Early notes on how generative AI is affecting the internet
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