Pavel Sokolovsky

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tech, startups, internet · Jan 2025

AppLovin is coming in hot to the ad markets.

They seem to have figured out a better method for targeting in-game ads to users, creating performance comparable to Meta ads in a new high-value channel with a differentiated audience. ~ learn more

tech, startups, internet · Jan 2025

Lessons from my first exit.

After selling his small business for 2.4x earnings, this founder shares the lessons he’s learned. One of them: “Due diligence is unbounded, high-stress work” ~ learn more

big ideas · Jan 2025

Watermelons.

It’s an insult. “Big, strong, and unabashedly green on the outside. Very red on the inside, with little substance. Seeds of black in their heart.” Tomas Pueyo writes Uncharted Territories and has quickly become one of my favorites. “As you know, I think technology will solve climate change in particular and environmental issues in general, so environmentalists who block technological development are doubly evil, since they destroy both the economy…

thoughts of food · Jan 2025

A peanut butter company raises VC money.

After reading this, I ordered a couple jars. They are indeed really good! “Get ready for a mane event in the food industry as One Trick Pony, a new player in the peanut butter space, is set to corral the market with its pure-ingredient product that prioritizes health and taste.” ~ learn more

under the microscope · Jan 2025

Electric wound healing.

“Imperceptible low-level electric current applied through a skin patch caused a nearly 10 times reduction in amounts of Staphylococcus epidermidis, a common bacterium found on human skin, researchers reported … in the journal Device.” ~ learn more

under the microscope · Jan 2025

City microbes surviving on disinfectants.

“New research shows microbes in our cities are evolving to resist the very cleaners we use to eliminate them. It also identifies novel strains living in Hong Kong that were previously only found in Antarctic desert soil.” ~ learn more

under the microscope · Jan 2025

Plastic chemical phthalate causes DNA breakage and chromosome defects in sex cells.

“In the new study, researchers tested a range of doses of BBP on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and looked for abnormal changes in egg cells. They saw that at levels similar to those detected in humans, BBP interferes with how newly copied chromosomes are distributed into the sex cells. Specifically, BBP causes oxidative stress and breaks in the DNA strands, which lead to cell death and egg cells with the…

retail therapy · Jan 2025

Amazon’s going down market.

To compete with the likes of Temu, Amazon has launched Amazon Haul. Now you can get your cheap Chinese products from the US retailer you already love, delivered in 1-2 weeks. “All items are priced $20 or less with the majority priced $10 and under, and some items as low as $1.” ~ learn more

tech, startups, internet · Jan 2025

Inside a firewall vendor’s 5-year war with Chinese hackers.

“Sophos went so far as to plant surveillance “implants” on its own devices to catch the hackers at work—and in doing so, revealed a glimpse into China's R&D pipeline of intrusion techniques.” ~ learn more

tech, startups, internet · Jan 2025

Ray-Ban Meta glasses are the top selling product in many stores.

“Just to give you an idea, it's not just a success in the US, where it's obvious. But it's also success here in Europe. Just to give you an idea, in 60% of the Ray-Ban stores in Europe, in EMEA, Ray-Ban Meta is the best-seller in those stores.” ~ learn more