better doing
Philosophers should stop being historians.
Or, “why philosophers spend far too much time reading and writing about dead philosophers.” | learn more
tech, startups, internet
The interesting story of Vettery and Hired.com.
From a cofounder of Vettery: “Hired.com raised $150M to take over the online recruiting industry. We raised $10M. Then we went to battle, head-to-head. Here’s the story (and a few critical lessons learned)” | learn more
tech, startups, internet
How to blow $85 million in 11 months (Pakistan edition).
“Interviews with more than 15 former Airlift employees depict a company torn in two: Inside Airlift’s corporate offices, young workers who were experiencing the highs of belonging to the most-celebrated startup in the country, rallied behind Airlift as it went […]
tech, startups, internet
Liquid venture capital.
I read this with great delight. This author managed to model private market venture returns using only public market stocks. The point he makes is that the underlying driver of the returns is innovation, and there’s plenty of that to […]
fun facts
The last man standing in the floppy disk business.
“Tom Persky is the self-proclaimed “last man standing in the floppy disk business.” He is the time-honored founder of floppydisk.com, a US-based company dedicated to the selling and recycling of floppy disks.” | learn more
fun facts
Was it ever possible for one person to read every English book ever written?
I appreciate the approach this author takes to answer the question! “Rather than trying to figure out how long all the lost books and codices are, we can step back and take a longer view of things.” | learn more
fun facts
Unisex names in the US.
A visual ranking of the top 50 names that have at least 25% share for each gender. Data from 1922 – 2021. Each name has charts showing volume over time, as well as gender distribution over time. It’s interesting to […]
on the blockchain
Starbucks details its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT community.
They’re huge global consumer brand with low AOV and high frequency. They’ve already gamified their loyalty/rewards program to great success. The blockchain-enabled plan to extend their program seems excellent. The only thing is, the fundamental benefits of blockchain don’t apply […]
thoughts of food
NYC indoor farming startup Gotham Greens raises $310 million.
This seems like a lot of money, but then again food is a big market. This company runs indoor farms close to major population centers, limiting the cost and time spent on transportation. | learn more
under the microscope
How does a cell know that it’s supposed to build an arm?
This is an absolutely mind-blowing presentation by Michael Levin. “Our lab studies the way in which all cells, not just neurons, communicate as electrical networks that enable scaling of single-cell properties into collective intelligences that solve problems in anatomical feature […]