retail therapy

Retail can be a very hard business.

Packable, last year the #1 seller on Amazon Marketplace in the U.S., is liquidating. A year ago, they were planning a SPAC deal at a $1.5 billion valuation. I hope to someday read the inside story of how this business […]

tech, startups, internet

Startups often need more capital.

“I’ve also come to believe that if you’re going to get on the fundraising train, it’s important to plan for enough capital to get to a scale that provides for some exit opportunities in the event the business doesn’t achieve […]

profiles of people

The Sara Blakely (Spanx) story.

“At 27, she took her $5,000 life savings, a good idea and tons of hustle to build a BILLION dollar business. The Crazy Part? She had almost no prior experience in business.” | learn more

oh, chicago

A secret society of Chicago bakers.

“The Bakers Dozen was founded in the 1930s. Its members — beloved bakery owners — meet in secret once per month to sample each other’s goods, catch up and help keep their businesses alive.” | learn more

better doing

What’s going on here, with this human?

Recruiting is hard. “My goal in this essay is to help others make better decisions on a potential hire, business partner, or even life partner as quickly and as accurately as possible. It’s made up of suggested action steps and some […]

fun facts

What sort of business is investment banking?

“Credit Suisse has over 1.6 million individual clients, over 100,000 corporate clients and tens of thousands of institutional clients. Yet a single client can blow through the profits made from all the others.” | learn more

big ideas

Peter Thiel: you are not a lottery ticket

Thiel lays out his 2×2 matrix: pessimist vs optimist, determinate vs indeterminate. It starts out a little obscure, but once he fills in examples it really drives his point home. I found his description of the circular investment flows in […]