- I think one of the most beautiful things in the world are bridges. Not only because they are architectural masterpieces but because they resemble mans ability to overcome nature in effort to build a more livable world.
- The Turing Test is a method of inquiry in artificial intelligence for determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being. There should also be a test for if an animal (pets) can tell if something is a human being. Once AI can achieve this, we should really consider changing the way the way that we look at it’s standard for it being alive. If a machine can trick a dog into believing it is alive, it will begin to change our human environment. As our environment slowly shifts, human behavior will adapt without much notice.
- If you hangout with a group that doesn’t share your values, you will constantly feel out of place. With enough time, your values will begin to resemble the groups values as the activities you do with the group will begin to form you.
- Often the song (lyrics) gets lost in the music (melody). Don’t let the song get lost in the music. Applying structure prior to having content doesn’t make sense. Don’t mould your thoughts to a structure, let your thoughts be organized by a structure. Same should be true for music.
- If we are just part of a simulation then our life span should just be thought of as a battery. What if only true sentience can be achieved if we find a way to never die & our bodies can continue to be a vessel for our ‘souls’.
- There is a war going on and we are focusing on buying jpegs for ~$300k. It’s pretty obvious we’re in a bubble.
- Objectivity is very hard. With most things there is not a right or wrong, however, when we label an action as such objectivity becomes too easy. Almost nothing in the world is right or wrong so we need to stop labeling actions as such.
- Both good and bad decisions compound.
- Most people dream to live and very few people live their dream. What’s the point in living someone else's dream for them? There’s a Jim Carrey quote I really like, “You can fail in life doing the things you hate so you might as well take a chance doing what you love”.
- Dating has forced me to do more things that I would ideally want in a partner. For example; if I want someone who is outdoorsy - I must do things that are also outdoorsy.
- There should be a company that allows you to rent a jersey near stadiums. I don’t really want to own a specific players jersey (most of the time) because they might just end up traded or injured by the time I actually make it to a game in person. There are a few times a year though that I really want a jersey and would happily pay a premium for the rental.
- Startup culture is built on dishonesty and disillusion. I believe that this is primarily driven by the macro funding environment. Capitalist frequently do unethical and dishonest things to get a competitive edge for their portfolio companies. The industry views this as simply something we should just accept (ie; an investor sharing your pitch deck with competitors??). Please don’t take this as justification for founders doing wrong - it’s not.
- I am constantly asking myself; does taking this action (going for a run, eating unhealthy food, drinking) put me closer to who I want to be? Lately, I have been feeling that this question is inescapable. I have never felt more that I am the only thing stopping me from being who I want to be. It has made me call into question what I really do value & who I want to be. I am realizing that when enough actions are out of line, I probably don’t really care about what I’m pursing.
- What are the long term effects of less people adopting a religion (or spiritual relationship with a god)?
- If you give a dishonest person enough time (or chances) they will deceive you beyond when you can recognize it.
- Good news often doesn’t wait and bad news often lingers.
- The difference between being selfish and selfless is often solely perspective.
- As a race, we have this abiding desire to answer the question of our mortality & why it is that we exist. Seemingly, the idealistic treat this with relgion & the pragmatic treat this with philosophy - however, the practioner of either simply finds their own answer when they are distracted enough to forget the very question itself.
- If ‘I have a philosophy’ on something it’s exactly that - some that I have a philosophy on. You can’t ‘give’ someone a philosophy - that’s simply perspective. Philosophy is the cumulative of perspectives.
- Saw one of the most impressive video game accomplishments (top 50 of 3m+ players) online - a comment after asked “what did this cost”, op responded “only the entire prime [years] of my life”.
- Lately, I’ve been curious about the challenges posed by AI biases, the long-term effects of companies embracing AI (reducing & replacing headcount), and the environmental consequences of more rapidly depreciating data centers. I think theres a need for an “accounting system for AI debt”. I’m very interested in the idea of a “carbon token” for AI. I recognize, I’m not the person to build this - but if you are… reach out!
- Social abstractions are almost always bad - source or redirect to the source whenever possible.
- If you’re having problems focusing, and don’t have ADHD, your body is probably just telling you to spend time on something else.
- Symptoms serve as the narrative issues within a story, providing key details and insights into underlying problems. By properly diagnosing these symptoms, we can devise solutions to tackle the identified problems. In essence, understanding symptoms leads to effective problem resolution.
- To know more is to listen better. To know everything is listen never. You can’t know everything if you listen never. But truthfully - filter ruthlessly who you listen to as they will be what you know, preach, and ultimately become.
- This evolving checklist reflects my criteria for a startup to be successful.
- Unlike most of Silicon Valley, I don’t believe you need to be an engineer to found a startup. In fact, I wholly reject this view and believe that this is a dated view that will certainly change. HOWEVER, if you can’t write code, you still need to be able to build your initial MVP and iterate with users.
- Every team member must feel accountable for the success of the company.
- 1 + 1 has to equal 3. Each team member should enable the other to excel.
- This should be the baton pass that lets you win the turns. In a relay race, it’s considered cheating to throw the baton to the next runner, but in a startup, this is one of your unfair advantages. Make the exchange zone twice the distance of your competitors.
- You must work as hard as possible. Often, this means more than 40 hours a week - but time is just one heuristic.
- You have to be part of something you genuinely care about, ideally, this should be the thing you care about the most in the world.
- If you don’t care about what you’re working on, the hard days - which there are many, will get the best of you and you will ultimately fold OR lose to someone who does care.
- You don’t need a great idea to start, you just need to have an open mind and the ability to get people to use/validate your product (or idea).
- Your startup should be something that constantly occupies your thoughts. It needs to be a concept, a problem, or a mission you’re passionate about - so much so that you can’t stop thinking about it. This unwavering dedication and enthusiasm will often serve as a source of inspiration for your team, your investors, and ultimately, your users. Litmus tests: Do you hate Mondays?
- The problem you’re solving should (probably) be able to be explained to someone at a bar while waiting in line for the bathroom. The key is being able to articulate the problem and your solution effectively, no matter how complex.
- For example, you don’t need to understand what SOC2 compliance is to understand what problem Vanta solves, you simply need to know, that Vanta ensures you have strong security practices in place which means enterprise (or large) customers will feel safe using your product.
- The caveat to this it honestly doesn’t matter if some random person at a bar understands the problem you solve if the target audience of your product doesn’t (or, more commonly, doesn’t perceive this as a real problem that they need to solve).
- For consumer apps, every user must open the door to hundreds of other potential new users. The founder of Dropbox nailed this; often the best consumer apps have b2b distribution strategies.
- You (or a co-founder) need to have direct access to who will buy/use your product.
- You should solve an emotional problem for your buyer. Your solution doesn’t need to treat the feeling, it can treat what it enables.
- This can also be where a company goes wrong; when this is an emotional problem for someone who is not the buyer of your product.
- Revolutionary ideas are often are super hard to build
- Simplify, test, iterate, distill, test, iterate, refine, test, iterate, improve ♾️
- The team has already conducted numerous understandable experiments that have a real chance of succeeding.
- There’s not solely one path that will make the company (idea) successful, must be building in a green space.
Checklist
Team
Hungry Team
Shared Accountability
Collaborative Team
Tact
The team must have tact, people should enjoy working with members of the team.
Mentality
Strong Work Ethic
Heart
Receptiveness to Feedback
Inescapable Excitement
Business Idea
Understandable Business Idea
Real Ability to Hit Scale, Venture Scale
Market Entrance
Emotional Problem
Big Ideas
Many High Conviction Concentrated Bets
- The length of a cold email doesn't matter; readability is crucial, of course, but the most important factor is its value-add. I don't always read cold emails to completion simply because they're short. However, I invariably read emails that provide value. I think we can find a way to score individual words or phases and quantify chance of a response.
- Being direct and avoiding fluffy language can certainly improve your chances. Think of it this way: fewer words equate to a lower chance of losing your audience's interest.
- I believe that more founders and early-stage employees should prioritize the practical aspects of their businesses (or projects) over their emotions. It's a common misstep to let feelings dictate decisions, which can be detrimental to the business. The key lesson is to not let emotions overshadow rational business choices, as doing so can prove costly in the long run. Always let right be right and wrong be wrong.
- Quantity of user interviews matters a lot less than quality of interviews.
- Always celebrate in startups any moment you go 0 to 1. This is the KPI for velocity.
- Is freedom innate to existence?
- Freewill is the embodiment of our desires, emotions, and personal identity, each contributing to the choices we make and the paths we follow. Our desires set the direction, our emotions color the journey, and our personal identity shapes the way we interact with the world. However, when we suppress these components—whether to conform to societal norms, avoid discomfort, or protect ourselves—we inadvertently restrict our own freewill. It's in embracing our authentic desires, acknowledging our genuine emotions, and accepting our unique identities that we can truly exercise freewill. It's not merely about making choices, but about making choices that reflect our true selves.
- In the same vein as the transformative power of the internet—which equipped us with unprecedented information accessibility, leading to the familiar sentiment, 'let me Google that for you'—AI is the new frontier reshaping our problem-solving landscape. Growing up with the internet made us more efficient at information retrieval, granting us an edge over previous generations. Now, an 'AI-first' mindset is emerging as the new paradigm, much like the early adoption of internet once was. This perspective isn't just about harnessing AI tools but seeing challenges through the lens of what AI can achieve. Just as being internet-savvy once set us apart, adopting and internalizing this AI-centric approach will likely position us to efficiently tackle complex tasks, outpacing those still adhering to traditional means. The future might very well hear us say, 'let me ChatGPT that for you' as a testament to AI's integral role in our lives.
- Chose countless opportunities over unlimited money
- When adding a banner to a page, never have it add length to the page (”grow animation”) as it just disrupts your users who actively engage with your product.
- Ideate → Design → Validate → Build → Ship
- One of my favorite things about having a dog is that they are a great reminder that shits pretty good if you have a walk, some food, and a place to go to the bathroom.
- One of the biggest problems with a yes-man friend is that you compound in the wrong direction, making bad choices even worse over time.
- Took me my first 5 years of working to realize jobs are things you get paid for and careers are things that you invest into.
- Progress should be uncomfortable
- Have we permanently entered the internet era of dating? Hinge alone sets up a date every 2 seconds.
- Regret is the most powerful emotion. It is the ultimate trump card of emotions.
- Delight is created when the unexpected works better than expected.
- Imposter syndrome and self-deception both affect how we view our abilities. Imposter syndrome makes competent individuals feel like frauds, while self-deception involves misjudging our own skills, either overestimating or underestimating them.
- Consider investing in software that directly addresses your current challenges rather than potential future problems. Similarly, focus on developing features that have a proven demand and are currently generating revenue, rather than those anticipated to be lucrative in the future. Although this approach might appear self-evident, it’s surprisingly common to hear founders planning extensively for hypothetical future scenarios
- The rise of Airbnb, Amazon, Lyft, and Uber can be significantly attributed to wage inequality, challenging the common notion of their success being purely due to innovative business models or technology. These companies offered an escape for people stuck in low-paying, unsatisfactory jobs, providing opportunities for better income and working conditions. The flexibility and ease of entry (owning a car or having a spare room) made these platforms appealing to individuals dissatisfied with traditional job markets.
- People will naturally do what they like to do; people will naturally promote what they are proud of; people will naturally avoid things they dislike; people naturally emulate who they want to be. It is possible to alter what people do but it is very hard to change their core sentiment.
- Crazy fact from Harvards Study on Happiness: Holding hands with someone you love during a surgery has the same effect as a mild anesthetic! The more intimate your relationship with that person, the stronger the effect.
- Measure SDR performance on a trailing ~21 day period and be purely quantitative.
- There’s a massive difference when you say “I need you” vs “where were you”.
- “I need you” is an expression of vulnerability and reliance. It signifies a moment of reaching out for support, care, or companionship. This phrase can deepen bonds, showing trust and the value of the other person in one’s life. It’s an invitation for closeness and a signal that their presence or assistance is significant to the speaker’s well-being or situation at “hand.
- “Where were you”, on the other hand, often implies a sense of absence or neglect. It can highlight feelings of abandonment, disappointment, or frustration towards the other person’s lack of presence or support during a needed time. This phrase can introduce a strain in the relationship, as it may be perceived as accusatory or indicative of unmet expectations.
- Ideas that are unbounded and purely hypothetical can stimulate imagination and inspire visionary thinking, but they can also struggle under pragmatic scrutiny. This is particularly true when such ideas do not account for the limitations of resources, political will, and societal readiness for change.
- You can't run in one direction and look in another; that's how injuries happen.
- Branding is saying the same message over and over again until someone else repeats it.
- You’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t is the jaded skeptics mindset.
- When you're deeply obsessed with solving a problem, "building heads down" isn't a conscious decision; it happens naturally. Your passion and drive pull you into a state of intense focus and productivity. It's not about forcing yourself to work; it's about being so engrossed in the problem that everything else fades away. You enter a flow state where time and distractions cease to exist, and the work becomes an effortless extension of your thoughts and creativity. In this state, building and creating aren't deliberate actions but natural consequences of your obsession with finding a solution.
- Live long enough to solve complex customer problems, by doing so you accumulate deep expertise and insight into the underlying dynamics. This depth becomes a significant moat, making it challenging for new or existing competitors to replicate.
- Some thoughts on business models:
- Free money need not be advertised. If it’s too good to be true, it is.
- Premium pricing requires premium people, parts, and services.
- Charge when value is created.
- We often become too fixated on the outcome, losing sight of the value in the process itself. If every great movie skipped straight to the finale, it wouldn't be nearly as impactful. The true richness comes from the unfolding plot—the journey, the twists, the character growth. In life, as in art, it's the experiences along the way that give meaning to the destination. We need to embrace the process, rather than rush through it, to fully appreciate the significance of the outcome.
- Don’t use gifs in docs, they are hard for a user to quickly scan through.
- Good design:
- People die faster when you’re away. It’s not that their time shortens—it’s that you have less of it together. Presence enhances the experience of time together, while absence magnifies its brevity. Life continues regardless, but choosing to be present ensures the time you have is truly lived and remembered.