A blog about entrepreneurship, books, current affairs, and intellectual life.
On any team of size, there are three constructive ways to express disagreement (or frustration) about a colleague s behavior / decision / idea: Here s what s not constructive: Talking 1:1 or in a small group with other colleagues about your disagreement (or frustration). If John has a frustration or disagreement with Dan, John should not be Continue reading "The Three Ways to Express Disagreement…
I had already meditated a bunch and sat multiple silent retreats by the time I arrived for Steve Armstrong s silent 10 day retreat at Spirit Rock in 2016. I thought I knew a few things. I had no idea it would be Steve who would help me realize my own low level of knowledge. Steve Continue reading "Remembering Steve Armstrong and His Dhamma Wisdom"
Books, books, books. The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble by Alok Sama Fun stories from the Softbank era from a Softbank insider. Masa is such a fascinating character. All Fours by Miranda July The book causing women everywhere to divorce their husbands. It s a compelling quasi-erotic romp through the mind of a Continue reading "What I ve Been Reading"
Seven and a half years ago, we founded Village Global. Since then: 300+ companies backed, $500M+ AUM, and dozens of lessons learned about how venture firms work. I just published 30,000 Hours with Village Global – a smattering and sprawling set of reflections and questions on what s happening in early stage VC, the art and Continue reading "Lessons from Village Global"
The British author Dolly Alderton writes charmingly about the woman s perspective on love. Good Material is a fun one. I stayed with the plot the whole way and did much highlighting on its extensive wisdom about men vs. women and its sharp observations on 30-something life. Bolding is my own. We shifted from overfamiliarity Continue reading "Book Notes: Good Material by Dolly Alderton"
Either/Or by Elif Batuman was an excellent read, worthy of its own post of Kindle highlights. All bolding my own. It was the first time I had heard of an organizing principle or goal you could have for your life, other than making money and having kids. Nobody ever said that that was their organizing Continue reading "Book Notes: Either/Or by Elif Batuman"
I ll read anything Leslie Jamison writes. Her memoir Splinters, about the implosion of her marriage and the love of her daughter, is as just engaging as her other writing. Many wonderful insights and sentences. My highlights from Kindle below. All bolding is my own. [On the intensity of early love] Every morning we ate breakfast Continue reading "Book Notes: Splinters by Leslie Jamison"
Be yourself is common advice. The ode to authenticity. Change yourself is also common advice. The ode to personal growth. My reconciliation? Love yourself is what should be the baseline. Self-love is the foundation. And then, from that bedrock of confidence, embrace the dynamism of change yourself. But change yourself doesn t just mean to do Continue reading "Adapting to People in Pursuit of…
For investors, conviction—the depth of your belief in an investment opportunity—is the most important compass. And talking about your conviction with your colleagues is something that happens on every investment team. But it’s a minefield. When the tendencies of how each person on an investment team forms and communicates conviction are poorly understood, it can Continue reading "Forming…
Over the holidays, I experienced searing, acute physical pain related to a tooth/dental issue. I cut short a visit to Barcelona (an amazing city!) to return home to have it dealt with, and luckily am now fully healed up. Over the three weeks of pain, research, and ultimate resolution, I learned a few useful things: Continue reading "AI Medical Assistants and Pain"
Glenn Loury s memoir is remarkable. One of the finest economists of his generation dishes on his own addiction to porn and drugs, rampant infidelity, endless lying, and all sorts of other misdeeds that most people would go out of their way to cover up not publish. In the opening chapter, one of the most Continue reading "Book Review: Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative"
Here are Kindle highlights from two books that cover themes of friendship, love, and grief. The first is Love Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, and Survival, a collection of essays and musings that Andrew Sullivan published in 1999 essays. Some great passages about friendship. Anything Andrew writes, I read. The second is Stay True by Continue reading "Book Notes: Love Undetectable and Stay…
I recently sat with Auren Hoffman for an hour on his World of DaaS podcast. We covered a range of topics from talent spotting to the future of work to what s happening in venture capital to lessons learned from Reid. Fun convo and the YouTube embed is below. Also, separately, on the Village Global Continue reading "Recent Appearances and Interviews"
Day two of a ten-day silent meditation retreat, and my mind was a fireworks display on the Fourth of July. Thoughts exploding with obsessions and cravings and aversions. Inner monologues chattering away unabated. Each bright flash capturing flickers of my attention. So much for the serene state I d imagined achieving by now. As I sat Continue reading "Vipassana Meditation Retreat July 2024 with…
Is there a level of early success in a career or firm that s the optimal foundation for long term sustained success? Are there fields where too much success too early means a level of scrutiny that s unhelpful? An erosion of necessary humility? A creation of incentives that lead to premature scaling? In venture capital, firms Continue reading "The Optimal Amount of Early Success for Maximum Long…
I read and enjoyed both of Freddie DeBoer s books. Freddie is a Marxist by self-identification a rabid anti-capitalist who wants to redistribute all wealth. He s simultaneously a trenchant critic of the left. This duality makes him interesting to read. His newer book is How the Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. He marshals ample Continue reading " The Cult of Smart and How the Elites Ate the…
Many years ago, as a 15 year old, I snuck into a tech and business event in San Francisco. My basketball-ready height masked my age at events like these. (Or if it didn’t, no one ever bothered to vocalize their suspicions.) I had my schtick down: When I arrived at 5pm at the downtown venue, I Continue reading "How to Network at an Unstructured Happy Hour"
On a collaborative team, a great employee should be a team player: helping their colleagues hit *their* individual priorities. Do favors for them, offer feedback when asked, build social capital. Whatever it takes to help the company succeed. As Fred Kofman says, Your job is not your job. Your job is to help the overall Continue reading "Team Player vs. Me Player"
I was fortunate to spend bunch of time working from Tokyo recently. After visiting three times prior for 1-2 week trips, spending extended time there deepened my understanding and appreciation for Japan. Here are a wide range of impressions and lessons from this fall: Tokyo remains a world-class city as clean, functional, and fun Continue reading "Impressions from a Longer Stay in Tokyo (2023)"
From an email from the wonderful meditation teacher Phillip Moffitt, who has led two long silent retreats I ve attended (and wrote about here), on his new year s teaching: The theme that I’m going to be exploring this year is the importance of starting where you are and then proceeding with a commitment to starting over again as many times Continue reading "Starting Over Again"
Freddie deBoer, a brilliant prose stylist himself, in 2013 highlighted non-fiction essayists and bloggers who throw heat. His explanation for why he admires these writers, at the sentence level, contain some gems. Below I excerpt the best descriptions from deBoer on what he loves about other writers. The bolding is mine, not Freddie s. First, from Continue reading "Non-Fiction Writers Who Throw…
What will someone hear when they reference check you with your previous employers? Research suggests people most remember the peaks and endings of experiences. In other words: the best parts and how an experience ends. By this logic, your ex colleagues will likely remember the best things you did at the company and what you Continue reading "Your Last 90 Days at a Company"
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro is a wonderful novel about a child s Artificial Friend. Perfect for this current AI moment even though it was authored before the current AI craze. It s sensitive and thought provoking. NPR s review called it a masterpiece that will make you think about life, mortality, the saving grace Continue reading "Book Short: Klara and the Sun"
I m pleased to share that we launched Village Global III, our latest $250M seed fund, and that Reid Hoffman is joining as Chairman. Bloomberg News covered the announcement here. Our formal blog post over is over at the Village Global site. It s been a very busy past couple years for me working intensively on Continue reading "Village Global III"
Vladimir by Julia May Jones is examines the marital dynamics of a post-menopausal middle aged couple, reveals much about the nature of desire, and casts nuanced judgment on the moral crusading of young people ostensibly upset about on-campus sexual shenanigans. The novel s protagonist is a woman professor who s aging and thus losing her powers of Continue reading "Book Review: Vladimir by Julia…
A young Walter Isaacson in 1992 published a wonderful biography of Henry Kissinger, which I read this week. It s a sweeping history of Kissinger s life and his consequential years in public service. Despite its level of detail, Isaacson writes lucidly with the skills of a journalist, so there s good forward momentum over the course of Continue reading "Book Review: Henry Kissinger by Walter…
I spent a bunch of time in Singapore this summer. What a wonderful city state. And a remarkable achievement by its founders to build such a thriving metropolis over the 58 years it has been independent. Here are some assorted impressions. I incorporate a few quotes from Jeevan Vasagar, author of the excellent Lion City: Continue reading "Impressions of Singapore"
The latest Conversations with Tyler podcast features Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok reflecting on the 20th anniversary of writing Marginal Revolution. Longtime readers Jeff Holmes, Vitalik Buterin, and I ask questions and offer our own reflections. Audio and transcript here. Video embedded below. Some history: In the summer of 2006, I saw Tyler post on Continue reading "Marginal Revolution s 20th…
A few years ago I attended a silent concentration meditation retreat where we spent many consecutive days examining our breath in microscopic detail. The teachers gave very specific instructions we were to follow from the crack of dawn through to dinner. About halfway through the 10 day retreat, I met with a teacher 1:1 to Continue reading "Relaxed Concentration Unlocks a Secret to Winning: Not…
This is the yard of the tour guide who showed us around Angkor Wat yesterday: He has 10 siblings. He s the only one who graduated from high school and he makes by far the most money in his family. He sends money to his family members most of whom are tuk tuk taxi drivers Continue reading "Fintech Preferences from the Unbanked of Cambodia"
Some recent reading. My intro in italics; direct highlights from the book follow. Index of Self-Destructive Acts by Christopher Beha A wonderfully rich novel encompassing “I haven’t thought about it in a long time, but Bill James developed a stat. It adds up balks, hit batsmen, wild pitches, errors—all the things a pitcher does that Continue reading "What I’ve Been Reading (June, 2023)"
Much of my travel these days takes me back to places I ve already been. The past couple years I ve made repeat visits to UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Singapore, Saudi, Germany, Austria, Chile, Mexico. There s a certain confidence that springs from familiarity: you cross the immigration checkpoint and walk the foreign streets with a comforting foreknowledge. The Continue reading "Arriving in a New Place:…
Superstar actors in Hollywood don t read scripts and audition. Producers get on their hands and knees and beg Tom Cruise to accept their gig not the other way around. In business, most of the hiring advice to CEOs presumes a clear power dynamic in favor of the employer. But when you are the one Continue reading "Hiring Superstars is Different"
How easy is it to separate your experience of someone s style from their substance? By style I mean a person s personality, work habits, communication patterns, and so on. By substance I mean a person s overall effectiveness, performance, intelligence, etc. in the workplace. Many professionals assert they can work with and respect the performance of people Continue reading "Thinking Clearly about…
Meditation teacher James Baraz played this video of Ram Dass s words at a recent dharma talk, and it s beautifully done: Sit Around the Fire. When you re in the right mood, watch it on full screen for 8 minutes. Truth.
Exactly what he does, and how, is difficult to describe, Anderson Cooper says about music producer Rick Rubin on 60 Minutes. Cut to interview between Cooper and Rubin. Do you play instruments? Cooper asks. Barely, Rubin replies. Do you know how to work a sound board? No, Rubin replies, “I have no technical ability. And Continue reading "On Intentionally Vague, Mystique-Infused Explanations of…
Andrew Sullivan commented on Kathryn Shulz s book, in his podcast interview with her, I know a master at work when I see one, and I saw a master at work when reading this memoir. I hold Sullivan s judgment in the highest esteem, so that single sentence led to an insta-purchase of Shulz s memoir, Lost Continue reading "Book Notes: Lost Found by Kathryn Shulz"
Books, books, books. The highlights include Sally Rooney s newest novel, Lulu Miller s memoir/history, and Isaacson s da Vinci biography. Why Fish Don t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller A tremendous memoir slash history book about the crazy first president of Stanford University, David P. Jordan, the taxonomy Continue reading "What I ve Been Reading…
So many people are turned off by the idea of “networking, because they think of it as fake, slimy glad-handing. But that’s not how it should be! I’m thrilled that my Startup of You co-author Reid Hoffman and I are launching a career strategy podcast today that discusses how to create authentic human connection, pivot Continue reading "Startup of You: The Podcast"
N.B. I ve organized all my blog posts on meditation retreats and Buddhist into this one long page. If you re new, you can read that page for more context on my journey to date, my summary of the Buddhist argument, and my experiences at other long retreats. This post is a dispatch from my latest retreat. Continue reading " Mindfulness of Consciousness Meditation Retreat"
The best practical guide on meditation I ve ever read, as informed by a Buddhist understanding but written in exactingly clear and precise English, is The Mind Illuminated by John Yates and Matthew Immergut. I first read it several years ago at Russ Roberts recommendation, and re-read it for a second time recently. There is a Continue reading "Book Notes: The Mind Illuminated"
This week, Reid and I were delighted to release a new edition of our career strategy guide The Startup of You. 10 years since the original publication in 2012, much in the world of work has changed and the revised and updated edition includes advice on how to survive and thrive in the post-pandemic Continue reading "10 Year Anniversary Edition of Startup of You"
Lawrence Wright, a writer I ll read no matter the topic, has new piece in the New Yorker The Elephant in the Courtroom that explores whether an elephant in the Bronx zoo should be granted personhood legal rights. It s a fascinating deep dive into the state of animal rights more generally. And it includes sentences like Continue reading "The Interdependence of Animals and the Human Kingdom"
There s a Franzen-sized hole in our reading lives that gets filled about once every eight years that s how Dwight Garner put it about Jonathan Franzen s latest novel Crossroads. What is the hole Franzen fills when he publishes a new novel? Among other things, our desire for piercing insight into all matters of the American Continue reading "Book Review: Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen"
I m quite interested in the literature on happiness and meaning and yet I usually pass on reading new articles or books on the topics. I liked Paul Bloom’s explanation for why he s the same, from his new book The Sweet Spot: There is a famous remark by the physicist Wolfgang Pauli, dismissing the work of Continue reading "Book Reviews: The Sweet Spot and 4,000 Weeks, on Happiness and Meaning and…
I ve been as busy as ever and thus delinquent in sharing some highlights from recent books. 1. The Institute by Stephen King. Totally gripping and addictive novel. Outstanding plot premise from a master of the craft. Expect to stay up late while reading. 2. The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier by Ian Continue reading "What I’ve Been Reading (September 2021)"
Richard Hanania, always provocative and interesting, has a great piece up on the TSA and Covid restrictions. If we re not careful, the overreaction to 9/11 that led to an insane, ineffective, permanent security theater that we deal with to this day the same could happen with masking, lockdowns, and other restrictions related to Covid. Continue reading "Are Covid Restrictions the New TSA?"
I was delighted to chat with Samir Kaji on his podcast Venture Unlocked about the history and strategy of Village Global, and a range of other inside baseball VC topics like portfolio construction. We launched the firm a few years ago; it s been an amazing journey. Here s the Spotify link or in Apple Podcasts. And Continue reading "The Future of VC and Lessons from Village Global"
I spoke to Brad Feld for an hour about Nietzsche and his new book (co-authored with Dave Jilk) of The Entrepreneur s Weekly Nietzsche. The audio version is on the Village Global podcast here or YouTube version here. My favorite part of the conversation was about how difficult it is to see the world clearly. We Continue reading "Brad Feld on Nietzsche and Entrepreneurship"
I read and enjoyed Walter Isaacson s new book The Code Breaker, about Jennifer Daudna, mRNA, and gene editing. Here s Isaacson s claim about the importance of this topic: The invention of CRISPR and the plague of COVID will hasten our transition to the third great revolution of modern times. These revolutions arose from the discovery, beginning Continue reading "The Code Breakers"