Weekly digest #70
How social media shortens your life, How to develop product sense, Is it time to look for a new job? And how do I start?
We (Matt and Shray) read hundreds of articles on company building, venture investing, and self-management and curate the best ones into a weekly digest to help founders and operators stay on the top of their game.
Better thinking
Ask before you intro (5 minute read)
This one felt deserving of a spot right at the top. A classic from Elad, but strangely, often forgotten today. It’s simple folks, secure a double opt-in before you make an introduction. That is, both sides need to agree to the intro before you make it, please.
How social media shortens your life (15 minute read)
Arguably the most memorable read this year from Shray’s perspective. Seneca once wrote, “Life is short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future.” Social media makes you do all three. But you have the choice to do the opposite, and to expand time, for living long is not just about maximising the days in your life, but also the life in your days. This moment is the youngest you’ll ever be. It’s a moment your future-selves will wish they could have back. Don’t waste it scrolling through posts you won’t even remember tomorrow.
Will AI become a national mental health crisis? (2 minute read)
A study from MIT found that AI reprograms the brain in ways that lead to cognitive decline. The study is small, and use of these tools is early, so more work needs to be done and a lot could change to shape AI usage over the coming years. Nonetheless, it raises a question about whether this is a future we want to pursue. The knowledge work revolution brought us an obesity crisis, while having multiple causes, was partially rooted in the lack of physical activity Americans get. What will we do if the use of AI tools causes a similar stupidity crisis? If it happens it will take many years to be obvious it's a problem. How should we adapt? What are your thoughts? Let us know.
Operational tactics
How to develop product sense (12 minute read)
If good taste is more important than ever in the AI age, then nothing matters more than mastering product sense. Product sense is the skill of consistently being able to craft products (or make changes to existing products) that have the intended impact on their users. This skill relies on empathy to discover meaningful user needs and creativity to derive solutions that effectively address those needs. Building empathy means observing people interacting with products and deconstructing everyday products. Improving creativity calls for learning from great product thinkers and being curious about the future of technology and your domain. You want to bookmark this one.
Land vs. expand in the AI era (1 minute read)
Expansion was easier than the initial land in enterprise software sales. AI has flipped the equation on its head. Today, enterprises which used to take 9 - 18 months to adopt a new technology have become increasingly AI-curious, setting aside experimental budgets as boardroom excitement grows. However, the complete picture is murky at best and the real measure of success for AI-native products and services is expansion. To capitalize on the inversion, sales organizations must be deeply involved in product deployment. Forward deployed engineers, currently the most coveted role, has become central in showcasing value quickly inside customer environments. Finally, sales compensation models need to weigh expansions more heavily than lands.
Winning teams hire founders (3 minute read)
Being a founder isn’t about the title but the mindset. Once you pick it up, you care more, improve faster, and end up outperforming everyone. Winning teams at the earliest stages of company development know this and hire people who act like the company is theirs. The irony is that people with a founder mindset rarely look like perfect candidates on paper because they’re usually generalists who’ve switched between roles and run side-projects. To a normal hiring manager, that looks like inconsistency. In reality, it’s displaying agency. The founder’s mindset, more than process and specialization, is what keeps the company leaping forward instead of inching along.
Refer and we’ll send you our favorite books as a “thank you” for spreading the word.
Venture investing
Mispriced talent (1 minute read)
Discovering mispriced talent demands payment in either effort or uncertainty. Conscientious founders willing to endure the slog and work hard to know every person in a given role pay in effort. High chaos founders willing to look silly and persist in the face of low status pay in uncertainty. The two main alternatives are paying up and paying in mistakes. Paying up means offering a deal so attractive that talent actively seeks you out. Paying in mistakes means incorrectly thinking you’ve hired someone outstanding at a bargain price, typically caused by not being well calibrated to what greatness looks like. If you’re finding mispriced talent, make sure you know how you’re paying. If you’re not paying in effort or uncertainty, good chance you’re deceiving yourself.
Era of mass cognition (6 minute read)
VCs are constantly searching for inflections that propel startups beyond what they could achieve through effort alone. But once in a generation, we witness a technological sea change that transforms everything in its path. Today, we’re in the dawn of mass cognition, a wave democratizing intelligence itself and reshaping our relationship with technology. Until recently, machines couldn’t grasp our messy, probabilistic input. But LLMs changed the status quo and are meeting us on our terms. Compute now has an API to humans. The companies that rise in this era will not simply build faster processors or prettier interfaces; they will be the ones that best understand, interpret, and serve human intent.
The dangers of passive funds (2 minute read)
Funds backed by passive investors (think pensions, ISAs, ETFs, etc) now control nearly half the market. Feels like a bubble. Research shows every $1 flowing into stocks inflates market value by $5, driving price regardless of company fundamentals. Not only that, but when a generation (like baby boomers) need to sell, will that trigger a dropoff? Lots wanted to sell, few wanting to buy.
Career management
The summer energy protocol (2 minute read)
Most leaders don’t have an energy problem, they have a system problem. This post outlines a 4-part protocol for sustainable performance and recovery, backed by neuroscience and real-world metrics. You’ll learn how to: 1. Align deep work with your energy peaks 2. Design micro-transitions to protect cognitive load 3. Track recovery using data, not guesswork 4. Run weekly energy audits to prevent burnout and build reserves. What’s the one shift you’ll make this week to protect your reserves?
Why your career playbook expired: The new rules for 2025 job transitions (62 minute listen)
Six months ago taking an IC role as a senior leader would have been career suicide. Today, it might be your smartest move. The rules for careers haven’t just changed, they’ve inverted. Big tech companies no longer provide the stability they once promoted and growth companies without growth are career quicksand. The people making ‘irrational decisions’ like taking pay cuts, stepping down levels, and leaving stability, are positioning themselves to win in the long-run. Tune into the 2025 career reset with Nikhyl Singhal and Carly Malatskey on the Skip.
Is it time to look for a new job? And how do I start? (5 minute read)
If you find yourself disengaged at work, wondering if you’re really in the right place, it may be time to consider a job search. But job searches require serious effort. Uncovering new opportunities means sticking to a clear plan that snaps you out of limbo and provides a palpable sense of progress that keeps you energized and motivated. Ami Vora (CPO at Faire, ex-WhatsApp, FB, IG) recommends creating a week-by-week roadmap, outlining your requirements to narrow down your search and interviewing process. In the end, every search is an inflection point that provides a chance to recommit with fresh energy or step into something new. Her full list of suggestions is worth a skim.