Wake Up
w.279 | Interpersonal Dynamics, Investment Performance, AI Report, Vertical AI, & 2E Teen Camp
Dear Friends,
Hope you’re enjoying the summer sunshine. I’m sorry for the skipped edition, but I had a good reason. Last weekend, I attended a full-on intensive T-group led by Dalglish, our coach-in-residence and coach to venture-backed founders (he has a literature review on the efficacy).
T-group (Training Group) is the experiential learning methodology behind Stanford Graduate School of Business's most popular elective, "Interpersonal Dynamics" (affectionately known as "Touchy Feely"). Described by psychologist Carl Rogers as "the most powerful educational innovation of the 20th century," this approach creates a unique learning laboratory where:
Participants work in small, unstructured groups with no formal leader
Learning happens through real-time interactions, not theoretical discussions or a didactic seminar
Members give and receive authentic feedback on how they affect others
"Here and now" experiences become the foundation for profound growth
Participants practice raising difficult issues, expressing feelings, and building connections
T-groups create an intentional "organizational vacuum" that draws out central interpersonal issues. By working through the ambiguity together, participants develop skills that are directly transferable to leadership challenges.
I may be able to write up the debrief for next week, in which case I’ll share more. In short, it was super intense (in a good way, mostly).
Today's Contents:
Sensible Investing: Trends
Song of the Week: Wake Up
Sensible Investing: Trends
University of California Fund Ditches Hedge Fund. Chief Investment Officer says stocks and bonds would have prevented ‘all the drama.’ Just another argument for indexing.
Same vibes on this x thread that discusses the commercial real estate funds that underperformed for pensioners.
Larry Summers Broke Up with the University of Austin on X. Interesting data point.
The Substack AI Report. The lean toward research and ideation seems right to me.
The Vertical Review: Q1 2025. Healthcare captured 26% of all vertical AI financing dollars and >30% of large deals ($50M+ rounds) in Q1 2025, for a total of $2.7B in capital raised across 152 deals.
Public Service Announcement: 2E Teen Camp
If I had a teenager, I’d send them to 2E Teen Camp. I’m not being paid to promote this; it’s just a public service announcement. I’m a huge admirer of the 1517 team and their approach to finding young genius.
We’re excited to invite teens aged 14 - 18 to apply to 2E Camp, hosted by 1517 Fund — a venture fund that backs brilliant young builders.
Apply by August 3rd here. (It’s free!)
2E stands for twice exceptional — and whether teens are neurodivergent, gifted, self-taught, wildly curious, or just doesn’t quite fit into the traditional mold, this camp is for them.
Song of the Week: Wake Up
Here on YouTube. Cool animated music video.
Why this one? It’s simply a good recent find.
Someone online wrote: The track features dreamy guitar riffs, a gliding bassline, and raspy vocals that accompany a subtle disco beat. The song’s chill melodies and effortless groove make it great for a relaxed listening environment.
For a song that is most enjoyable for its simplicity, its depth increases when Kowloon describes it “a song about sleep walking through a life that no longer feels like your own.”
“Wake Up” by Kowloon
Wake up
Live someone else's dream
Smile smile
Cuz they're all watchingSelfie of the Week
Luckily, this weekend I got to put all my newly honed interpersonal dynamics skills in action with a (mostly) girls' trip for one of my best friend’s 40th birthday.
If there were a college course on ‘interpersonal dynamics,’ it would probably be delivered by the choice to opt in to the Panhellenic society. Basically, a three-year intensive t-group, you will definitely receive frequent and direct feedback on how you make other people feel!
My friend Rachel (birthday girl who also has originated and sold more commercial solar projects than anyone else in the US, probably) practiced this skill extensively at her ‘core four’ sorority. I was quick to identify that a Duke sorority wasn’t my place of comparative advantage or best time investment, but that’s why it’s great to have friends with diverse interests and skills :)
I arrived early to this girls' trip and had been paired with the most aggressively feminine friend. I came back to the room, and my new roommate had rifled through my suitcase and declared that what she found was ‘inappropriately monochromatic’, but look, that’s a problem that a quick trip to an island boutique can solve.
Thanks for reading, friends. Please always be in touch.
As always,
Katelyn