Worms
w.216 | AI, Franchises, Austin Scenius, Early Venture Performance, Deep Tech
Dear Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the States! I’m thankful, as always, to have you here and for the conversations that I get to have with so many of you.
As fair warning, I’m going to side-step the OpenAI management/board drama. You are either deeply interested and have read everything or not. Instead, I’ve opted to share links to good analyses I’ve consumed over the last few weeks.
Today's Contents:
Good Reads: Sensible Investing
Austin Scenius
Song of the Week: Worms
Good Reads: Sensible Investing
The Crash to Come. Insurance companies have responded to climate disasters by raising premiums and dropping customers. Now, there’s a new housing bubble waiting to burst.
Mistakes of Omission. Robert Vinall 2014. Simple to skim.
State of the Franchise Industry by Slow Ventures. Good analysis for anyone looking at the SMB space.
The Definitive Guide to Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds. Mostly Europe-focused but still good.
State of AI Report by Retool.
Betting on Deep Tech. Is deep tech a good area to build in and invest in? (TLDR: Yes!)
Obviously, this is a VC talking his book, but it's still good data:
AI: The Coming Revolution with a 114-page deck from Coatue. Sales material makes the best content marketing.
A GP’s View on VC Fund Performance (When It’s “Early”). Good set of metrics for seed funds from Preface Ventures:
Zoomers will overtake boomers at work next year.
Austin Scenius on Obviously The Future
The definition of Scenius from Kevin Kelly:
Brian Eno suggested the word to convey the extreme creativity that groups, places or "scenes" can occasionally generate. His actual definition is: "Scenius stands for the intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. It is the communal form of the concept of the genius."
Individuals immersed in a productive scenius will blossom and produce their best work. When buoyed by scenius, you act like genius. Your like-minded peers, and the entire environment inspire you.
In the last few weeks on Obviously The Future, we’ve highlighted Austin-based experience designers who successfully mix online engagement with real-life connection. I’ve been calling Austin, Texas, “America’s podcasting capital with the spirit animal of a golden retriever.” It’s a unique scene with its own definitive genius. Nick, Elle, and Warren approach community building in a unique way but each way works. They are just three of many of the people that make up the Austin entrepreneurial scenius; introducing each of them:
Nick Gray, author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party. We chatted about The Friendship Funnel. Nick’s now testing Salons and half-day conferences. I helped moderate one of a few weeks ago; here is a breakdown of his learning.
Elle Beecher, founder of The Board, a weekly walking community for people who are kind, curious, and open-minded to have ‘life-changing conversations’. We chatted all about her Board Walks Empire.
Warren Carlyle, founder of OctoNation - the world’s largest Octopus Fan Club and online brand manager extraordinaire. We chatted about building Fanatical Learning Communities.
Bonus: Here are the book recommendations they would give their younger self
Song of the Week: Worms
Video on YouTube.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend (early 40s, male, 6’1) was sitting alone at Cheer Up Charlie’s, a bar in Austin. At around 10 pm, a group of women walked in and displayed ‘intense and powerful female energy.’ It turns out that Cheer Up Charlie’s was the after-party location for groups of GenZ women who had just attended the Ashnikko WEEDKILLERS concert.
As he recounted his ‘crazy night,’ we started listening to the album WEEDKILLERS. And, uh, it’s amazing. While the album is full of gems, Worms is a standout song.
WEEDKILLER was based on a short story written by Ashnikko about a post-apocalyptic world inspired by Dune. It follows her main character, or alter ego, Aster, who is hardened by the world she faces. Throughout the album, Aster battles enemies and slowly finds herself along her journey.
Ashnikko is the GenZ woman's alternative escape from Taylor Swift’s version of feminine power. Take her original single, Working B*tch, a song whose lyrics are too explicit for me to blast in this newsletter. Amazing stuff.
“Worms” by Ashnikko
The world is burning, I got worms in my brains
Gonna bleach my eyebrows, change my name
The world is burning and I laugh at the blaze
Gonna bleach my eyebrows, change my name
Play my life like a video game
I don't mind, I'm driving through flames
And I'm riding through the desert with a sword on my back
I'm in a what-the-fuck monster truck, wanna go fastSelfie of the Week
Warren gifted me a giant realistic octopus friend. Sadly, these sold out during Black Friday, but smaller versions are still available.
Bonus Thanksgiving pic with my niece. Who do you think is getting a stuffed Octopus for Christmas this year?
Thanks for reading, friends. Please always be in touch.
As always,
Katelyn