Insights
newsletter
From the real-world impact of AI and the rise of operator-investors, to the growing influence of women and underestimated founders in the funding landscape. Sarah breaks down what’s happening beyond Silicon Valley, explore how capital and media now move together, and spotlight the billion-dollar ideas driving the next wave of innovation.
- Personal Growth, Venture Capital
Q1 2023: You’re Holding Yourself Back and Don’t Even Know It, SVB Collapse and Venture Markets
What a wild quarter it has been!
Between the Silicon Valley Bank collapse (and now First Republic Bank on the edge , with the stock now down 95% for the year to date!), ChatGPT taking over and the further fragmentation of our world with US-China tensions increasing, it's been a lot.
Yet, I've been encouraged by a recent read about Jeff Bezos' approach that I'm implementing to balance out the constant that is change:
"FOCUS ON WHAT DOESN'T CHANGE"
Jeff Bezos, known for his long-term value focus once said, "I very frequently get asked about what's going to change in the next ten years, and almost never - what's not going to change".
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Personal Growth
Never Too Late to Startup, Compound Interest
Love him or hate him, Naval who built AngelList has mastered the art of succinct thought-provoking tweets.
"So, compound interest is a marvelous force, where if you start out with 1x what you have, and then if you increase 20% a year for 30 years, it’s not that you got 30 years times 20% added on. It was compounding, so it just grew, and grew, and grew until you suddenly got a massive amount of whatever it is. Whether it’s goodwill, or love, or relationships, or money. So, I think compound interest is a very important force.
You have to be able to play a long-term game."
- Personal Growth
Finding Greenlights in Life
I've been digging into famous actor, Matthew McConaughey’s recent audio version of his book Greenlights this long weekend.
I never thought so deeply about what a 'greenlight' meant until tuning into Matthew's apt description—just like how'd you react when the traffic lights turn green, a sign for 'go', the perfect timing where you need to accelerate forward, or potentially miss your chance.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
We cannot fully appreciate the light without the shadows. We have to be thrown off balance to find our footing. It’s better to jump than fall. And here I am.
If we stay and process within ourselves, in the joy of the doing, we will never choke at the finish line. Why? Because we're not thinking of the finish line. We're not looking at the clock. We’re not watching ourselves on the Jumbotron performing. We are performing in real time where the approach is the destination.