Welcome to the Startupy newsletter, a laid back column about very serious ideas. Every week, we curate the hottest links from our universe and share them with you here. As a reminder, Startupy is a community-curated knowledge graph. Our mission is to organize, index, and interconnect the most meaningful tech, culture, and business insights - we're currently in beta. If you're feeling the vibe, consider becoming a member. At $20/month or $180/year - you get unrestricted access to our collective intelligence engine and community. Forwarded this email? Subscribe now to collect and connect the dots across trending topics and delightful rabbit holes, delivered weekly to your inbox. |
|
🪐 HOT LINKS IN OUR UNIVERSE |
|
In my experience there are really two things that lead to happiness and everything else is mostly noise. The two things are contribution and abundance. If you can align your life with where you have the talent to make a large, meaningful, and real contribution to the world, your circle, or your family, then you can be very happy… However, this doesn't quite work by itself, which brings me to the second point: abundance. An easy way to think of abundance is that it's the anti-hater/anti-jealous mindset. If you believe there is plenty in the world for everyone and you are always happy to see people who contribute succeed, then you become part of "team contribution." You don't worry that someone is getting ahead of you at work or that someone made a lot of money or that someone is better looking than you, because you believe in abundance over scarcity and you can focus on maximizing your contribution. |
|
I’m not sure where this obsession with marketing comes from. Most founders seem to think that they are excellent at product building and that they need help with marketing. In my experience it’s very much the opposite. |
|
So what would an internet that meets Rawls’ standards look like? Some general anti-principles start to come into focus: Don’t build a system that only benefits the wealthy, because what if you’re poor? Don’t build a system that disproportionately favors early adopters, because what if you’re not embedded in networks that give you early access to knowledge? Don’t build a system that demands extreme technological savvy to succeed, because what if you don’t have the aptitude or resources to learn those skills? |
|
Handy templates to help you say no in any situation - thoughtfully. |
|
Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.” A grand vision is great, but the best companies are often focused on challenging but tangible near term goals. If a founder can’t move from vision to on the ground details quickly...bad sign |
|
You could think of a tipping business model as a call option on human nature. People who are bullish on business models like this are bullish on the underlying asset class—humanity. Skeptics, on the other hand, are humanity bears. |
|
The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake… We think too much of production, and too little of consumption. One result is that we attach too little importance to enjoyment and simple happiness, and that we do not judge production by the pleasure that it gives to the consumer. |
|
🔥 POPULAR RABBIT HOLES ON STARTUPY |
|
Click to get key insights and highlights in minutes, not hours. |
|
209 connections → 113 content, 91 companies, 5 related topics |
|
109 connections → 40 content, 57 companies, 12 related topics |
|
111 connections → 69 content, 37 companies, 5 related topics |
|
240 connections → 175 content, 54 companies, 11 related topics |
|
👆 Use the Startupy randomizer to get inspired ☝️ |
|
434 contributions this week 1,197 connections this week 796 highlights this week |
|
Why are tokenized communities interesting? While they have much in common with more traditional organizations, tokenized communities promote fundamentally different economic models than the mainstream organizations that preceded them. I attempt to concretely define tokenized communities in this essay, but the summary is that they are progressively self-managing and collectively-governed communities that work toward the proliferation and development of a common meme using a token as its primary means of coordination. I think the most interesting unlock is that last part: “the proliferation and development of a common meme using a token as its primary means of coordination.” Organizations of the past required either a profit-motive or philanthropic contributions to survive. Tokenized communities allow for sustainable economic models built around culture, where folks can diverge and converge, sharing value in the production of a shared meme. We’re only just scratching the surface of what this could mean. |
|
A podcast worth listening to? This episode of the Interdependence podcast with Jacob Horne of Zora was really mind-expanding as new economic models are concerned. The idea of a “hyperstructure” continues to be super influential to my thinking around tokenized communities. |
|
Things worth reading and watching? Horne's essay discussed in the podcast above explains hyperstructures: what they are, how they work and why they will be the basis of the internet for the next decades to come. Forefront’s “Vibes Infinity Flow” philosophy digs into the polarity of tokenized communities that creates their major opportunities (and risks). This collab is a great introduction to bridging traditional business models to the world of tokenized communities, and the powerful impact it can have on culture. |
|
Projects worth following? A community of 80 artists making music in a 3 month sprint, using web3 tools and mechanics to disrupt traditional notions of music creation. An open-source protocol for efficiently splitting onchain income. Whenever a Split receives funds, each recipient gets their share. |
|
It's trippy, come see for yourself |
|
We're introducing newsletter sponsorships in June! Interested in supporting our work while reaching a community of more than 17,000 wicked smart, tech curious, thoughtful people? Book a slot and learn more here. |
|
|
