You can find a lot about a company's undisclosed strategy by simply looking at what positions it is hiring for.

1/ Here are my notes from @robertwrighter's book - Nonzero: the logic of human destiny. I enjoyed the book very much.

The basic premise of the book is that history has a direction which favors co-operation and non-zero sum games, and that causes an increase in complexity.

2/ Starting from the first replicating molecule which co-operated with an outer layer to form first proto-cell, evolutionary and cultural history is full of examples where two entities come together to survive and progress a lot more than they would have done individually.

3/ This co-operative entity fares much better than two individual entities because of specialization. If two entities are in the same boat - that they win together or lose together - then trust is implicit.

4/ In a non-zero sum game, trust causes entities to focus on what they do best.

For example, eukaryotic cells - the ones animals and plants have - emerged when two proto-cells merged, and one took the role of energy generator (mitochondria), the other specialized in protection.

5/ Some scientists believe that even nucleus in a cell is a result of an early cell merging with another cell.

So M&A is not a recent phenomena, entities have been merging because of common interests ever since life started.

It’s a mistake to assume that open-minded people have weak opinions.

On the contrary, they are actually strongly opinionated because they actively seek evidence contrary to their beliefs which makes them converge on beliefs that are only updated if there’s compelling evidence.

Here’s me trying to make sense of the unprecedented 2020 bull rally of stock markets.

(A thread)

1/ The simple answer to why stock markets are up is always that there’s more demand for stocks than supply.

So the real question is: why is there more demand for stocks?

2/ Actually, what’s happening is what should happen.

Central banks across the world, especially the fed in the US, are providing cheap liquidity across the board to institutions.

With interest rates falling to 0% and below, bonds are no longer attractive.

3/ The central banks are injecting this extra liquidity to stimulate economic activity.

They’ve made risk-free investments such as bonds so unattractive that the only place for money to go is towards relatively risky investments which are stocks.

4/ More than anything else, what central banks want is inflation.

They want things to become pricey so wages grow, profits grow and people’s perception of recession goes away because you’re getting more money than last year.

Recruit exceptional people by showing them a promised land.

a 🧵

1/ A recruitment strategy should be indistinguishable from a marketing strategy.

2/ Entrepreneurs spend a lot of time understanding the market, talking to customers & customizing marketing messages to customer segments.

However, they often fail to realize that recruiting people to work for you is no different from recruiting customers to use your product.

3/ It’s true that the key difference is that you’re asking for money from customers while you’re offering to pay money to prospective employees.

However, for exceptional people, money offered is a commodity because many other companies are offering them the same or higher money.

4/ Exceptional people never look for jobs; jobs look for them.

Only two types of startups exist: technology-led and culture-led

(a short thread on this mental model)

🔥 It's also the 7th chapter of my book https://t.co/iLfMb0xhnD

1/ There are two ways an entrepreneur can fail:

a) launch a product that nobody desires;

b) launch a product that people desire but with no significant advantage over established competitors (hence give no strong reason for a customer to switch away).

2/ These two failure modes have their analogous success modes:

a) culture-led startup success where a new desire is discovered and fulfilled;

b) technology-led startup success where new technology is used to fulfill an existing desire.

3/ Let’s explore culture-led startups first.

They are the ones in which the entrepreneur is able to observe a pattern of new derivative desires that didn’t exist before.

Such trends are very hard to spot because initially they can be mistaken either as fads or insignificant.

4/ However, an entrepreneur who has good observation skills is able to connect the dots from diverse sources to grow his conviction about a cultural shift just when the market is

TODAY I WILL BE SHOWING YOU HOW TO CONVERT YOUR PHYSICAL SKILL TO A DIGITAL PRODUCT. part A

People ask me one question over and over: What is a digital product? And why should an entrepreneur focus on digital products instead of just their physical counterparts?

What Is a Product?

A product is any item that you can sell to someone else in exchange for cash or barter. It could be a piece of produce, an electronic gadget, or a comfy couch.
Until the Internet altered commerce for the better, a product was always a physical object or item.

The virtual world has opened up a new category of products (which will get into later).
The point, however, is that a product is something you sell. Most often, you ask. for money in exchange for the product. That’s how you earn a living.

What Is a Digital Product?

A digital product is any product you sell online that doesn’t have a physical form or substance. You can’t hold a website theme in your hand, smell an e-book, or taste a software program — Uber eats does come close though ; ).

Why Are Digital Products Preferable to Physical Products?

You might wonder why you would offer digital products instead of creating your own physical product. After all, physical products dominated commerce for hundreds of thousands of years.

Last week, I wrote a thread about generating momentum for startups.

Today's thread is on how emerging fund managers can generate momentum for their fund.

Whatever you do, momentum is so impt to get ppl onboard -- for hiring, for sales, for fundraising.

Read on >>

1) First, why does momentum matter?

Think about it from the "buyer's perspective" -- it is almost ALWAYS better to wait and get more information if you can get the same deal. Right?

More info on a potential investment. More info on a new product. Etc.

2) There are few situations where it's impt to be a first mover.

If you're a product buyer, it could be you have a dire situation at your company that alternatives can't handle.

But if you have a decent alternative (alternative product or alt investment), it's better to wait.

3) That means it's YOUR JOB to create momentum. Whether for fundraising, sales, or hiring.

So with that in mind, how do you generate momentum for fund fundraising?

4) In a prior tweet about generating momentum for startup fundraising, essentially I said to limit your supply (the amnt you are raising) in tranches AND to increase demand by packing in mtgs.

Unfort this doesn't quite work well for funds.

How to go from $0 to $10K/mo and quit your 9-5.

A thread.

Let's say you have a 9-5

You make anywhere from $40-100K

Not bad

but you hate your Boss

You hate the job

and you KNOW your dream life doesn't include a 9-5 Job

Your goal is to QUIT

I will show you Exactly how

Keep reading

First thing - STAY at your 9-5

for now, at least

You'll quit once you hit $5K/month

If possible, systemize your 9-5 role

Create systems, hire a Phillipino VA

Buy back your time

If you have 3-4 hrs/day at your 9-5

to build your own Business

it's VERY powerful

OK, Step 1 - REFLECT

Assess yourself

Ask

"what am I good at?"

"what am I passionate about?"

"what kind of life do I want?"

"where do I have leverage?"

"where do I have connections?"

answer these Q's

Step 2 - PICK NICHE

Marketing is the industry I rec getting into

Pick one of these 👇

NICHES
- Paid Ads
- Content Marketing
- Outbound Marketing
- Retention Marketing
- SMS Marketing
- Web Design
- Meme Marketing
- Personal Branding
- Twitter Marketing
- Influencer Marketing