Read, Heard, Observed 4: Friday 26th May 2023
#CapitalAtRisk
Part IV
Each Friday I’ll share three things1:
Something I’ve read.
Something I’ve heard.
Something I’ve observed.
Read
This week I’ve read ‘Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier’ by Kevin Kelly.
In the book Kevin shares his wisdom on a wide range of topics, from career and relationships to parenting and finances. He seems wise, experienced and just a really nice guy.
One of the key themes of the book is the importance of finding your own path in life — be true to yourself and don’t be afraid to ignore convention and take risks. He also emphasises the importance of learning and growing throughout your life, not just while you’re young.
Another key theme of the book is the importance of relationships. Kevin believes that our relationships are the most important things in our lives, and he offers advice on how to build and maintain strong relationships. He also discusses the importance of giving back to your community.
Here are a few of my favourites:
“Perhaps the most counterintuitive truth of the universe is that the more you give to others, the more you’ll get. Understanding this is the beginning of wisdom”.
“Keep showing up. 99% of success is just showing up. In fact, most success is just persistence”.
““No” is an acceptable answer even without a reason”.
“Don’t be the best. Be the only”.
Heard
I went to UCL this week to listen to Sam Altman during his brief visit to London — I was straight onto this one and turned up early to queue with Katie and a few hundred others.
I was really looking forward to hearing what Sam had to say. Last time there was an “I simply must go to this event” moment was when Peter Thiel came to London in 20142. And naturally I was excited about YCLDN, which I put together in 2011, when I managed to persuade Y Combinator Partner Harj Taggar to come to London3.
I was really disappointed with the UCL event though. It came across like UCL was trying to make a promo video — Azeem, the interviewer, had to do a couple of ‘takes’ because a camera operator made some noise while moving and then after Sam’s interview was over a panel came on but I don’t know why — they didn’t add any value at all — everyone in the room had come to hear from Sam. The panel flattened any energy that was left — a real missed opportunity for Azeem to ask some deep, tough questions and for UCL to show how forward thinking they are.
Observed
Added to the above I observed that there was just no chemistry between Sam and Azeem. Sam spent the whole interview looking off into the distance and away from Azeem.
Is he bored with all this? I don’t think so but I do think Sam’s intention for this trip around Europe was a YC-style ‘talk to users’ trip and he just wasn’t getting that for 90% of the event.
It was great to see Sam perk up when answering questions from the audience. Mainly because those questions were the only decent ones.
In other news
☑️ Podcast 🎙️
☑️ Book 📙
☐ Fund 💰
I’ve waited for over four years to tick box number 2, above.
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Important: None of these posts are investment advice. If you are thinking about investing you should seek the advice of a suitably qualified independent advisor.
#CapitalAtRisk
Although not last Friday — I was away in Northumberland sorting out some family stuff.