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EXCLUDING EVERYTHING
This chart is basically a parody of the recent coverage of inflation. Almost every month has included a new basket of things to exclude to unearth “true” inflation. Well, the debate is over; inflation is higher even if you exclude everything you actually need to live.
We still believe there are confounding factors in the supply chain which will make this extreme increase somewhat temporary, and signs are already emerging of an easing in some categories. That said, where we land is likely to be structurally higher than what most people in developed markets have become accustomed to over recent decades.
The Winds of Change
This is one of the better memos we can recall from Howard Marks. He covers his views on how the world is changing for business, work, democracy, and inequality, amongst other topics.
The years since then have seen a massive shift in our environment. Today, unlike in the 1950s and ’60s, everything seems to change every day. It’s particularly hard to think of a company or industry that won’t either be a disrupter or be disrupted (or both) in the years ahead. Anyone who believes all the firms on today’s list of leading growth companies will still be there in five or ten years has a good chance of being proved wrong.
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How NFTs Create Value
Whether you count yourself amongst the NFT initiated, or have no idea what an NFT is, this piece from Harvard Business Review is worth a read. In the past we have discussed our efforts to bifurcate generational investment opportunities from shysters peddling bad products in the crypto space, a process which is still ongoing. What we can say for sure is that the underlying technology here has the potential to dramatically impact many industries.
Owning an NFT effectively makes you an investor, a member of a club, a brand shareholder, and a participant in a loyalty program all at once. At the same time, NFTs’ programmability supports new business and profit models — for example, NFTs have enabled a new type of royalty contract, whereby each time a work is resold, a share of the transaction goes back to the original creator.
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Seed Rounds at $100mm
Your entertainment for the month has arrived! Fred Wilson, one of the most respected venture capitalists in the business, gives his take on recent seed valuations:
I think they are being delusional, comforted by the likelihood that someone will come along and pay a higher price in the next round. But it seems that person may also be delusional. Because when you model things out, the numbers just don’t add up.
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Three Theories for Why You Have No Time
A great piece that seems to reinforce what we already know. Productive people don’t end up filling unlocked time with leisure, they fill it with productivity.
There is a lot of historical context here to show this phenomenon is not new, though the modern era may certainly make it acute.
Better technology means higher expectations, and higher expectations create more work.
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