Tremendous

An angel investor's take on life and business

  • The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 4)

    “It’s a lot tougher to be an operator. I mean it is. It’s easier to sit in a room like I do and play around with money. It’s just an easier life.” – Warren Buffett

    Warren is the greatest investor of all time. But there’s one job that’s too hard, even for him: operating a business.

    Warren explains why and more in the final hour of Berkshire’s recent annual meeting.

    Investors vs. Operators

    Warren has enormous respect for people that operate businesses. After all, he relies on them to run the companies he invests in.

    But talented though he is, Warren isn’t interested in running an operating business.

    “I’ve been able to choose what I do with my day to an extraordinary degree compared to being a business operator,” he explained.

    Just this morning, I was thinking about how much easier my life is than a founder’s.

    I have 34 brilliant, hard working people toiling away on my behalf, day and night. Add in their co-founders, and it may be as many as 100. And that’s not even counting all the wonderful people who work for them!

    With all these folks on my side, how can I lose? All I have to do is sit back and cash the checks.

    I have incredible respect for people who start and run companies. But give me the choice between an easy job and a hard one, and I’ll take the easy job every time.

    How Great Investors Are Made

    Whenever someone asks him what makes a great investor, Warren gives the same response: reading. He’s been a voracious reader since childhood.

    “…I read every book there was on investments, literally, in the Omaha public library.”

    I try to read a lot as well. I also take notes on every book I read.

    I have notes going back 7 years. It’s like a personalized Cliff’s Notes with the key lessons from countless great books, available to me at any time.

    Right now, I’m reading Damn Right!, a book about Charlie Munger.

    The End of an Era

    At the end of the meeting, Warren shocked the 40,000 people in attendance. He announced his retirement as CEO, effective at the end of the year.

    He’ll be succeeded by his hand picked successor, Greg Abel. Greg has been working alongside Warren for years, preparing for this moment.

    The entire crowd gave Warren a standing ovation that lasted for minutes on end. It would’ve gone even longer if Warren hadn’t ask them to stop!

    Warren will stay on as Chairman. He’ll be there to advise Greg on big decisions.

    But the final word will be Greg’s.

    Wrap-Up

    I’m really sorry to see Warren go.

    He’s been my idol since I was a kid. I’ve read countless books about him, and plan to read many more.

    But he’s a smart man. He’s not going to force people to carry him out of Berkshire when he can no longer do the job.

    Since he’ll still be Chairman, I’m hoping he’ll be there to answer some questions at next year’s meeting.

    I hope you enjoyed this four part series on the Berkshire annual meeting. We’ll be back to our regular schedule on Monday.

    Have a great weekend, everyone!

    More on investing:

    The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 3)

    The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 2)

    The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 1)

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 3)

    Warren Buffett’s $335 billion cash pile might be the biggest in the world. So why hold all this cash instead of investing it?

    At the latest Berkshire annual meeting, Warren and incoming CEO Greg Abel break it down.

    How Cash Reserves Keep You Independent

    Those massive cash reserves partly reflect a lack of reasonably priced investments today. But there’s another reason: cash keeps Berkshire independent.

    “…we will never be dependent on a bank or some other party for Berkshire to be successful,” Abel said.

    Remember when all those big banks went bust in 2008? Most were dependent on overnight loans.

    Imagine that in your personal life. Each day, you roll over a loan with some bank. If that loan gets pulled, you suddenly can’t pay your mortgage or buy groceries.

    It’s insane! And yet many big banks ran this way for decades.

    For the most part, it was fine. The loans rolled over every day like clockwork.

    But when panic hit in the markets in the fall of ’08, no one wanted to lend to anybody. So institutions that were over a century old disappeared in a flash.

    Big cash reserves ensure this will never happen to Berkshire. On my own lilliputian scale, I also make sure I have plenty of stable, liquid securities. And I never take on so much as a dime of debt.

    The Importance of Reading

    Many shareholders ask Warren for advice on how to become great investors. Time and again, he tells them the same thing: read.

    “Keep a lot of curiosity and read a lot…” Warren advises a young girl who wants to work at Berkshire one day.

    Warren’s not the only great investor giving this advice. When Tim Ferriss asked Bill Gurley how to get better as an investor, Bill just rattled off a long list of books. I’ve read some of them and plan to read more!

    Berkshire itself is a wonderful source of reading material for investors, Warren explains.

    “Berkshire Hathaway has got plenty of material out there for you to read. And when you get through reading it all, you’ll know way more than most of the people that work at Berkshire.”

    This reminds me that I need to pick up that book of Warren’s annual letters. I’d love to get his views on the world and markets over the years, through boom and bust and upheaval.

    Wrap-Up

    Many companies live right on the edge, leveraged to the hilt. A lot of individuals do the same in their personal lives.

    At Berkshire, Warren and Greg do the opposite. They set plenty of cash aside.

    This way, they’ll never depend on someone else to stay in business.

    If you want to get rich, you first have to avoid going broke. Warren said it well years ago:

    “Over the years, a number of very smart people have learned the hard way that a long string of impressive numbers multiplied by a single zero always equals zero.”

    Come back tomorrow for the final hour of the Berkshire annual meeting and more insights from Buffett!

    More on investing:

    The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 2)

    The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 1)

    Buffett’s Annual Letter

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 2)

    “Charlie always pointed out that we made most of our money on about eight or nine ideas over fifty years.”

    Warren Buffett

    Warren is a patient man. Right now, he’s sitting on a giant pile of cash, just waiting for the right opportunity at the right price.

    In a world of short term thinkers, Warren’s in no rush.

    The legendary investor broke down his investment approach in Berkshire’s recent annual meeting. Let’s dig in!

    Building for the Long Term

    The biggest difference I can find between Warren and other CEO’s and investors is his incredibly long term orientation. It comes out when he discusses Berkshire’s investment in Japanese trading companies:

    “…we expect to hold it for 50 or 100 years or more…” he says.

    When have you ever heard a CEO talk about 50 or 100 years from now? Normally, they’re focused on the quarter, the year, and maybe a couple years after.

    Thinking in such a long term fashion is even more incredible when you consider that Warren is 94!

    If we want results like Warren’s, we cannot do what everyone else is doing. His very long term view is a key reason why he’s beating everyone else.

    Acting Fast

    Warren waits patiently for good opportunities, sometimes doing little for years. That’s why he’s sitting on $335 billion in Treasuries right now.

    But when he sees an amazing deal, he strikes.

    “We made a great deal of money because we were willing to act faster than anybody,” Warren explained

    In my own little corner of the world, I try to do the same thing.

    Last fall, a founder told me I had to meet Joseph from LedgerUp. So I cold e-mailed him and we were on Zoom within the hour.

    Less than 24 hours later, I invested. I knew what I was looking for, and LedgerUp was it.

    Great deals are rare. If we sit around hemming and hawing when one comes, we’ll miss it.

    “You don’t want to be patient when the time comes to act. You want to get it done that day,” Warren said.

    The American Advantage

    Warren’s patience and decisiveness are two of the big reasons why he’s such a successful investor. But his biggest advantage is something most of us have too: being born in America.

    “The luckiest day in my life was when I was born in the United States,” Buffett said.

    This is especially true in tech. Nowhere else has the bazillion startups supported by limitless funding. Nowhere else has the can-do attitude we swim in like water.

    When I talk to people in other countries, I can barely believe what I’m hearing. Their reports sound like dispatches from another planet.

    People tear each other down for being successful. Anyone who fails at anything is scorned for life. The government goes after successful entrepreneurs.

    In America, we don’t have to deal with any of that. For that, I am truly grateful.

    “…it’s the greatest country in the world and you’ve got the greatest time in the world.”

    Wrap-Up

    Warren doesn’t operate like most investors.

    He reads, studies, and mostly does nothing. When he makes a move, it is rapid and decisive. And he builds for the next century, not the next quarter.

    No matter what we invest in, we can learn from Buffett. We can read, observe, and act quickly when we see the right opportunity.

    Believe it or not, Warren doesn’t want to be known as the greatest investor ever. He’d rather be famous for something else instead.

    “…the main thing I’d like to be known for is old age.”

    Come back tomorrow for more lessons from the master!

    More on investing:

    The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 1)

    Buffett’s Annual Letter

    My Biggest Lesson from Four Years Angel Investing

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • The Berkshire Annual Meeting (Part 1)

    “Trade should not be a weapon.”

    Warren Buffett

    Warren Buffett presided over what may be his last annual meeting this Saturday. Seated with his customary Cherry Coke, he dispensed wisdom on everything from tariffs to patience in investing.

    Buffett on Tariffs

    Warren is dead set against tariffs and trade wars. Instead, he’d rather have us specialize and buy the rest from abroad.

    “In the United States, we should be looking to trade with the rest of the world and we should be doing what we do best and they should do what they do best,” he said.

    Warren is my idol, but I have to disagree with him here. Those tariffs give us leverage we wouldn’t otherwise have.

    With that leverage, we can get better terms of trade. This will let us sell more to other countries, making us richer.

    Warren also points out that if other countries feel like they’re being treated unfairly, our relationship with them will go down the drain. Right now, a lot of countries are probably feeling that way.

    “I don’t think it’s good to design a world where a few countries say, ‘ha ha ha ha, we’ve won’ and other countries are envious,” Warren added.

    I’m with Warren on this one. Any trade deals we make have to be mutually beneficial, or the deal’s not going to happen.

    We should be aiming for zero tariffs on our goods and zero tariffs on foreign ones, even Steven. We may have to make an exception for critical items like medicine, but that’s it.

    Why He’s Sitting on $335 Billion in Cash

    Right now, Warren is sitting on a mountain of cash: $335 billion worth of Treasuries. So why isn’t he investing this money?

    It comes down to a lack of good opportunities. Most stocks aren’t cheap, despite a slight drop off in markets this year.

    “Things get extraordinarily attractive very occasionally,” Warren explained.

    On my own microscopic scale, I can relate to what Warren is dealing with.

    So far, I’ve only made one startup investment this year. This is way below my usual pace. In a typical year, I might already have 3-5.

    But I just haven’t seen a lot of great opportunities this year. Instead, I’ve seen a ton of startups going after smallish markets and raising at huge valuations.

    So I’m content to sit tight. Good opportunities will come along eventually.

    “We’re running a business which is very, very, very opportunistic,” Warren added.

    My corner of the investment world is a lot different from Warren’s, but patience is still critical.

    Wrap-Up

    Since I was a teenager, I looked up to Buffett. He was wise, independent, and of course rich. All the things I wanted to be.

    I’m sad that he’s stepping down as CEO. It’s the end of an era, like when Michael Jordan retired.

    But it also shows Warren’s wisdom. He’s going out on top, not being carried out.

    Warren will remain as chairman, so we may see him at next year’s meeting. Fingers crossed!

    This is part one of a four part series that will run through the end of the week. Pop in tomorrow for more wisdom from Buffett!

    More on investing:

    Buffett’s Annual Letter

    The 2024 Berkshire Annual Meeting in Five Days: Day 1

    My Biggest Lesson from Four Years Angel Investing

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • My Biggest Lesson from Four Years Angel Investing

    I missed a $40 billion opportunity because I ignored a simple truth: everything comes down to the founder. This is my biggest lesson in 4 years angel investing.

    Missing a $40 Billion Opportunity

    Two years ago, I had the opportunity to invest in the seed round of Figure, the robotics startup.

    I found the company really intriguing. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and telling folks about their cool androids.

    I also knew the founder had started a billion dollar company before (Archer Aviation).

    But Figure’s valuation was high. I was concerned there wouldn’t be enough upside. And it was robotics, something I don’t know much about.

    Full of doubts and second guesses, I passed on the investment.

    Fast forward two years, and Figure is valued at $40 billion. I missed one of the biggest opportunities of my career.

    All that stuff I was worried about? Turned out none of it mattered. All that mattered was that Brett Adcock is exceptional.

    How I Invest Now

    When I looked at decks a few years ago, I’d flip straight to traction. Now, I flip straight to the team slide.

    I scrutinize the founders’ backgrounds. Have they done anything exceptional in the past?

    Startups are a lot like grade school. What’s the best predictor of who will get A’s this year? Who got A’s last year! Successful people keep succeeding.

    I’m not saying that only founders with incredible track records are worth investing in. Nobody knew who Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were when they started Airbnb.

    I’m excited about investing in the unknown founders too. But founders with a strong track record go to the top of my list.

    Wrap-Up

    It’s so easy to get lost in metrics and analysis. CAC, ROIC, TAM, you name it.

    Here’s my best advice to new angels: you must know the details, but you don’t want to get lost in them. Focus on the founder above all else.

    In the end, every company boils down to a human being trying to achieve a goal. If that human is exceptional, nothing else matters.

    More on tech:

    Missing Figure

    Seed Valuations Hit All-Time High

    When an Investor Pulls Your Term Sheet

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • Testing the New Meta AI App

    Meta just released the Meta AI app for iPhone and Android. Can it compete with ChatGPT and Grok? This morning, I tested it to find out…

    The first thing I noticed is the login is really slow and clunky. It makes me pick a username — weird. And seriously Mark, you need to support Google sign-in!

    Once I got it up and running, I put Meta AI through 3 tests with real world questions I want the answer to. Let’s get started!

    Round 1: Find Me Some Headphones

    I asked Meta to find me a great pair of headphones for Zoom. My cheap JVC’s are getting the job done, but the sound quality could be better. Let’s see how it does…

    Meta gave a good response, with a range of products including a slick set from Bang and Olufsen. But the prices were really high — the cheapest option was $150.

    I asked for some links to purchase, and Meta couldn’t do it. So, I’m back to Google. Not super helpful.

    I’ll give this round a C.

    Round 2: Research for a Startup

    I recently saw an awesome startup that can automate scientific research using robotics. So, I got to wondering: how much do we spend on scientific research?

    Let’s ask Meta…

    Meta gave me a huge figure, $789 billion. But this figure is for all R&D spending in America.

    That includes hiring software engineers to make Meta AI, for example. I asked specifically about scientific research in a laboratory.

    Meta didn’t make that distinction, so the answer is useless. Meanwhile, I asked Grok this same question last night and it nailed it.

    I’ll give this a C-.

    Round 3: Planning a Trip

    I have a trip to Wisconsin coming up next month. I’m looking forward to seeing my mom and some old friends!

    But I’ll tell ya what I’m not looking forward to: the airport.

    I wonder if Meta can give me some tips to get through that morass faster. Let’s give it a try…

    Meta gave some good ideas, including one I wouldn’t have thought of: wearing easy to remove shoes.

    Most of the tips were pretty obvious, but at least one was helpful. I’ll give this round an A-.

    Wrap-Up

    Overall, Meta’s new app gets a C+.

    Zuck’s latest effort didn’t impress me. The iPhone apps for Grok, ChatGPT or Perplexity are all significantly better. They do a better job of understanding your query and citing sources.

    Meta feels about a year behind the best in AI. If Zuck wants to keep his crown, he’s going to have to step it up.

    Have a great weekend, everybody!

    More on tech:

    Using Grok 3 to Manage My Stock Portfolio

    Testing Gemini’s New Models

    ChatGPT’s New Shopping Tools: Better than Google?

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • Testing Gemini’s New Models

    Google recently released the new Gemini 2.5 Pro and 2.5 Flash models. So how good are the latest and greatest from Google? This morning, I ran them through 3 tests to find out.

    Round 1: Find Me a Deal on Shoes

    If you read Monday’s blog, you know I’ve been looking for a new pair of New Balances. And unlike a normal person, who just finds them on Amazon and buys them, I like to comparison shop.

    Plain vanilla Google gave me some pretty good results on Monday, while ChatGPT flopped. Let’s see what Gemini can do!

    For this query, I used 2.5 Flash, since it shouldn’t require extended thinking. At first, I just put in “men’s New Balance sneakers size 11.” It gave me a product description, which is useless.

    So, I refined the query and said “find me the best price on a pair of men’s size 11 New Balance sneakers.” Let’s see if it finally works…

    It still just gives me a bunch of useless AI slop. “Shop around,” Gemini tells me. No kiddin, buddy!

    I’m giving this round an F.

    Round 2: Researching a Startup

    For the next round, I turned Gemini lose on a startup I’m researching. They sell a SaaS product to midsize financial institutions.

    I used 2.5 Pro Experimental for this one. Here’s my prompt: “How many banks and credit unions between one and ten billion in assets exist in America?”

    Gemini gave a good answer, including specific numbers and breaking them down by type of institution. But it didn’t cite any sources, so I have no idea if the numbers are accurate.

    Put that same query into Grok, and it cites 25 sources. You can click through and verify everything Grok says.

    Gemini’s answer would’ve impressed me a year ago. But today, it’s table stakes.

    I’m giving this round a B-.

    Round 3: Stats on Startup Success

    Okay, I’ll give Google one more chance to redeem itself. I want to know about the rates of success for startups.

    I used 2.5 Pro Experimental for this query as well, because it may require more in depth search and thinking. Here’s the prompt: “How many startups make it from raising a preseed round to $10 million ARR? How about to 25 million ARR and 100 million ARR?”

    Let’s see what Gemini comes up with…

    Hey hey, Gemini is looking alive here! This was a pretty solid response, showing that 13% of startups make it to $10M ARR within 10 years. It cites a high quality source for it — I went and verified the number from the ChartMogul report that Gemini cited.

    It isn’t able to give us any stats on startups getting to $25M or $100M, unfortunately.

    I put the same query into Grok, and Gemini’s response was actually better. Grok gave estimates with little basis in data that were extremely high and probably wrong (20-25% of pre-seed startups hitting $10M ARR).

    Gemini gets an A on this one!

    Wrap-Up

    Oddly enough, Gemini did best on a harder question in Round 3 and worst on a simpler question in Round 1! Go figure.

    Sometimes, what’s easy for us humans is hard for AI, and vice versa.

    Averaging these grades, Gemini gets a gentleman’s C.

    This is not impressive for a multi-trillion dollar company that invented generative AI. If Google wants to stay on top, it has to do better than this.

    That said, Google has also released some great products. Deep Research is really impressive and almost on par with Grok 3, which is the best I’ve used.

    With a lot of smart people and unique data, I wouldn’t count them out.

    More on tech:

    Using Grok 3 to Manage My Stock Portfolio

    ChatGPT’s New Shopping Tools: Better than Google?

    DeepSeek vs. Gemini Deep Research: Which Model Is King?

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • Seed Valuations Hit All-Time High

    Seed valuations have hit an all-time high: $15.2 million pre-money. Investors are going to have a hard time making money at these prices.

    Looking at this new info from Carta, I decided to see what prices I’ve been paying lately.

    Behind the Scenes in My Portfolio

    Here are the stats on my last 6 deals…

    Median Pre-Money Valuation: $9,000,000
    Median Raise Amount: $2,000,000
    Median Post-Money Valuation: $11,000,000
    Median ARR: $239,000

    At $9 million, my median pre-money valuation is way below Carta’s. And while Carta doesn’t publish any data on the revenue of the companies that were funded, my guess is that most of them had under $200,000 in revenue.

    Carta also doesn’t tell us how much the companies in their sample raised. But my guess is around $3 million.

    That would put them at an $18 million post, compared to $11 million for me.

    Is Something Missing from Carta’s Data?

    There is one little caveat that may be skewing Carta’s data.

    Most seed rounds are done as SAFE’s. But Carta is only looking at priced seed rounds.

    These priced rounds may be in companies that are a little more mature. At that point, a higher price could be justified.

    I’d like to see Carta include data from seed stage SAFE’s as well. That would give a more representative view of the market.

    Big Firms Move to Seed

    One thing that’s driving these higher prices is big funds doing more seed deals. If the team looks at all promising, they’ll throw in $5 million at a $25 million cap or even a $50 million cap.

    They don’t care about making money on that check. All they want is an option on the startup’s later stage rounds.

    This means that a guy like me, who specializes in seed and pre-seed, needs to be careful. I actually have to make a return from these bets, unlike the giant multistage funds.

    Wrap-Up

    Right now, people are willing to pay any price for a hot AI deal.

    So, we’re seeing “seed” deals at $50 million, $100 million, even $500 million. Even the median has topped $15 million.

    All this for companies with little to no traction. Investors are convinced the upside is unlimited.

    But trees don’t grow to the moon.

    AI is a great investment, but not at any price. I’m sticking to companies with real traction raising at prices that make sense.

    More on tech:

    How to Diligence VC’s

    The Coolest Startups at ERA Demo Day

    When an Investor Pulls Your Term Sheet

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • ChatGPT’s New Shopping Tools: Better than Google?

    ChatGPT just released new shopping tools to help you find better deals online. But can they beat Google, the reigning champion? I tested both this morning to find out…

    OpenAI’s update, released yesterday, gives you pictures and product reviews when you search for a product. It also gives you direct links to buy.

    I’ve used various AI tools for online shopping before without much success. I always found better deals on Google.

    Did ChatGPT finally nail it this time? I ran through 3 tests to determine a winner.

    Round 1: Daddy Needs a New Pair of Shoes!

    My Pumas are getting a little worn, and a friend of mine can’t stop raving about his New Balances. Intrigued, I decided to look for some deals.

    The best ChatGPT can do is $90. That $40 pair is used, so I ignored those.

    Google did a much better job, finding a $60 pair at Foot Locker. Google takes this round, hands down.

    Round 2: Rocks Glasses for Francis the Klutz

    I used to have half a dozen beautiful rocks glasses. They were great for an iced coffee or cold mugicha in the summer.

    Alas, over the last few years, I’ve broken every single one. Can ChatGPT help?

    ChatGPT gave me a choice of two responses this time. I liked the 2nd one better, particularly the set of 4 glasses. The price was right at $12, even if the shape is a little odd.

    Google’s result was similar, but I liked the Acopa Memphis glasses better than ChatGPT’s options. And once again, Google’s results were cheaper.

    I’m giving this round to Google as well.

    Round 3: An Utterly Unnecessary Blender

    I already have an awesome countertop blender. But being my bougie self, I kinda want an immersion blender as well.

    After all, who can be bothered to transfer soup into another container? Oh, the horror!

    Let’s see if ChatGPT can find me a deal…

    ChatGPT finds some high quality options, but they’re expensive. I would only use this blender occasionally, so it doesn’t make sense to pay $150 for it.

    Let’s see if Google can do better…

    Google gives us a great result, with options all the way from $26 to $180. There’s something for everyone here, from a no-name Wal-Mart brand that would probably do the job to a high level commercial grade tool.

    Google for the win!

    Wrap-Up

    Old school Google took 3/3. The results were higher quality, cheaper, and more useful. The interface was clean and intuitive, as opposed to ChatGPT’s weirdly crowded screen.

    That said, shopping could be a great business for ChatGPT in time. Those product links can be monetized through an affiliate program.

    Even more importantly, a better shopping experience keeps users on ChatGPT. You don’t want them scooting to Google or Perplexity whenever they need to buy something.

    But so far, I wasn’t impressed with ChatGPT’s shopping tools. Sometimes, the old ways are best.

    More on tech:

    Using Grok 3 to Manage My Stock Portfolio

    DeepSeek vs. Gemini Deep Research: Which Model Is King?

    Testing Alibaba’s New Qwen Model

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

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  • Investors: Get Off Your Email!

    I was at a demo day last week. The entire time, the lady sitting next to me was on her e-mail. Investors, never do this.

    That presentation could be the most important 5 minutes of that founder’s professional life. You owe it to them to pay attention.

    If you’re too busy to listen, don’t attend the event. Or if necessary, excuse yourself and handle your business in private.

    Writing e-mails while someone is talking is rude. Unfortunately, this behavior has become normal in society.

    If a founder is pitching, either at an event or one-on-one, I give them my full attention. No email, no X, no nothing.

    I take notes in an old fashioned, paper composition notebook.

    This way, the founder can easily see that I’m not on e-mail or reading the news. It also gives me a chance to use my Mitsubishi cedar pencils, which smell amazing. 🙂

    Never forget that when a founder pitches you, they have everything on the line.

    One founder I know went without salary for a year as she closed her pre-seed round. When she told investors why the company was so important to her, I can only hope the they were paying attention.

    If you want to be self-interested, here are two good reasons to pay attention when a founder talks….

    First, being rude affects your reputation. The best deals come to folks with a good reputation.

    Second, that pitch your half-listening to could be Uber! Do you want to miss out on millions of dollars because you were too busy BS-ing on Slack?

    I won’t always understand everything a founder says. And I won’t always make the right decisions.

    But at a bare minimum, I can be present and respectful. That’s not too much to ask.

    With anything you do as an investor, ask yourself a question: would Doug Leone do this? If the answer is no, don’t do it.

    What’s the worst investor behavior you’ve seen (without mentioning names)?

    More on tech:

    How to Diligence VC’s

    When an Investor Pulls Your Term Sheet

    High Energy Founders

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order.