Tremendous

An angel investor's take on life and business

  • Raise Money Faster by Targeting the Right Investors

    Are you getting a lot of no’s from investors? Maybe you’re pitching the wrong people. Here’s how to find the right investors for you….

    Different investors specialize in different parts of the market. You need to find the investors that focus on companies like yours. 

    What’s Their Sweet Spot?

    First, you need to find investors that invest at your stage. 

    Most investors specialize in companies at particular stages. We call it a “sweet spot.” My sweet spot is companies at around $200k to $500k ARR. 

    So, which stage are you? Here’s how early funding stages usually break down…

    • Idea or MVP: Accelerators, friends and family
    • Trickle of revenue (< $100k ARR): Pre-seed
    • Early revenue ($200-500k ARR): Seed
    • Early PMF (> $1 million ARR): Series A

    Where Do They Invest?

    Like most investors, I only invest in certain countries. For me, that’s the U.S., Canada, UK, and a handful of similar markets. 

    Those are the markets I know best. They’re also the places where I have the most connections.

    Be sure to pitch investors that invest in your country. 

    If you’re in Nigeria, focus on investors that invest in Africa. Pitching a bunch of VCs that only invest in the United States is a waste of time. 

    What Sectors Do They Like?

    Investors also specialize in certain sectors. Some investors only do SaaS. Others only do marketplaces.

    Then there are firms that only do deep tech, like satellites and microchips. 

    Find investors that invest in your sector. If you’re a biotech startup, don’t bother pitching people who only invest in SaaS. 

    Find Out Their Check Size

    Finally, you should find out an investor’s check size. 

    It’s a good idea to pitch investors at a variety of check sizes. Sometimes, a small investor like me ($10k checks) can connect you with a big fund.

    Knowing each investor’s check size will help you put your round together. 

    Most seed rounds include a lead investor writing a check of over $1 million. They also often include some smaller funds and angels like me.

    Where to Find Investors

    I’m a big fan of OpenVC. They make it easy to find investors in countless countries and sectors. 

    When you’re searching on OpenVC or whatever platform you choose, filter based on the criteria above. Find investors that match your stage, sector, geography, and check size requirements. 

    Once you find the investors you want to target, send them a brief message. Tell them about your vision, team, and traction.

    Try something like this:

    Hi Jim!

    UberCab lets you call a black car using your smartphone. You can see the car’s location and you know your fare in advance.

    We are at $10,000/month revenue, growing 50% MoM. 

    My co-founder and I are both engineers. We’re raising a $2 million seed round.

    Got 20 minutes?

    Thanks,

    Travis Kalanick

    Keep it pithy! Investors are much more likely to respond to a a shorter message.

    Wrap-Up

    If you target the right investors, fundraising will get dramatically easier. 

    No more beating your head against a wall talking to people who are never going to invest. Instead, you’ll be talking to investors that are excited about companies like yours.

    Just like when you’re looking for customers, targeting the right people is everything. Target the right investors and you could find yourself raising millions.

    Have a great weekend, everybody!

    More on tech:

    Your Deck Probably Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It.

    An Investor’s Dream Cold E-mail

    How to Get Warm Intros the Easy Way

    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. 

  • Three Easy UX Wins to Make Your Product Better

    If your product is easy to use, you’ll get more customers. Here are three simple tweaks to make your product better…

    Make Sign-In Easy

    Always offer Google and Apple sign-in options. If you make it easy for customers to sign in, more of them will complete the flow and become users. 

    When an app makes me enter my email and create a password,  I often just close it and delete it. It’s too annoying and time-consuming. 

    One startup I spoke with recently saw a huge lift in conversion once they included Google sign-in. Make your app easy to use, and more people will use it! 

    Autofill 2FA Codes

    If your app sends text messages to users with two-factor authentication codes, make sure you fill in the code for the user. Don’t make them click or type anything. 

    Whenever an app grabs that 2FA code and inputs it for me, I think, “These guys know what they’re doing.” 

    Like offering easier sign-in options, 2FA autofill makes your app easy to sign up for. Make it easy, and more people will sign up!

    Make The Next Step Obvious

    In many work flows, you know the user’s next step. Make it obvious!

    Let’s say I need to input my address. After that, I need to click Next.

    Make that Next button pop. Go with bright yellow on a black background, for example.

    The user has no doubt what you want them to do – click this button! Customers love software that’s easy to navigate. 

    Wrap-Up

    You want people to use your product. So make it as easy as possible.

    Cut the number of clicks. Cut the number of things I have to enter. Make it obvious what I’m supposed to do next.

    Even some small usability tweaks can really increase conversion and usage. The more usable your product is, the faster you’ll grow!

    More on tech: 

    Should You Take a Low Ball Offer from a VC?

    Your Deck Probably Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It.

    Do Investors Take Forever to Get Back to You? Here’s What I’m Doing Differently.

    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. 

  • Why Seed Rounds at $40 Million Will Be Bad Investments 

    I’m seeing tons of seed rounds at $40 million and up. Here’s why those will turn out to be bad investments….

    Venture Funds Need Massive Growth

    Startups raising seed rounds at $40M need to hit $1B ARR within 10 years. That is a near-impossible task. 

    But any less, and it’s not a great investment.

    To justify investing in startups, we need to hit at least a 15% annual return. Stocks give us 10%. We need to beat that handily to make up for the risk and illiquidity.

    That means that we need to hit a 4X fund in 10 years. 

    A typical early-stage fund might contain 35 companies. Most funds have nearly all gains come from one company. 

    So, we need one of those companies to grow its valuation by 280x to get our 4x fund, after accounting for 50% dilution (35 x 4 x 2). 

    The Difficult Math of $40 Million Seed Rounds

    The average public SaaS company trades at 5.7x ARR. Let’s be generous and assume that our newly public startup trades at twice that, 12x, to account for high growth. 

    Our $40M seed stage company needs to grow to a valuation of $11.2 billion to give us our 280x. Unicorns aren’t enough anymore — we need decacorns. 

    At a 12x multiple, hitting a valuation of $11.2 billion requires $933 million ARR. If we get the average multiple of 5.7x, we need $2B in ARR. 

    Very few companies ever reach that much revenue. 

    If we had done that seed round at a more reasonable $15M valuation, we’d “only” need to hit a $4.2 billion market cap on $350 million in ARR to get our 280x (assuming a 12x revenue multiple). 

    Even that is very difficult. But it’s a lot more realistic. 

    But What If…?

    “But what if it’s the next OpenAI?”

    I can practically hear you saying that now.

    True, if that high price seed round becomes a company worth hundreds of billions, it will be an excellent investment. But those companies are vanishingly rare. 

    We can’t count on hitting one of the couple best companies in an entire generation.

    A more typical successful investment is a company like ServiceTitan. And while ServiceTitan is a great business, it’s no OpenAI. 

    What the Typical Unicorn Looks Like

    ServiceTitan went public a year ago. It’s trading at an $8.5B market cap on $866M of revenue in the last year. 

    That’s a 10x revenue multiple — well above average.

    But even for ServiceTitan, the $1B ARR milestone hasn’t come yet. And while it receives a generous multiple, it’s not high enough to make it a decacorn. 

    Making Exceptions

    Once in a great while, we’ll see a truly extraordinary company. Founders with incredible backgrounds. Off the charts growth.

    In a situation like that, we can make an exception. We can do $30, $40, or even $100 million if we really want to. Then, we can balance that out with more reasonably priced deals. 

    What we can’t do is pay $40 million across the board. 

    If we do that, our upside in the winners just isn’t enough. Our fund would have little chance of an acceptable return. 

    Wrap-Up

    Roelof Botha recently called investing in venture “return-free risk.” 

    If we’re doing deals in companies with little to no revenue at $40M valuations, Botha is absolutely right. Investments like that are highly unlikely to produce the returns necessary to justify the risk. 

    I’m focusing on awesome founders raising at reasonable valuations. 

    Price isn’t everything. But it’s not nothing, either. 

    More on tech: 

    Why Entry Price Matters

    Should You Take a Low Ball Offer from a VC?

    Scouting for an AI Venture Fund

    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. 

  • Scouting for an AI Venture Fund

    A strange number popped up on my phone this morning. It was Boardy, the first AI venture capitalist. And it looks like we may be working together…

    Boardy is an an AI agent that helps you find customers, investors, and employees. Scrolling X last night, I saw a post on Boardy’s new Scout Program. 

    I meet many hundreds of founders per year. Why not send a few of them to Boardy’s new venture fund? 

    Working Out Boardy’s Kinks

    I filled out a brief form and got a phone call from Boardy. Boardy interviewed me on my experience investing and why I’d make a good scout. 

    The first thing I noticed is that Boardy uses a voice with a very thick Australian accent. For the first couple of minutes, I could barely understand it.

    When you’re working with a mostly American audience, don’t choose a heavy accent like this. You want the most neutral American accent possible. 

    Next Step: Boardy Scout?

    But after a couple minutes, Boardy and I got into a good back-and-forth. 

    I explained how I source companies and spot great founders. I like to see highly technical founders building in a huge market. 

    Boardy asked good questions and clearly explained how its program works. Occasionally, Boardy went on a little too long or cut me off. But mostly, the conversation flowed smoothly. 

    After around 10 minutes, Boardy wrapped up our chat and told me that it would refer me to the human team. They’ll make the final decision whether I become a Boardy Scout.

    As capable as Boardy is, humans are still calling the shots.

    Is This the Future of Venture?

    Speaking with Boardy feels like the future.

    There are a huge number of founders raising at any given time. Boardy has already spoken with 7,000 of them, more than any human could manage.

    Giving every founder a hearing could change the game of venture. Entrepreneurs without the usual connections could still get in front of investors. 

    The best pitches will probably still be forwarded to humans. That’s how Boardy’s Scout program is working today, and I think AI VCs will continue to operate that way for the foreseeable future. 

    If you’re writing somebody a sizable check, you probably want to meet them at least once. 

    Would I Use an AI to Meet Founders?

    Using an AI to do your initial founder calls could make sense at a huge fund with tons of deal flow. But for me, it doesn’t yet. 

    My deal flow is modest enough that I’m able to meet every founder myself. An AI to interview founders wouldn’t add a lot of value. 

    But I can always use more great investors to refer my companies to.  So I’m looking forward to working with Boardy to get more cash into these great startups. 

    Wrap-Up

    More and more work is going to look like my chat with Boardy — humans talking to highly capable AI agents. 

    It’s weird and unsettling at first. But you’d be surprised how quickly you get used to it. 

    AI will let us do things we’ve never done before, like Boardy interviewing those 7,000 founders. Many great entrepreneurs who would have been overlooked by humans will be discovered by AI. 

    I want to take the plunge before everyone else and start working with AI to get companies funded. More people helping startups is always good, even if they’re not technically “people”. 

    More on tech: 

    Should You Take a Low Ball Offer from a VC?

    Do Investors Take Forever to Get Back to You? Here’s What I’m Doing Differently.

    Your Deck Probably Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It.

    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. 

  • Should You Take a Low Ball Offer from a VC?

    You’ve got six months runway left. Finally, a VC offers you a term sheet. But it’s a low ball offer. Should you take it? 

    Browsing Reddit this morning, I came across a founder in this very situation.

    A Midwest VC offered him a term sheet at a low valuation with heavy dilution. This early round will cost him 30% of the company. 

    Here’s how to decide whether to take that low ball offer…

    Under 6 Months Runway = Danger Zone

    If you’ve got six months’ runway or less, your company is in a critical situation. 

    Funding rounds often take several months to close. Even if you accepted a term sheet today, by the time it closes, you could be down to 3 months runway or less. 

    That is perilously close to going out of business. 

    If you had a year’s runway, you’d probably reject that low ball offer. But with minimal cash, you should probably take it.

    This is why I recommend starting your fundraise with 9-12 months of runway (assuming you’re burning cash at all). You don’t want to get into a cash crunch and be pressured into taking any term sheet available. 

    Can You Get to Breakeven?

    There’s one way to be sure you have the upper hand in fundraising: get to break even.

    If this founder can simply get his company to break even, he can use that leverage to get a better offer from the Midwest VC or someone else. He could even decide not to raise money at all. 

    Maybe this founder could stop taking a salary temporarily. Perhaps he could let go some underperforming employees. Or maybe there are some tools he’s paying for that he isn’t really using. 

    Every dollar he can cut will help in extending runway. And if he can get the burn to zero, the power balance will flip.

    Is 30% Dilution Too Much?

    30% dilution is very high for a pre-seed or seed round. I typically see 15% to 20%. 

    But beggars can’t be choosers. If there are no other good offers on the table and your company is running out of money, you may have to live with that dilution.

    If your company is a success, you can make it up later. 

    Let’s say your pre-seed round dilutes you 30%. If you start to grow rapidly, you might be able to skip straight to a Series A. 

    This would avoid the 15-20% dilution of a seed round. By the time you hit Series A, you’d be in a similar position to a startup that has raised two rounds of 15% dilution. 

    Wrap-Up

    Negotiations are about power. If you’re running out of money, you don’t have any. 

    If it’s between taking a low ball offer and losing your company, taking the low ball offer makes sense. But you want to avoid getting into that position in the first place.

    Do everything you can to get to break even before you raise. Then, you dictate the terms.

    Have you ever gotten a lowball offer from a VC?

    More on tech: 

    Your Deck Probably Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It.

    How Early Stage Founders Can Save Money and Buy Their Freedom

    How to Tell If Investors Are Really Interested

    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. 

  • On Black Friday,  Working Class Consumers Are Struggling

    Americans have been hit by high inflation and are worried about their jobs. Will they show up at stores on Black Friday? 

    While richer Americans have strong finances, the working class is struggling. We’re seeing it everywhere from food lines to loan defaults. 

    Inside the Other America

    “I’ve never seen lines like that for food. There were hundreds of people.”

    My cousin, who works at a food pantry, was telling me about her work over Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. During the government shutdown, demand for food aid went through the roof. 

    It’s a window into a world I rarely see. Maybe you don’t either. 

    But it’s out there. And it’s beginning to show up in the economic statistics.

    Kitchen Table Worries

    Americans are deeply concerned about inflation. They’re also beginning to worry about their jobs.

    The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey has fallen to its lowest levels in over three years. Among people aged 18 to 34, about one-third think they may lose their job in the next five years.

    If you’re worried about your job, you’re going to cut spending on extras. And on Black Friday, that’s what retailers are selling. 

    The Working Class Defaults

    Americans of all social classes are beginning to worry about the economy. But for the working class and poor, those worries are all too real. 

    Subprime auto loan delinquencies have hit their highest levels ever. As expenses for housing, health care, and groceries have risen, poor consumers are beginning to default in large numbers. 

    Overall, delinquencies for credit card and auto loans are at their highest since the financial crisis. Those delinquencies are concentrated in poor neighborhoods.

    At a time of low unemployment and rapid economic growth, Americans are defaulting on loans as if there were a severe recession. 

    The Resilient Wealthy

    Strangely enough, overall household debt is low. Consumer debt as a percentage of GDP has fallen steadily since the 2008 financial crisis. 

    Total consumer spending has held up as well. Much of this is driven by wealthier Americans. 

    In order to see the stress among American consumers, you have to zoom in. 

    The wealth gap in our country has gotten severe enough that overall economic statistics only tell us so much. Strength at the top masks serious weakness at the bottom. 

    Wrap-Up

    The rich and poor in America today might as well be living in different countries.

    For the fortunate like me, the economy is great. Stocks are high and AI spend is putting lots of money in our pockets. Inflation is a minor annoyance.

    But working-class people are at the end of their rope. 

    Rich people’s spending can power America’s economy for a while. But as more people struggle, this boom could soon turn to bust. 

    More on markets: 

    Why German Industry Is Failing

    Janesville — Or Why AI Will Be a Disaster for Jobs

    The End of Human Food Delivery

    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. 

  • How to Calculate Your ARR Like a Professional

    ARR = Best Day x 365. This is NOT how you calculate your Annual Recurring Revenue. Let me show you how to do it like a professional…

    What to Include

    Pull all your customer contracts. We are calculating a live ARR number, so only include customers that you are actually billing now.

    Let’s go through an example…

    I’m running FrankSaaS. Here are all my contracts:

    • Five customers on monthly contracts at $1,000 per month
    • 3 customers on annual contracts at $10,000 per year. 

    Here’s how I calculate my ARR:

    • Monthly contracts: 5 x $1,000 x 12 = $60,000 
    • Annual contracts: 3 x $10,000 = $30,000

    My ARR is $90,000. That’s a solid start, probably enough for a pre-seed round of $750,000 to $2 million.

    What Not to Include

    Never include any revenue that isn’t recurring. If you have revenue from pilots, consulting work, or setup fees, do not include those in ARR. 

    Don’t include any revenue from customers that have churned. If they’ve canceled, they no longer count. 

    If you’re giving a discount, only include the discounted price in your ARR calculation. Never use the full list price if you’re not actually charging that. And if they’re on a free trial, the ARR from that customer is 0. 

    Never include any revenue you haven’t closed. ARR is not about projections or pipeline. 

    Never annualize a single good day, week, or even month. Stick to the calculation I showed you above to find the annual value of all your contracts. 

    A single good day does not an ARR number make. 

    Annual Recurring Revenue vs. Annual Run Rate

    Some companies that don’t have recurring revenue still use the ARR metric. But confusingly, it stands for something different: Annual Run Rate. 

    I don’t like this practice. It’s way too confusing.

    If you’re a company that doesn’t have recurring revenue, like a marketplace, I don’t recommend using the term ARR. Instead, just tell us your monthly revenue, like this:  “We had $25,000 in revenue in October.”

    This avoids any ambiguity. No investor will feel misled. 

    Don’t Mess With the Numbers

    Sometimes, a founder gives me a big juicy, ARR number. But when I dig into that number a little, I find out it’s BS.

    In today’s hot market, this is happening more and more. So I’m digging deeper into these numbers.

    When I find out the numbers are bogus, the founder loses all credibility. I would have rather seen a smaller number that was actually real! 

    Never mislead investors. Never give into the temptation to juice those numbers.

    The world of startups is a very small one. If you become known for peddling BS, the word will get around. 

    When a founder attempts to mislead investors, they also open themselves to liability. No one is trying to get you in legal trouble for an honest mistake, but actual intent to defraud is a very serious crime. 

    Wrap-Up

    Keep your numbers clean.

    Calculate your ARR the way I showed you. And when it comes time to raise money, work with a good accountant to make sure all the figures line up. 

    The tighter your books are, the easier it will be to pass a VC’s due diligence. That’s a critical step before the money hits your account. 

    Markets are hot, and there’s a lot of chicanery out there right now. 

    Ignore it. Be honest, forthright, and tell it like it is.

    If you can do that, you just might find some people who believe in your vision just as much as you do.

    There will be no blog tomorrow. I’ll see you again on Friday. Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

    More on tech:

    Your Deck Probably Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It.

    Three Simple Tweaks to Make Your Deck Better

    Meet My Latest Investment: Memelord

    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. 

  • Why German Industry Is Failing 

    Germany’s car industry has lost 51,000 jobs in the last year. VW cut 35,000, ThyssenKrupp 11,000, and Bosch nearly 6,000. What’s causing the collapse in German industry? 

    Crushed By Energy Prices

    German manufacturers are cutting capacity because building things in Germany has become too expensive. One of the biggest culprits is energy costs. 

    German businesses pay an average of 28.5 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity. That’s almost double the 14.8 cents that American businesses pay, and nearly triple costs in China. 

    Germany’s electricity market is heavily regulated to promote clean energy. Electricity is also taxed heavily.

    High energy costs means it makes more sense to expand in the U.S. or China, where prices are lower. 

    Falling Behind Technologically

    But it’s not just high costs that are killing German business. Many German companies have fallen behind technologically and are losing market share.

    For years, Germany’s car makers counted on ballooning sales to China. But Chinese auto makers have been faster to transition to EVs, which has reduced sales for the Germans. 

    As Germany loses market share in older industries like autos, it’s failing to gain a piece of new industries.

    Companies like Nvidia and TSMC are making a fortune building out AI infrastructure. But without many tech companies of its own, Germany is left standing on the sidelines. 

    Trade War Pain

    As Germany falls behind domestic competitors in China, it’s facing greater difficulty selling to one of its closest friends: the United States.

    Trump’s trade war has hit German industry hard. German exports to the United States have fallen to a four-year low since the imposition of new tariffs in April. 

    Imagine you run a German car maker. If you produce a car in Germany, you’ll pay high electricity rates and hefty US tariffs. If you make them in Texas, you’ll pay half as much for electricity and no tariffs.

    Which would you choose? 

    Wrap-Up

    German industry is being strangled by regulation, high energy costs, and aging technology. Unless the German government makes it easier to build energy infrastructure, job losses in Germany will only accelerate. 

    If we want to avoid the same fate, we must build energy infrastructure. 

    We need to pop up solar, natural gas, wind, and geothermal plants all over America. We should also invest in new forms of energy, like small nuclear reactors and nuclear fusion. 

    If we can win on energy, our industries will dominate. But if we fall behind, our country will begin to look more and more like Germany.

    More on tech: 

    Janesville — Or Why AI Will Be a Disaster for Jobs

    The End of Human Drivers: 7 Million Jobs at Risk

    The Iron Monster: China’s Massive Bridge Building Robot

    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. 

  • How to Build a $100 Billion Company By Making Money for Other People

    Want to build a $100 billion company? Give people a new way to earn money. From Uber and Airbnb to the AI model training companies of today, this is a powerful business model. 

    Ever have a hard time getting anyone to care about your product? What founder hasn’t, right?

    If you give people the opportunity to make a living, they will pay attention. Money is the one thing everyone wants.

    Earning with Startups: the Sharing Economy

    The first startups to give people new ways of making a living were the sharing economy startups of the 2010s.

    Uber let people make money using something they already had: their car. Airbnb let us make money from our spare rooms.

    Running a little behind on your bills this month? Do a few hours of Uber.

    People flocked to Uber and Airbnb because they gave them something everybody needs: a way to make money. And sure enough, Uber and Airbnb were the largest outcomes of that cycle.

    Earning with Startups Today: Teaching Robots

    A friend of mine lives in Thailand and teaches English online. Soon, he may be supplementing that income by training robots. 

    “Did you know that you can take videos of yourself washing dishes and make $50 an hour?” I asked him recently.

    “That’s wild! But who would want to watch such a boring video?” my friend responded. 

    “That’s just it. People aren’t watching. Robots are.”

    Robotics companies need a ton of data of people doing things like washing dishes, folding clothes, and stocking the fridge. With enough data, the robots will be able to do the tasks themselves.

    This opens up an incredible opportunity for people to make money. They’d already be folding clothes. They might as well get paid to do it!

    Several companies like Micro1 and Encord hire folks to train robots. And sure enough, Micro1 is one of my most successful investments.

    We were on welfare and food stamps for part of my childhood. If my mother could have made $50 an hour for doing chores, it would have changed our lives.

    People will flock to these robotics platforms. The promise of good-paying work is impossible to resist. 

    Earning with Startups Today: Be Funny, Make Money

    Today’s startups aren’t just helping people earn by training robots. You can also monetize your sense of humor.

    I recently did an investment in a company called Memelord. They provide tools to make memes.

    Some Memelord users have been able to quit their jobs and make memes for marketing campaigns for major companies. 

    If Memelord just gave people tools to make funny pictures, that could be a good business. But if it gives them a new way of making a living, that’s way more powerful. 

    I imagine a future where hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people are making memes from home and making bank. It’s a lot more fun than grinding on spreadsheets at the cubicle farm! 

    Wrap-Up

    If your product gives people a new way to make a living, you have a chance to become a massive company.

    Let’s say my friend joins your robotics training platform and starts making $50/hour. He’ll tell his friends about it. 

    They’ll join the platform too. Soon, you’re growing faster than you can handle. 

    Business is about giving people something that they want. A way to earn money is one of the most powerful wants.

    Satisfy it, and you just might become a billionaire. 

    More on tech: 

    Meet My Latest Investment: Memelord

    How Early Stage Founders Can Save Money and Buy Their Freedom

    Do Investors Take Forever to Get Back to You? Here’s What I’m Doing Differently

    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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    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

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  • Nano Banana Pro: The Best Image Model Yet

    Google’s new Nano Banana Pro is the best image model I’ve ever tested. From hilarious fake photos to serious infographics, this model excels. 

    Yesterday, Google dropped Nano Banana Pro. This new model can create infographics from data you provide, adjust camera angles, and even turn blueprints into realistic structures. 

    Let me show you what this thing can do…

    Round #1: To Have and to Hold

    Let’s start with something fun. Trump and Elon recently made up at a White House meeting. But what if they took their relationship to the next level?

    I gave Nano Banana Pro a detailed prompt to produce a picture of their wedding. It did an incredible job, right down to the black and gray sneakers I told it to put on Elon.

    When I ask other image models to make a picture of a famous person, it often doesn’t look like them. But Nano Banana Pro nails it. 

    I’m giving this round an A!

    Round #2: Make Me a Logo

    How about something more practical?

    Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of a telehealth platform for dogs. Imagine if you could have a vet pop up on your screen any time Fido is sick.

    Let’s call the new company Wellby. Can Nano Banana Pro make a good logo for it? 

    I prompted Pro to give me a logo that’s minimalist, black and white, and makes my business seem trustworthy. Let’s see what it comes up with… 

    The logo Pro gave me isn’t bad, but it feels a little generic. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting or special about it.

    I’ll give this round a B. 

    Round #3: Making an Infographic

    A lot of founders struggle with calculating ARR correctly. Every day, I meet companies that get it wrong.

    How about an infographic explaining how to calculate ARR? As a source, I used a great post from SaaS Academy. 

    Pro gave me a wonderful, detailed graphic that explains how ARR works. It did a great job of explaining what to add and what to take out to arrive at the correct number.

    I’m giving this round an A. 

    Wrap-Up

    Overall, I’m giving Nano Banana Pro an A- in my testing.

    This is the best image model I’ve used so far. It excels across the board, from making silly images to useful infographics. 

    Pro is great at following my instructions. But the flip side is that the images feel a little generic and less creative. I’d like to see them inject a bit more creativity into the model. 

    Nonetheless, Nano Banana Pro is a fantastic way to create images. If you need pictures for your business or just want to make silly photos for fun, this is for you!

    Have you tried Nano Banana Pro?

    More on tech: 

    Grok 4.1 Thinking Beats Gemini 3.0 Pro in Real World Test

    Kimi 2 Thinking — A Real Threat to ChatGPT and Grok

    OpenAI Behind Competitors Despite GPT 5.1 Release

    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.