Tremendous

An angel investor's take on life and business

  • Is YouTube Censoring the Rogan Podcast?

    It was the most popular podcast in the world. So why couldn’t I find it anywhere? The Joe Rogan interview with Donald Trump has passed 37 million views, but yesterday on YouTube, it was nowhere to be found.

    I tried typing in “joe rogan trump,” “joe rogan trump full interview,” you name it. But the only way to find the episode was to go to the podcast’s YouTube profile and hunt for it.

    Countless viewers had the same problem. So is this just a technical glitch, or is YouTube censoring Trump?

    An Algorithmic Glitch?

    On a recent episode of This Week in Startups, host Jason Calacanis said that the problem may be a quirk in the YouTube algorithm. It can prioritize short videos over long ones.

    I don’t think this is the culprit. I’ve had no problem finding other full interviews from JRE, including a great one with Chamath.

    Mass Reporting?

    A more likely possibility: mass reporting of the Trump interview.

    An anonymous account on Twitter claims a Google employee contacted him to tell him that the video could’ve been marked as spam. This can happen when a lot of people report a video.

    There’s no way to verify this claim. But it’s not hard to imagine a bunch of lefties reporting the interview simply because they don’t like Trump.

    Plain Old Censorship

    Another possibility is that Google intentionally censored the video. We don’t have evidence of that, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

    YouTube has a history of censoring political content. Other social media platforms like Facebook and pre-Elon Twitter routinely did the same, often working with the government to remove information.

    If Google did censor it, I hope a whistleblower tells us.

    Better Alternatives to YouTube

    There are two possibilities here: either YouTube search stinks or they’re censoring content. Either way, I’m not wild about using it.

    I suggest you do what I did: listen to the podcast in your podcast player. These players operate over an open standard called RSS, which cannot be censored.

    Rogan also uploaded the entire episode to Twitter, which you can see above. That’s a great option for content creators because Twitter will not censor you, unlike other platforms.

    Wrap-Up

    As of today, I’m able to find the interview on YouTube. But what really happened here?

    YouTube either dropped the ball or purposely tried to interfere with the election.

    For what it’s worth, I loved the Rogan/Trump interview. As you listen to them chat for 3 hours, Trump doesn’t feel like the monster the media makes him out to be.

    He feels human.

    Whatever our politics, I hope we can agree that censorship is wrong. And I hope to hear Harris on the show soon!

    More on tech:

    From $50 Million to $50 Billion: Thomas Laffont at the All-In Summit

    Meet My Latest Investment: PodcastAI

    Talking Investment Red Flags on the Mr. Bray Labs Podcast

    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 Your Startup Must Be a Delaware C Corp

    There’s one problem that will make me pass on a startup faster than anything else: not being incorporated properly. When it comes to incorporation, there’s only one right answer: the Delaware C Corp.

    The Delaware C Corp is the perfect form for tech startups. It lets you do things that other forms like LLC’s don’t. It also maximizes your ability to raise money.

    Let’s go through some of the reasons why investors love Delaware:

    1) Stock options. A Delaware C Corp lets you grant stock options, which every tech startup needs to do. An LLC does not.

    If you’re going to attract great people, you have to give them equity. Stock options make that easy.

    Meanwhile, granting people equity in an LLC is very difficult.

    2) Share classes. When investors put money into your company, they don’t want common shares. They typically get preferred shares, which come with more protections.

    When you get acquired or shut down, preferred shareholders get their money back first.

    I’ve had several companies get acquihired. Without preferred shares, I probably would’ve lost a lot of money.

    But because I had preferred shares, I got my money back.

    LLC’s and other corporate forms don’t allow for multiple share classes. For most VC’s, this is a nonstarter.

    3) Predictable legal environment. Delaware has a precedent for everything. So many companies have incorporated in the tiny state for so long that the environment is highly predictable.

    The Delaware Court of Chancery is staffed by judges who are experts in corporate law. All they do is hear these kind of cases.

    Hopefully your startup never winds up in court. But if it does, investors want a predictable set of laws governing the dispute.

    4) Downstream funding. Future investors will require you to be a Delaware C Corp. So if I’m investing now, I want you to have that squared away.

    After all, you’re going to need a lot more money in the future!

    Many VC firms can only invest in C Corps. Their Limited Partnership Agreement (LPA), the agreement they make with their investors, requires it.

    5) Easy taxes. If you incorporate as an LLC, you will make your investors’ tax returns a nightmare. Any money you make will flow through to them, causing endless confusion.

    What’s more, other states may assess a corporate tax. Delaware doesn’t.

    A C Corp makes tax season easy.

    Wrap-Up

    Delaware C Corps are perfectly suited for tech startups. You can innovate on your product or branding, but not here.

    Starting a C Corp is easy — services like Carta or Capbase can make one cheaply in a couple of clicks.

    And if you started with an LLC or some other structure, don’t worry! You can convert to a Delaware C Corp.

    It’s just a matter of time and legal fees. And since it’s much easier to convert if you haven’t raised money, you want to do this as soon as possible.

    Raising money is hard enough. Give yourself the best possible shot — get incorporated properly!

    Are you a C Corp? Why or why not?

    *I have a small investment in Capbase.

    More on tech:

    Small Investors Lead to Big Investors

    Meet My Latest Investment: PodcastAI

    The Big 3: Vision, Team and Traction

    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. 

  • Street Fighters: The Last 72 Hours of Bear Stearns, the Toughest Firm on Wall Street

    On January 18th, 2007, Bear Stearns stock reached an all-time high, valuing it at over $20 billion. Just 14 months later, the company was gone. How it happened is the story of the fascinating book Street Fighters.

    Cracks in the Facade

    Bear lacked the polish of a firm like Goldman. But its traders had come to dominate the massive market for mortgage-backed securities.

    As house prices soared in the 2000’s, Bear made huge profits.

    But once prices began to falter, Bear’s mortgage securities started losing money. Soon, the word spread that Bear was taking big losses.

    Counterparties began to pull huge sums from Bear, draining the company of cash. The many hedge funds that relied on Bear as a prime broker didn’t want their money stuck on a sinking ship.

    Bear was losing money fast, sometimes billions in a day. Meanwhile, it struggled to get new loans to make up for the losses.

    A Financial House of Cards

    To me as a tech guy, the way Bear ran its finances seems insane.

    It leveraged itself 30:1. A 3% loss would take down the company.

    Surely you’re going to take a 3% loss eventually, right?

    Worse yet, much of Bear’s borrowing was via overnight repo loans. They easily rolled those loans over every day, until one day they couldn’t.

    Imagine financing your business that way — 30:1 leverage, and not knowing from day to day whether you’re still alive.

    It’s deranged. But on Wall Street at the time, it was common practice.

    Compare that to how the best businesses in tech finance themselves.

    Rahul at Superhuman keeps a minimum of 4 years runway in the bank at all times. Big public tech companies keep even more cash — Apple is sitting on $62 billion.

    Apple is still here. Bear is not.

    No wonder technology companies are taking over the world.

    Asleep at the Wheel

    Dictatorial, lazy managers let Bear fall apart.

    CEO Jimmy Cayne barely worked despite collecting an eight figure salary. He left on Thursday afternoons to play golf at his New Jersey beach house. He spent another couple of months per year playing in bridge tournaments and lounging in Florida.

    Other executives followed his lead. Soon, several were leaving early each week to go to their vacation houses.

    When Cayne was present, he brooked no dissent.

    Board minutes were written up before the meeting even happened. Members were often told to read from prepared statements.

    This guy is one of the worst managers I’ve ever seen. The average Joe off the street could’ve done better.

    The End of the Line

    By March of 2008, Bear was nearing the end. Between counterparties pulling their accounts or demanding more collateral, the firm was running out of money.

    New CEO Alan Schwartz and his team tried to find funding wherever they could: Japanese banks, the Germans, even private equity investor J.C. Flowers. Flowers tried to bring in Warren Buffett, but Buffett declined, citing his bad experience investing in Salomon Brothers.

    That left one viable suitor: J.P. Morgan.

    Jamie Dimon Saves the Day

    JPM had the cash and the clout to get a deal done fast. The JPM and Bear teams spent a sleepless weekend at Bear Stearns headquarters at Madison and 46th Street. (I’ve been past it — it’s quite a nice building.)

    On March 16th, JPM agreed to acquire Bear for $2 a share (later revised up to $10). The stock had been worth $170 just a year earlier.

    The deal would’ve never happened if the Fed hadn’t agreed to backstop up to $30 billion in losses on the Bear portfolio.

    The Fed and Treasury never seemed to seriously consider letting Bear go bankrupt. Why they so readily put government money on the line is unclear.

    Why can’t these banks go bankrupt like anyone else?

    Wrap-Up

    I found the story of Bear’s last days fascinating.

    This is what happens when you take ridiculous risks. You make big money for a while, and then you get kicked in the face.

    When you look at the most successful companies of today, like Apple, they look nothing like Bear. They provide value to customers and run their finances conservatively.

    Slow and steady wins the race.

    What do you think of Bear Stearns’ demise?

    Have a great weekend everybody!

    More on markets:

    From $50 Million to $50 Billion: Thomas Laffont at the All-In Summit

    My Next Move in this Turbulent Market

    The Coming M&A Wave

    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. 

  • Clone: The Most Human Android Yet?

    Scrolling Twitter last night, my jaw dropped. What the heck is that? It looked like a human skeleton moving itself around — I’d never seen a robot like this.

    The new Torso by Clone Robotics is unlike any robot you’ve ever seen. Instead of being made of steel and motors, the Clone is constructed from carbon fiber and artificial muscles.

    It looks almost human.

    Artificial muscles appear to give the Clone’s hands incredible dexterity. In a video released by the company, the hand is able to manipulate a ball just like a human.

    https://twitter.com/ikirigin/status/1768662503213715785

    The carbon fiber and artificial muscles also give the Clone unusual strength. Its hands can pick up as much as 15 pounds, more than most robots.

    The cost of a Clone may be a lot less than you think. In an investment prospectus from last year on Republic, Clone estimates that a full android will cost about $20,000.

    That’s the price of a used car. At that rate, anyone could own one.

    I find it interesting that at the recent All-In Summit, Elon mentioned a similar price for Tesla’s Optimus. He estimates it will cost $10-20,000 at scale.

    The Optimus and the Clone use very different technologies. But nonetheless, androids seem to be converging around this cost.

    If they go for $20,000, most middle class Americans could lease one for a couple hundred bucks a month. It could do all your housework and at night, it could work in a factory.

    Your Clone could pay for itself, and then some!

    I usually don’t invest in robotics. But this is so darn innovative, I’d almost take a shot.

    I can’t wait to see what’s next from the Clone team!

    Would you buy a Clone?

    More on tech:

    Elon at the All-In Summit

    The New Figure 02 — the World’s Best Robot?

    Two Million Miles Without a Fatality: Waymo’s CEO at the All-In Summit

    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 I’m Voting for Donald Trump

    I never thought I’d vote for Donald Trump in a million years. In 2016, I was knocking doors in Pennsylvania for Hillary. But after 4 disastrous years with Biden and Harris, I’m all-in on Trump.

    Here’s what made me change my mind…

    Staying out of WWIII

    The war in Ukraine could result in a nuclear conflict. Preventing this is my highest priority as a voter.

    Putin has threatened nuclear war over our support of Ukraine. We always assume he’s bluffing.

    But if we find out he’s not, it will be too late.

    Trump wants to end the war in Ukraine right away. Harris, meanwhile, has never provided a timetable for bringing this conflict to a resolution.

    The longer this war goes on, and the more it escalates, the closer we are to nuclear war. It’s critical that we bring it to a conclusion right away.

    Missile Defense

    This might seem like a wonky issue, but it is critically important.

    If a president has the wrong policies for the economy or education, no big deal. We can change them.

    But if we are obliterated in a nuclear war, that’s it.

    In a Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk in August, Trump proposed creating new missile defense systems to better protect us from nuclear missiles. Harris has no plan to protect us from these deadly weapons.

    Hearing Trump’s proposal on missile defense finally tipped me over the edge into supporting him. I’m happy to hear a candidate talk about this critical issue that is too often ignored.

    Inflation

    Every time I go to the grocery store, I’m shocked at the cost. How could this little pile of food on the conveyor belt be that much?

    I’m lucky. I can afford these high prices — they just make me mad.

    But for so many Americans, this is an existential crisis. They cannot put food on the table.

    During Trump’s presidency, inflation was almost nonexistent. As soon as Biden and Harris got into office, it went through the roof.

    Biden-Harris Spending Is Driving Inflation

    Ridiculous spending from Biden and Harris has inflated the economy. Pump a ton of money into the system, and prices go up.

    Biden and Harris pushed through enormous spending bills, one after another. Here are some of the larger ones:

    This comes to $4.2 trillion, on top of normal federal spending. Pump trillions of dollars into the economy, and prices go up.

    Trump wants to stop this ridiculous spending and make government more efficient. He plans to have Elon head a Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) charged with firing bureaucrats, slashing regulations and cutting spending.

    It’s a fantastic idea — Elon might be the one person who’s better than Trump at firing people!

    Securing the Border

    Right now, we have millions of people streaming into this country. We have no idea who they are. Some surely have criminal records.

    I’m all for immigration, and so is Trump. But we have to have control over our own borders.

    Harris does not believe in protecting our country.

    She has called for decriminalizing illegal immigration. Her administration even sold Trump’s border wall for scrap!

    Democrats are intentionally flooding our country with people with few skills and possible criminal backgrounds. How can I vote for that?

    Wrap-Up

    In this election, it all comes down to what David Sacks said.

    In the last 8 years, we’ve had an A/B test. 4 years of Trump, 4 years of Biden/Harris.

    Which one worked better?

    Trump gave us a strong economy and a peaceful world. Biden and Harris gave us out of control inflation and war.

    No contest.

    What are your thoughts on the election?

    More on the election:

    Kamala’s Extreme Agenda

    Elon in Butler, PA

    Vance at the All-In Summit

    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 Big 3: Vision, Team and Traction

    Founders ask me all the time how to improve their pitch. Here’s what I tell them…focus on the Big 3: Vision, Team and Traction.

    Every day, I see lengthy decks and memos that get mired it detail. Exhaustive market analyses, 10 year projections, and long lists of “advisors.”

    Ditch all that. Instead, structure your pitch around 3 key points.

    1) Vision. You must be able to express the vision for your company in 1 sentence. It must be clear and compelling.

    Here’s an example:

    “Uber makes it easy to get a ride from anywhere to anywhere, any time.”

    That’s simple and clear. I know exactly what Uber does.

    It’s also a compelling vision. Just think how many rides people take…this could be a huge company!

    If I don’t know exactly what you do from that 1 sentence, try again.

    No jargon. Don’t democratize, supercharge, or provide anything “in a box.”

    I have a whole post on how to nail your vision here.

    2) Team. Tell us why your team is the perfect one to take on this problem.

    I cannot tell you how often founders bury the team slide in the deck. Sometimes they don’t include it at all!

    Sell the team, and sell it hard.

    At this stage, you probably don’t have much traction. So team is the main thing you have to offer.

    Let’s say you’re building an AI tool to help lawyers draft contracts. Your team is you and a co-founder. You could pitch your team like this:

    “I’m Jim, Founder & CEO of Legally. I was a contract lawyer for 8 years before starting this company. Every day, I spent hours drafting similar documents. I was sure there must be a better way.

    Mike is my co-founder and CTO. He built AI tools for Superhuman which have been used by hundreds of thousands of customers.”

    That’s a heckuva team! We’ve got a guy who knows the problem intimately, and a strong builder.

    These fellas could actually pull this off!

    3) Traction. You have a clear and compelling vision. You have a team that is uniquely qualified to make it a reality.

    But where is the evidence that things are beginning to work? That’s where traction comes in.

    Growing revenue is the best form of traction.

    If you can show that, definitely do so. Put it on a big chart that we cannot miss.

    If you’re growing 10% a month or more at the early stage, investors will start to get excited. If you don’t have much growth yet, at least tell us how much revenue you have.

    If you don’t have revenue, you can show traction in other ways.

    Maybe you have a bunch of unpaid users. Or perhaps you’ve built a huge waitlist that you plan to convert to customers.

    Use whatever you’ve got! And work on getting that revenue as soon as possible.

    Cash is king.

    Wrap-Up

    There are other useful things to include in a pitch, like a bottoms-up TAM. But if you can nail the Big 3, you’ll have a great start.

    Never forget, investors see 20 of these a day. You have to stand out.

    Keep it brief. Keep it clear. Make it compelling.

    You can practice below…what’s your vision for your company?

    More on tech:

    Small Investors Lead to Big Investors

    Meet My Latest Investment: PodcastAI

    Why I Passed: “DoorTrack”

    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 Everything Drug? | Dave Ricks of Eli Lilly on GLP-1’s

    Three quarters of Americans are overweight or obese. Only 5% will ever lose weight with diet and exercise. Are drugs the only real solution to the obesity epidemic?

    David Friedberg recently dug into that and more in an interview with Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks.

    GLP-1’s for Weight Loss

    Lilly was one of the first companies to make a GLP-1 drug available for weight loss. These drugs, which were originally developed for diabetes, are also highly effective in treating obesity.

    GLP-1’s, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, basically make your body think it’s full when it’s not. This means you eat less and lose weight.

    People on GLP-1’s tend have less interest in overeating or fattening foods. A study by Wal-Mart found that shoppers on GLP-1’s bought food with 1/3 fewer calories, in particular reducing their consumption of salty snacks.

    In my 20’s, I lost 70 pounds purely through diet and exercise. You can definitely lose weight without drugs.

    But the reality is, most people just aren’t going to do that. For most, pharmaceuticals may be the only realistic option.

    The Everything Drug?

    GLP-1’s can help people lose weight. But there’s early evidence that they’re useful for other compulsions as well.

    Animal studies suggest that the drugs could help people addicted to alcohol or opioids. The medicines seem to cause animals to lose interest in alcohol or opioids, much like humans became less interested in potato chips.

    There’s even evidence in humans that patients on GLP-1’s are less likely to become depressed.

    Given how many common conditions GLP-1’s can address, I expect to see half of Americans taking one within the next 10-20 years. Already, some insurers are changing their actuarial tables, expecting people to live longer as a result of these medications.

    The Drugs of the Future

    As incredible as GLP-1’s are, they come with some barriers. For now, they must be injected. And if you stop taking them, you will probably gain the weight back.

    Lilly is working to fix these issues. They’re developing a pill version of a GLP-1. They’re also working on weight loss drugs that you’d only need to take for a limited time.

    Ricks and his team are also working on another incredible project: a medication to lower Lp(a). Lp(a) is a biomarker that is closely associated with cardiovascular disease.

    If a drug can lower your levels of Lp(a), your risk of death from cardiovascular disease could plummet.

    This condition is the biggest killer in America. Preventing it could significantly increase life expectancy.

    Wrap-Up

    Eli Lilly was founded in 1876. It started out as a tiny little workshop. You wouldn’t know if they were making medicines or bicycles.

    Today, it’s the largest pharmaceutical company on earth by market cap, worth over $800 billion. More importantly, Lilly is producing drugs that save countless lives.

    Seeing that tiny little workshop, I’m put in mind of this quote from Jeff Bezos:

    “Big things start small.”

    What do you think of GLP-1’s?

    More on tech:

    Ohalo: Taking Food Costs to 0

    Meet My Latest Investment: PodcastAI

    Flying Cars Are on the Way: Joby, Archer and Wisk at the All-In Summit

    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. 

  • Meet My Latest Investment: PodcastAI

    “This is so cool!” Whenever I find myself saying that, I usually want to place a bet.

    PodcastAI makes podcast production automatic. Just drop in an episode and you get show notes, chapters, viral clips to post to Twitter and Youtube, and a lot more.

    This spring, founder Edward Brawer was telling me about their new AI Chat feature. It lets you ask an AI version of the host a question and get a response based on info from previous episodes.

    Chatting with your favorite podcasters…who wouldn’t want to do that?

    Edward isn’t stopping there. He’s made fully synthetic content using AI, like this hilarious AI All-In episode:

    PodcastAI is the best podcasting tool on the market, by far. But it’s way more than that.

    What Edward has created is a new form of entertainment.

    I very rarely see product velocity like PodcastAI’s. No wonder the company is growing so fast.

    PodcastAI shows what a small team of extremely focused builders can do. I’m delighted to be a small investor in their recent seed round.

    Check out PodcastAI and take your podcast to the next level!

    Have a great weekend everyone!

    More on tech: 

    Meet My Latest Investment: Melengo

    Meet My Latest Investment: North

    Small Investors Lead to Big Investors

    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 Euro Tech Monster: Ingo Uytdehaage of Adyen at the All-In Summit

    Adyen processes payments for a billion shoppers worldwide. Its market cap is over $46 billion.

    In a great talk at the All-In Summit, Co-CEO Ingo Uytdehaage tells the besties what it’s like to expand internationally and how AI is revolutionizing payments.

    Boosting Profits with AI

    “Where’s the real world business impact of AI?” I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this. Hopefully Ingo’s interview puts this question to rest.

    Ingo explains that Adyen has saved customers 20% on debit transactions by routing their payments to cheaper rails. Since Adyen processes over $1 trillion a year in payments, this is a massive savings.

    Ingo is also saving Adyen money by integrating AI into its support function. This is a common use for generative AI, and every company can benefit from it.

    No wonder Adyen is incredibly profitable, pulling in over $700 million a year in net income. Yum yum!

    Expanding Abroad

    It’s not lost on Ingo that his company is one of the very few success stories for tech in Europe. That comes with advantages, but also big challenges.

    The Netherlands, where Adyen is based, is small. So they had to go international from day one.

    But serving foreign markets from Amsterdam just doesn’t work. So Ingo has hired teams in the US and around the world, close to customers.

    This is very smart.

    I might want to sell in Japan, for example. But I don’t really know what Japanese companies want to buy or how their sales culture works. And while I speak some Japanese, a native speaker will be a much more effective salesman than I.

    Recruiting the Best

    The one bright side of being a big fish in a small pond for Adyen is that in Europe, recruiting is easy. There aren’t many other options!

    But in America, they’re competing with Google, Facebook, you name it. And here, Adyen is not that well known.

    That has made recruiting a challenge. But the size of the market makes the struggle well worth it.

    The US is Adyen’s fastest growing market and represents a third of revenues. And from what I know about business cultures, I’m guessing the American customers are a lot more direct and decisive.

    What’s Going on in Amsterdam?

    I find it interesting that one of Europe’s most successful tech companies is based not in one of the biggest cities, like London, Paris or Rome, but in Amsterdam. ASML and Prosus, two of the largest tech companies in Europe, are also based in the Netherlands.

    In all, 3 out of the top 5 largest European tech companies by market cap are based in tiny Holland. Something’s going on over there…

    Indeed, I’m finalizing an investment in a Dutch startup now. I’m going to keep scouring this area looking for prospects.

    I’ll tell you what I find.

    Wrap-Up

    Adyen shows us that Europe can produce first rate tech companies. And if you had any doubt that AI was going to make a huge impact, just look at Adyen’s juicy bottom line.

    What did you think of Ingo’s talk?

    This concludes our series on talks from the All-In Summit.

    What a fantastic bunch of speakers! I hope to attend in person in the future and see them live!

    More from the All-In Summit:

    Elon at the All-In Summit

    Ukraine, China and the Deep State: Mearsheimer and Sachs at the All-In Summit

    Flying Cars Are on the Way: Joby, Archer and Wisk at the All-In Summit

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  • Flying Cars Are on the Way: Joby, Archer and Wisk at the All-In Summit

    I am so sick of hearing helicopters going over my house! I live in North Jersey just outside NYC, and let me tell you, it’s nonstop. But there’s a solution, and it could be here as soon as next year.

    Electronic Vertical Takeoff and Landing craft (eVTOLs) from Joby Aviation could be in NYC as soon as 2025. In a fascinating talk at the All-In Summit, the founders of Joby and fellow eVTOL startups Archer and Wisk explain how flying cars are closer than we think.

    Downtown to JFK in 7 Minutes

    As I write this on a Wednesday afternoon, Google is telling me that it will take about 45 minutes to get from downtown Manhattan to Kennedy airport. That’s actually really good — it’s often twice that or more!

    Joby plans to get that down to just 7 minutes.

    The cost could be lower than a helicopter since eVTOLs have a much simpler design. And already, helicopter trips on Blade often cost about the same as an Uber to/from JFK.

    But to me, the best part is how quiet they are. Check out this video of a Joby compared with other aircraft!

    These aircraft run at just 45 db, about as loud as a refrigerator. To me, it just sounds like wind.

    This will be a massive improvement in quality of life for everyone in major metro areas.

    Not Just Quieter — Safer

    “Driving is more than 10,000 times more dangerous per passenger mile than flying is.”

    JoeBen Bevirt, Founder & CEO, Joby Aviation

    If you take an eVTOL to JFK, you don’t just save lots of time and wear and tear on Francis’ eardrums. You just might save your own life.

    Driving is incredibly dangerous. Any car trips we can replace with flying is a huge win.

    Airlines have an incredible safety record. Helicopters, while not as safe as airlines, are still dramatically better than a car.

    eVTOLs should be much safer than a helicopter. The design is simpler, and they have many rotors — 6, in the case of the Joby aircraft. If one or more stop working, you should still be able to land safely.

    Joby and Archer will use pilots. But Wisk is going even further, developing fully automated eVTOLs.

    If they can nail the automation, these might be even safer than human pilots.

    Wrap-Up

    eVTOLs, rotors softly beating in the wind over NYC. It’s an incredible vision.

    But Bevirt of Joby plans to go much further.

    He plans to make Joby aircraft so quiet they can land in your yard. A flying car, at your service!

    This is an incredible future. I’d be tempted to take one, even if I wasn’t going anywhere.

    I think a lot of us can relate to Bevirt when he says:

    “I’ve been dreaming about it since I was a kid.”

    Would you ride in an eVTOL?

    More on tech:

    Two Million Miles Without a Fatality: Waymo’s CEO at the All-In Summit

    Elon at the All-In Summit

    Talking Investment Red Flags on the Mr. Bray Labs Podcast

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

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    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.