It also could not be a better time for a paradigm shift. AGI and likely soon after superintelligence will force us to rethink human role in society. In the new world, the value of the human brain is increasingly defined on how creative it can be. Cosmic optimism helps us navigate this transformation by emphasizing focus on the very human qualities ... See more

What would Instagram look like if it started with “AI filters”? What if we could interact with AI chatbots in our messengers? We are already beginning to see this happen. This type of evolution is inevitable, and the obvious incrementalism will quickly make its way into incumbent applications. It is not enough to reinvent the consumer social landsc... See more

New @ThePeelPod episode The Story of Haystack with @Semil Semil is the Founder of Haystack, a venture capital firm backing outlier founders at the earliest stages. Semil started Haystack in 2013, and has since invested in 16 unicorns like DoorDash, Instacart, Figma, HashiCorp,… Show more

Not taking things so seriously too re: advice. Think of all the times you were serious when you could have just been silly with your kids. How great is it when it occurs to you to just start laughing. You always have that choice! And I think it’s a good one to make because you set the mood at home for your kids.

laughter

I’ve been doing improv comedy for the last twelve years. Over that time I’ve realized there are at least two types of laughter you hear from the audience. One is a response to something clever or smart, like ‘ha ha I see what you did there, very nice.’ It’s a shallow sort of laugh and one that comes mainly from the mind. 

The other - my favo... See more

"So much advantage in life comes from being willing to look like a failure in the short term."

The most contrarian bet in venture capital right now is Thrive’s investment in OpenAI at an $80B valuation.

Before you bring your pitchforks against me or wonder if I’ve gone crazy, let me explain.

You can be contrarian in two ways:1

1. Having a different POV than the mainstream


2. Having 100% conviction in the mainstream POV and doubling down on it in a way

... See more

So, as a builder, you must learn to gain confidence from doubt. And you must remember, nothing extraordinary is ever achieved through ordinary means.

The more you see, the more skeptical you become. Optimize for skepticism and curiosity. Having been a VC and invested as an angel in well over 100 companies, my inbox flows with ideas of all kinds from aspiring and repeat entrepreneurs. In the earlier days, I’d get excited by ideas especially the first time I saw them. But over time, I soon realize... See more