Joey DeBruin

Everyday, we land on the internet without a map. Instead, search is the dominant wayfinding paradigm. It is the information equivalent of exploring the local area at ground level. A search is a hypothesis, an instance of trial and error. With enough searches, we can usually get where we're going. However, we lack the overall context of how everythi... See more

There is no heaven for newthings. There is no Hall of Fame. There is only memory and change. Nothing (the opposite of newthing) and no one are immune.

The goal of newthing is to live as long as possible while staying true. The longer it does this, the stronger and more itself it will become.

This is great, though it still acts primarily as a sort of summer camp for entrepreneurship hopefuls, with a tight deadline in which they need to form teams, crack ideas and go to work. Goal orientedness is kind of the name of the game and the grant itself is de minimis .

If the program was ostensibly longer and/or more diverse in its intake this co... See more

With a more decentralized structure, modern idea machines can “arm the rebels” right where they are, instead of hiring them into a foundation. The popularity of so-called regrantor programs (i.e. scout programs) reflects this trend, where talented individuals are given funding to make grants on behalf of the grantmaking organization.

DAOs are networks that are defined by nodes and links, corresponding to people and relationships.

This is the overall promise of your startup. Expert level performance through appropriate use of your software to speed up a defined part of a businesses’ key workflow.

So, representing systems dynamically is important for learning about and understanding systems deeply. This is important for both novices and experts. However, dynamic representations of systems are not just useful for learning. Dynamic simulations are models of some interacting phenomena, which makes them able to predict things.

My point in sharing all of this is that sometimes I feel like we get too caught up in the words, and forget to disregard them. Especially (in the context of this essay) as builders of new technology products.“How will I describe this to an investor, or at a dinner party with friends?”"What’s the one-liner that describes why this will be better?”“Wh... See more

Regardless of your GTM approach and the type of users teams end up choosing, my core view on building AI-first companies in 2022 is that outside of the core team dynamics above, pace and conviction will be what dictates success.

The pace of innovation means having the time to see validating data will be nearly impossible, and thus teams must build a... See more