Joey DeBruin

One of our theories is to seek out opportunities where there’s a major change. Major dislocation in the way things are. Wherever there’s turmoil, there's indecision. And wherever there’s indecision, there’s opportunity. So we look for the confusion when the big companies are confused. When the other venture groups are confused. That’s the time to... See more

This is what people don’t understand about visionaries: They don’t need to predict the future. They learn to snatch it out of the folds of time and wear it around their bodies like a flowing cloak

The idea to split us all into mini-Medicis through platforms like Patreon, if anything, has only further diluted the actual value. It's not just about the fact that they financially support you (that's called a customer, or a customer who tips generously), but that they actually help grow your potential by using their status and name and resources... See more

The reality is that there have been successful ARPA programs all over the spectrum. JCR Licklider “just” spelled out an extraordinary vision, found people who were aligned with it, and gave them resources. Only a few years later, Lawrence Roberts ran the ARPAnet program almost like a CEO: giving different people and groups parts of a broader... See more

There are oddly few modern examples of individuals funding individuals, despite it being a far more decentralised and human-scale version of patronage that's easily achievable by large groups of people.

On the internet, websites are like buildings, hyperlinks are like roads, traffic comes in the form of people and information. It is a complex system with many interacting parts.

The divide between those who do and don’t own capital is an important driver of widening wealth inequality [50]. Forms of accessible co-ownership could be an antidote to chronic wage stagnation and anxieties about job-replacing automation.