To the Dogs or Whoever
w.181 | Efficacious Edutainment, Gemini Earn, End of Industrial Seed, Weekly Wrap Take Two
Dear Friends,
It’s been a busy first week back for me on the content production front. Every week, it gets easier, and I am building the muscle of a reporter working on a deadline. I haven’t gotten to my book reviews or explanation of Delivery Associates, two items I promised before, but I will.
Thanks for being here, as ever.
Today's Contents:
Good Reads: Sensible Investing
Obviously the Future: Efficacious Edutainment
Weekly Wrap: Another Week, More Improvement
Song of the Week: To the Dogs or Whoever
Good Reads: Sensible Investing
VC Firms Are Getting Stingier with Startups: Tribe Capital’s struggles show why. This article makes a case for greater diligence and board governance roles.
The End of “Industrial” Seed VC (and a return to the cottage industry it always was). Twitter post from Sam Lessin.
Inside the Rise and Fall of Gemini’s Risky ‘Earn’ Accounts that left $900 million of customer money in limbo. Interesting and evolving story.
The Number of Small Business Applications Have Increased to a New Level. Yet to the point above, not all companies require venture funding; many of these can (and perhaps should) bootstrap and build on their own.
Obviously the Future: Efficacious Edutainment
I published an essay this week called Efficacious Edutainment about the emerging consumer technology & media category of learning products that work.
I’ll add some context here on my thoughts on this topic. One reader (👋 Skye) wrote a thoughtful comment that I think a lot about:
As a parent of young children, I wonder how we can create the right incentives for edutainment companies. Success in entertainment/media is eyeballs and time spent with content. I'd argue that would be the incorrect measure of success here. In fact, more learning in less time would seemingly be the goal.
I don’t have any magic answers, but I have insight into why it’s hard - and some suggestions about what public-minded institutions and parents can do about it.
Measuring learning is complex. There is so much nuance in outcomes.
When you switch on the light, it is obvious if the electricity is working. You know when Amazon has delivered your package. Did you get a refund on your latest clothing return? Yes, it’s there, right in your account. Delivery of successful outcomes, in these instances, is straightforward.
Yet, the outcome is murky at best in education and many public/social sectors. And when you have research and evidence, it’s debated endlessly. No academic ever made their career on agreeing with her peers. Bad actors have claimed false results, manipulated studies, and treated efficacy as a marketing cost, so skepticism is warranted. But technology is driving the improvement as embedded assessments make learning more visible in real-time.
Weekly Wrap - Take Two
Eric and I did another take on our weekly wrap. We’ve been learning the ins-and-outs of our production software stack: Zoom + Descript + Canva. It’s getting better, but there is more low-hanging fruit to upgrade. Thanks to everyone for your continued comments and feedback.
The Real Left versus Right Debate. Brokenism. TL/DR: The real debate today isn’t between the left and right. It’s between those invested in our current institutions and those who want to build anew.
My SQL 2003 Series B Deck. Interesting deck from MySQL (a super successful database software that is now owned by Microsoft). The deck gives a sense of what valuations used to be for early-stage companies twenty years ago.
Avalanche VC 2022 Letter. The public version of our annual investor letter about where we are spending time with founders.
Selfie and Song of the Week: To the Dogs or Whoever
Here is the song on YouTube.
I love this song, and the whole album, really. Let’s start with Josh Ritter. He’s just so smart. One journalist wrote of him, “Over the course of his career so far, Josh has assembled a singular vision of the American ur-narrative, a sprawling canon of imagery that includes silent film, the occult, water towers and Wurlitzers, the Mississippi steamboat trade, early 20th century Egyptomania, and, running through it all, the traumatic legacy of American military interventionism.” To the Dogs or Whoever is exemplary.
“To the Dogs” means “To be ruined” or “to a bad end.” And “or whoever” modernizes it by being both a little flippant and defiant. I love it. The song tells the story of several heroes who were bold, courageous, and met fatal ends. I particularly appreciate the verses on Joan of Arc.
“To the Dogs or Whoever” by Josh Ritter
I thought I heard somebody calling
In the dark I thought I heard somebody call
Joan never cared about the in-betweens
Combed her hair with a blade did the Maid of Orleans
Said Christ walked on water we can wade through the war
You don't need to tell me who the fire is for
Selfie of the Week:
This week, I’m giving myself a break after I pushed so much content. This is a picture of Andrea and me at our mutual friends' wedding a few years ago. We weren’t super close at Duke (everyone was so busy?), but the beauty of weddings is that for one particular weekend, we got to hang out non-stop. Andrea has a smart deadpan sense of humor.
One of the many things she said that weekend over five years ago was, “There are no smart women with a microphone.” I thought about this line over the years. And I think things have definitely improved today, but there’s always room for more.
I could buy a microphone. In December, I did.
So, to the dogs or whoever. Starting in 2023, we’ll add one more smart woman with a microphone.
Thanks for reading, friends. Please always be in touch.
As always,
Katelyn