Young, early stage founder asked for any hiring thoughts - figured worth sharing with the twitter-verse if they can be helpful.

1a) Make people do the work they are going to do for you during the interview process.

1b) People talking about work and experience is basically useless, except to evaluate whether this job "makes sense" for someone at this stage of their life - do the dots connect or not? If you can convince people to do a contract project for a month first, even better.

2) Optimize for IQ/horsepower. Talent overruns experience in like 3-6 months and never looks back. If you love someone, but they are missing a skill, you're better off getting them to learn it than hiring someone more skilled but with less upside.

3) Optimize for low drama and ease to work with, in all ways. You want people who just want to get shit done and enjoy themselves, not people who want to bring their personal drama into the workplace.

4) People who went to the best state school in the state they are from, and were overqualified for that school, tend to be undervalued and have a great low ego/high execution/high IQ ratio. They have ivy league brains with middle class values.

The wealthiest person I know prints millions out of thin air in the real estate business.

This is what he does...

A thread.

He finds a distressed retail plaza. Let's say 50% of the space isn't leased.

On a 300,000 sf plaza that might mean 150k square feet is vacant.

If asking rent is $8 per square foot per year, that means the building has a "potential revenue" figure of of $2.4MM.

So in this retail center 50% is leased and 50% is vacant. So the actual revenue, right now, is $1.2MM.

Most retail leases are whats called "Triple Net" or "NNN". This means the tenant pays the taxes, insurance, maintenance and CAM (common area maintenance).

They basically pay all of the landlord's expenses (except debt service on any loans he/she has, of course).

Commercial properties are valued based on something called a "cap rate".

The equation is:

net operating income / (cap rate) = value

The cap rate is a %.

Think about it as the return on your money, annually, as a percentage, you spent to buy a property.

I just read all of Jeff Bezos's 23 letters to Amazon shareholders. And here's a thread with just one key-takeaway from each of these letters.

So if you're an artist or an entrepreneur looking to get some insight into the mind of this genius, read this right now.

1997: Focus relentlessly on your customers and long-term growth.

1998: Here are the 3 criteria Bezos wants managers to consider when hiring (to set the bar high):

1. Will you admire this person?

2. Will they raise the average level of effectiveness of the group?

3. Along what dimension might this person be a superstar?

1999: How to think long-term? Think: it's good enough today, but it will get so much better.

2000: "In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.” - Benjamin Graham

We aren’t 10% smarter when the share goes 10% up, nor 10% dumber when it goes down. We want to be weighed, & we're always working to build a heavier company.

Here are all the businesses I’ve tried:

(Half of them failed)

👇

Training Spectrum

A website showcasing local sports talent, health and fitness articles and interviews with personal trainers.

Started at 17. Lasted 4-5 months.

Food & Drink

A local website listing restaurants in each city (before Zomato was a thing).

Started at 18. Lasted 6-7 months.

Ambitionaire

An online magazine interviewing entrepreneurs for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Started at 18. Lasted 3 months.

10 Question Poll

A website asking 10 random funny questions and you share your results with friends.

Started at 22. Lasted 3 months.

If you’re a Startup trying to compete with a Megacorp—the 800-pound Gorilla in the space—you need to understand the tax inherent to being a Gorilla

And then you need to make that tax work against the Gorilla—with your product's positioning & features

A thread on Gorilla taxes👇🏾

1/
Collaboration Tax

Getting two or more product groups at a megacorp to collaborate on creating a seamless end user experience is the hardest problem in computer science.

(I am not joking)

Examples of Collaboration Tax:

Calendly exists because the Gmail team & Calendar team haven’t worked together on creating a more seamless experience for that use case.

Loom might succeed because the Gmail, Video, Meet teams at Google are probably too busy with their own goals.

The takeaway for startups:

If you can create meaningful value by seamlessly integrating features of two or more distinct Gorilla products, you will typically have a lot of runway before the Gorilla can get its act together and eliminate its Collaboration Tax.

2/
Denominator Tax

Once a Gorilla’s product reaches massive scale (i.e. the denominator for its metrics gets very large), the pressure of OKRs & incentives will often force the Gorilla’s product teams to prioritize breadth of usage more than depth of usage.

By now, you’ve probably heard that global supply chains are in a state of disarray.

Here's a simple breakdown of what’s causing it:

1/ There's a lot of talk right now about the global supply chain crisis.

@Business published an article subtitled "Inside the Brutal Realities of Supply Chain Hell”—it's getting serious.

This thread provides my (very) simple framework for understanding the key drivers:

2/ First off, what are the visible impacts of the crisis?

Product delays (good luck getting appliances before 2022), product shortages (see semiconductors), port buildups (fly over LA and you'll see), and rampant freight costs (sorry, retailer margins).

It's pretty bad.

3/ Global supply chains are very complex. We live in a highly-interconnected world.

A butterfly flaps its wings in Shenzhen and impacts when I receive my bike in New York. Ok, maybe not quite, but almost...

So to understand the drivers of the crisis, we need a simple framework.

4/ Let's break down what is happening using an Econ 101 classic: Supply and Demand.

Supply here refers to everything related to manufacturing, production, and transportation.

Demand here refers to everything related to consumption.

I'll walk through each side:

Bill Gates got lucky.

With an IBM deal he signs in 1980.

Here's the hidden truth about the rise of Microsoft:

So we all know the Bill Gates story.

A brilliant kid who loves computers.

Drops out of Harvard in 1975 to start Microsoft with his childhood friend, Paul Allen.

Gates and Allen originally sell code interpreters to companies like MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry System).

In 1976, their revenue is $16,000.

By 1978, Microsoft hits $1 million in revenue.

But they were far from taking over the world.

Until...

In 1980, IBM asks Gates to build them an operating system for their new personal computers.

He had never done this.

So Gates directs them to his friend Gary Kildall from Digital Research.

The IBM-Digital Research meeting goes poorly.

The two parties argue over non-disclosure agreements and other legal issues.

Eventually, IBM offers Digital Research $250,000 to build the operating system.

They refuse.

"We will only do royalties."

If you make more than $100k per year you should have a Virtual Assistant.

If you don't, you're wasting your time on stuff that doesn't matter.

Here's the process I've created to find, interview, and manage great VA's after doing this for 5 years:

There's a lot of tasks you work on that are well below your intellectual capability.

Booking haircut appointments, ordering groceries, and finding flights is a waste of time.

First, you want to find out what tasks can you delegate.

Here's how:

Track everything you do every 15 minutes in a spreadsheet. Create 3 columns w/ the below questions

1. Do I like doing this?
2. Is it repeatable?
3. Can it be delegated?

If the answers are No, Yes, Yes -- you've found tasks to delegate!

We'll jump back into these tasks later.

Before we learn how to find them, let's understand the types of VA's:

1. Individual Freelancers (Low cost & High cost)
2. Agency VA's (High cost)

My experience has been with low-cost VA's (under $6/hour). I've gotten the same level of quality that I would with most US VA's.

Now, here's how we craft the right job post to attract the best ones: Be as specific as possible with what you expect. Here’s an example:

Also ask for a screenshot of their computer specs & internet speed results and a 2 min video of their background & why they want the job.

HDFC Life Concall was today at 5.15 pm

Here are the key highlights of the Conference call 😀👇

@dmuthuk @datta_arvind @Vivek_Investor @connectgurmeet @Prakashplutus

Business Updates:

• Continue to see pickup in saving business.
• Growth is there both in volume of policy and increase in ticket size.
• Market share remained increasing at 27% and is increasing gradually.
• Solvency Ration remained at 202%.

• Bank Assurance Channel has grown 22%. Agency Channel continuous to gain growth. HDFC Bank remained growth drive.
• Company is continuously partnering with new channel partners.
• Risk Management has been constantly watched and remained on track.

• Product Mix across key channels shown is growth gradually.

New Scheme Launches: Company has yesterday launched new health plan with add on features.

Tax:
• Tax is now no longer a reason for the people to buy insurance, as customer perspective towards Insurance is improving.

Saving
• Savings have been coming back to the growth target.
• People during the covid and post covid is continuing the saving plan.

Parler is gone, but the evidence is not. Current @Microsoft employee & fmr Snoqualmie city council candidate Kevin Ostrem (1/26) @parlertakes

Parler is gone, but the evidence is not. Current @Microsoft
employee & fmr Snoqualmie city council candidate Kevin Ostrem @parlertakes (2/26)

Parler is gone, but the evidence is not. Current @Microsoft employee & fmr Snoqualmie city council candidate Kevin Ostrem @parlertakes (3/26)

Parler is gone, but the evidence is not. Current @Microsoft employee & fmr Snoqualmie city council candidate Kevin Ostrem @parlertakes (4/26)

Parler is gone, but the evidence is not. Current @Microsoft employee & fmr Snoqualmie city council candidate Kevin Ostrem @parlertakes (5/26)

"The summer's protests forced businesses to denounce systemic racism and pledge to address pressing equity issues."

>Protests forced businesses

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they're saying violence works?

"Initiatives that would have taken companies years to craft now launching at a lightning pace as executives move to embed diversity & inclusion into their core business strategy. Equity and belonging will likely remain front of mind."

Faced with crisis, these are the solutions.

I interrupt this thread for physiognomy check on author (left) and quoted h*mosubcon (right).

Fellas, I must admit I would bleach left; WYB?

Different solution for right, naturally.

The 2% Solution, eh...

On top: carrot

On bottom: stick

The freelancing blueprint 🧵👇

Disclaimer:

Freelancing is NOT for everybody, but it is for everyone 😎

Just give freelancing an honest attempt for a year.

If you enjoy it - cool.

If you don't - cool.

At least you tried.

Freelancing starts with a SKILL.

1. Learn how to make a website (Web Design).
2. Learn how to get sales for a business (Digital Marketing).
3. Learn Web Design and Digital Marketing.

I'd recommend option 3.

You're offering a once-off and monthly service.

Win-win.

Where do you learn this skill?

YouTube, Google and Udemy.

Don't overcomplicate it.

How do you make money from this skill?

Marketing and Branding.

This will help you get clients.

Thread: MyPillow CEO and right-wing fixture Mike Lindell explained his White House visit with right-wing radio host Eric Metaxas (who tweeted hashtag martial law in support of Lindell).

The interview had deranged conspiracy theories, justifications of violence, and more.

The interview starts with Metaxas touting Lindell’s supposed “genuine evidence” of foreign election fraud. Lindell says it came out “ten days ago” on Twitter and starts explaining the conspiracy theory.

Lindell then clarifies that his source for this debunked lie is a conspiracy theory website. Lindell claims Trump won by 11 million votes (he did not).

Lindell lists some countries that he says were involved (China, Iran, Iraq) and then goes into the “algorithms broke” spiel that we’ve heard from Sidney Powell.

Lindell talks about some sort of apparently digital “wheel” that he says was used by foreign countries to change election results. It doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I learned an important lesson in business when I launched a new retail category early in my career at Amazon: Fail Fast! I spent 18 months shipping a product that should have taken a few months, delaying the oppty to learn and adjust to our initial failure. Here's what happened:

I was originally hired at Amazon on the business development team. After a year I got recruited to help ship a new computer store and run merchandising. I jumped at the opportunity to launch a new business and learn new skills. Amzn was great at creating these opportunities.

Two weeks after joining the retail team, I was in a meeting presenting our pro forma P&L for our computer store launch. I was forecasting inventory turns and gross margins. It was exciting to be thrown into the deep end. I felt like I was at a start-up inside of a start-up.

Our store was predicated on a deal w/ HP that had been part of their earlier bid to win our datacenter biz. Amzn had driven a hard bargain, and when HP couldn't go any lower on server prices they offered to pay us $10M to be our anchor tenant in a new computer store.

HP's consumer business was getting disrupted by Dell who had invented configurable on-line ordering + on-demand manufacturing. HP thought they could fight back by leveraging retail distribution. They would plug their yet-to-be-developed configuration engine into our front-end.

Audience Building 101

Every company in the world is an audience company.

Whether it's a Media, VC, or DTC business, if you're not building audience Day 1, you're not prioritizing the right things.

Here's my framework for thinking about & building a killer audience 👇

I call it the Audience Funnel.

The concept is simple, but it allows you to...

1) Think strategically about building your own audience

2) Analyze the relative strength of other companies' audiences

3) Understand the similarities & differences of different audience channels

The Audience Funnel is divided into three tiers, which include:

1) Rented Audience

2) Owned Audience

3) Monetized Audience

Tier 1: Rented Audience

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁: This is your top of funnel. It allows you to build mass awareness & is key for developing a relationship with your audience.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀: High shareability, high discoverability

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀: You don't own your audience

Examples of Rented Audiences

- Social networks (IG, FB, Twitter, TikTok)
- Video platforms (Twitch, YouTube)
- Search engines (Web content)

Examples of Businesses with Big Rented Audiences

- @BuzzFeed (Instagram)
- @GoPro (YouTube)
- @charlidamelio (TikTok)

Went to make coffee. Opened fridge to get milk. Now...I was a refrigeration engineer, I had my own domestic appliance business, and I've seen things that would make your hair curl, but...the scene I was greeted by was frankly fucking horrific... 1/?

Everything in the fridge, butter, milk, eggs, some bacon, jars of stuff (except the mustard) had been torn to shreds...and was wet, from the milk presumably, and had turned black...2/?

I just stood and stared. The egg shells were there but broken, empty, and dry. The egg box in shreds. The butter had all gone and the lid had tell-tale holes. The unopened bacon all gone. The tray in tatters...3/?

I'd have taken a picture but it was disgusting...because...there were things in there that weren't in there on Friday. Turds. 6mm long, ovoid turds. I knew what they were obviously, but their presence INSIDE THE FUCKING FRIDGE was, is, troubling...How?4/?

A closer look, and this wasn't pleasant, what with all the black rancid milk and turds, revealed what looked like a hole at the corner of the interior, just under the evaporator..WTF! 5/?

0/ If you’re an SMB operator and want to increase the value of your business, focus on 2 things above all else.

1. EBITDA: how much $ do you make
2. Risk: how reliable is the $ you make

Enough has been written about #1. Here are 5 things you can do to tackle #2:

[THREAD]

1/ All 5 of these tactics are a function of the same guiding principle:

Spend more time working ON the business, not IN the business.

Your job as CEO is to consistently:

- Identify opportunity
- Execute once
- Set process
- Delegate
- Fire yourself

With that said…

2/ Establish your focus

Most SMBs survive in the early days through 1-2 key customers.

If you do a good job, they'll give you more business.

That's the trap.

If it's not in your core focus, resist the urge.

If you don't you'll become a consulting firm for 1 customer.

3/ Eliminate Key Man Risk

SMBs are overly reliant on a small handful of individuals to run the operation.

Implication: Most knowledge about the business sits in the heads of a few people.

Take the time to develop strong Tier 2 management - this creates redundancy in the org

4/ Institute Operating Process

Strong Tier 2 management isn't good enough. You need knowledge to live in docs and systems, not just in brains.

Every dept should have a stand alone playbook.

An easy test: "how quickly can somebody that knows nothing about the dept. plug in?"