Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 74
• Total blog posts published: 483

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed this week (link to last week’s commitments):

• Reread T. Rowe Price, a biography of Thomas Rowe Price Jr., founder of T. Rowe Price Group (having read it earlier this year) because I was curious about how Price navigated the 1968–1982 period of high inflation and a volatile stock market
• Added two more books that I read in 2020 and 2018, these about building daily habits and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and his rise to power, to the library on this site—see more here

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book
• Add two more books that I read before 2024 to the library on this site—see more here
• Create a digest of one biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• Seeking technical lead or cofounder – I’m looking for a senior full-stack developer skilled in AI retrieval. If you know one who’d have an interest in working on the software project related to books, please introduce us!

Week two hundred seventy-nine was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

What I struggled with:

• No material struggles this week

What I learned:

• I met with a software engineer who’s actively trying to learn more about the non-engineering side of the business he works for. He expressed interest in my project and how it could help fill his gaps. I haven’t seriously considered this use case because non-entrepreneurs’ ability to create value from what they learn isn’t clear to me. I’m still not sold, but this developer has me thinking about this more, along with several feature ideas.

That’s what I learned and struggled with last week.

So, Figma finally had its much-anticipated IPO this week. In 2022, I shared that Adobe offered to buy it for $20 billion, but the deal was canceled because regulators wouldn’t approve it. This week, the company began trading on the NYSE.

The company sold shares at $33 a share. But when the stock began trading, it opened at $85 per share, or a $50 billion market capitalization (valuation). As of the writing of this post, the stock is at $122 and the company has a market cap of almost $60 billion.

For more details on the IPO and the above stats, see here.

Time will tell how the stock performs, but so far, the Adobe deal falling through has worked out well for Figma employees and investors. According to Bloomberg (see here), Index Ventures’ stake is worth over $7 billion, Greylock Partners’ stake is worth about $6.75 billion, Kleiner Perkins’s stake is worth about $6.05 billion, and Sequoia Capital’s stake is worth about $3.75 billion. Returns will depend on when, how much, and at what valuation each firm invested, but it appears that all have done well on this investment . . . so far.

This week, I met with an Atlanta founder who bootstrapped his 18-month-old company to over $100 million in annual recurring revenue in under 12 months, and it’s profitable. He mentioned that Lovable is the only company he’s aware of, as of today, to have reached $100 million faster than his company. They did it in eight or so months and raised venture capital.

Having a front-row seat for this founder’s journey over the last year has opened my eyes to what was once unimaginable: reaching $100 million in revenue in a year or two. Seeing how he’s been able to scale his company rapidly has expanded my thinking around what’s possible. It’s one thing to read about $100 million-in-a-year growth stories (there are more and more every week). But it’s another thing to know someone who’s doing it and hear about the ups and downs of their journey. The latter makes it real and feel obtainable.

Rapid growth on this scale isn’t a smooth ride. It’s a nonstop fire drill with stuff breaking and a chase to try to get ahead of the growth. How many of these hyper-growth companies will endure? Time will tell, but my gut tells me that founders like the one I talk to this week are smart and will find a way to not only take their companies to $1 billion in annual revenue but be around for the long haul.

I’ve been working with a few founders on being clear about the problem they’re solving and developing effective messaging to communicate the value they offer by solving it. I’ve noticed that great examples communicate in a way that potential customers (and investors) grasp instantly.

I went digging and found a great example in a video. The presenter is Donald Miller, author of Building a StoryBrand 2.0 and several other books. He’s also CEO of StoryBrand, which helps companies (even Fortune 500s) communicate effectively to customers.

In the video, he gives a great example: Two chefs offer identical services and quality for identical prices. The only difference between them is how they communicate what they do. Someone at a cocktail party meets one of them, Chef A. Not knowing anything about Chef A, the partier asks what he does.

• Chef A: I’m an at-home chef. I come to your house and cook.

An hour later, the partier meets Chef B and asks the same question.

• Chef B: You know how most families don’t eat together anymore, and when they do, they don’t eat healthy? I’m an at-home chef. I come to your house and cook so your family can actually connect with each other over a meal and not have to think about cooking or cleaning up afterward. I sell connection.

The two entrepreneurs are offering an identical service, but only one is selling a solution to a problem. Chef B describes a situation that many parents can relate to: My family doesn’t eat together, and when we do, it’s not healthy. Because she describes the problem first, the potential customer, if it resonates with them, can easily think Yes, that’s me; I have that problem. At this point, she has their full attention. They eagerly listen to what comes out of her mouth next. Chef B then describes her solution to this problem: someone cooking a healthy meal for a family and cleaning up for them, which allows everyone to be fully present and engaged with each other. And, in case you missed it or are confused, she wraps up by reinforcing what she’s selling: connection.

This is a great example of being crystal clear on the problem you’re solving and nailing the message to communicate how you add value for people with this problem.

Lots of other great points in this video are worth watching. But if you want to watch Miller explain the above example and why it’s so effective in more detail, you can watch a four-minute clip here.

In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 73 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued with my challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. This past weekend was my ninth weekend, and I added two more books:

• Blood and Oil by Bradley Hope and Justin Scheck
• Atomic Habits by James Clear

That’s the latest update on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books will add value to others.

As I read biographies of entrepreneurs and investors, one time period keeps coming up, and I’m increasingly curious about it: the late 1960s through roughly 1982. Inflation skyrocketed to double digits, and interest rates reached nearly 20%. This period had a profound impact on the economy and society.

I shared a few weeks ago (see here) that I’m digging deeper into this period to understand what happened, why it happened, and what can be learned.

This week’s book, Inside the Nixon Administration, is the personal diary of the chairman of the Federal Reserve during most of this period, Arthur F. Burns. When I found it, I was excited about reading it because it contains the raw thoughts of the man setting monetary policy during this period, including about what he saw inside President Richard Nixon’s administration. No spin, no wordsmithing, none of that, which is rare in books. This diary was never meant to be viewed by others, so it’s truly a glimpse into the mind of the Fed chair at the time and into the real Nixon administration.

This book isn’t written like a story you can follow. It’s literally daily journal entries about what Burns was dealing with or thinking about that day. Even though it doesn’t flow like a nice story, what he shares is fascinating.

I learned why Nixon chose Burns as Fed chair: because he was a friend and advisor. They’d worked together in the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, Nixon as vice president and Burns as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. It was also revealing to see how heavily involved Burns was in the Nixon administration. He regularly attended meetings in the White House and met with Nixon’s inner circle.

And it was interesting to see how the close relationship between Burns and Nixon allowed Nixon to influence monetary policy. The result wasn’t great—inflation and price controls. But what was more interesting to learn was what was most important to Nixon. He made employment a priority because it increased his odds of being reelected, even if that meant rising inflation.

Burns also candidly assessed several administration officials, including Paul Volcker, Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, and John Connally. The most interesting assessment was that of Richard Nixon. Burns began optimistic and holding him in high regard, but the more he worked with him and observed how he made decisions, the more his view of Nixon turned dour. By the end of the diary, Nixon and his circle were embroiled in the Watergate scandal, which Burns shared candid views about.

I’m glad I found this book. It gave me a valuable perspective on one of the most important men during this critical period in the country’s history.

If you’re interested in this period or the Nixon administration, consider reading Inside the Nixon Administration.

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 73
• Total blog posts published: 476

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed this week (link to last week’s commitments):

• Read Inside the Nixon Administration, the personal diary of Arthur F. Burns, Richard Nixon’s top economic adviser in 1969 and Federal Reserve chairman from 1970 to 1978
• Added two more books that I read in 2023, these about thinking in probabilities and technological deflation from Annie Duke and Jeff Both, to the library on this site—see more here

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book
• Add two more books that I read before 2024 to the library on this site—see more here
• Create a digest of one biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• Seeking technical lead or cofounder – I’m looking for a senior full-stack developer skilled in AI retrieval. If you know one who’d have an interest in working on the software project related to books, please introduce us!

Week two hundred seventy-eight was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

What I struggled with:

• No material struggles this week. Other projects took priority this week, but I should have more time for this one starting next week.

What I learned:

• No material learnings this week

That’s what I learned and struggled with last week.

Last Friday, I shared that I was behind on my reading and might miss my book-a-week target (see here). I’d read a book every week for 71 consecutive weeks, and breaking that streak didn’t sit well with me.

I’m happy to report that it didn’t happen. I buckled down last weekend and finished the book.

This week, I’m back on track. I’m in good shape to finish number 73.

The streak continues!