TLDR FOUNDERS 2023-06-30

INFLECTION AI RAISES $1.3B

In less than two months after the launch of their first chatbot Pi, Inflection AI and CEO Mustafa Suleyman have raised $1.3 billion in new funding. AI is only accelerating.

SPEED X AI

NFX drops some science around what it means to dive into this next technology go-around: get on board and hurry up, this train is leaving the station. We’re on the cusp of something we only see every 14 years but most founders won’t take advantage: (from the article) “They’ll move too damn slow.”

THE FOUNDER’S GUIDE TO NAVIGATING CO-FOUNDER CONFLICT

People often go into building companies with friends as co-founders but don’t really test their relationship until tensions start to fray. This article provides a great framework for both the before and after bad times in any founder relationship.

This article explains the importance of setting up a strong monetization system as it can increase the chances of retaining customers in the long-term.

HOW TO 10X YOUR WELCOME EMAIL

It never hurts to bone up on the simple stuff. Your welcome email is no different, especially if it’s for your newsletter.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CREATOR ECONOMY?

Evan Armstrong dives into the causes of the creator economy winter, which include a decrease in venture investment, shuttered startups, and layoffs among the creator economy giants.

HOW ROBLOX GROWS

An extremely deep dive into where Roblox came from, where it stands today, and where it’s going.

BUILDING BOBA AI

An interesting case study on how to build an LLM-powered generative application.

DESIGN FOR THE WEB WITHOUT FIGMA

The article argues that Figma, a popular design tool, is an intermediary tool that can actually lead to problems down the road. Instead, it recommends designing directly in HTML and CSS, which is more efficient and produces better results.

DAMAGING RESULTS OF THE MANDATED RTO

Employers who mandated a full return to the office after the pandemic were met with resistance from employees who had grown accustomed to working from home. This led to high turnover rates, decreased productivity, and increased costs.

THE EMOTIONAL COST OF SCALING A STARTUP

This article provides an overview of the emotional cost of scaling a startup, discussing how team dynamics and the founder's role must change in the process, and provides advice for other founders on how to manage the process.