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Steel-manning the AI Story: Growth Accounting and Solving Baumol

"The primary test of economic progress for a nation is its ability to produce increasing quantities of goods and services with a given quantity of labor and capital." – Warren Buffet “There is not much that even the most socially responsible scientists can do as individuals, or even as

Letter on the Wines of Piemonte and Burgundy

What follows is a modestly redacted note to a friend. They expressed a preference for the wines of Piedmont and Burgundy and asked for a follow-up email on a few producers. The scope of my email quickly got out of hand (as you shall see). Utterly carried away by enthusiasm

How to Spend 48 Hours in Montreal

4:37 p.m. Friday Silken Canadian banknotes move between thumb and forefinger as you nod in a jocular manner to the grinning porter at your hotel, here at last. Which hotel you ask? What city am I in? Montreal hey, I'm not sure I consented to being

Edge Cases

I used to spend a lot of time on Interstate 89. It’s a splendid track which meanders mazily through the Green Mountains of Vermont and by the shores of Lake Champlain connecting Boston to Montreal. On July evenings you can almost drink the air so thick with humidity and

Meditation Protocols

A mindfulness journey across the pantheon of wellness-influencers Originally published on my Substack August 24th, 2020 I recall listening to an interview with Naval Ravikant where he said that meditation is something that people talk about a lot but rarely do. I’ve been meditating regularly, at least four (three)

Domaine le Sang des Cailloux: Cuvée Azalaïs

Another delightful example of what's possible from the Rhône's offbeat appellations Originally published on my Substack September 3, 2020 Before the advent of such barbaric fads as “California varietals”, discerning American’s bought wine by the importer. Most of us still should. Find yourself a terrific

Retirable: Inclusive Financial Planning

A trusted partner for Americans left behind by the retirement industry Originally published on my Substack September 11, 2020 We recently invested in a company called Retirable which is bringing retirement infrastructure to the millions of Americans that have never seen a financial plan. People who receive professional financial advice

Clos Sainte Magdeleine: Cassis Blanc

And yet Provence is known for its pink wine? Originally published on my Substack September 28, 2020 Ask a semi-literate wine drinker what they think of when you say “Provençal wine” (I strongly recommend you don’t actually do this) and you will get one of two responses. 1. “I

Domaine Tempier: Bandol Rosé

It turns out my tastes are simple, I am easily satisfied with the best Originally published on my Substack November 17, 2020 My French family have a house in a place called Châtelaillon-Plage. It’s an unsullied stretch of beach along the Atlantic coast just south of La Rochelle where

La Grande Ballezza (2013)

You have nothing better to do this weekend than watch this movie Originally published on my Substack December 17, 2020 Blah blah blah Fellini’s baroque, surrealist decadence blah blah. Blah blah blah deft technique transmutes the viewer into the living canvas of one of de Chirico’s nightscapes blah

Making Sense of Fintech Multiples

What the public markets can tell us about venture capital's darling category Originally published on my Substack December 21, 2020 Last week I noticed three series B announcements totaling over $130M of new capital for fintech companies within my personal network. Three weeks ago, a16z announced that they’

L.A. Confidential (1997)

This deftly-adapted neo-noir is nothing short of a masterpiece Originally published on my Substack February 8, 2021 In a 2018 interview, the leftist Greek parliamentarian Yanis Varoufakis said it's impossible to be optimistic today given the utter lack of evidence that things will change for the better but

Wag the Dog

Interpreting value at the intersection of technology and insurance Originally published on my Substack March 10, 2021 I was recently asked to appear on a panel where I was told I would be asked about the fintech IPO market and what (if anything) public valuations had to teach us private

La Femme Nikita (1990)

While often grotesque, this exquisite example of Cinéma du look x "Pygmalion" is strangely apposite for the post-COVID world we're stumbling into blinkingly. Originally published on my Substack June 13, 2021 Movies have been a welcome escape from the comfortable ennui of life under travel bans,

Les Invasions Barbares (2003)

Denys Arcand is smart and so are his movies. Les Invasions is his Opus. Originally published on my Substack August 19, 2021 Arcand makes films like Mordecai Richler wrote novels: hilarious, self-referential, witty, daring, and il s’en câlisse if you don’t get the bilingual inside jokes. You would

Learning Poems, Autumn, and Frost

Stray musings on the way we are together, magic, and the Celts Originally published on my Substack November 11, 2021 Tethered to our machines, we are become cyborgs, demigods commanding access to the totality of human knowledge with our fingertips. Consequently, we no longer memorize anything. While doing my utmost

Fintech Multiples Redux

Originally published on my Substack December 23, 2021 In Q3 of last year the market for early growth-stage-backed fintechs started to look a little manic. I took a look at some of the data for publicly traded comps to get a sense of just how much growth was being baked

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