Every week, we put together a list of our top 5 articles of the past week. Happy reading!
The Changing Venture Landscape Mark Suster (reading time: 10 minutes)
A lot has been written about the changing investment landscape in early stage technology companies. Mark Suster from Upfront Ventures brilliantly summarizes the key trends. He writes about skyrocketing valuations (and why they are not necessarily bad) and their firm’s barbell approach to investing.
Five priorities for CEOs in the next normal McKinsey (reading time: 6 minutes)
McKinsey outlines five priorities for CEOs in the coming years. They quite resonated with me, especially the focus on sustainability and speed. Sustainability will become a board priority for every company in the coming years. Going fast is a prerequisite for strong execution. The one that sounds a bit off is transforming in the cloud, it seems to be speaking to an audience that is living in the “old normal”.
Twist Biosciences: The DNA API Alex Danco (reading time: 19 minutes)
Quick disclaimer, I am clueless when it comes to biosciences but I still find the subject fascinating. In this post, Alex Danco analyses one company, Twist Biosciences. He argues that they have the potential to be a transformational company. They are interesting parallels to draw between what Twist is doing and early software companies. Witnessing the rebirth of an entire industry will be fun to watch.
The Long Netflix Journey TCV (reading time: 3 minutes)
I listened to this interview of Jay Hoag, co-founder of TCV and was riveted. Jay invested in some of the most iconic companies in technology. I stumbled on this amazing case study of Netflix on their website. It’s a great lesson on how enduring companies make their destiny.
Is going to the office a broken way of working? The New Yorker (reading time: 10 minutes)
The debate on remote vs. office is only just beginning. This will be a messy issue as both sides have valid arguments. I’m clearly in the remote first camp as our company has shifted in that direction but there are definitely drawbacks. This piece in the New Yorker does a good job of summarizing the current state of the debate. This post in the Atlantic provides a good counterpoint endorsing the benefit of soft work.
