The Friday Five: $40 Billion Giant, the Art of Solitude, & More
Episode XLIII
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Today at a Glance:
Quote: Blaise Pascal on solitude.
Tweet: The Canva story.
Article: Ransomware attacks accelerate.
Podcast: Morgan Housel on Tim Ferriss.
Bonus: On grounding your decisions.
One Quote:
“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaise Pascal
Connectedness is a double-edged sword.
Do not fear isolation, silence, or boredom.
Solitude is a craft—master it.
One Tweet:
Polina is an incredible writer. Her newsletter—The Profile—is one of my favorite weekend reads. This thread (and associated newsletter piece) on Canva founder Melanie Perkins was exceptional.
Melanie has built Canva into a $40 billion giant down under. But as you’ll learn from reading, she’s just getting started…
One Article:
Ransomware Attackers Begin to Eye Midmarket Acquisition Targets
Ok, Sahil…explain ransomware to me like I’m 5:
Step 1: Hackers infiltrate the systems of a company and encrypt all of the data. This just means they convert it into a code that renders the data unusable without a “key” to unlock it.
Step 2: They reach out to the company, offer to provide the key necessary to unlock all of the data, in exchange for a fee. This “ransom” is *usually* in Bitcoin.
Step 3: Most established companies negotiate the ransom and then pay, with cybersecurity insurance paying for much or all of it.
This is a fascinating piece—something I’ve dealt with personally at a few of the companies I’m involved with. The ransomware market is devilishly efficient. The attackers move and negotiate quickly and generally come through on promises and deals. There are even “Ransomware-as-a-Service” companies that provide the tools and software to ransomware attackers for a monthly recurring fee…
So many companies are going to face this over the years to come, especially those with less sophisticated technology and security infrastructure (like the middle-market companies mentioned in the piece).
Note: For these reasons, I’m VERY LONG cybersecurity as an industry. Not financial advice.
One Podcast:
The Tim Ferriss Show: Morgan Housel—The Psychology of Money, Picking the Right Game, and the $6 Million Janitor
I’m a HUGE Morgan Housel fan. I’m incidentally preparing to interview him for an episode of Where It Happens, so listening to this episode was part of my prep.
It was an amazing conversation. You can 2x through certain parts, but it was filled with lucid thoughts on money, compounding, and finding your zone of genius that you won’t want to miss.
If you don’t have time for the 3 hour podcast, I’ll give you the 1 hour version soon!
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
One Bonus:
This is an incredibly powerful message—one that I’ve been thinking about a lot since I first saw it. If you make all of your decisions with your children or family in mind, you’ll rarely be led astray.
Would they be proud of the decision you’re making? Let that simple question guide you through the good and the bad.
Where It Happens Podcast
Anything Is Possible with Dave Friedberg
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Sahil’s Job Board - Featured Opportunities
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"Connectedness is a double-edged sword." This is absolutely true. Everything, really, has both pros and cons. But don't forget how immensely valuable building friendships is:
https://moviewise.substack.com/p/movie-wisdom-on-making-friends