The Friday Five: Angel Investing 101, Getting Acquired, & More
Episode XXXIII
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Today at a Glance:
Quote: JFK on the fight against conformity.
Tweet: Jaime Schmidt on achieving a $100m exit.
Article: The absurdity of the rental car industry.
Podcast: All-In Podcast on politicians trading stocks.
Bonus: Justin Kan on red flags of angel investing.
One Quote:
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” — John F. Kennedy
Stop conforming to appease others.
Fight normalcy. Be different—it is the ultimate competitive advantage.
One Tweet:
Jaime Schmidt literally started a business making all-natural personal care products in large pots in her kitchen. She wound up selling it to Unilever for $100 million a few years later. Seriously, check out the tweet below…
In this thread, she shares the lessons and realities from the process of getting acquired. This was a “I can’t believe Twitter is free” thread for me.
One Article:
The Absurdity of Renting a Car Will No Longer Be Tolerated
Fascinating—and hilarious—article from The Atlantic on the absurdity of the rental car industry. Next to utilities, airlines, and cable companies, it has to be up there for the worst customer experience industry in the world.
The complexity of rental car company business models was new to me, so now I’m going down the rabbit hole. Wish me luck…
By the way, pro tip: just spend the extra money to have premium status with whatever rental car company you use. It’s definitely worth it for the peace of mind.
One Podcast:
All-In Podcast: Episode 59 (Politicians Trading Stocks & More)
This was a really fun episode—especially when the guys got into the discussion about politicians, Fed officials, and judges trading stocks. Chamath didn’t pull any punches (as usual) and it made for an entertaining and educational session.
Listen to this one on 1.5x over the weekend. You won’t regret it.
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
One Bonus:
I recently met Justin when we recorded a podcast together. Great guy.
He shares an insane amount of value in this short thread on angel investing—specifically the red flags he looks out for that cause him to pass on investments.
The University of Twitter is free—and class is always in session!
That does it for Episode XXXIII of The Friday Five. Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating! Join the 56,500+ others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week! Until next time, stay curious, friends!
Where It Happens Podcast
The Unlimited Potential of Web3 with Alexis Ohanian
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"Stop conforming to appease others" is great advice! Be authentic—to yourself, and in how you communicate with others: "If you want to be a true friend to them, be honest and unmerciful."
https://moviewise.substack.com/p/communication-insights-from-movies
Happy Holidays!