Divinations

Get smarter about business strategy.

Sep 7, 2021

How Power Works in Venture Capital

Is being Sequoia actually pretty easy?

Aug 27, 2021

Spotify Bets on Apple Antitrust

Their new paid podcast feature only makes sense in a world where in-app purchase rules are relaxed.

Aug 20, 2021

Twitter’s Longform Strategy

What does the future hold for readers and writers on Twitter?

Jul 16, 2021

The Product Wedge: How To Scope Your Initial Product

How and why early-stage startups sacrifice power for growth

Jul 10, 2021

The Inner Ring of The Internet

Hi, Nathan here! It’s been too long, I know!! I’ve got a big piece on product wedges coming out next week, but today I am so excited to shar

May 21, 2021

Why I Love Working at Startups

A friendly rebuttal

May 7, 2021

Fashion’s Digital Future

Why I bought an outfit I’ll never wear IRL

May 1, 2021

Spotify’s Upcoming “Open Access Platform” is as Surprising as it is Awesome

I hope it becomes a new paradigm for the creator economy

Apr 1, 2021

Human Speculation

BitClout is a new service that allows anyone to create a publicly-tradable token. Will it work? What effect could it have?

Feb 20, 2021

Why I like Dispo

David Dobrik’s new photo-sharing app just might be a winner.

Feb 5, 2021

A Post-Mortem for Social Podcast Discovery

Three reasons why RSS still dominates in audio, but not text.

Jan 5, 2021

“Why Content is King” Follow-ups

Your questions and critiques, answered!

Dec 18, 2020

Why Content is King

How media creates power

Dec 16, 2020

Three Shorts: Axios, Crunchyroll, Periscope

The strategy behind the news, in as few bullet points as possible

Dec 9, 2020

Why AT&T is betting the farm on HBO Max

Also in Three Shorts: Amazon buying Wondery, and Calm's $2b valuation

Dec 2, 2020

Why Slack Was Willing to Sell

Three shorts: the strategy behind the news, in as few bullet points as possible.

Nov 25, 2020

Three Shorts: Snap, Apple, Vox

On Snap's take on TikTok, Apple's developer fee reduction, and Vox's talent attrition.

Nov 18, 2020

Three Shorts: Instagram, Spotify, Substack

The strategy behind the news, in as few bullet points as possible

Nov 11, 2020

Three Shorts: Fast’s 1b valuation, McPlant’s power move, and Apple’s disruptive M1 chip

Hello! Welcome to Three Shorts, a recurring series where I unpack the strategy behind the news in as few bullet points as possible.Enjoy!Fas

Oct 28, 2020

Facebook’s cloud gaming strategy: smarter than it seems

The return of Three Shorts!

Oct 22, 2020

What I got wrong about Quibi

A post-mortem for a failed prediction, and a failed startup

Oct 11, 2020

Why winners sometimes take all, and sometimes don’t

Lessons from ecology’s “competitive exclusion principle”

Sep 29, 2020

Intangible Returns

How strict prioritization processes cause malaise, and why you should take gut instinct more seriously in your planning process.

Sep 18, 2020

Roam’s road ahead

How the tool for networked thought can grow into its $200m valuation