Divinations

Get smarter about business strategy.

Dec 15, 2021

The Athlete as Creator

How new regulations have brought college athletes into the creator economy, big time

May 31, 2020

Kernel Strategies

Six attributes of high-traction startups

Oct 22, 2020

What I got wrong about Quibi

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

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?

May 1, 2020

“Shop” from Shopify: right problem, wrong solution

Opening a marketplace creates complicated new tradeoffs

Dec 19, 2019

Ben Gilbert on how Acquired launched their paid podcast

It’s weird, but in some ways, side projects require better strategy than regular businesses. They’re so easy to quit. Even if you love it, y

Jun 23, 2020

5 interesting strategy decisions from WWDC

Decoding Apple's intentions

Oct 5, 2021

What is “Intrinsic” Value?

And does it matter?

Jan 28, 2020

Inside Overstock’s strategy shift from horizontal to vertical

Geoff Atkinson, the former SVP Marketing at Overstock, explains how strategy shifts can emerge through experimentation

Oct 28, 2020

Facebook’s cloud gaming strategy: smarter than it seems

The return of Three Shorts!

May 7, 2021

Fashion’s Digital Future

Why I bought an outfit I’ll never wear IRL

May 20, 2022

How To Time The Market (Or Not)

A Book Review of “Mastering the Market Cycle”

Jan 5, 2021

“Why Content is King” Follow-ups

Your questions and critiques, answered!

Mar 11, 2022

How To Buy The Dip

Is now a great time to buy? Or a terrible one?

Apr 17, 2020

What can we learn from Facebook Portal?

Three Shorts: Facebook Portal — back from the dead!; an advertising arbitrage opportunity; a funny story about the power of incentives

Jan 16, 2022

Eric Newcomer on 2022 Startup Trends

Eric Newcomer is one of the smartest and most plugged in newsletter writers in tech. This week he'll be joining Nathan, Dan, and Evan in the

Dec 12, 2019

Competitive Strategy, by Michael Porter

The "Divinations" Summary / Review

Jul 23, 2020

Means of Creation #3: Lenny Rachitsky

On newsletters, platforms, marketplaces, and more

Mar 20, 2020

Does Sonos have a moat?

Sonos filled homes with silky smooth sound, but it’s questionable if their strategic decisions made them anything more than commodity hardware.

Apr 29, 2020

Sonos Radio: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Moat

What the speaker company’s new music play is really all about

Dec 12, 2019

The Library

All reviews of books, podcasts, articles, etc

Jul 8, 2020

Announcing: Means of Creation

A new talk show starring Li Jin and yours truly

Jul 16, 2020

Means of Creation #2: Greg Isenberg

On the unbundling of Reddit into vertical communities

May 20, 2022

Mastering the Market Cycle, by Howard Marks

My chapter-by-chapter summary, with notes and reactions