Why Are We Surprised That Startups Are So Freaking Hard?, The Secret Father of Modern Computing, and More

Hello, and happy Sunday! 

First, some housekeeping: you may have noticed that we’ve been experimenting with the format of this newsletter. We’d love to know what you think of it. Like it? Miss the old one? Tell us in the comments.

In the latest episode of his podcast, How Do You Use ChatGPT?, Dan Shipper spoke to Notion AI researcher Linus Lee, who breaks down how he uses ChatGPT and Notion AI to augment his brain. Watch it on YouTube.

Now, on to everything we published this week, along with our take on the latest tech and business news.

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Our stories

“Why Are We Surprised That Startups Are So Freaking Hard?” by Benn Stancil: Firefighters? Pfft. Veterans? Wusses. E-commerce founders drop-shipping knockoffs from Vietnam? Heroes. Startups are not easy to do, but also, they’re, like, not that hard either. Still, people continue to bemoan the challenges that startup life brings. Benn Stancil argues that the effort is actually the point—and the way startups win is through work. Read this for a smart, level take on how hard you should work (and how that work is necessary). 

“How David Perell Writes an Essay” by Dan Shipper/Superorganizers: You obviously like essays—that’s why you are subscribed. If you are sick of paying us for prose, this interview will teach you how to write them for yourself. Teach a man to fish, etc., etc. Read this to learn how master writing instructor David Perell writes bangers.

“How an AI Researcher Uses ChatGPT and Notion AI” by Dan Shipper/Chain of Thought: Linus Lee, an AI researcher at Notion who Dan has become friends with, has the frustrating ability to make you feel dumb—and make you like him for doing so. In this interview he shares how he prompts, cajoles, manipulates, and mansplains AI robots into doing work for him. Read this to learn how one of the best AI people in the world augments their workflow.