Napkin Math

Profit and power in technology.

Aug 11, 2022

A Tale Of Two Acquisitions

The Unity Conundrum

Nov 30, 2021

Investing on Instinct

Why the best deals are done with no data at all

Jun 3, 2024

AI Is Transforming the Nature of the Firm

By reducing transaction costs, AI will reshape how companies operate and interact

Apr 13, 2022

The Race for New Payment Rails

Who is building the next Visa?

Jan 30, 2022

Spotify’s Quest to Own Your Ear

A Napkin Math and Trapital Production

Jul 22, 2024

Vibes Are a Legitimate Economic Indicator

In her debut book, Kyla Scanlon makes the case for feeling the numbers

Sep 5, 2024

Vibes-based Search

The next big disruption in software is here, and it understands what you’re looking for better than you do

Jul 29, 2024

Tinder Is Way More Important Than You Think

The success of a dating app has huge implications for the U.S. economy

Jun 26, 2023

Shopping for AI Shovels: The MosaicML Acquisition

Why would Databricks spend $1.3B?

Sep 22, 2024

What Are AI Agents—And Who Profits From Them?

The newest wave of AI research is changing everything

Jan 5, 2022

What the hell is going on with Lambda School?

The complicated business of selling social good

Jul 8, 2024

Paramount’s Dilemma: Content Isn’t King—Distribution Is

Half a century removed from its glory days, the Hollywood giant has a new rescue plan

Aug 26, 2024

Benevolent Billionaire or Despot—Or Both?

A new book on Bill Gates asks: How do you measure a billionaire’s net impact on the world?

Jul 11, 2024

Searching for Signal

When building a startup gets hard, where should we turn?

Mar 22, 2022

BIG announcement incoming

I'm going full time on Napkin Math

Jan 24, 2024

The Zone of Deployment

How can you know when to invest?

Jan 8, 2025

More Output, Less Effort

8 pieces of technology that have dramatically improved my life

Oct 27, 2021

The Creator Power Scale: A Formula to Determine if Platforms are Ripping You Off

An examination of the Twitch Hack data

Sep 27, 2023

The Double Bind Theory—Or Why Sensationalism (Unfortunately) Works

If you want to win, you gotta spike

Jun 22, 2022

Facebook’s Capitulation

Abandoning a Trillion Dollar Advantage

Jan 12, 2022

3 Thoughts On Justworks

The newest SaaS company to hit the public markets

Feb 6, 2024

Profit, Power, and the Vision Pro

Will Apple’s new headset change everything?

Nov 15, 2023

COGS: How I Bankrupted MoviePass

An intuitive explainer for how to lose money and win anyway

Jul 27, 2021

Twilio’s Second Act

Twilio rode its API to a $66B valuation. Now it’s trying to become the Universal Switchboard for the internet.