"Planet Earth: You. Are. A. Crew." Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch reflects on what it means to be a "crew."

One of the most inspiring, fun, and creative AI products I've played with in a while. I've known @ekuyda since YCW15 when she was working on @replika AI. With @wabi, you can feel the depth of that experience from the icon assisted generation to the social sharing of apps. Well done!

If you’re a first-time founder, this is what you signed up for. The investor who never replies. The customer who churns without warning. The teammate who quits two weeks before launch. The launch that flops. The week where nothing moves. And the question that creeps in quietly: “Am I even good at this?” Nobody prepares you for that part. They talk about product-market fit, go-to-market, fundraising. But they don’t tell you what happens when all of it stalls at once. And you’re still the one who has to figure it out. Here’s the truth: You’re not building a startup. You’re building the version of you that can survive one. That means making decisions with half the data. Keeping morale up when yours is gone. Holding the line when everything feels shaky. It’s not about being fearless. It’s about showing up when you’re full of doubt. It’s not about having a plan. It’s about moving when the plan falls apart. First-time founder doesn’t mean first-time pressure. It means first-time accountability when it’s all on you. And still you keep going. That’s what makes you real. Not traction. Not funding. Not followers. Just the ability to stay in it. Long enough to become undeniable.

Happy 415 Yay Area 🌉

Five lessons I’ve learned from almost 20 years in startups: 1. When important people tell you something that is not true - you don’t have to believe them. 2. Being successful doesn’t default make you a polymath. 3. It’s easier for rich/successful/important people to lie (and believe their own lies) cause few are motivated to tell them the truth to their faces. 4. Faith, grit, and honestly defeat money all the time. 5. It’s rare you are forced to give up on your startup. It’s more common that you convince yourself you’ve lost (when in all honestly, the odds of success didn’t change much between your start date and your end date). And a bonus one: your reputation is not what people say to your face - it’s what people say behind your back.

Soon enough, they’ll match your pace, and you’ll race to match theirs. Until then, stay lively and playful. One day, they may not need you, but if you love them well, they’ll always want you.

I can't stop listening to this set. @fredagainagain1 knocks it out of the park with an intimate set of secret life. Brilliant! youtube.com/watch?v=baxOzJW6…

"Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination." Thank you @BrandSanderson Through Rachel's recommendation, I dove into the Cosmere and finished the Mistborn trilogy and Stormlight Archives. I highly recommend!

Happy Green Wednesday. We hope these greens bring peace, levity, humor, gratitude, and appetite across dinner tables this Thanksgiving 🦃

Environmentalists have taken Burning Man to task. sfgate.com/travel/burningman… via @SFGate "Bao Chicka Wow Wow camp is going into its ninth year at Burning Man, and this year, it plans on bringing an all-electric art car in addition to offering assembly kits and hosting build weekends so other camps can follow its environmental lead."

Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. So today, the @TheJusticeDept is taking the next step to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under federal law. Here's what that means:

“Ask yourself who you’d want to spend the last day of your life with and then meet with them as often as you can.” ~ Warren Buffett

BREAKING: The Drug Enforcement Administration has agreed to move marijuana to Schedule III—a historic reform in line with recommendations from health officials who determined that cannabis has medical value. marijuanamoment.net/dea-agre…

Here's a thread of my favorite quotes from Jensen Huang's interview with Patrick Collison at Stripe sessions today. There was so much wisdom packed into 1 hour! BTW fun fact: Jensen's first job was cleaning toilets. 🧵Nuggets of wisdom from Jensen Huang:

Happy 4202024 🌬️

Curious how @meadow became the first Cannabis startup to get into YC? Book a 1:1 on @useintro to find out ⬇️ ✔️Tips to get into YC ✔️Cannabis industry ✔️Licensing in regulated markets ✔️GTM strategies intro.co/davidhua

"What Happened to San Francisco, Really?" newyorker.com/magazine/2023/…

1/ Doing startups is hard! @mercury is my fourth startup, my first two startups failed and I continuously faced roadblocks along my startup journey. That’s why I’m excited to introduce the new Mercury Raise: one platform to help founders fundraise, network, and get answers.

Burning Man 2023 🌈 *Photo Credit: Next Level at Camp Bao Chicka Wow Wow