Had our annual meeting this week and over half of our presenting companies came in through our contact form as a first touch point.

Good things come from those who shoot their shot!


Liberating teens and science

Hubert Thieblot

                    @hthieblot

                  10 Dec 2025

                Explain your product in one sentence.
Be clear about what it does.
No buzzwords.
If you can do that, I’ll consider investing.
Hit me.


Danielle Fong 🔆

                    @DanielleFong

                  11 Dec 2025

                i love garlic


Preach!!

Josie Zayner

                    @josiezayner

                  11 Dec 2025

                Our ancestors shaped stone, they shaped steel

Now it's our time to shape the genome


Taking on the world!

Josie Zayner

                    @josiezayner

                  11 Dec 2025

                Aesthetic is everything


Jesus. I feel that meme so hard. Why do men do this?!


Your customers are your accelerator!

Hubert Thieblot

                    @hthieblot

                  11 Dec 2025

                The best investors are paying customers.

 they don’t take equity from you.


First 1517 hot chocolate social was a big hit! So wonderful to ease into the holidays with amazing old and new friends!


Our best founders in the Thiel Fellowship and 1517 have never gone through any accelerators.

Andrew Côté

                    @Andercot

                  11 Dec 2025

                The die is cast


gn

Antidepressant Content

                    @depressionlesss

                  11 Dec 2025

                Ever since this dog and kitten met in the shelter, they've become absolutely inseparable. They were later adopted together by the same person 🥹❤


Would book for a 1517 event 💗

Catturd ™

                    @catturd2

                  11 Dec 2025

                More of this please. Awesome.


You’re very kind!

Replying to @AlexanderKosma @josiezayner @micsolana


Reminds me of a kid at my charter school who had such intense ADHD that he had to spin upside down and backwards on his chair to try to focus.

Autism Capital 🧩

                    @AutismCapital

                  12 Dec 2025

                Haters will say this is AI


Bart needs to up its game.

Brian Roemmele

                    @BrianRoemmele

                  12 Dec 2025

                Morning Subway ride in Milan, Italy. Like music, espresso.


This guy is single-handedly ruining my theory that every woman needs a wife.

Ribz of Tik Tok

                    @ribzoftiktok

                  12 Dec 2025

                If bro ever decides to start a cult, im in.


Devotion matters

joshua steinman (🇺🇸,🇺🇸)

                    @JoshuaSteinman

                  10 Dec 2025

                Good morning we are going to win


It's a grant and not equity based, we don't "teach" you anything. We give you the freedom and time to do the work you need to do. And we don't set up a rat race of scrambling at an artificial "demo day" that isn't much more than kabuki theatre.


They're focused on doing the work and not looking like they are doing the work.


No, it's not an accelorator. It's a grant (no equity) and we don't claim that you need us to teach you something or to get ahead.


...not the best ones.


In email today: "Finding you was weirdly soothing for my inner child (can’t believe I’m writing that, but it’s true)."

So touched by that because it touches on something that I don't get to express often which is that creating a place for secure attachment for outliers is meaningful to me.

I would love to talk on a podcast sometime about attachment theory and how providing a nurturing place for mutants is part of my work.


Shape the genome!!! PREACH!!!


It's really simple, the best just use their customers as an accelerator.


Always working on deepening the work!


No favs come to mind right now...I had a roommate who was really big into the topic and learned some great things from him. Like one of the best ways of healing attachment issues is to live in a home or be close to people who don't have the same issues. Environment really matters.


One of us, one of us!


It's never too late to ask for a blessing

anansi 🌞

                    @s0ulDirect0r

                  10 Mar 2023

                if you could ask anyone for a truly life-changing Favor, who would you ask, and for what?


"My brain is a Ferrari engine but I've got tricycle brakes." - 1517 founder


Yes, the best are small numbers naturally. The point being is that being "rejected" by a program doesn't mean you don't have something incredibly valuable.

I also didn't work with Victor and Lucy went through YC past her fellowship days.

Replying to @lasagna_silent @VitalikButerin @dylan @victorcardenas @lucy_guo


lol


He’s 100 but young forever. So joyful!

Erica 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

                    @EricaRN4USA

                  14 Dec 2025

                Today legendary actor Dick Vandyke turned a 100 years old — he’s in better shape than half the country!

Happy birthday Dick!!!


Make Livejournal Great Again


My 9 year old god daughter is over and I’m trying the hack them with fruits and veggies left out trick…and it’s working like a charm…on me 😂☘💕


Technically school admin! But taught homeschoolers for 5 years :)

Replying to @DanielleFong @julianweisser


Wrote about this a couple years ago!

1517.substack.com/p/the-rena…

Reggie James

                    @HipCityReg

                  15 Dec 2025

                It’s actually the Thiel Fellowship

Vitalik — Ethereum
Dylan Field — Figma
Chris Olah — Anthropic
Laura Deming — Longevity Fund

List goes on


iykyk

Doc 

                    @DocAtCDI

                  14 Dec 2025

                Things we didn’t do:
- Start the fire
- Shoot the deputy

Things we did do:
- Tried to fight it
- Shot the Sheriff
- Built this city on Rock and Roll

Things we will do:
- Survive
- Rock You

Things we won’t do:
- Get fooled again
- Back Down
- That
- Give You Up
- Let you down
- Desert you


So sorry Massey :(


Had fun writing it!


It’s making its way around the block :)


LFG!!!!!

Caleb Watney

                    @calebwatney

                  12 Dec 2025

                NSF is launching one of the most ambitious experiments in federal science funding in 75 years.

The program is called Tech Labs, and the goal is to invest ~$1 billion to seed new institutions of science and technology for the 21st century.

Instead of funding projects, the NSF will fund teams. I’m in the @WSJ today with a piece on why this matters (gift link): wsj.com/opinion/science-fund…

Here’s the basic case:

1) Most federal science funding takes the form of small, incremental, project-based grants to individual scientists at universities.

2) The typical NSF grant is ~$250k/year to a professor with a couple of grad students and modest equipment over a few years. This is a perfectly reasonable way to fund some science, but it's not the only way.

3) A healthy portfolio needs more than one instrument. Project-based grants are like bonds: low-risk, steady, safe. But no one trying to maximize long-run returns would put 70% of their portfolio in bonds.

4) Yet that's basically what our civilian science funding portfolio looks like. Around 3/4ths of NSF and NIH grant funding is project-based.

5) Tech Labs is NSF's attempt to diversify that portfolio. The Tech Labs program is aiming for:

- $10-50 million/year awards per team

- 5+ year commitments

- Measuring impact through advancement up the Tech Readiness Level scale rather than papers published

- Up to ~$1 billion for the program

- Supporting research orgs outside traditional university structures

6) Scientific production looks very different than it did when the NSF launched 75 years ago. The lone genius at the chalkboard can only do so much. Frontier science + tech today is increasingly team-based, interdisciplinary, and infrastructure-intensive.

7) The team behind AlphaFold just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It came from DeepMind, an AI lab with sustained institutional funding and full-time research teams. It would be near-impossible to fund this kind of work on a 3-year academic grant.

8) Same pattern at the @arcinstitute (8-year appointments, cross-cutting technical support teams) and @HHMIJanelia (massive infrastructure investments to map the complete fly brain). Ambitious science increasingly needs core institutional support, not a series of project grants stapled together.

9) Similarly, Focused Research Organizations (@Convergent_FROs) have showcased a new model supporting teams with concrete missions and predefined milestones to unlock new funding.

10) There’s a whole ecosystem of philanthropically-supported centers doing amazing research, like the Institute for Protein Design, the Allen Institute, the Flatiron Institute, the Whitehead Institute, the Wyss Institute, the Broad — the list goes on.

11) But philanthropy can’t reshape American science alone. The federal government spends close to $200 billion each year on research and development, an order of magnitude more than even the largest foundations.

12) If we want to change how science gets done at scale, federal funding has to evolve. And the NSF and NIH don’t have dedicated funding mechanisms to support or seed these sorts of organizations.

13) Earlier this year, I started working on a related framework called “X-Labs” that built on all this exciting institutional experimentation that’s been happening within the private and philanthropic sectors. It’s time for the federal government to step into the arena: rebuilding.tech/posts/launch…

14) Traditional university grants are still important for training the next generation of scientists and for certain kinds of curiosity-driven work. But after 75 years of putting nearly everything into one model, we should try something different.

15) And key program details are still being developed! You can reply to the Request for Information with suggestions or feedback on how to design this program here: nsf.gov/news/nsf-announces-n…

16) Science is supposed to be about experimentation. Science funding should be too.


A maker we met at Mhacks in 2015 became a grantee with us to work on manufacturing sensors. We backed the company in 2016 and he led his company through an M&A process. He's personally up $8M. It's been a long long journey -- but amazing to see him start as a $1K grantee and walk out a millionaire.


Woah, time for urgent care!


Neat opportunity for teens!

Roots of Progress Institute

                    @rootsofprogress

                  9 Dec 2025

                Announcing a career exploration summer program for high school students: *Progress in Medicine*

Learn from experts and be inspired by heroic work from the past to build an even better future. Now accepting applications


Happy Hanukkah!

The Jewish Meme Queen@jewishmemequeen
                  16 Dec 2025

                I have a little dreidel, I made it out of challah 🎶


I am so so sorry :(


gn

Guitar Gods Unleashed

                    @gguworld

                  17 Dec 2025

                When a dude with an accordion rolls up on a lawnmower, you know it’s about to get real.

Steve’n’Seagulls turn “Thunderstruck” into a hoedown and I am here for it.


I love weirdos

𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆🫧💚

                    @beyoncegarden

                  18 Dec 2025

                OH HE’S INCREDIBLE FOR THIS😭😭😭


Happy to sound like your mom: Stop it!

🦢

                    @damnidc__

                  17 Dec 2025

                I don’t mean to sound like your mom but the lack of routine and discipline in life, waking up without purpose, being idle and spending too much time on the bed with your phone will lead to terrible mental health. That’s a given.


1517 Grantees are building the future!

Alex Mathew

                    @alxmthew

                  19 Dec 2025

                Berry: talking plush for teens!

Talk to it for 5-10min a day (full conversations) and build good mental health.

We have 75k in funding from @AforeVC & others and I (the 17y/o founder) am going to live in SF for 8 weeks to work on it full time.

20 users are using it daily.


Mixed feelings lol but I want whatever you want for you!

Replying to @amoghyisabogy @1517fund @Harvard


Excited to attend and speak at DTNY!

Deep Tech New York

                    @DeepTechNY

                  19 Dec 2025

                We’re honored to welcome @pablos as our DTNY 2026 keynote, speaking alongside trailblazers like Dr. Manuela Veloso (@jpmorgan), @amcafee (@MIT), @albertwenger  (@usv), @ramin_m_h (@liquidai ).

Visit DTNY.co to register.  Our biggest thanks to our partners at @Newlab, @pillsburylaw, @jpmorgan, @CSCLeasing, Spiral Studios and @newyorkrobotics for their support in hosting our inaugural Deep Tech New York summit.


And you don't have to wait until Jan 1

Blake Burge

                    @blakeaburge

                  19 Dec 2025

                Major cheat code in life: Understanding you can reinvent yourself at any time. New habits, new standards, new friend group, new career, etc. There's no rule that says you have to stay the person you've always been. You're allowed to decide, "I'm done being this version of me."


Be unshakeable...

Mambo Italiano

                    @mamboitaliano__

                  19 Dec 2025

                Dear baby Jesus

I don’t ask for much

Just grant me, in 2026, the calm and the nonchalance of this girl to face the fires of life

That would be enough for me 🔥


Surprised she doesn't take him down like a praying mantis.

Massimo

                    @Rainmaker1973

                  19 Dec 2025

                This turtle behavior, often called "claw fluttering", is a courtship ritual where a male turtle rapidly vibrates or waves his long front claws (or "jazz hands") near a female's face to attract her.


Relatable…

Bryan Johnson

                    @bryan_johnson

                  19 Dec 2025

                me at house parties


Replying to @RandomMHumanoid @kaiarhodes


For founder types it's more like 30's and 40's...but yes.

blue@bluewmist
                  21 Dec 2025

                btw in your 20's and 30’s you’ll start rediscovering the niche interests and hobbies you had as a kid. it’s very important you revisit them. your younger self was actually on to something.


Me discussing the virtues of rabbit poop...

clare

                    @sadderlizards

                  21 Dec 2025

                how i look when i’m talking about my interests

                        ALT  art by Lorna Scobie


that basically sums up how twitter feels about this tweet lol


In!

djcows

                    @djcows

                  22 Dec 2025

                Startup idea: Waymoo


1. Solid gold for the garden/house plants.

2. Acts as dry material for an at home compost bin.


What we do different at 1517 founder reviews

Augustus Doricko

                    @ADoricko

                  23 Dec 2025

                The primary cause of increased neuroticism and mental illness lately is that we don’t grab people by the shoulders and shake them anymore

“Do you hear yourself? Get a hold of yourself!” and a brief but firm shake is ancient medicine


Does anyone know where to find that video of a kitten hissing at an older cat while the older cat just says calm and backs its way into the kittens space and then the kitten eventually cuddles with the older cat?


Totally not wrong...


Perfect, that's the one!


Flattered to be in such good company!

Viraj Acharya

                    @_virajacharya

                  24 Dec 2025

                I love me a Dan Gray (@credistick) moment

Fav Investors (in no particular order):

1. @DStrachman (@1517fund)
Not chasing trends.

Not following crowds.

Building something fundamentally different in the early-stage landscape.

Deliberately backing, dropouts, renegade students & sci-fi scientists, anyone working on deep-tech or ambitious ideas outside traditional institutions.

2. @AdamDraper (@BoostVC)
Fourth-generation venture capitalist. Let that sink in.

While others claim to understand founder DNA, Adam literally has it coursing through his veins. His great-grandfather pioneered the modern VC model.

Great-grandfather: William Henry Draper Jr.
(Pioneer, 1959 firm + introducing the limited partnership structure

Grandfather: William Henry Draper III
(co-founded Sutter Hill Ventures in 1965, a major early VC firm)

Father: Tim Draper
(founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson/DFJ in 1985, backed Skype, Tesla, etc.)

Adam Draper: Boost VC
(deep tech, crypto focus - audacious ideas, he dreams of building an Iron Man suit, & has raised multiple funds, continuing the family's tradition of spotting moonshots early.)

3. @cyantist
The definition of legendary.

Notable early checks include SpaceX, Uber, Google DeepMind , Postmates by Uber, Niantic, Inc., Flexport.

In 2016, she and her husband won TechCrunch's Angel of the Year award.

She joined Founders Fund as its first female investing partner, backing companies like Niantic and HQ Trivia.

She left in 2020 to co-lead Long Journey, an early-stage VC firm focused on "magically weird" founders and outlier ideas.

4. @grant__gregory (@cantos)
The dealmaker you haven't heard of yet.

Known for his focus on "near frontier" technologies—deep-tech innovations in areas like aerospace, defense, energy, biomanufacturing, and advanced manufacturing.

While everyone's fighting over consumer apps, he's quietly building the deep tech portfolio that will matter in 10 years.

@credistick's top 10 must be STACKED


Christmas Eve is all about the anticipation and cultivation of hope, peace, and grace.

May you have a very Merry Christmas 💗


The part of needing to be able to see his bling at the neckline had me howling.

derek guy

                    @dieworkwear

                  24 Dec 2025

                i've been weirdly invested in this dog's sweater alteration

IG roodabeguh


One of the most engaging hosts ever! Thank you Matt!

Ben Hunt

                    @EpsilonTheory

                  24 Dec 2025

                Whoop-whoop! Let the "Best Of ..." celebrations begin!

Matt and I revel in the wit and wisdom of @FairweatherPhD, @DaveNadig , @DStrachman, @spotgamma, @pablos, @Gregory_larkin, @EricPachman, @KrisAbdelmessih, @choffstein, @GestaltU, and @TR401.

Open this gift immediately!


Same goes for favorite movies!

Maliha@CaffeinatedLiha
                  26 Dec 2025

                I believe you should always re-read your favorite books at different stages of your life. The plot never changes but your perspective does.


You are what you fill the void with.

𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚒@kiruti
                  25 Dec 2025

                We have now entered the void (25th December to 31st December)


Get back in the damn horse

blue@bluewmist
                  26 Dec 2025

                a mistake that cost me 5 years: thinking preparation was progress. reading every book. taking every course. planning every detail. meanwhile, someone dumber than me started badly and figured it out. preparation feels productive but it's often just fear dressed up as strategy. you learn to swim by getting in the water, not by studying water.


We have the first 3 years of 1517 documented by Michael in photo books and the trip down memory lane is priceless!

faith 🤎

                    @_renaey_xx

                  26 Dec 2025

                Guys we need to bring back the art and tradition of printing out pictures and placing them in a physical photo album.


And when you go outside, head up, eyes forward, your energy shines out to the world.

⚡🌞 Sol Brah 🌞🐬

                    @SolBrah

                  26 Dec 2025

                Reminder this is what’s happening to you.


But what if you didn’t!


You’re too sweet! 💗💗💗


I didn’t know that @bryan_johnson was having a NYE rager!

Johnny Cadillac

                    @lippyent

                  26 Dec 2025

                Got my tickets for New Years Eve. It’s going to be a wild night!  🍾 🎉 🥳


Right now I am the type of psycho who works on a clear puzzle.

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  26 Dec 2025

                You are what you fill the void with.


I don’t know how much Kyle’s family was pivotal in his recovery, but Miracle Messages is a great nonprofit that reconnects the homeless with their family, to ideally have similar outcomes as Kyle.

jj smith

                    @war24182236

                  26 Dec 2025

                This is my friend Kyle about a year ago he he was living out on San Francisco St. addicted to Fentanyl and anything else he could get high on. Kyle family used to fly out here at least once a month. And try to convince him to go home and get into rehab. One day he got fed up and decided to leave on his own. Here’s a before and after.
Before.                             After now 1 year
                                             Clean


Always wonderful to connect with Tasshin! Thank your friend!

Guildfather

                    @tasshinfogleman

                  27 Dec 2025

                Education and Supporting Others with Danielle Strachman (@DStrachman) - Reach Truth Podcast


Brilliant!

Guildfather

                    @tasshinfogleman

                  12 Nov 2025

                I've been practicing what might be called "Ideal Friend Protocol." I am imagining a friend with me, by my side, like a Daemon or spirit animal.

Friend can present as a ball of light or as a butterfly. They are willing to talk to me or ask questions or give compliments or encouragement or reflections or advice or feedback at any time. They are a yes to all my bids or requests or needs or desires. They can even meet embodied desires or needs, with and through my body or the Earth or my friends.


Got to discuss personal narratives, attachment theory, and building communities today with Tasshin!


We gotta be gentle with each other fam 💗

skye

                    @oycantik

                  27 Dec 2025

                i genuinely hope life is kinder and softer in 2026, in every single way.


This week, for the first time in my life, I’ve more regularly prayed.

I used to think that prayer had to be a certain way, at a certain time. I find, like with many habits, when inspiration strikes is the time to do it and don’t let those moments pass.

I might finish something else, and think to pray, so I do. Or I might read a tweet, and then I do. It feels silly to say, but it’s been the opposite of silly to do.

And this week “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me” has been the main anchor of my prayer. A quiet sets in about internal peace and wishing others peace.

I don’t know where this will go but all I can say is that I’m really enjoying the practice of prayer  and feeling the profundity of what it means to be peaceful, if only for a second.


I run a daycare for mutants, bank info in the comments.

Chris Bakke

                    @ChrisJBakke

                  27 Dec 2025

                Our 3 year old daughter got this dollhouse for Christmas.

Today we received a certificate of occupancy from the state of Minnesota that permits us to run a 140 child daycare out of this dollhouse + $3.6M in annual state funding.


Mike Maples, Jr

                    @m2jr

                  27 Dec 2025

                It feels wrong to talk about new taxes on wealth or anything else while the money already collected is being stolen. You read about it every day. Programs cheated. Funds gone. No one watching closely enough.

If the government were good allocators of money, it would be different. If it spent carefully and put capital where it mattered, you could at least make the case. If there were transparency about where the money goes. If only…

But that’s not what we see.

More taken, more spent, more burned. Tens of billions to build a super train and less than a mile of track to nowhere. Tens of billions on homelessness just to make it worse and enrich NGO scammers. It just disappears, taken by those with the coziest relationships and political pull.

Unaccountable politicians who have turned it into a business model. We need to find ways to enforce accountability in spending because the current state of play has turned big government into an enabler of large scale organized crime.


Interesting, will try this out sometime. Meditation has been something I’ve practiced more — minding the gap is good stuff! Thank you!


So lovely to hear that!


It’s all chance


Jedi shift!

Guildfather

                    @tasshinfogleman

                  28 Dec 2025

                it seems this energy would best be poured elsewhere


This was me yesterday morning, pondering what I am if I am not my productivity.

Alyssa Limperis@alyssalimp
                  28 Dec 2025

                Day one of being home: it’s magical Christmas is in the air!!!

Day four: I don’t know what I’m doing with my brief time on planet earth & I haven’t had a glass of water or a vegetable in 72 hours


CA first please!

Jason Levin

                    @iamjasonlevin

                  28 Dec 2025

                Replying to @nickshirleyy


My boyfriend is practicing violin for the first time ever in our home (tuned it for him!) and the animal responses are hilarious.

My bunny is zooming and leaping harder than ever and I think my dog might be crying lol.


Everything is better (even tweets about taxes) when you put the plates in the microwave for 30 seconds to heat them before serving food.


Someone asked me if “move fast and break things” applies to deep tech…I think this answers it.

Augustus Doricko

                    @ADoricko

                  29 Dec 2025

                Short notes on how to navigate around or flee from packs of feral dogs:

- do not shout to scare them off. Idk why this works on bears, but it just attracts more angry dogs

- run uphill. As you run uphill you can crudely kick back the stones beneath your feet at the pursuing dogs, this is an effective impediment. They will catch you going downhill or on flat ground

- do not run through brush and trees, they navigate through the flora more agilely than you

- use misdirecting stone throws. Assuming the dogs haven’t seen you, you can do a video game style stone throw on the other side of the pack to make them face away from you. This works best if the dogs are already awake and prowling. Otherwise better to let sleeping dogs lie


Wise words

Cole Jaczko

                    @colejaczko

                  29 Dec 2025

                A dying patient wrote herself a letter. I think about it often:


“The rush of the courtship enthralls me.”

But he didn’t pick her up at the airport.

Bryan Johnson

                    @bryan_johnson

                  30 Dec 2025

                It’s been 19 days and 20 hrs since I last felt Kate’s warm embrace. She landed 47 minutes ago. The 24 hours of travel no doubt has her rushing to shower. She needs to cleanse herself of a dirtied world incompatible with her sensibilities. The wash doubles as a ritual, preparatory for entrance into the symbolic world we’ve constructed.

The time apart has been costly.  My body’s electrical signaling betrays the separation. Without her touch, my vagus nerve’s 100,000 myelinated fibers have dropped their high frequency spectral power, squawking distress. An intelligent system broadcasting diminished wave forms, hoping to be heard.  There are other signals of distress.

My white blood cells have shifted their gene expression, upregulating pro-inflammatory genes IL-6 and TNF-alpha and downregulating my antiviral genes.  A pro-aging biochemical signature of a system suffering hardship.

My environment is a pristine anti-aging laboratory. Air, water, food and light are meticulously measured. Toxins are filtered. Purification systems run autonomously. Biomarkers tracked. Nutrition is calibrated.

Yet outside my control is the affection of another. The 68 trillion cells that constitute Bryan Johnson run non-negotiable code. They demand tenderness, and not of a whimsical type, but deep, all-encompassing love that must be earned and carefully maintained. Otherwise they protest in self-termination.

She’s now only 13 miles away and I can viscerally feel her essence. The transmission pulses in high fidelity. As if there were a fiber optic cable streaming our connection at light speed through the multiplexed cylinders of glass. The time apart created latency, buffering the connection, depriving us of the luminescence and dimming into noise.

In 15 minutes she will be within reach. I can visualize the whites of her eyes and smell her aroma. When she arrives, she will be shy. Whenever we are apart, she returns to zero. Her previous openness will be closed. Her emotional dynamic range will be held in reserve until she feels she is safe and can trust.  I’ll need to kindle her again. The rush of the courtship enthralls me.

The anticipation drives a small cluster of my midbrain neurons to flood dopamine. Nerve fibers activate, lighting up my skin’s receptors as it awaits for slow, caressing touch. My hypothalamus begins synthesizing oxytocin, preparing to dump it upon first eye contact to ensure the reestablishment of our pair bond. This biochemical orchestra fills me with delight and sensorial want.

Kate’s been mulling over what she’ll wear for days.  She’s considered dozens of possibilities and modeled out my anticipated emotional state, the weather, and our planned activities. The colors will be representative of her psychological state and be positioned to soothe mine. The texture, style, and hues will interplay with our biology. The deliberately chosen accessories will add flair, intrigue and play. This is how she flirts, seduces and bypasses my mind to speak directly to my physiology. She has other tricks too.

She’s arrived. I must wait for her. Her timidness will want to determine the cadence. I hear the door crack open and her bag drop to the floor. She’s nervous. I’m on the couch, neutral and open. She rounds the corner and our eyes meet. The inhibitions wither as the magnetism draws us together. Soft hellos are whispered and our bodies interdigitate.

I feel her finger tips on the back of my neck. Goose bumps light up my body. Skin nerve cells fire signals directly to my brain, bypassing the analytical mind. The hypothalamus dumps the oxytocin, inhibiting fear and lowering cortisol. The body washes itself in this anti-inflammatory chain reaction.  Our respiration and heart beats are now synchronizing. The brain piles on with a release of endorphins to soothe the psychological pain of our separation. New powers are now in control. Let them run in glory.

I press my cheek against hers. The skin on skin triggers a wave of desire. I brush her lips with mine, catalyzing a massive activation of neurons in her brain, overwhelming thought and forcing presence.

She relents and wants to dance. She’s home.

I slip my hand under her shirt and brush the small of her back. Goosebumps spread like a wildfire across her body. Her hypothalamus stimulates the release of GnRH which tells the pituitary gland to wake up her reproductive system. Our olfactory systems consume each other with delight, signaling immune system compatibility.

I move both my hands to her jawline, holding her head firmly in place. Our mirror neurons speak to each other. I know what she wants. My lips press against hers and I softly bite her lower lip. Kate’s blood vessels dilate from the acetylcholine and nitric oxide release, flushing her lips, skin and body. The cascade is nearing waterfall.

The executive control of our brains surrenders. No longer concerned with the 68 trillion cells. The prefrontal cortex goes dark. Eliminating future planning and probabilistic modeling. Activity in our parietal lobes diminishes, dissolving the boundary that distinguishes between self and other. No longer is there Kate and Bryan, just a singular biological entity suspended in a state of bliss. The outside world goes quiet. It doesn’t exist. We dissolve into raw existence.


Exactly — romance isn’t sitting at home and tweeting about how hot and bothered you’re getting.


Rightfully so!


That’s lovely!


Actions > words


I had an old boyfriend who was pretty germ phobic. I’d shower whenever I got home from a trip. He still picked me up at the airport.

Also what is the point of all this “don’t die” hullabaloo if you don’t leave the house?


It’s too bad he’ll outlive us all but never be able to leave the house.


Srsly true. I hate that airport with more passion than may a thing. Lol


Fair! I’d rather go to hell.


Yeah, he’s made her out as the manic pixie dream girl right there.


There is no poetry in “dumps”


I wanted to love this…and was waiting for the part where he said he’d embraced her running across the terminal with oxytocin screaming out his eyeballs. Missed opportunity!


I’d be very sad!


Clearly prepping to write for Heated Rivalry Season 2


Yeah, but you're also not airing "romantic" laundry for engagement farming.


Make presents!

Mr PitBull Stories

                    @MrPitbull07

                  30 Dec 2025

                Yesterday was my birthday and my sweet 16-year-old grandson shows up with this random bucket and this huge grin on his face. He goes "Grandma, I made you something but it's kinda weird."
I'm thinking oh no, what did this kid do now? But then he pulls out these amazing garden markers made from old Scrabble tiles! Turns out he'd been secretly working on them for weeks after I mentioned for the hundredth time that I keep forgetting what I planted where.
He remembered me complaining about those ugly plastic markers from the store and how they always blow away or fade. So he found an old Scrabble game at a yard sale, bought popsicle sticks, and spent his weekends hot gluing letters together to spell out all my herbs and vegetables.
OREGANO, ROSEMARY, THYME, BASIL, LAVENDER, CHIVES... he even made ones for plants I haven't grown yet but keep talking about wanting to try. The kid knows me better than I know myself.
The best part? He put them in this cute little galvanized bucket so I can carry them around the garden. Said it would be "more grandma-style" than a plastic bag.
I started tearing up right there on the porch because this boy actually listened to all my gardening rambling and turned it into the most thoughtful gift ever. His mom was taking pictures and laughing at me getting emotional over "wooden letters on sticks."
Already posted them in my little shop because people keep asking where I got them when they see my garden photos. Might have to get this kid to help me make more because apparently other grandmas have the same labeling problems I do.
Sixteen years old and he's already more crafty than half the adults I know. Pretty sure I'm keeping him.

Credit: MjcMathew


This is half my inbox at any given moment:

Founder: We're consumer XYZ.

Me: We are really hesitant on consumer, we're just not cool enough at 1517 to get what the general public wants or to help you with distribution plans.

Founder: But we're not really consumer, we're ZYX!


Notice that these are all actions -- things that belong *in* the world.

joshpuckett

                    @joshpuckett

                  31 Dec 2025

                A belief that really solidified for me this year is that if you are a romantic, and want to see the world full of magic and love, you have to create it.

Host the dinner party, send the flowers, write the note, share the compliment, put up the decorations, plan the outing, so on and so forth.

The default state of life is decay. To create a world that is warm and wonderful and one you and others want to participate in, you really have to work at it.

The good news is, it doesn't take that much work at all.

"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."


Happy New Year! You've got this - from ideas to actions!

Anjuli Pierce

                    @anjulipie

                  Jan 1

                Replying to @DStrachman


And it's not just consumer...the point being, any time I say that we don't do X category often, the response is that they aren't the category that they are.


Dog on a leash energy!

Time to be unbounded!

John Coogan

                    @johncoogan

                  31 Dec 2025

                Calling it now, the hottest trend of 2026 will be dogged pursuits.

Determined, persistent, and stubborn efforts to achieve things, refusing to give up despite difficulties, opposition, or discouragement, much like a dog relentlessly following a scent.

Bookmark this.


Funny, I’ve never seen Mike on South Park!


I often follow up with other funds they should be checking out or our grant spreadsheet.

And if they are a teen generally more feedback. But I get lots of emails from full on adults who answer in this way. I’d say the teens are better at looking for what to do next rather playing word salad.


Nothing says self love like starting the new year with lifting weights and blasting a 90s workout playlist...all bangers. Get it 2026!


"half my inbox" is not you.


No no no no NO


While you're at it, try doing that new tip with super black liquid eye liner after you've done all your other makeup. It's no big deal. It'll be fine.

charlie@BUNNlCULA
                  Jan 1

                cut your bangs yourself right before a party. you want to look your best, don’t you? cut them now. all by yourself. don’t wet your hair. just get in there and do what must be done. cut your own bangs directly before leaving for a party.


I wouldn’t call it lying. They’re just trying to articulate their work differently and are doing a poor job at it.


Love the fit descriptions for meetings and events!

Josie Zayner

                    @josiezayner

                  Jan 2

                I had a crazy week in SF before Christmas, VC meetings, debates, parties, so I wrote a gonzo style account of it. It was really fun to write and its long but its a week inside my life as a founder outside the lab. Some of your favorite SF people make an appearance.


Reading goals for 2026?

june@fitchivalry
                  Jan 1

                This app so pretty goodbye storygraph you have been replaced


At 1517 Unplugged in September, campers wrote themselves a letter. I'll put them in the mail for them in March.

Handwritten Letter@letterappsoc
                  Jan 2

                Let’s make 2026 the year of the letter. Feel inspired, send a letter. Feel grateful, send a letter. Feel hope, send a letter. Feel lost or numb, send a letter. Be it to a friend, loved one, actor, author, MP, business leader, whoever you want. Just know, letters still matter. ✉


Tim Draper

                    @TimDraper

                  Jan 2

                One of the biggest red flags for me when I am pitched is when the entrepreneur talks about how he (or we) are going to make money. Or they talk about exits. Or they talk about how a competitor is worth $1 billion. None of that matters. A startup is a mission. A great entrepreneur is a missionary. Not a mercenary.

A great irony of entrepreneurship: The entrepreneurs who come in and say they're going to make everybody money, don't.

People who say that they're going to paint a picture of the world that's never been seen before often are the ones who make a fortune.

When entrepreneurs leave their cushy Facebook or Google jobs, some of them can't stop looking back. That is a bad sign to me.

If the entrepreneur ever says, I could be making $XYZ at Google, I am concerned that they've got one foot in and one foot out and won't make it as a founder.

The same can be said for founders who are building a company for the resume versus the mission.

There's been an influx of Ivy League MBAs who believe that starting a venture-backed company is the next logical career move.

I'd much rather invest in someone who has found a problem and believes with every fiber of their being, and knows deep in their bones, that they're the one who is destined to find the solution.


“I am a Bunny” was my favorite book as a child. I think my dad still has it memorized :)


Replying to @aquinasheard23 @William_Blake @flowidealism @_cturner


Get on your feet with Arnold!

Arnold Schwarzenegger

                    @Schwarzenegger

                  Jan 5

                Fitness is for everyone.

I’ve read a lot about layoffs, and I don’t believe you should lose your fitness because you lose your job. Unlike some people, I always put my money where my mouth is.

If you’re out of work, I’ve made my fitness app, the Pump Club, free at thepumpclub.com. Hopefully when you get back on your feet, you’ll become a paying member, but first, let’s focus on getting you back on your feet.


For me, MTV was scaled self expression.

Musicians expanding their art to video. Film makers expanding their art to music. The early days were really fun, campy, and enthralling.

End of an error.

B.Önder Okumuş

                    @un_invited

                  Jan 5

                Elveda MTV…
Gençliğimde bize müzikle, hayallerle, güzel anılarla eşlik ettiğin için teşekkürler.


We have some seriously good gift givers at 1517 (and it’s not me). Thank you Nick!


When he picks you up from the airport.


Any teams looking for a remote community builder, partnership manager, something very people oriented? If you have a job description, would be great to see it in the comments or DM me.


1517er right there!

Cyan Banister

                    @cyantist

                  Jan 7

                This is a joke btw. I didn't go to school.


Get growing!

Kevin → Plant Daddy

                    @KevinEspiritu

                  Jan 7

                BIG news...we just launched a membership program called The Greenhouse at @epicgardening. I've never seen a membership program done quite like this before...

- $20 welcome gift of seeds + swag
- 10% off sitewide, stackable with sale events
- Free shipping & returns
- Members get 3 new seed varieties free, ~6mo before anyone else
- Full access to our garden planning software
- Live, on-demand growing advice from trained horticulturists

All for $50/yr. Today is launch day and off to a strong start. Team put a TON of energy into this, it's our stab at offering as much value as possible to our audience and customers.

Few commerce brands have as deep a base in education and content as we do, so we can offer more "standard" membership benefits like discounts and free shipping, but we can stack the deck with insane value on education.

For example, the planner software is $35/yr alone and already leads the industry. We only have to add $15/yr in value to customers for the rest to be worth it, which is a $150 purchase at 10% off, let alone the seeds + swag + live advice.

Will be interesting to see how this goes!!!


Incredible work!

Garrett Smiley 🙂@gw_smiles
                  Jan 8

                I’m excited to share that @soraschools has closed a $10M venture round—led by our existing investors @usv  and @generalcatalyst—with new investors @Sparkmind_VC, Honeystone Ventures, and LearnerStudio. That brings our total raised to $31M.

We started Sora six years ago because middle and high school felt stuck in the past. Most students were disengaged, unhappy, and ultimately unprepared for real life. While Sora has grown fast, that core problem hasn’t gone away. Now, thanks to AI, it’s becoming existential for society.

Traditional school—lectures, memorization, tests—was built for a world where information was scarce and most work was routine. But that reality is fading fast. As AI commoditizes repetitive cognitive work, the leverage moves to what’s stubbornly human. That’s a different game. Trying to fix school by simply making it faster is like hot-rodding a Model T when the world demands supersonic flight.

So, how do you create AI-empowered humans? What skills are most useful for this sci-fi future at our doorstep?

Agency: turning intention into action without waiting for permission.

Sensemaking: making progress when the problem is messy, and the path isn’t obvious. Navigating ambiguity.

Storytelling: Verbally and visually communicating to earn trust, recruit collaborators, and move ideas into the world.

Like it or not, AI is about to widen the gap between kids who can self-direct and kids who just follow instructions. The old signals—grades, polished essays, “completed” work—are getting noisier by the day. Families who get it will stop optimizing for content coverage and start optimizing for agency and real-world output. And once that becomes the AI-accelerated status game, the gap won’t be subtle.

That’s why Sora Schools exists: an agency-first middle and high school where students tackle real challenges with peers, using technology and content as tools—not the primary goal. Every student graduates with a portfolio of projects they’re excited to share: proof of what they can do. And it’s built for flexible family life—learn online from anywhere, or travel between our partner campuses.

If you share this vision and want your student prepared, please reach out. In 2026, we’re expanding our private schools, public school partnerships, regional microschools, camps, and after-school courses—there are more ways than ever to join the mission.

Lastly, consider "following" to stay in the loop—big announcements coming soon!


Great work Garrett!

Replying to @gw_smiles @soraschools @usv @generalcatalyst @Sparkmind_VC


We are a team! Collaborative wins across the board!


Excited to be part of it and get growing!


Signed up yesterday!


Great series!

StripMallGuy

                    @realEstateTrent

                  Jan 10

                The most fascinating documentary I’ve ever seen is called The Up Series.

It followed the lives of a group of 7-year-olds - and filmed them at age 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, and 63.

Biggest takeaway:

Who you are at 7 is likely who you are at 63.


OG 1517er right there!

cinesthetic.

                    @TheCinesthetic

                  Jan 11

                Laura Dern dropped out of college because UCLA would not allow her to take a leave of absence to film "Blue Velvet."

She gave David Lynch's script to the head of the film department in order to convince him, but he fired back at her: “First of all, if you make this choice, you are no longer welcome at UCLA. You’ll be out. But secondly, having read this script, that you would give up your college education for this is insane.”

Dern says that "today, if you want to get a masters in film at that school, when you write a thesis there are three movies you are required to study. And you know what one of them is? Pisses me off."


Respectable

Spencer Althouse

                    @SpencerAlthouse

                  Jan 12

                lol at this moment from Rose Byrne's Golden Globes speech

"I want to thank my husband, Bobby Cannavale, who couldn't be here because we're getting a bearded dragon and he went to a reptile expo in New Jersey, so thank you, baby"


Clearly having a good time :D

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  Jan 13

                Me and @DStrachman on a German documentary no one in the US can see


"In the long-term, there is nothing that has more predictive power than paying attention to reality accurately." - 1517 Mutant


1517 portcos making the future, futuristic!

Deepgram

                    @DeepgramAI

                  Jan 13

                Big news for Deepgram and the rapidly-growing trillion-dollar Voice AI economy 🚀

We’re thrilled to announce $130M in Series C funding at a $1.3B valuation.

Today, leading AI innovators such as @twilio, @Cloudflare, @SierraPlatform, @DecagonAI, @cresta, @meetgranola, @Vapi_AI, @trydaily, @koredotai, @NICELtd (@cognigy), @covaldev and many more all offer Voice AI functionality powered by Deepgram APIs. This funding will accelerate our ability to serve hundreds of thousands of Voice AI builders, and help advance the global Voice AI economy that is ‘Powered by Deepgram’.

And there’s more… We are opening a Voice AI Collaboration Hub in San Francisco to bring together the Voice AI developer community and grow the Voice AI economy together!  We can’t wait to collaborate in person!

Huge thanks to our customers and partners who trust Deepgram to build their business upon.


"First principles" is the new eye roll.


You gotta look really intently and be discerning!


Same brother!


Don't have time for a longer answer but certain practices I think can help develop this. Things like meditation and academic drawing come to mind as places to start.


Bad cold email today:

Good day Mr Danielle,

I’m reaching out because your work backing founders before the market consensus forms — and your focus on first-principles thinking...

N0000000OOOOOOOOooooo

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  Jan 13

                "First principles" is the new eye roll.


For a good cold email, see my pinned tweet.


Just heard from a maker that he's surprisingly (and happily) becoming a dad at 22 years old. What advice would you give him to be a great younger husband and father?


Really appreciate the share, thank you!


This is wonderful! Thank you!


"Your writing reveals your thinking.

The way you structure an email, the details you choose to emphasize, the questions you ask us or how you answer ours —all tell an investor how you think. Are you concise or do you ramble? Do you lead with the answer or bury it in the third paragraph? Can you distill complexity into clarity?

These are signals about how you think, act and ultimately run your company, how you’ll communicate with your team, and how you’ll make decisions when things get hard. AI can’t replicate that. It can mimic structure, but it can’t show your judgment." - Alex S. at 1517


Bring it 2026!!!

Zak Slayback

                    @zslayback

                  Jan 15

                Occasional reminder:

If you are a current student, a dropout, or a scientist-founder working on the frontiers of technology, you should reach out to @1517fund for investment and support.

We invest anywhere from $50k - $1mm+ as our first check and love talking to weirdos!


This is the bed time ritual we all need!

G-MA & G-PA

                    @GPAIndiana

                  Jan 16

                That was the signal 😆


Life is weird sometimes. Two founders, independently, brought up their love of canned fish today.


Of course we do!


Guess it’s time to stock the house with canned fish for snacks.


That is some funny shit. I like my kindle though!

Tazzanno NaZinna 尊@TazzannoNaZinna
                  Jan 17

                A mio padre piace leggere, così gli ho preso un Kindle per il suo compleanno. Lo sta usando come segnalibro.


Boy dinner maxxing

Kevin → Plant Daddy

                    @KevinEspiritu

                  Jan 17

                Calling it now, we're about ~1yr from a tinned fish top. It's showing up as addon orders at coffeeshops, bookstores, etc.

I of course am a Maxi so I'll keep stacking, but at a lower price later this year


Sunday vibes

G-PA

                    @IndianaGPA

                  Jan 18

                “Hotel California” solo on a Bassoon 😳 was not on my bingo card but here we are and I'm digging it! 😃


Would love to watch the rest of this movie

Puppies & Positivity

                    @Puppieslover

                  Jan 18

                Ok this is hilarious 😂


Would love to have the narration of each year. Great work!

Kevin → Plant Daddy

                    @KevinEspiritu

                  Jan 19

                Just found my old revenue tracker for @epicgardening:

Side Project Era

2014: $968.72
2015: $4,761.99

Full Time Era

2016: $17,262.97
2017: $73,486.34
2018: $159,835.15
2019: $498,887.36
2020: $2,520,958.59
2021: $7,340,230.39

Funded Era:

NOT TELLING YOU BUT IT'S HIGHER


1517 team offsite tomorrow in Atlanta! Excited to see everyone and start scheming for the year!


The one thing I love about college is college radio.

wanye

                    @xwanyex

                  Jan 19

                You can still tune into terrestrial radio. You can put it on in your car. They’re having people call in to answer quiz questions and they’re giving away concert tickets to the 29th caller and they’re yukking it up and playing crazy sound effects like it’s 1992 and nobody’s ever heard of the Internet. The format hasn’t changed at all. They’re sticking to the format to the end.


If you wouldn’t sing along, it’s time to think about your life choices and how to find your soul again.

Rock'n Roll of All

                    @rocknrollofall

                  Jan 18

                This is exactly why the music is a universal bridge that connects all people together.

A guy sings Livin On a Prayer by Bon Jovi to himself and then the entire park joins him.

Well, that was quite impressive.


DMed you!


We are hosting a poker night in Atlanta this week! DM for an invite :D

p.s. I only play pocket aces.

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  Jan 19

                1517 team offsite tomorrow in Atlanta! Excited to see everyone and start scheming for the year!


Absolute gold

Don Keith

                    @RealDonKeith

                  Jan 18

                Funny.🤣


Beat me to it!


Meta game is The Game!

p.p.s: I used to date a multi tabling poker pro.


1517er all the way!

Alys Key

                    @alys_key

                  Jan 15

                People call Victor Frankenstein "doctor" but in the book, he doesn't even complete his undergraduate degree. He's a college dropout playing with groundbreaking but possibly dangerous technology. If he were real and alive today he'd be a Thiel fellow.


Y'all are gems. The new dad to be read all your comments and said "so many insightful ones that I will take to heart."

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  Jan 14

                Just heard from a maker that he's surprisingly (and happily) becoming a dad at 22 years old. What advice would you give him to be a great younger husband and father?


Great read by John Boyle about acceleration for children not only for the gains in their academic abilities but for the profound impact on their social emotional development:

Gross mentions an interesting contrast with sports. Many educators seem to have no problem with scouting elite athletic talent and providing intensive support — one-on-one coaching, flexible schedules, advanced training opportunities. This treatment is “acceleration” by another name. So why is it different when the abilities are intellectual rather than physical?

Consider the investment: $30-40 billion annually on youth travel sports. Elite club teams costing more than college tuition. Scouts evaluating middle schoolers. High schools with “recruiting coordinators” and million-dollar facilities. Families relocating for better programs. All of this to develop athletic talent is celebrated. But let a mathematically gifted child skip two grades — costing nothing — and suddenly educators worry about things like “social-emotional development.” The hypocrisy is instructive: we already know how to accelerate exceptional talent. We simply choose not to do it for the minds most likely to cure disease, design infrastructure, or advance human knowledge.


Blog post here: educationprogress.org/p/exce…


An excellent read on the advantages and impacts of accelerating children per subject area and the effects on both their academic outcomes and their social emotional outcomes.

For those with children in school, a great litmus test question might be, "Do you allow children to skip grades (or subjects)?"


Blog post here:

educationprogress.org/p/exce…


I loved this read -- probably one of the best things I've read in a long time because the information is clear AND actionable.

I love how the author takes time to make sure the reader empathizes and comes to care about gifted young people.

Having worked with lots of highly gifted society-labeled prodigies, the point about obsession and taste is really important.

What I have seen is that sometimes those intrinsic gifts got molded into extrinsic/memetic arenas. Their drive (now shaped by an extrinsic system) makes them so good at playing "the game" (winning science fairs, awards, etc) that they stopped being able to see where the game ended and they began.

They get hijacked by extrinsic goodies and then flounder when they aren't present. It's really hard to get back to the intrinsic version of themselves where growth, learning, and the highest levels of success truly happen.

All children would benefit from being accelerated where appropriate but I think the author's point is a really really profound one that acceleration is so important for the multiple standard deviations gifted children because it goes hand in hand with their social emotional development. This maturation depends on being fulfilled and challenged with subjects and peers at similar levels which is going to be increasingly rare for those far outside the norm. That is a really well said point and not one I have ever seen made.


Link to article here:

educationprogress.org/p/exce…


If you care about the future of humanity, read this article. I can't emphasize enough how profound the actionable insights are for children (and therefore for us all) today: educationprogress.org/p/exce…


When you lift weights, don't forget to work out your brain.

That burn you feel when curling, you want that for your brain too.

If you're not feeling it, it's time to learn something that stretches your capacity right up to the edge.


Fundraising is funny:

2024 - 2025: Flew all over to keep meeting with a group that regularly invests in funds, thought they were more of an anchor check type (minimum of $5M) -- a year later, many dinners, and United miles: They come in for $1M.

Last week: Met a dude through a current LP who runs his own business and goes hunting in the woods with his elderly father. 18 minute call. Watches our annual meeting video. Invests $1M two days later. Guy knows how to hit a bullseye.


I'm also grateful for the investment -- it's just tough when you think you're putting in the elbow grease for a higher amount and that turns out not to be the case.


Do you even lift?

Isaac Yonemoto is cooking

                    @DNAutics

                  Jan 19

                Replying to @DStrachman
                i used to watch MIT quantum mechanics lectures while lifting.

highly recommend

m.youtube.com/playlist?list=…


When you marry Bene Gesserit

Henrik Karlsson@phokarlsson
                  Jan 19

                Something I love about talking to Johanna (aka my wife) is that she never gets caught up in frames. If you tell her an idea, she never reacts to what you are saying, or anchors to an existing framework; she always dissolves the question, connects it to her mental models, and then reconstructs a new answer that is completely different than what you’d expect. Also, she often ends up concluding that the original question (or goal) is the wrong one, digs up a deeper question, and answers that instead.
I can do it with effort, if I remind myself and combat my impulses. But for her, it seems very hard to not think this way.


With sports it’s tribal. We get to root for the best when we have the best team. A person’s win is everyone’s win.


This is hilarious and amazing


How does one identify a traditional Pilates instructor?


I have a core memory of being about 12, skating around a roller rink, hair up in a half ponytail, in a jean blouse with ruffled sleeves skating to this song. Had no idea freedom would be found again and again in that moment.

The Buck You Will

                    @TheBuckYouWill

                  Jan 19

                THE YEAR IS 1992.

Kids today will NEVER understand how HARD this song hit!

AND STILL A BANGER!
.


We would do late night ihop after swing dancing when I was 18. So good!


Brewing what’s new for 2026 at 1517!

Our pirate ship is coming to port and we’re giving the most scalawag of scalawags the wheel.

1517 Fund

                    @1517fund

                  Jan 20


Appreciate all this. I really struggled in elementary school for various reasons (probably somewhat dyslexic, adhd-ish, and parents divorcing in first grade) and wasn’t given an opportunity to shoot my shot until high school.


Genius points right there

Kristen@Kica333
                  Jan 19

                Have you ever restarted the dryer so you didn’t have to fold the clothes?


We have grants for people without a college degree working on cool shit — usually maker vibes, hardware/bio/atoms over bits projects.


All aboard!


Interesting barometer

internet archiva

                    @internetarchiva

                  Jan 19

                This image was made by a neurologist from Japan.

It remains still when you’re calm, moves slightly when you’re stressed, and spins like a carousel when under high stress.

                    Community note

                  While fun, this optical illusion moves due to how eyes naturally scan images, not stress. It's not designed as a stress test. Creator Akiyoshi Kitaoka states stress has nothing to do with it.

ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/inde…

reuters.com/article/idUSKC…

boomlive.in/can-an-optical


What I do with my creatine every morning

The Figen

                    @TheFigen_

                  Jan 20

                I am sure it was expensive to learn this skill.


“Courage is in shorter supply than genius” - Peter Thiel

rabbitholebot

                    @rabbitholebot

                  Jan 20

                My biggest disappointment is learning that even intelligent people can be cowards and that courage is a much rarer attribute than intelligence.


Correctomundo


gn

श्री

                    @shree_2_2

                  Jan 20

                You are now listening to a 432 hertz frequency. Take a moment to regulate your nervous system.

This sound aids in releasing happy hormones such as serotonin and endorphins naturally, regulating blood pressure and heart rate.


Amen, brother!

Will Manidis

                    @WillManidis

                  Jan 20

                too much writing, too much thinking, too much planning, too much analysis. your pencils are sharp enough. theres not much time left now, its best if you get going.


Super fun evening and hung in on 3rd until Nick surpassed me!

Kaia Rhodes

                    @kaiarhodes

                  Jan 22

                Great meeting everyone tonight. Thanks for having me @1517fund @DStrachman


We’re in fam!!!

𝖘 𝖍 𝖆 𝖚 𝖓 𒉭@Shadowfaaax
                  Jan 21

                I blocked everyone who hasn't got a part in my Lord of the Rings Musical that I wrote for Broadway, so if you're seeing this, rehearsal is at 8 tonight


There is a weird for this, mudita!

𐌁𐌉Ᏽ 𐌕𐌉𐌌𐌉

                    @OrevaZSN

                  Jan 21

                Do you ever get secondhand happiness? Like someone is happy, so you’re happy because they’re happy.


Best choice, I’ll be with my mom :D


And we want to back you at 1517 to solve gigantic problems. The sooner the better!

Zak Slayback

                    @zslayback

                  Jan 22

                We have maybe 10 years to solve a slew of gigantic problems. And if we don't, things get really bad, really fast.

Exceedingly few get this.


Bros gotta be love maxxing

CCP IS ASSHOE

                    @CCPISASSH0E

                  Jan 22

                I am literally sobbing/cackling rn


Love this! If you’re looking for a fun and doable song to sing on ukulele, I think you’ll love the song The Universe is Laughing by The Guggenheim Grotto :D


And if you ever want to play and sing together — 100% down :)


I love this!


Damn! Julian beat me to it. Not surprised that we have similar taste.

Replying to @KevinEspiritu @julianweisser @solofounders


"I'll ghostwrite 20–30 targeted, on-voice replies per day..."

No thank you

Replying to @_theCyberDoctor @KevinEspiritu @julianweisser @solofounders


it's ok, I just know who I have to start a gallery with lol

Replying to @julianweisser @KevinEspiritu @solofounders


You can test your empathy chip by how much your palms sweat watching this.

Mukul Kumar

                    @mukulneetika

                  Jan 25

                What makes Alex Honnold neurologically extraordinary is that his brain generates far less of fear. When neuroscientists studied him using functional MRI (fMRI), they found that his amygdala showed remarkably low activation even when exposed to scary images


My kinda drink

dinosaur

                    @dinosaurs1969

                  Jan 25

                something to take the edge off


Lol when you say it like that, it's kinda better, I think. Maybe.


That is so so sweet! Maybe for the next set -- I just ordered a good bunch of these. But I love seeing where people get really geeky :D


Axel was about 24 when he wrote this song.

No college and a high school dropout. Honorary 1517er.

🎸 Rock History 🎸

                    @historyrock_

                  Jan 25

                imagine how people felt listening to this for the the first time in 1987


Working on an unsolved mystery? Who ya gonna call?

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  Jan 25

                Pretty excited about these new business cards


Snow days are the best! How are you spending it?


Coyote indeed!


The plows made a mountain at the end of the driveway so wanted to create an escape hatch. And the banks on the side were getting too high to add to.

The angel with the snowblower nextdoor came over and helped us out.


How are you spending your snow day?


Sell 1/3, hold a 1/3, think about a 1/3.


See pinned tweet!

Replying to @GoodnessNwanebu @useclerksmart


Ordered!

Brad Stulberg

                    @BStulberg

                  29 Jul 2025

                I wrote a new book.

It’s called The Way of Excellence.

It’s the culmination of a decade of research and commitment.


When you book launches during a major storm

Brad Stulberg

                    @BStulberg

                  Jan 26

                Different kind of book “launch” than I expected.

Bummer so much is being cancelled. Please support and get your copy today.


Incredible!!


Confusion is uncomfortable, but maybe being confused is the way that we keep asking questions.

Taking sides ends the confusion, but I think it also ends the questions.

Cyan Banister

                    @cyantist

                  Jan 27

                I’m really sad about what’s happening in Minnesota. And honestly, I’m confused.

I keep seeing people call themselves “2A absolutists” and then suddenly start adding conditions when it doesn’t fit their narrative. Same with the idea that you “don’t show up to a protest with a gun”… but if it’s legal, then you can. You don’t get to pick and choose when rights apply.

I’m not a lawyer and I haven’t had time to deep dive Minnesota’s laws. I’m still trying to keep up with Iran and California. But the inconsistency is wild.

I watched the video. I’m not a detective or a judge, but shooting someone in the back while they’re falling face down just feels deeply wrong. Even in tense situations, there should be room for something other than lethal force.

And calling a protester a “terrorist” is dangerous. Protesting isn’t terrorism. If we start throwing that word around, it loses all meaning.

We need some real 60s era humanity right now.


Elijah, a student in Canada:

Agency is what makes kids feel like superheroes. What is the equivalent fuel for adults?

Danielle:

Gosh, your question about "What is the equivalent fuel for adults" is a very interesting one. And not one I have given a lot of thought to.

In general, we think adults have agency because they get to pick what they do. But in reality, a majority of adults are in other systems that keep them thinking about the system rather than about what they really want to do with their lives.

I have often wished that there was a way for employers to offer loyal team members some form of sabbatical to let people explore the deeper questions of how they want to make meaning. A 3 month break if you will where adults could try exploring interests and see what emerges from that.

So I think on the adult front, agency often has a freedom component which often means people need time to explore. It's really hard to do that with a full time job and other responsibilities. So in large part I think it's the same for adults, it just happens that adults often take on responsibilities where being able to break away from the mold is harder because others are depending on you.

Lastly, I just thought of another thing, self concept. I think all humans can get bogged down in who they *think* they are (or aren't).

So they don't even question that maybe they are, or could develop into, something else. I think the maturation process often includes some form of calcification -- there's a knowing in who you are (which is great) but probably a more wise thing to do is know who you are while also giving yourself expansiveness to change.

What do you think? I'm curious about your answers!


This is why I live in California -- totally unstoppable seasonality!

Tawny 🌷

                    @the_coral_lea

                  Jan 27


Don't fall into bad-guy-dom.

Christian Keil

                    @pronounced_kyle

                  Jan 27

                Replying to @pronounced_kyle
                Okay that was longer than intended. If you read nothing else, here are the laws the bad guys live by:

1) You must feel guilty for any and all human suffering, regardless of your personal involvement in it.
2) You must never take responsibility for anything.
3) The needs of society outweigh any financial considerations.
4) Making money is bad and selfish.
5) There is no virtue in doing things you enjoy, or giving people what they deserve. You must suffer or sacrifice to do good.
6) Appearances are all that matter, even if everyone knows the truth behind them; you must never speak those deeper truths.
7) Nobody is any good. Everything sucks.
8) Unhappiness is a virtue.


I’m a dude

Maria Made in Cosmos is taking a break✨@made_in_cosmos
                  Jan 27

                as far as I can tell, men load the dishwasher like the goal is to pack it optimally with no wasted space, while women load it like the goal is to make sure everything inside gets thoroughly washed


Recommend watching the entire two hours. It’s really really good.

Growth Labs

                    @growthhub_

                  Jan 26

                He really explained how to do hard things as an ADHD person￼


This clip doesn’t do it justice at all and is what happens when things get taken out of context


Douglas Green

                    @__douglasgreen

                  Jan 28

                Dear young founders -

Use the “permission slip” you’ve been given.

You have a rare excuse to email anyone: “I’m a student/intern/13 yr old working on _____ and would love to learn from you.”

Use that to reach alumni, founders, investors, and industry operators weekly.
______

The people you want to learn from count their 'riches' by those they've helped.


Nope


Great answer!


Definitely agree! Anything labeled as a crisis (quarter life crisis, mid life crisis) is in my opinion a developmental milestone moment.


Great talk at DTNY by @isaiah_p_taylor about what R&D looks like.

“You have to live in the hardware”


The posse is real and I love it. As an introvert it always makes me feel better to see familiar faces :D

Replying to @ChadCazel @kaiarhodes @DeepTechNY @albertwenger @abemurray


Chad Cazel 🇺🇸/acc@ChadCazel
                  Jan 28

                Alien technology discourse at @DeepTechNY

@DStrachman @albertwenger


Thanks for having me!

Replying to @abemurray @ChadCazel @kaiarhodes @DeepTechNY @albertwenger


Premonitions about 1517’s future art fund:

“in my dream last night you were my mentor or spirit guide in some way, and you gave me a very expensive guitar and packs of strings before I went on my way to become some kind of sage musician”


“People aren’t ready for biological art” - Josie Zayner at DTNY


That was a great line!

Saw you at the event! Sorry I didn’t get to say hello!


We shall see!


That is very sweet Gage. Michael has “polytropon” tattooed on his arm from the Odyssey. It means “the many wayed man” — you are a way finder, so it was your destiny to clear the path, but happy to be a sign post in the road 💕


That’s funny because I now have “Professional Fairy Godmother” on one set of business cards. Will have to look at the archetype more. Thanks for the nudge!


After being on the east coast for two weeks, California feels divine!


No question, grey poupon.


Funny. We both had this sandwich today but I got mine at Essa Bagel in Terminal A in Newark because I didn’t have a bagel in NYC.


Can’t wait to get in on one of the drops!


Make something people want

Trenton Hughes

                    @trentjhughes

                  Jan 29

                My wife's friend started a business organizing people's garages

Charges $800-$1,200 per garage

Takes one full day

Only does it 2 days a week

That's $6,400-$9,600/month

She's booked out a month

Zero investment

Just before/after photos on Facebook

Boring businesses blow my mind sometimes


Too real

₩₳Ɽ ₱₳₮Ⱨ

                    @WarPath2pt0

                  Jan 29

                Turns out I don't have ADHD--i just need everything explained to me via 2000s emo music


So excited for these two!

Morgan Cazel@MrsCazel
                  Jan 30

                Ladies — find a husband, raise a big family.


Well done!


Are your investors aligned with the good?


1517 was the first check and won't be the last! Let's go Positron!!!

Mitesh

                    @mitesh711

                  Feb 4

                Today, @positron_ai is thrilled to announce a $230M Series B at over $1B valuation co-lead by our customer @jumptrading, @ARENA_pw and Unless and strategic participation from @Arm and Qatar Investment Authority. Super happy to also have @GavinSBaker (@Atreidesmgmt ), @TEDchris (Resilience Reserve), @AntonioGracias (Valor Equity Partners) and @dfjgrowth double down.

It is the biggest validation for our team to have our customer lead our funding round. We continue to drive faster to build the most efficient inference chips in the market.


Men shine when questing. Skip the tavern and join the lads and lasses at 1517 building the future!

MR. OBVIOUS

                    @ObviousRises

                  Feb 3

                This is how quick guys become friends.


1. Take responsibility for bad behavior.

2. Apologize and make amends.

3. Hold yourself accountable going forward.

Eric Bahn 💛

                    @ericbahn

                  Feb 3

                I've encountered some people recently who admitted to doing some bad things, and basically said to me, "Yeah but deep down inside, I know I'm a good person."

No. You are a bad person.

Your actions speak for themselves. But there's hope, and if this is you, here's what you can do:

Pretend to be a good person.

Before you act, think about what a good person would do in that situation, and do that action as if you were a good person.

If you keep pretending to be a good person, and your actions manifest that of a good person, I truly do think that it eventually becomes natural.

One day you will wake up, look in the mirror, and see a good person staring back at you.

Try being good now. While there is time. There is hope for you.


Why not both? (Minus the elite part)

Replying to @MPrinParr @SimoneSyed @cyantist


Build your boba stand!

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  7 May 2023

                Office hours last week with students wanting to open a boba shop:

“Ok, where’s the boba?”

“We haven’t sold any but we have these spreadshe…”

“You haven’t sold any boba?!”

“No”

“Y’all are too smart for your own good. You need a table and boba. Not a spreadsheet!”

Today:


I still haven't seen anyone run entrepreneurship lab!

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  7 May 2023

                Replying to @DStrachman
                Their entrepreneurship class had them working on a business plan (for a couple of months!!) instead of working on the actual business.

Your business — 👏MUST👏MEET👏REALITY👏

They sold out in 45 min and had a line of 70 students.

We need entrepreneurship lab not class!!!


Often within two weeks! But we aren't able to write back to every single request. If you don't hear in 2 weeks, ping me!


This is probably as close as it's come!

Replying to @adilmania @FarzaTV @_buildspace


You can just draw things

Kevin → Plant Daddy

                    @KevinEspiritu

                  Feb 6

                Day 1 vs. Day 242 of teaching myself to draw


"The first draft of anything is shit" ~ Ernest Hemingway


So dumb...


Same on the meditation front!


That's a good one!

Replying to @brodylame @1517fund @William_Blake


Hope to meet you at one of our events in the future!


We are birds of a feather -- I also love a good ground score!


When you're really excited about making an investment and working with a kick ass team!


Can't wait to visit!!!


You are getting really really good. The amount of emotion that comes through in your pieces is really astounding. I love the way that the unfinished part actually completes the whole of the feel.


Apply apply apply!!

Jakob Diepenbrock

                    @jakobdiepen

                  Feb 10

                America is the greatest country in the world.

But we need more founders working on real problems.

If you are in the early stages of building something that matters, you have to be in El Segundo.🇺🇸

Apply to the Spring Cohort in bio.

Deadline February 20th.


Ethan was 17 when we gave him a $1k grant at 1517 to start experimenting with his work.

At 18, we wrote him his first venture check of $100k to kick off Mach.

Be the first check, not the last.

TBPN

                    @tbpn

                  Feb 11

                FULL INTERVIEW: Mach Industries founder @ethanrthornton joins TBPN to discuss the US defense industrial complex, modern warfare, US reliance on Taiwan, asymmetric warfare, and more.

00:00 - Why Ethan started Mach Industries
01:38 - Why the US cannot out-manufacture China
02:16 - Asymmetric warfare
04:41 - Drone warfare
06:24 - Hypersonic missiles
07:23 - The rise of decentralized warfare
08:31 - Taiwan, semiconductors, and why losing access would be existential
10:01 - Why future wars will be decided by logistics, sensors, and comms
16:23 - Why the defense industrial base is broken


Meep meep!

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  Feb 11

                "New toys mean new tricks at crazy speeds." Founder update call...buckle up.


I have a list like this and it’s for when I feel like scrolling on my phone.

nicole alonso

                    @_nicolealonso

                  Feb 11

                anytime i'm in a funk, i run through the following list:
- work out
- call a loved one
- take a long shower
- clean my apartment
- spend intentional time w/my dog
- knock off a few of my personal 'to do' items
100% of the time I feel at least a little bit better after


This is really beautiful, true, and so so sad (because he passed today).

RIP James Vanderbilt

Spitfire

                    @RealSpitfire

                  Feb 11

                Ok. I was really caught off guard here. I did not expect my visceral reaction to this message from James Vanderbeek.

Do yourself a favor and listen. Just listen. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

RIP James, God speed🙏🏼


🔥 🔥 🔥

Let’s make this the sci fi tech uniform!

A̷l̷a̷n̷@AyeFairEnough
                  Feb 11

                I’ve gone into the office dressed like I command a submarine


Roya was 22 when we wrote her first $50K venture check to start building robots.

Trilobio is accelerating the future of biology.

Be the first check, not the last.

Trilobio

                    @trilobio

                  Feb 9

                We're at SLAS2026! Come to Booth #1239 and:

🧬 Design your own protocol in minutes
🦾 Watch a Trilobot execute your protocol in real time
🧠 Explore our Self-Driving Biology Lab platform
☕ Grab a cappuccino and hang with our team

#SLAS2026


NO SMOKING! We need you guys for the long haul!


Augustus was 23 when we wrote him his first $100K venture check.

Rainmaker ends water scarcity.

Be the first check, not the last.

Soon

                    @soontechnology

                  Jan 30

                Our first documentary is live now. We take you inside America's largest weather modification company, @RainmakerCorp, for an exclusive look at their R&D facility in Pendleton, Oregon.


She’s also telling you how marvelous you look!

daz

                    @MetamateDaz

                  Feb 12

                Your 70 year old self is screaming and begging you to appreciate right now.


Love you too!


It’s pretty wild! We are seeing young and younger people building frontier companies. Exciting!


Yes please!


Main character energy!

Bambulu

                    @Bqmbulu

                  Feb 12

                "There must be something like the opposite of suicide, whereby a person radically and abruptly decides to start living"


Me every Friday night

Kevín

                    @KevOnStage

                  Feb 12

                This is exactly how I be feeling.


Maybe everything can be both an energy and a syndrome lol.


Thomas Sohmers was 14 when we invited him to a Thiel Summit.

At 16 years old he became our youngest Thiel Fellow.

At 27 he started Positron and we wrote his first check of $1M to work on AI infrastructure.

Be the first check, not the last.

Positron AI

                    @positron_ai

                  Feb 6

                Grateful to Brian Baumann and the New York Stock Exchange for celebrating our $230M Series B with an incredible banner, and to Kyt Dotson, John Furrier, and the SiliconANGLE team for the great coverage.

Raising at a $1B+ valuation in just under two years is a team effort, and moments like this remind us why we're building: to deliver inference that's efficient, affordable, and finally makes GPUs optional.

Thank you to our investors, our team, and every customer betting on purpose-built hardware.

Onto the next milestone.


Who ya gonna call (for your first check)?

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  Feb 13

                SCHOOLBUSTERS


Hey Sean, see my pinned tweet and shoot me an email. Assuming this is consumer oriented, we aren't very good at that space but happy to learn more.


The majority of our team at 1517 is taking 10 - 15g of creatine daily as of this week. Watch out world!


We shall see!


We're going to pump you up!


Oh wow, ha!


Over 40 there are great cognitive benefits with over 10g/day.


Everyone has also been forewarned :)


At the ready!

Replying to @trsohmers @William_Blake @1517fund


And women will see this and think “I can change him”

Erika Lee

                    @erikalee

                  Feb 14

                men will see this and think “hell yeah”


Would watch the full season

chris evans

                    @notcapnamerica

                  Feb 14

                There’s a multipart series unfolding on TikTok of a group of seniors upset their friend Barbara has been cheating at Mah Jong. I’ve been riveted


Yup, creatine boosts my recovery a lot!


Yeah I started at 5 and now I take 10 daily. I probably upped it over the course of a month. Taking it with food, I don't get any GI issues from it.

I notice that I'm more locked in during the day, less likely to get brain fog/tired. My recovery scores on whoop are way better.


Except probably with worse materials. The Japanese have it right!


Y'all are the dream team!


Put one of two raised beds up today from @epicgardening! Really excited to get planting :D


Nothing better!


Raised bed #2 is up! Thank you for the guidance @KevinEspiritu. Time to get planting!


Thank you to @KevinEspiritu For helping me with planning. Loving being part of his @epicgar


Thank you to @KevinEspiritu For helping me with planning. Loving being part of his @epicgardening club!


My dirt is super claylike so digging that out and getting it right would have taken quite a long time, plus I’m thrilled not to be bending over plants so much this this set up.


We will continue to back great dropouts and wily scientists. It’s the way no matter global macro.

Replying to @Seraph_Notitia @RayDalio @William_Blake


Vegetable gardens!

Replying to @AxelBeastt @KevinEspiritu @Epicgar


This is correct! @epicgardening is what I was going for :)


Can do!


1965 - 1973


Thanks Dan! Always appreciate your take on our journey!


"Patronage was anything but taste. Patronage was a relationship between capital and artistic labor so intimate that the two were functionally a single body. The patron did not select from finished works on a wall, allocating neat sums of money to purchase them. The patron animated the work before it existed."

Will Manidis

                    @WillManidis

                  Feb 17

                x.com/i/article/202376273613…

                        Against Taste
                        Taste arrived quietly, somewhere over the last few months. It arrived the way a new technology consensus always arrives. It wasn't argued into place. It simply appeared there one morning, like the


When you're incensed about something and it comes out as an improv take on Little Mermaid's "Part of your world."

I wanna be, where the founders are.
I wanna see, wanna see them making.
Creating the future, inventing new -- tech/nol/o/gies.

Up where they build
Up where they chase
Up where their dreams, will not be erased.

Wondering free, now we can be, part of their world.


And if you'd like to see some 1517 writing on patronage, we have our own piece here: 1517.substack.com/p/the-rena…


I will sing this at our Austin bbq at the ranch lol


I LOVE funding dinglehoppers! See my pinned tweet and email me <3


Sometime this year :)

Replying to @Jason_A_Scharf @josiezayner


Thanks for saying hi Bodhi! Was nice to meet you!


This is why 1517 wins

Essential Mastery

                    @EssentialMastry

                  Feb 17


Innovations Academy, the charter school I cofounded in in San Diego in 2006, had a district site visit last week.

We were told *by the district officials* that it was so nice to see children working on projects and working together in the classroom. Every other visit they'd done was nothing but Chromebooks.

Aaron M. Renn  🇺🇸

                    @aaron_renn

                  Feb 18

                NBC: Parents are opting kids out of school laptops, returning them to pen and paper - Parents are forming a loose network teaching one another how to get their children off school-issued Chromebooks and iPads. nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/p…


Web4 is just going outside again

Rushi

                    @rushicrypto

                  Feb 18

                I think AI will flood the internet with so much fake and useless content that people will slowly stop trusting it and go back to living real life like it’s the 90s.


My sister and I fought a ton. Our punishment was being sent to our separate rooms. We would use a remote control car to pass notes to each other. It was glorious fun.

staxxx🦅

                    @papiwontmiss

                  Feb 18

                My brother texting this girl, apparently she on punishment so she got no phone. My brother created a google doc and they talk by editing the doc. Don’t ever say you can't talk to someone.


We never got along better than when we were forced in separation lol.


"If you were paying attention to Mark Suster in 2021, you might have noticed him selling a meaningful percentage of his fund’s holdings. A sell signal, drowned out by the bull market, but an important anchor to reality for those paying attention.

Similarly, you might look at a firm like 1517 who have been meaningfully investing in industrial technology since 2015. A buy signal, drowned out by the frenzy for SaaS, but another important anchor to reality for those who cared."

Dan Gray

                    @credistick

                  Feb 19

                Is venture capital trapped in Jean Baudrillard's Hyperreality, or The Marc Andreessen Cinematic Universe?

Is entrepreneurship becoming literary, with a similar transformation to mid-twentieth century art?

Why do great individuals, firms or organisations (like Charlie Songhurt, USV or Y Combinator) have such an important role, anchoring investment in reality?

What does Danny DeVito understand about "great founders", which many VCs do not?

Can a study of 14,000 people being asked to rate and download music really be related to any of this?

Connecting VC with philosophy is a messy business.


Why not both?


Josie Zayner

                    @josiezayner

                  Feb 20

                NY strip steaks are better than rib eyes


I bet they aren't salting them lol

Replying to @josiezayner @Patrick_Maksoud


Salt both sides and salt them more than you'd think, let it sit for ten minutes. Render the fat on the side and then sear the meat in the fat. Can do a quick sear and throw in the oven at 450 for 5 - 7 minutes or you can do lower heat but turn every 30 seconds (you want to hear a sizzle though).
]

Replying to @Patrick_Maksoud @josiezayner


VC value added services. I will teach you to cook a damn fine steak!

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  Feb 20

                Replying to @Patrick_Maksoud @josiezayner
                Salt both sides and salt them more than you'd think, let it sit for ten minutes. Render the fat on the side and then sear the meat in the fat. Can do a quick sear and throw in the oven at 450 for 5 - 7 minutes or you can do lower heat but turn every 30 seconds (you want to hear a sizzle though).
]


A founder cookbook is a very Danielle coded idea. Hmmm 🤔


He looks just like one of my cats!


Steak maximizer!


Ok, let's say I created a young maker/founder cookbook. What recipe would you want to contribute?


Right right, but what is your recipe for that!


She dropped out of artificial pressure from coaches and dropped into her own joy leading her to win the gold.

NBC Olympics & Paralympics

                    @NBCOlympics

                  Feb 20

                ALYSA LIU'S GOLD-WINNING FREE SKATE ROUTINE! ⭐ #WinterOlympics


Would love to see your recipes!


I want this as your recipe!


One of the traits we look for in those we work with is aliveness and this is what it looks like!

Josh Constine 📶🔥

                    @JoshConstine

                  Feb 20

                You’ll only be the greatest at what you love.

Alysa Liu’s joyful gold medal performance should be a wake up call to anyone who wakes up dreading work.

10 years before retiring from TechCrunch as the #1 most cited tech journalist, I was earning $20 per article. TWENTY.  But god how I loved it.

I was just learning, so I could only write 3 per week. That’s less than minimum wage. Worth burning savings to get to slap the keys for 10M Twitter followers. Letting the the thoughts fly, hour after hour in total flow. 10 years and 4000 articles later, it was still so much fun.

Up at 5am to publish, writing 10 articles in a day at a conference, sprinting to find WiFi so I could break a story, shrugging off belittlement as a “blogger” from career J-school types.

I still loved it, and I think the joy and excitement came through in the writing. I didn’t second guess myself. Hell, I hardly edited. I wanted the world to see what I made.

As most tech reporters got jaded, the joy kept me optimistic. I still covered abuses, had investigations cited in Congress, got Facebook’s Onavo & Teen Research programs shut down. But the earnest enthusiasm meant founders still wanted to talk to me.

Eventually I craved a new challenge in VC. And here too, the investors I look up to most and who seem to do it the best are having fun. South Park Commons’ @adityaag, Long Journey’s @cyantist , Verdict’s @bonatsos, and fellow word rotator @lennysan.

Joy attracts joy, that attracts talent, that attracts capital. And in a world of enough inequality, it’s hard for most people to root for someone joyless, who’s only in it for success.

So if you have the rare privilege to switch and take the short-term hit, do it. Of course, the world has to need what you love, and you need the ability, work ethic, resources, and luck to progress.

But what the world doesn’t need is generalists. It needs outliers. And nothing pushes you further ahead of the crowd than doing it with a smile.


Let’s go East Bay!

Rick Tittle@RickTittle
                  Feb 20

                That’s now TWO east bay women who have brought home Olympic gold from an area where “no one ice skates.” 🥇🇺🇸👏


I think we are missing a brownie recipe. Who has a good one?


Need to rewatch!

cinesthetic.

                    @TheCinesthetic

                  Feb 20

                Flight of the Navigator (1986) is seriously underseen. A kid vanishes for eight years, returns the same age, and ends up piloting a sleek alien ship with a wisecracking AI. It’s smart, emotional, and pure 80s wonder. More people should be talking about it.


Incredible story and it goes deeper!

Jack Posobiec

                    @JackPosobiec

                  Feb 19

                Alysa Liu’s father was persecuted by the CCP for the Tiananmen Square protests and fled to America

His daughter became a world-class figure skater and refused to skate for the CCP when they tried to recruit her

She just won the gold medal for Team USA 🇺🇸


Yes, awe is another good indicator!


When it’s time to workout after being inspired by Alysa Liu.

open.spotify.com/playlist/7D…


This is a stupid take.


Can’t we just adopt her?


Someone asked me today how I choose who to take meetings with and I told him that I look for aliveness.

You can’t fake that and even if you thought you could, you’re probably just positively fooling yourself.

David Sun

                    @arcticinstincts

                  Feb 21

                You need to be Frolic-maxxing, you need to let go with reckless abandon, you need to stop inhibiting yourself, you need to overflow with whimsical joy, you need to you need to realize you’re not in an igloo anymore, you need to FROLIC IN THE MEADOWS NOW


This is living!


First VC to fund them!

Replying to @CoastalFuturist @mil000 @pmarca


This is entrepreneurship lab!

Connor Boyack 📚

                    @cboyack

                  Feb 22

                A child who learns to sell lemonade at 8 understands supply, demand, profit, and customer service.

A child who sits in an economics class at 18 learns... definitions.

Experience beats theory every time.


I would NOT want to cross that lady!

zack

                    @zack_overflow

                  Feb 24

                - Went to this claude code party in SF on sat
- briefly talked to some guy working on some project, hands me a card
- whatever, don't even look at it, put it in my pocket
- several days later gf finds it
- it's for an AI gf app
- she's furious

How the hell do I explain this?


My little Maui is sick (and I’m nervous and scared). Would appreciate some prayers for him. He’s back at the vet and I hope we can figure this out.


And call them. The ones that are “randomly” popping into your mind, just call them.

Anjuli Pierce

                    @anjulipie

                  Feb 24

                Hug your friends. Right now. Just fucking do it.


Fit founders, let's go!!!

Katharine Medetgul-Ernar@KatharineME_
                  Feb 25

                2% better than yesterday


He has GI issues right now so no treats :(. He's always had a sensitive tummy.


.@MollySOShea interviewing Thomas Laffont, the BFI guy (Big Fucking Ideas), at Coatue about AI in SaaS and the future of productivity.

The takeaway being that current employees should be able to do more with these tools rather than being replaced.


Listening to a real OG, Tom Freston, one of the creators of MTV. Flew to Europe to meet with David Bowie to have him do an “I want my MTV ad.”Ended up going to a sauna with him. The other guy at the sauna was Paul McCartney. Tom was crashing in a youth hostel while doing business.


Maui update: He will spend another night in the ER. Getting him on antibiotics. Looks like he is fighting off an infection in his tummy. He will need to see a GI specialist after this but hopefully able to come home tomorrow morning. He’s eating so that’s good. Your prayers are working!


Chris Sacca being asked about what he’s investing in at Lowercarbon and he sings Rainmaker’s praises.

“Augustus is the real deal”


“We didn’t have water bottles, we drank out of hoses” - Chris Sacca on embracing weirdness and being feral.


See you at Camp Hustle!!

Elizabeth Yin 💛

                    @dunkhippo33

                  Feb 25

                A strong investor network isn’t about LinkedIn connections, it’s about who you can call for advice or a deal lead.

At Camp Hustle, investors don’t just swap cards, they build real connections. That’s why they return every year.

See you there? camphustle.co/


Chris Paul is gonna make me cry. He loves family and the way he speaks about his dad is so touching.

His dad taught him to be a team player as a child even when his teammates weren’t very good.


Be the first check, not the last!

Dan Gray

                    @credistick

                  Feb 26

                For early-stage generalists, "value-add" is what Plato would have called a noble lie.

If you remove value-add, venture capital looks like a commodity product. In that environment, all that matters (beyond the essentials) is availability.

Who tends to find founders earlier? Small firms. In fact, finding great founders early is most of their edge.

If you introduce the concept of "value-add", suddenly founders feel like they ought to be out pitching brand-name firms. The whole dynamic is reversed.

The lie is propagated because big firms need it to remain competitive in a world where otherwise small firms are clearly advantaged.

Here's all that really matters: be first, be fair, be fast.


Me! I can hear the pecan waffle calling my name!


Funny, been meaning to order one. Thanks for the pro tip!


If you don’t tell your cofounder, “Love you, bye!” What are you even doing?


That’s very funny!


Maui update: he is home now. Still monitoring him for a fever. Some more appointments coming up but he has some of his energy back. Keep the prayers coming! Lifts our spirits.