gm!!

💖

                    @twaniimals

                  Apr 24


And keep building, no matter if you’re 11 or 91!

Gibran’s Ghost@gibransghost
                  Apr 24


I think their parents are incredibly proud of them for working to solve some hard problems and having support from people who believe in them, can connect them to resources, and have been working with high potential young people for 20 years.


Prayer has been a new hobby this year. It's kinda relieving to just pray (for good things for them, not to change them) for the haters.

hawa@hawaalidrammeh
                  Apr 24

                slander toward @DStrachman will never sit right with me.

before i came across @1517fund, i had a deep skepticism of many vcs and older tech figures who seemed to operate on hype, status, optics, and borderline predatory behavior. 1517 was different.

i literally pulled an all nighter the day before an exam when i found out about 1517, because i was so captivated by danielle’s story and the 1517 mission. danielled literally walked away from a more conventional, high-status path in health science (can't rmr exactly which major rn)  to work with homeschooled kids after seeing a different kind of spark in how they learned. she became a tutor, then helped start a charter school built around a new philosophy of education and human potential. danielle did all of this 20yrs ago when it wasn't sexy to be "contrarian" and to choose conviction over prestige.

i watched every interview i could find and tried to understand the deeper philosophy behind it all: genuine respect for young people as capable thinkers and builders. as a kid in my gambian home i was called the weird black sheep for loving tech, burning cds, making duct tape wallets, and obsessing over creating. I knew what it felt like to have curiosity misunderstood. when i later discovered 1517, i realized how powerful it is when adults choose to nurture that curiosity instead of suppressing it.

meeting danielle in person only reinforced what i already sensed: her character is real, her intentions are clear, and her respect for young people is genuine. what she offers is belief in what young people are capable of.


I love goats!

Replying to @nikhilaaryans @jcm10x1 @1517fund


So relatable!

Adriana Porter Felt

                    @__apf__

                  Apr 24

                searching frantically for my phone in the dark at 4:30am. calling it didn't yield any noise. eventually I realized I must leave for my flight without it, and picked up my cat to say goodbye. the phone was under the cat and he's fat enough to muffle the sound


Sisters gotta sister <3

Replying to @cyantist @hawaalidrammeh @1517fund


Gave a grant to our first 11 year old this year.

He's building a robotic mouse and learning a ton!

sourcery

                    @sourceryy

                  Apr 23

                Thiel Fellowship Founding Director @DStrachman:

"I want to be funding 11 year olds."

" They're incredibly creative and interesting and can be starting earlier."

"The barrier to entry on getting started doesn't need to be when you're 18 anymore. It can be quite a bit younger."


Our parents are our first investors, I just want to be your second!

Patty Wexler

                    @patriciawexler

                  Apr 24

                Replying to @DStrachman
                Have backed one 11 year old (my daughter) as an angel, classic early stage VC:
- quick decision based solely on loving the founder
- subsidizing unprofitable growth on fantasy of long term success
- won the deal based on long-term relationship and early access


Love that!


Prayer has been kinda spontaneous (and definitely unexpected). Sometimes it looks like taking a moment at the dinner table (and I often find myself praying for peace) or when the moment strikes. Other times it feels a little like guidance and a call to action. For example, I had a meeting with a woman whose aura was pretty dark. I could see myself judging her in my mind and then out of nowhere I heard “you could just pray for her” said simply and calmly. When the meeting ended I cleared my mind and it became clear to pray for good things for her (and that has been my primary prayer for others is just wishing that good things become for and of them, I deliberately don’t pray for people to be different than they are). From the outside it looks similar to meditation since I don’t have a particular religious angle, but internally it feels different and like it channels through me more than the prayer being willed from my being.


Looking forward to seeing more of this as people realize that slop is relative and we have been surrounded by it for too long.

Sam Parr

                    @thesamparr

                  Apr 25

                Why do 1980's Sesame Street books look so much better than modern versions?

Look at the first 3 images vs the last.

The first has warm colors, tiny details in background, imperfect shapes, background is packed with cool things to find.

In the 1970s and 80s an illustrator Joe Mathieu drew many of the Sesame Street books.

I was gifted one of his books and read it to my kids each night. I fell in love with the drawings so I've been buying all his work on eBay. Some of the books cost $200!

But look at the illustrations.

It's all done by hand. Watercolor and colored pencil. Imperfect edges, the pigment pooling in the corners, that's what makes it feel warm.

Compare this to modern Sesame Street books. Colors from a digital picker, cranked to max saturation, more perfect shapes. Its like the book is a screen. They hurt your eyes.

Somebody sat at a desk with a brush and made the old ones. That's the difference.


This keeps getting recommended. Maybe it’s time!

Athenaeum Book Club

                    @athenaeumbc

                  Apr 24

                Lots of people don't know this but you can actually fix your attention span just by reading one long, phenomenal book again.

I recommend The Brothers Karamazov.


This is what happens when an ecosystem is so hard to raise in (I'm looking at you Canada) that other investors look great when in reality they know that they are getting an insane deal.

Also, most likely outcome is that the investment doesn't even happen. These shows love to write handshake checks but not sign paperwork.

Louis Anslow

                    @LouisAnslow

                  Apr 25

                $10K for 50% 🥀 - @DStrachman and @1517fund need to step in


Risk taking


We do (but see pinned tweet, we have very specific thesis areas)!


Individuals no, but the ecosystem could be much more supportive!


That's amazing that you know Nico. I'd be really curious how this all actually played out!


So sad :( Yeah I don't watch either.


And to those of us who read the Dr. Bronner’s in the shower as gospel!

ً

                    @omgsidewalks

                  Apr 25

                shoutout to anyone who grew up reading every word at the back of the cereal box because it was the only thing to entertain you while you ate.


Wish I could have been there!


Legendary!!!

Mitesh

                    @mitesh711

                  Apr 27

                fun to see @trsohmers jamming out with Roger Daltrey! @DStrachman


You know when I’m having a really good hair day? When I’m about to board a 15 hour flight to Sydney, Australia 🤦♀


Well deserved!

Ryan B. Anderson

                    @OldHollowTree

                  Apr 26

                The last few years have been profoundly rich for me and my family in no small part because of you.

Thank you.

For everything.


Croissants gone wild!

Cozy

                    @cosyposter

                  Apr 27


Making rain!!!!

Augustus Doricko

                    @ADoricko

                  Apr 27

                Mankind has always been at the mercy of the weather.

No longer.

Rainmaker is the first company in history to routinely, unambiguously, modify the weather.

Last quarter, we produced >143MM gallons of unambiguously man-made precipitation.

Here’s how we do it 🧵


This is also not the default at most colleges either.

Paul Graham

                    @paulg

                  Apr 27

                If you skip some or all of college to start a startup, it's on you to develop your mind the way college would have. And that's not something that happens by default in most startups.


Recommendations for Sydney, Australia please! I love museums, galleries, parks, nature preserves, eye opening experiences, and would love to hear what you love!


So excited to see what our 1517 grantees are building!

Alby Churven

                    @albysjourney

                  Apr 27

                Your feedback is everywhere.
Scattered across X, Discord, Slack and Linear.

We think it's time that changed.

Introducing Median.
The first feedback engine for modern teams.


I don’t care about building in public, I care about building.


"It’s been said before but the Flux applications were mindblowing. So much hope for the next generation of startups & humans" - 1517 Founder

🚀❤


Love working with the team at Boost!

Like us, they are eager to be the first check and love spaces that are sci-fi!

Adam Draper ⏻

                    @AdamDraper

                  Apr 28

                At @BoostVC:

We exist to accelerate the Sci-Fi future.

We do this by investing $500k as a first or early partner in "Default Optimist", "Default Movement" founders.

Our core business model is to invest $500k at sub-$10m valuations.

We are highest velocity in the category of NewBio right now, but we are generalists for world changing ideas.

Thank you.


We’ve got it covered!


Looks super fun!🤩

Zain Shah

                    @zan2434

                  Apr 28

                (totally unrelated to Flipbook) My friends and I organize a creative make-a-thon summer camp for adults every summer in SF called Fidget Camp and we just opened applications for this year! If you are a creative nerd who loves to learn and teach and make art and be surrounded by others who love the same please apply by May 10th! fidgetcamp.com/


Too much goodness

Tuelhinhos 🐇@t_tuelhinhos
                  Apr 28

                Lebres do deserto
Possuem uma incrível adaptação a esse bioma, nem os filhotes tem medo dos espinhos dos cactos.
além disso as orelhas regulam a temperatura, são quase noturnos, até a pelagem é adaptada para proteger do solo e pedras quentes e bebem agua diretamente dos cactos


Texas with open arms — go to where you are loved.

Simone Syed

                    @SimoneSyed

                  Apr 28

                Texas welcomes innovation

🇺🇸🚀❣


This is a first! Artist sketches at the Sunrise conference hosted by Blackbird 💗


So good to see you!


Added!

Replying to @Tri_Stanisaurus @hunterlanier


If someone touches those locks, I’m coming after them.

Augustus Doricko

                    @ADoricko

                  Apr 30

                I am flattered and paranoid to know my investors are conspiring to get me a haircut


Jet lag is weird. Totally thought it was 9:30 — completely and positively maxed out from the day and could barely hold my head up at dinner. Dinner ends and it’s…7:30. Nooooooo


The move would have been to have someone with major rizz do crowd control to get people to stfu, get out the churu, and make slow blinks at the kitty to lovingly escort it off field.

INVESTMENT HULK

                    @INVESTMENTSHULK

                  Apr 28

                BECOME UNGOVERNABLE


The worst!


A friend is high school told me that I loved giving unsolicited advice…and now I’m a VC!

Ben Somers

                    @ben_m_somers

                  Apr 30

                whatever you get in trouble for at school is likely to become your career


Most of the reason for not moving forward from the first round is that the project doesn't fit what Flux is looking for in terms of sci fi projects.


Sorry!


We don’t require reviewers to open every link but it seems strange to me that nothing was opened. There is obviously more than links in applications and maybe it was clear that it wasn’t a fit without opening them but I personally love to watch people’s personal videos and will have to urge all reviewers to do that in the future.


For what it's worth, I'm looking into if there has been some glitch. We've already had issues to work out with surveymoney and this may be yet another one of an application not even getting to a reviewer and a then being sent to the "no go" pile. I'll see what I find.


Backing a team that works either dogs means getting lots of dog pics in updates.

akash kulgod

                    @akadogluk

                  May 1

                wooooof! @dognosis featured by the one and only @packyM in his weekly dose of optimism newsletter


lol already loving this group! When I was growing up it seemed like a lot of "girly" skills were something that girls picked up by osmosis. Great to have a skill share!

Julie Fredrickson

                    @AlmostMedia

                  May 1

                Hello all my ladies interested in cosmetics, makeup and other beauty skill sets. I’ve set up a group chat on Twitter I’ll call “PrettySkilled”

If you want to swap tips & recommendations with friendly folks reply here and I will add you.


You should talk to @KevinEspiritu


Emotional support robot!

scott budman@scottbudman
                  May 1

                Incredible story:

Man takes humanoid robot through Oakland airport, gets it a ticket, it waves at people, gets into the seat on the plane.

Southwest Airlines has to delay the flight to figure out what to do - eventually removes lithium battery, and the flight continues.


I love having ice cream around the world with awesome makers!

Anubhav Ghosh

                    @anubhavg8

                  May 2

                @1517fund x @blackbirdvc ice-cream social!


Good pic!


“Some ideas just can’t wait”

Blake Burge

                    @blakeaburge

                  May 1

                The older I get, the more I realize how dangerous it is to keep pushing things off. You tell yourself you’ll start next week, next month, next year. Then suddenly a lot of time has passed and nothing has changed. An entire life can be built (or pass you by)  in tiny moments.


Great books for neuro spicy brains!

80sThen80sNow

                    @80sThen80sNow

                  May 2

                There’s a High Chance If You Were Around in the 1980s, You’ll Remember the Children’s Book Series “Choose Your Own Adventure.

Unlike Every Book You’ve Ever Seen Up Until Then, You Didn’t Read it Front to Back.  Instead You Were Faced With Choices After Being Presented With All Sorts of Random Dilemmas.  Best of All, There Were Dozens of Endings So if You Didn’t Like Your Fate, You Could Always Try Again.

#chooseyourownadventure #books #reading #1980s #80s


Would buy instantly!

Nathan Covey

                    @nathan_covey

                  May 1

                Reading through these comments makes me think Apple should just make a dumbphone.

- make it the size of the iPhone 4
- only has essential apps
- no social media, browser, games
- good camera
- $399

“The iPhone that gives your time back"


Never bet against Mike unless him losing means that he gets a tattoo.

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  May 2

                I called this back in 2017. The Inadequacy of the Invincible


But it did. When I ran the program (including your batch) any Thiel Fellow could get at least the first few handfuls of one-on-one therapy with a trained therapist (and blindly too without us knowing so you had anonymity) who specialized in emerging adulthood paid for by us.

Replying to @EnDimensions @v_maini @phoebeyao @MythosVentures


After traveling to a number of different ecosystems over the years, one of the things that makes for an abundant startup hub is the celebrating of ambition.

"Tall poppy syndrome" may be the biggest silent killer of progress. How do we change that?


Yeah I think it starts really early and is very engrained in culture.


I <3 peons

Michael Fischer

                    @Holden_Rye_

                  May 4

                Replying to @AltheaLaure_ @DStrachman
                But here’s where it gets weird: they all flip the script when they get on X.

There’s this understood X social contract where you don’t comment on or post under anyone with a smaller following than yours. The “peons” are expected to comment to grow, but if someone higher up dares to reply, their status somehow takes a hit.

That’s the only time it really gets weird, just on X. 🤷♂

We’re a weird species, aren’t we? I’m really interested in trying to see if I can break this culture. I think i can


Best away message I've seen after a leader runs a huge event...amazing.

"Hey friendo - I’m off work this week. I won’t be checking emails because I’ll be reading books and planting plants. If you need to reach me urgently, you may text or call."


Kitties and bunnies and founders

Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸

                    @pmarca

                  May 4

                “A man is what he thinks about all day.”—Emerson


How I feel after banging out 300 emails (or snoozing a bunch to get to inbox zero)

LindyMan

                    @PaulSkallas

                  25 Mar 2021

                Remember the Roman army rule:  action removes fear.


Everything is context

Sky

                    @SkyTheViking

                  May 2

                I CAN'T BREATHE 🤣🤣🤣


exactly


gn (I am up way past my bedtime -- silly jetlag)

Patricia 🇺🇸

                    @1109Patricia

                  May 3

                These kids came up with a unique performance for their school Talent Show doing Synchronized “Air Swimming!”


1517 Summit is back on June 4th in Berkeley! If you're a teen, college student, drop out, or wily scientist, we want to have you there with us to discuss what the future holds. DM me about you and what you love to work on for an invite!


Excellent!


Bring him!


Sovereign is as sovereign does.

Barrett Linburg

                    @DallasAptGP

                  May 5

                There would be signs


My smart phone is now a dumb phone...

✅Phone/text
✅Maps
✅LLMs for questions
🛑No social apps
🛑No browsers

Can feel my brain going from frazzled to focused.


Started doing 5 minute portrait sketches over zoom pitch calls. Fascinating way to focus and have a tangible artifact after.

Kevin → Plant Daddy

                    @KevinEspiritu

                  May 6

                Today’s sketching session…drawing is one of the best ways to focus my mind I’ve come across in recent years


Marry them

Mariana Oliveira

                    @marioliveirain

                  May 5

                A pessoa te chama para um date e serve isso aqui, o que faria?


We all have to figure out what works for us!


We have a lot of 1517 community at Synbiobeta. If you can all find each other, send me a group selfie :D


lol is that a proposal? You're Italian, you can do this right? lol


Yeah feels good!


Our ladies of floof!

Catholic Arena

                    @CatholicArena

                  May 6

                There is an order of nuns in Spain who are currently going viral because they are saving a breed of GIANT rabbits from extinction


I'm not anti tech but I am anti brain hijacking.


I know our place in the universe

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  23 Oct 2024

                Replying to @tecoker
                1517: Weird Al


Up, up, and away!

Let a thousand angels (investors) bloom!

Danish Hussain

                    @astrodanish

                  May 8

                The people making $100m off the SpaceX IPO are not the type of people that would just retire and live a comfortable life.

The startup ecosystem in Austin is about to hit escape velocity.

You kind of need mass liquidity events like this to birth the next silicon valley.


LFG!!!

sui@birdabo
                  May 8

                UFO conspiracy theorist right now:


If reviewers left you comments then they were automatically sent but they were not required. The front door of 1517 is always open (contact form on the website, cold email, etc.) so as you make progress, feel free to be back in touch!


1. Unknown

2. Maybe? Sounds familiar.


I'm so so sorry Tristan :(


Mouth is watering...yes!

Mike Wang

                    @zmwang

                  May 9

                Chindian dim sum restaurant concept for SF

Menu
1) chili crisp papadums
2) mapo paneer
3) hot & sour pani puri
4) claypot goat biriyani
5) Peking duck + scallion aloo parathas
6) butter chicken XLBs
7) black sesame jalebi sundae
8) dan dan chaat noodles

Should we do this?


I would also experiment with different writing surfaces for now. Like maybe on paper doesn't feel great but a standing white board does (or a lap one). Loved what everyone else said about upping the intensity of the problems and I would wonder about some sensory changes since writing is hard/or resisted for different reasons.


We do!


Liked this even more than I thought I would. What a gem!

cinesthetic.

                    @TheCinesthetic

                  May 8

                Before Keanu Reeves became a Hollywood star, he worked as a reporter for CBC and covered a teddy bear convention in 1984.

The footage somehow makes him even more likable.


Oh hell yes!!!


Looks like May Gray or June Gloom


Beautiful Jacob!


Parents are our first investors! Happy Mother's Day!


Not only are these tools more efficient, they are endlessly patient.

I love a great teacher. But great teachers are few and far between. And a teacher that can handle a class of high octane children and not label them with disabilities/malfunctions, is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Especially for these children, AI teachers will not only help them excel but keep them from being stigmatized.

liemandt

                    @jliemandt

                  May 10

                Geoffrey Hinton, Godfather of AI, on Alpha School:

"we already know that a private tutor is about twice as efficient as a classroom"

"and AI (tutors) should be much more efficient than that"

"which leaves more time for the socialization aspect of education where you do want to interact with the people and have team projects and things"

"That seems very good to me."


Big week for 1517 -- we head into the final countdown for our Fund IV.

Only 17% of funds make it to Fund IV. And by Fund IV, emerging managers have usually:

✅ Had a portfolio company IPO or major exits
✅ Survived at least one real downturn
✅ Gained trust with LPs
✅ Built operational systems and a team to persist

We're moving from an experiment to a firm with longevity at 1517!


Great description! Love the work!

DₐrKS

                    @LitDarks

                  May 11

                If I wasn't foolish enough to be a founder, I imagine I'd enjoy being a VC.

How cool a job it must be to meet strange, driven people from all walks of life trying to be useful in all kinds of surprising ways.


Where we hosted the very first Thiel Fellowship finalist round <3

Sci-Fi Archives

                    @SciFiArchives

                  May 10

                The stunning neo-futuristic design of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco


I sure as hell hope so (at least by LPs)!


Also, big kudos to @credistick! His article (that we did not ask for or pay to be written) really helped us be more "legible to capital"...institutional capital has no idea what to make of us, but individuals and family offices love our wily niche ways and we love working with them most: blog.joinodin.com/p/the-refo…


This fundraising cycle has felt like this and though I do actually really love fundraising (an interesting challenge in meeting people's needs), I am glad to get to put my mental cycles back full time on founders and building some new systems at 1517 for the next two years.


Thank you (and for you patience -- I can't even find a gif of someone juggling and dropping all the balls)!


False advertising...there are NO corgis...huge let down.

JD

                    @DholakiaJaydeep

                  May 11

                okay am I doing sf correct?


When you're going to Camp Hustle (tomorrow) and realize you may not have booked a hotel room. But then notice that your past self booked a hotel room. Go past self! You met my needs and I didn't even remember!


1517.4 is pretty cute


Thank you! I feel that!


Give me corgis or give me death!


Just one corgi would suffice given the name.

Replying to @DStrachman @R3H8T @lauradang0


That's very kindly said Aaron! Appreciate your observation!


Awww cutie! I'll drop in sometime when she's not sleeping!

Replying to @UseCorgi @R3H8T @lauradang0


Correction, I have learned there is one Corgi but you have to request their appearance!

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  May 11

                False advertising...there are NO corgis...huge let down.


I've walked by a couple times and never seen them...and the website doesn't talk about corgi visits either. But it seems they have uno corgis that is available upon request. lol


Much better!

Replying to @lauradang0 @R3H8T @trudythecorgi


Good!


We are so so close lol


I worked for the man lol.


This happens because it was a text. Call your friends!

Hardeep

                    @hardeep_gambhir

                  May 11

                i hate when i text my closest friends “how’s it going?” and they reply with “good”

if i wanted to hear that i could have messaged literally anybody on the internet

mf give me the monologue. tell me trenches. brainstorm the whimsical sidequest ideas. give me the soliloquy dawg


Then leave a voice message!


THE BEST


Life affirming food is real and there are only two places on my list for this thus far:

The almond croissant at Brigat in Paris and the pecan waffle at Waffle House. That's it (but open to adding more)!

marqix ☆

                    @fwmarqix

                  May 11

                Me: sitting in a tiny ramen shop in Osaka, this is the best ramen I've ever had.

Chef: normal nod

Me: No seriously, this changed me spiritually.

Chef: normal nod

Me: I think I understand forgiveness now.

Chef: please eat before noodles become soft.

pause

Me: Sorry.

Chef: Foreign customers always do this.

Me: Do what?

Chef: Experience noodles too emotionally.

Me: That's fair honestly.

guy beside me suddenly joins conversation

Random businessman: Last year this ramen saved my marriage.

Me: WHAT?

Chef: annoyed sigh, Please stop telling people that.

Businessman: It is true.

Me: How does soup repair a relationship?

Businessman: My wife and I argued, then we ate here quietly, then things became less stupid.

Chef: That was your own emotional growth.

Businessman: The broth assisted.

Honestly I fully believed him too.


Love the different approach!

Replying to @DonKAriel @abemurray @KarinMariaPsyD @kashort5 @S_Oberle @LifespanDevelop @LizStepan @anenglishteachr @_aphantasia @DementiaLeague


What the 1517 Way last call email looks like:

"Congratulations!

Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

And we hope you'll steer right into 1517 Fund IV. We need to get new investors onboarded by EOD today."

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  May 11

                Big week for 1517 -- we head into the final countdown for our Fund IV.

Only 17% of funds make it to Fund IV. And by Fund IV, emerging managers have usually:

✅ Had a portfolio company IPO or major exits
✅ Survived at least one real downturn
✅ Gained trust with LPs
✅ Built operational systems and a team to persist

We're moving from an experiment to a firm with longevity at 1517!

                      ALT  Europe The Final Countdown GIF


On the shoulders of giants!


so so bad


That you do! Good going!


Art is a popular topic in the Bay right now, the way to get more art is to have more housing.

Paul Graham

                    @paulg

                  May 12

                It's so weird how difficult it is for the left to understand that all you have to do to decrease housing costs is to let people build more housing.


One of the few newsletters I get.

David Perell

                    @david_perell

                  May 13

                Maria Popova is famous for her personal blog, The Marginalian, where she's published more than six million words.

All the nights I've spent reading her writing were like an entry point into intellectual curiosity. She's introduced me to more writers and ideas than just about anybody, and this conversation is about how she does it.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Why writers should visit archives
04:39 Lessons from reading diaries
09:41 Letters vs diaries
11:35 Presence over productivity
18:30 How language shapes thought
19:48 Why Maria started reading poetry
36:46 Why college failed her
39:58 Reading to survive
41:41 Why epiphanies don’t stick
43:57 Thoughts on famous quotes
47:32 Why AI can never make art
53:10 Stop calling it content

I've shared the full interview with Maria Popova below. If you'd rather watch it on YouTube, or listen on Apple / Spotify, check out the reply tweets.


Is good enough for me! Hey!

Cookie Monster

                    @MeCookieMonster

                  May 13

                C is for cookie.


Get on the cheese board!

b

                    @bmontxna

                  May 13

                currently raising a cheese round. I am no longer pre-cheese


You are a cheese round!


Follow unique founders, not "trends."

Bilal Zuberi // Red Glass Ventures

                    @bznotes

                  May 14

                I remind myself of this quite often.


Sometimes you have to have fun with registrations


Bingo!


it's on my business cards :D


So heart warming!! Love to see this!!


Put books at children's level and watch them soar!

Dustin Burnham

                    @dustinthedad

                  May 17

                When I adjusted her bookshelf down a few feet so that she can reach, my daughter started to bring her books to me, eager to experience the stories inside.

Every child is a sponge, excited to dive into the magical world of reading!


Post 1517 event we don't send out surveys to measure the ROI the day after because it's messages that we get a year later that actually matter. You gotta go long on community!

"p.s Some of the best friends I have today in SF I met at the fund launch party you threw. That was a truly magical evening, thank you for inviting me."


That's awesome!


Excited to announce our keynotes for our 1517 Summit in June -- all will be speaking about their view of the next 10 years and how to get started building today!

- Thomas Sohmers (Positron AI/Thiel Fellow): Started building as a teenager, became a Thiel Fellow at 16, founded Positron (one of the fastest growing AI companies) just three years ago.

- Roya Amani-Naieni (Trilobio/776 Fellow): Joined bio  labs as a teenager and received one of our first R&D science angel checks through 1517. She's selling robots to make the future of biology brighter!

- Hooman Reza Nezhad (Solcoa/Thiel Fellow): Started building in his basement as a teen, received a 1517 Medici grant to move his work forward, launched Solcoa  which turns magnet waste into high-purity metals.

If you're a teen, student, dropout or wily maker/scientist, DM me for an invite.


You're such a sweetheart!


fast and furious!


and "high agency" especially which is especially on point because I think a better definition of high agency would be to do and build things outside the noise

Tracy Chou 🌻

                    @triketora

                  May 18

                extremely overused words in the sf lexicon right now

legible
load bearing
agency
taste
permanent underclass
generational wealth


Lol looks like a lot of dead weight. The analogy we use is being on a road trip and we're the ones in the back passing Cheetos up to the front.


Who is your Cheeto passer vital life force giver?

Michael?@aMichaelLyons
                  May 18

                Replying to @DStrachman @AdamDraper
                Cheeto passer is a vital road trip component so I like this analogy


2012 Thiel Fellow, Chris Olah, visiting with the Pope!

Diane Montagna

                    @dianemontagna

                  May 18

                JUST IN: Vatican announces that Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical — titled Magnifica Humanitas, on the safeguarding of the human person in the age of AI — will be presented at 11:30am on Monday, May 25, in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall, in the presence of the Holy Father.

Speakers at the presentation will include:

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández,  Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith;

Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development;

Professor Anna Rowlands, Political Theology, including Catholic Social Teaching, and theological ethics of human migration, Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, United Kingdom;

Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic (USA) and head of interpretability research for artificial intelligence;

Dr. Leocadie Lushombo, Political Theology and Catholic Social Thought, Jesuit School of Theology / Santa      Clara University, California.

Concluding remarks will be delivered by thel Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The presentation will also include an address by Pope Leo XIV.

Magnifica Humanitas was signed and dated on May 15, the 135th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum.

                        ALT  Photo: Vatican Media/EWTN


Kings gotta king

Robert Sterling

                    @RobertMSterling

                  May 18

                I just had the craziest experience at the airport.

We are about to board a flight to Atlanta when the pilot from the incoming plane walks out of the jetway. Guy is probably late 50s, salt and pepper hair, military look. The kind of pilot you instantly feel good about seeing on your flight.

Pilot walks over to the counter, gets on the PA system, and starts addressing everyone. “Folks, I’ve been doing this a long time. Flying one of these jets is easy. The hard part is looking at 130 people and telling them their flight is going to be delayed.”

Audible groans throughout the boarding gate. Most people here are flying to Atlanta as a layover before another flight. 130 people just had their day become a complete mess.

The pilot goes on. “I get it, trust me. But here’s the deal: During our landing, we had a small mechanical issue. I’m not your pilot for the next leg, but I don’t feel confident the jet’s safe to fly until we have a mechanical team look it over, and I don’t feel comfortable asking the next pilots to fly you guys until we get confirmation.”

He points at the agents next to him behind the counter: “Now, none of this is the agents’ fault. Please be kind to them. I’m the one who made this decision, not them, so any inconvenience you experience is my fault. Just please know that I don’t do this lightly, and I’m only doing it because I believe it’s in the best interests of everyone’s safety.”

Now this is where the story gets crazy. The pilot puts the microphone down, grabs his suitcase, and all the people in the gate…

Start clapping.

I’m not joking, everyone starts clapping for the guy. 130 people who just had their travel plans ruined give an ovation to the guy who made the decision and delivered the message.

All because he addressed them with decency and transparency, took ownership of the decision, made it clear that it was necessary, and explained why it was in everyone’s best interest.

It’s honestly one of the best examples of strong communication—of strong leadership, for that matter—that I’ve seen in a long time.

@Delta, whoever your Atlanta to Wichita pilot was this morning, he’s one of the good ones. Please tell him the delayed passengers of flight 1637 appreciate what he did.


So excited to see this! Chris' energy has always been infectious about topics he cares deeply about.

Chris Olah

                    @ch402

                  May 18

                The questions posed by AI are bigger than the AI community. We urgently need the world – religions, civil society, academics, governments – to participate in creating a positive outcome.

I'm glad the Catholic Church is engaging, and honored to speak at the presentation.


As much as I hate decks, given the amount of inbound we get, need a way to figure out whose garages to go to...and the deck has been the best way to figure that out (is it an industry we're a hell yeah on, does the person fit our thesis, is the round in scope).


Me me!


So incredibly proud of Spencer!

He started working on the idea that became Radar when he was a 2012 Thiel Fellows. Incredible to watch him grow from a young man with an idea to the CEO he is today: lnkd.in/gEEk6jFd

Be the first check, not the last!

Spencer Hewett

                    @SpencerHewett

                  May 19

                Today, RADAR announced a $170 million Series B, bringing our valuation to more than $1 billion.

We believe Physical AI can transform the 80% of global commerce that still happens in stores.

Retailers lose an estimated $1 trillion each year because their stores lack real-time visibility into what they have and where it is. RADAR is helping close that gap with 99% item-level inventory accuracy in real time, already deployed in more than 1,400 stores with leading retailers including American Eagle Outfitters and Gap Inc. brands such as Old Navy.

We are just getting started.

A big thank you to our investors, including @nimble_partners, @gideonstrategic, @AlignVentures, @sound_ventures_, @ycombinator,  our customers, including @AEO and @Gap Inc., @OldNavy and the entire RADAR team for helping bring us to this moment.


Too real and too good

Terrible Maps

                    @TerribleMaps

                  May 19

                Apologies for the accuracy on this one


Needs snacks


2 ice creams and a puppy = invest

Eric Alper 🎧

                    @ThatEricAlper

                  May 19


Bbbbzzzzzz

Ryan B. Anderson

                    @OldHollowTree

                  May 20

                Happy World Bee Day! Here is a video showing how clumsy and cute they are in slow motion.


Got me

signüll

                    @signulll

                  May 20

                “can i start you off with an appetizer, maybe 30 tortillas?”

“god no, i can’t eat that many tortillas!”

“how about if cut them up into triangles, fry them in seed oil, & serve them with some salsa?”

“omg that sounds delightful”.


Dying

Chris Bakke

                    @ChrisJBakke

                  May 22

                Replying to @signulll
                Well, as a founder I always paid myself minimum wage, often worked from the time I woke up until bedtime six days a week, and then would sometimes be unable to sleep over decisions I made.

As a bigco exec, I made millions and millions of dollars per year for attending 15 meetings per week and approving some performance reviews, but one time my EA booked me economy instead of business class on a work trip to Japan.

So I’d say it’s pretty equal.


Definitely fuck you. Wet food is better for cats.

Papa Woof und Krampus und Bleaken

                    @woofknight

                  May 21


sounds fun!

Replying to @tasshinfogleman @RichDecibels @dineshraju


Don't be like Chas in my inbox:

Chas: Zelda, I’m publishing a series of articles on vertical SaaS/AI startups and Nautilus looks like a great example. I’d like to include your thoughts and cover what you’re doing at Nautilus, especially around gaining traction. May we arrange some time for an interview on Zoom?

Chas: Zelda, I don't usually have this much trouble giving a founder free press. Are you ghosting me? If so, let's not waste my time and your inbox. Just let me know you don't care about "earned media" coverage and I'll stop following up. (I may still choose to cover your company, just without the interview as input.)

Me: Chas, you have the wrong email, Nautilus is a nonprofit so your AI bot is shit, and you sound like an insecure prick. Have a nice weekend!


Chas follow up: No AI bot. Thanks for the "insecure prick" comment. Will take as legitimate feedback and refine my approach. But to return the favor, you're clearing LARPing as a "General Partner." None of those I've worked with over the years would react as you did. All the best.

~~~

He's correct, most wouldn't give him the time of day and I worry for him that this wasn't an AI bot...this means that he's just like this!


That's true lol


iykyk

Janel Comeau 🍁@VeryBadLlama
                  May 22

                I just think it would be better for everyone if the people who make adhesive for maxi pads and the people who make adhesive for bookstore price stickers switched jobs


Srsly no respect for the craft!


Phone/scrolling should be on there. That's mine and I have gotten a great handle on it. At first I just deleted social apps but two weeks ago I deleted my browsers and that basically made my smart phone a colorful dumb phone. It's been great!


"Every one of these people is saying the same thing: you are a piece of the universe experiencing itself. And every one of them is saying, in different words, that this imposes an obligation on you: to be the fullest, strangest, most irreducible version of yourself."

- Packy McCormick


1517er in action!

Just Dave now

                    @justdavenow89

                  May 27

                This dog is like fuck you I wont play by your rules


Can you imagine?

✅ Share your maker story!
✅ What are you building?
✅ How would your team spend $100K?
🛑Who do you like to bang?

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  May 28

                Today 1517 Fund is proud to announce w/ the Pacific Legal Foundation that we have filed a complaint against the state of California to overturn its intrusive & sweeping law requiring us to collect info on the sexuality and race of our founders.

1517 v. California


1517 was the first venture check into the Missors!

Be the first check, not the last...

And bring these statues to the USA!


I really wish all the people with "going to keep this short" would just not email me.


too good!


@consciousrepo


How Michael makes friends...

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  Jun 2

                That time 9 years ago in DC where @BernieSanders wouldn’t take a picture with me because I told him I was a libertarian anarchist


You can make your smart phone a dumb phone by deleting the browsers and social apps. Just keep maps, LLM models, and the apps that matter to you and you're golden.

Nathan Covey

                    @nathan_covey

                  Jun 2

                Officially 1 month since I switched to a flip phone.

- Everyone is more severely addicted to their smartphones than I thought. Once you have a dumbphone, you'll frequently find yourself as the only person in the room not on their phone. It's not just teenagers, it's parents and adults of all ages. It's like everyone is stuck in a trance. 75+ year olds might be the only exception.

- All the objections I previously had for getting a dumbphone have turned out to be overblown and/or solvable. My iPhone addiction had fed my brain excuses to not do this earlier. If you really want to make the switch, you can.

- I've felt embarrassed to pull out my flip phone in public at times, for fear of being different or drawing too much attention to myself. But I have learned to just own up to it. Most people end up saying something like "Oh, I probably should do that too."

- I am using my brain more. Even though my flip phone has Waze, I find myself memorizing maps and roads. I'm more bored and get lost in my thoughts. I'm using paper and pen more. Increased desire for tangible things > digital things.

Overall, it has been a great experience and I plan on never going back.


STRONG!

Replying to @angelatytran @1517 @VersionOneVC


I can see the twinkling lights!


Should hear by mid June at the latest.


By mid June

Replying to @Jyotsna1Jyoti @William_Blake


Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to mommy of Potters, happy birthday to you!


Cookie can eat nasturtiums!


Next up, disposals!


You'll be cookin' if you cook!

Ryan B. Anderson

                    @OldHollowTree

                  Jun 1

                I’ll never understand the men who refuse to cook or claim it’s women’s work; I courted my wife mostly in the kitchen. “Come over, let me make you dinner.” and now, a decade later, I am frying up steak while she plays with the children in the garden.

Cook, bro. It’s so good.


Cat distribution network working extra good.

Simon Sarris

                    @simonsarris

                  Jun 4

                Something strange happened today. Simi was going to take the children to the pond. I would join separately later, just for a minute to swim before lunch. I was helping her put things in the car when an orange kitten comes out from underneath my car. A little dirty, but very friendly, more like a city stray than a country barn cat. The dirt suggested less domestic.

I pick him up, he's otherwise normal, healthy, surprisingly compliant kitten. I show Simi and the children and they adore him and then pack up and leave while I make sure the kitten isn't run over. I get him some food and water. Where did he come from?

Before lunch I get in my car to leave briefly for the pond, looking under the car first to make sure I don't run over this kitten. I can't find him anywhere. Maybe he went to the neighbor's, maybe it's their new cat. I'll ask when they get home.

I arrive at the pond and swim, then as Simi is getting the children towards a picnic table to eat: the kitten comes by. The kitten is there at the pond picnic table, far from our house. What if its a huge coincidence? We look at photos taken earlier, he has the same markings and temperament. It's the same cat.

It takes us a while to believe it but it seems like the only possibility is that this cat stowed away, probably in my Mazda 3's plastic undercarriage. Plenty of animals get into my car, why not this kitten? It's a miracle he lived.

Then I recall that under my car is where he originally came from. I was in Nashua yesterday, at the public parking garage. What if he stowed away then, and came from Nashua? That would explain his temperament. It's possible but very surprising.

I take him back home, this time inside the car. Now we have another cat? The kitten just wants to hang around our wood shed, he seems quite happy. I will have to ask the neighbors.


TLDR: What lights you up?!

Opener for our 1517 Summit:

25 years ago I started working with homeschoolers. Those families changed the trajectory of my life. It’s where I got to see that real learning starts with passion and curiosity.

16 years ago, when Michael and I were on the founding team of the Thiel Fellowship, we called it an older young person’s homeschool program.

And today, with 1517, we say we homeschool CEOs.

I think that there is a lot that we can learn from homeschoolers about going against the grain, following curiosity, and getting a sense of what real learning looks like.

In homeschooling there is a concept called “deschooling” — a transition time between being in a more institutionalized setting, to one of their own creation. It sometimes looks chaotic, “unproductive,” and purposeless.

But this time period is when people start unraveling assumptions that have been shaping their lives, without them knowing it. By letting go of the rules, natural curiosity and passion can start to emerge.

Over the next ten years, I think all of us are going to go through something like a collective deschooling period. We’re going to need to unlearn the assumptions that were put down before us by other people and institutions, ride the chaos, and emerge through to the other side with passion and curiosity.

The path used to look clear. Work hard. Get good grades. Collect credentials. Climb the ladder. Success had a map.

But the world we're entering is uncharted.

Artificial intelligence is making information abundant. Institutions are failing us. Careers are becoming less linear. Entire industries are appearing and disappearing in just a few years.

The old question was: "What should I do?"

But today, I propose a new question: “What lights you up, when no one is watching?”

That's a much harder question.

Many people discover that when the external structure disappears, they're left with an uncomfortable feeling. Not freedom. Not excitement.

Meaninglessness.

Because for years, meaning was outsourced. A syllabus told us what mattered. A test told us what to learn. A boss told us what success looked like. A credential told us we were progressing.

But what happens when fewer and fewer people can tell you what matters next?

I think that's one of the defining challenges of the next decade.

And I think the antidote is surprisingly simple.

Start dreaming:

What is the thing you can't stop thinking about?

What rabbit hole do you disappear into?

What topic makes you lose track of time?

What project would you work on, even if nobody was grading it?

All summed up: What lights you up?

When we're young, we're often taught to treat those interests as distractions from the "real" work.

I think the opposite is true.

Those interests are clues. They're pointing toward the place where your curiosity, your energy, and your contribution intersect.

The people who will thrive in the next ten years will be like shining beacons!

They'll be the people who know how to follow genuine curiosity.

The people who can create their own path.

The people who can stay fascinated.

The people who know what lights them up and have the courage to build around it.

So welcome to your summit. When you meet a new friend today, ask “What lights you up?” May the answers surprise and delight and lead you into your next 10 years.


Thanks for noticing


Had at least 35% female attendees...not sure why this photo was skewed!


Congrats!


Serenity at the 1517 Summit!

John Potter spirit/acc

                    @potterlab

                  Jun 5

                She’s amplifying her telepathy out professor X style


Authenticity keeps you young

Bryan Johnson

                    @bryan_johnson

                  Jun 5

                I met Kate’s parents.

It was a nail bitter.

We landed after 24 hours of travel and immediately went to her mum’s house where the family congregated… her mum, dad, auntie, three cousins, sister, brother-in-law, a 3-wk old newborn, brother, and soon-to-be sister-in-law. There were 15 of us crammed into a living room.

Upon arriving, someone said “oh I know your content from X”.

Blood drained from my face. Nobody could tell though because my face is already pretty pale.

Her dad and I hit it off. We cracked macadamia nuts from his tree, used an electric saw to open a coconut, and spoke about being carried as a baby by his 14 year old brother in the Bosnian snow while a German shot at them with a machine gun.

Her mother, also from Bosnia, needed some time to warm up. That’s reasonable. I understand. I’m a bit unusual. She’s soft spoken, careful with her words, and protective of her daughter. A few days in and I began to worry that I may head home with an undecided verdict.

I decided to live in her mum’s world. I ate everything she prepared, including meat, bread, and pasta, and embraced the discomfort of being an introvert in a week-long marathon social interaction with the entire extended family.

We spent time in her garden and she fed me stevia leaves, peppers, celery, chives, peanut berry, grapefruit, and starfruit.

Growing up, my mother and I maintained a garden together. I loved tending to it daily and it felt good to be back in the soil. Spending time with Kate’s mum motivated me to grow a longevity garden.

Our shared love of gardening was the first big breakthrough.

What really sealed the deal was when I interviewed Kate’s mum for an hour on camera, covering her upbringing and life and learning more about Kate. Somehow that format allowed her to see me more clearly than a generic social setting.

I think she came to understand and trust my devotion to Kate.

In the final hours before my departure, she was radiating with warmth. The entire family had gathered for a meal and it was laughter and teasing all around.

My love and respect for Kate deepened. I spent time going through all of her childhood things, helping me see and understand her with greater depth. More on this later.

It feels nice to be part of the family.


Founders inspire at the 1517 Summit!

Douglas Green

                    @__douglasgreen

                  Jun 5

                When you hear the story about how the founder of @trilobio snuck onto a research team to break into the industry only to be discovered as an unmatriculated student at the University. You kind of chuckle.

When you hear they kicked her off the team, but set her up in a basement lab to continue her work you think, mad respect.

Unhappy with the reproducibility in biology research she decided to digitize and automate the network. Now research is duplicated by AI robots and research is digitally encoded and transferred via her network.

She built her first robot with 3D printing. They now sell for 25K in batches of 10 to starts ups.

Probably someone to keep an eye on...things you learn at @1517fund summit.


Bio and 1517 are a good look!

Elliot Roth || SF

                    @ThatMrE

                  Jun 5

                Today at @1517fund summit + beyond with fellow @BiopunkLab folx


True! But my point being that I think Bryan actually living is a way better look than all the treatment maxxing + "optimization"


Roya from Trilobio gave a great talk and showcased the first robot the team built and today's robots. So cool to see the progress over time and share that with our 1517 community!

NIMI VASHI (bio/acc to infinity & beyond)

                    @nimivashi15

                  Jun 4

                @1517 summit begins with Roya Amini-Naeni talking about building Robots that can do biology!

They are manufacturing right here in SF!


Much love to you Paul!


Had no idea you had little ones. Congrats!


Commitment looks like this!

Ti Morse

                    @ti_morse

                  Jun 6

                Set is ready @ElonMusk

We built it 25min from downtown Austin and can shoot anytime in the next 7 days on 1h notice.

Humanity is on the verge of becoming a multi-planet species and spacefaring civilization.

My goal with this interview is to help people viscerally feel what that future is going to look like and get everyone excited to help build it.


lol so good

Replying to @potterlab @tintinpapa1 @jigglypuffmeow4


1517 Summit Vibes!

John Potter spirit/acc

                    @potterlab

                  Jun 10

                Me and my fifty closest friends


literally snorted reading this

𝓲𝓬𝓮

                    @be_like_ice

                  Jun 10

                cat parents will hear their cat go "mrrrp" in a certain tone and be like "oh hold on my cat wants the heating pad turned on"


We always take group photos! Any time I haven't taken one, I am very very sad.


Dog owners: oh I prepped for months to adopt!

Cat owners: I found him in the trash


I look at my kids and think: “there is zero chance that anyone has ever loved anyone as much as this. No chance.”

Then I realize every single parent feels the exact same.

Then I realize everyone is someone’s kid.

Then I think I need to be much kinder to everyone.


Tyler and Jonathan were undergrads at Vanderbilt who dusted off some old research that they thought could be commercializable.

They wrote into the 1517 contact form about their work. Nick, on our team, drove a couple hours to meet with them.

We wrote the first $50K check into Zeno to give them a shot on goal to get started.

Now they're powering the frontier.

Be the first check, not the last!

Zeno Power

                    @zeno_power

                  Jun 11

                Not every mission needs a megawatt.

Nuclear batteries will power the next frontier – beginning in 2027.


Giving Clue vibes

Josie Zayner

                    @josiezayner

                  Jun 11

                Just saying Im killing it in these pictures at least


To be cringe, is to be free.

Anjuli Pierce

                    @anjulipie

                  Jun 11

                Little dude asking the hotel staff where he can buy dinosaur bones to the embarrassment of his sister was the highlight of my morning.

Keep asking. Be 'cringe'. Never be embarrassed. You will not get what you want otherwise.


Some of the best advice I ever got from my coach was that I didn't have to hang out with people who I felt anxious around. Hadn't dawned on me that it could be that easy and that I didn't need to fix myself.

𐌁𐌉Ᏽ 𐌕𐌉𐌌𐌉

                    @OrevaZSN

                  Jun 11

                This is free advice from an expensive psychologist. If you’re an anxious person, do everything for fun. Go to a job interview for fun. Submit documents for fun. Start a blog for fun. Anxiety feeds on importance. Don’t make everything a matter of life and death.


Making merch for my hardware group :)


The Empress of the Moon and Mars! 🚀

Congratulations, @Gwynne_Shotwell!!!


Always check your DMs


The Gundo getting a shout out

Katherine Boyle

                      @KTmBoyle

                    Jun 12

                  “It is certainly hard to believe that a little company that started in a warehouse in El Segundo is now going public with the largest IPO ever.”

Only in America. Congratulations to @elonmusk @SpaceX. This is the American Dream 🇺🇸💪🚀


The world needs more, not fewer, trillionaires.

Ironically, the socialist left needs them more than anyone. Who's going to create the wealth to fuel socialist waste, fraud, and redistribution? Who's going to pay down the $40T in debt in the U.S.?

Nobel Prize-winning economist William Nordhaus estimates that entrepreneurs only capture about 2 percent of the value they create. Each new trillionaire represents a new $50T infusion of value into the economy.

Elon Musk

                      @elonmusk

                    Mar 8

                  Replying to @iam_smx
                  *trillioniare


Books I regularly recommend to parents:

📕Absorbent Mind (Montessori) - she has the deepest reverse for the human condition focused on children.

📗 Positive Discipline series - great for instilling emotional intelligence and agency in young children.

📘 How to Talk so Children Listen and Listen so Children Talk (Faber) - fabulous practical communication tips.

📙 How Children Learn (Holt) - love his observations about helping young children to teach themselves.

📚 Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Engelmann) - the bible of teaching reading.

📖 Magical Child (Pearce) - raising genius kids through play. He gets woo-woo at the end (but given that people love the telepathy tapes, maybe he's onto something).

Paul Graham

                    @paulg

                  Jun 12

                Someone asked me to recommend a good book on parenting. I would guess that most books about parenting are tedious. So my recommendation is to read autobiographies, the early parts of which are usually implicitly about parenting.


Could watch the end on loop :D


I still use basically everything I learned in that book...with everyone.


How can you not be romantic about capitalism?

Founders Fund

                      @foundersfund

                    Jun 12


bro immigrated from Mexico and took a $28/hr contract welding job in 2015.

didn't even know what SpaceX was.

they gave him $10,000 in stock and let him buy more through payroll deductions.

that stake is now worth $880,000.

and he's one of 4,400 employees who became millionaires on Friday. welders. technicians. cafeteria staff.


Today solidifies Thiel as the GOAT VC


One of the great things about the SpaceX IPO is that Gwynne Shotwell is now a billionaire. She’s earned it.


I agree and disagree. I read "How to Talk So Children Listen and Listen So Children Talk" 25 years ago and still put the methods to use regularly. Super actionable insights and examples. It's especially hard to change behavior if you haven't been modeled something better and a good book can help with that.


We don't have an age limit at 1517:

1. If you're nondegreed great!
2. If you're a sci fi scientist great (and we make exceptions for degrees here).


This is gold. Maria Montessori’s books are less readable as books but her observations are absolutely fundamental. If Newtonian mechanics are still relevant in daily life, Maria Montessori’s observations are still foundational for practical parenting. Everyone should learn.

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                      @DStrachman

                    Jun 12

                  Books I regularly recommend to parents:

📕Absorbent Mind (Montessori) - she has the deepest reverse for the human condition focused on children.

📗 Positive Discipline series - great for instilling emotional intelligence and agency in young children.

📘 How to Talk so Children Listen and Listen so Children Talk (Faber) - fabulous practical communication tips.

📙 How Children Learn (Holt) - love his observations about helping young children to teach themselves.

📚 Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Engelmann) - the bible of teaching reading.

📖 Magical Child (Pearce) - raising genius kids through play. He gets woo-woo at the end (but given that people love the telepathy tapes, maybe he's onto something).


There are about 500 horse genome sequences publicly available across all breeds even though horse sales alone total around $6B annually. most of these aren't performance horses either. People pay $10M for a horse and don't even know if it has underlying genetic diseases.

Alot of this is true for agriculture animals in general. Farmers still do things the same way its been done for 100 years and that probably contributes to all-time lows we are seeing now in cattle head counts and record high beef prices.

Animals need modern biotech and modern tech if we want to maintain the health and food supply of our world. I plan to spend the rest of my life building the tech and infrastructure so we can engineer the next generation of animals.

Photo is of Tipsy aka Feelin my Liquor, a horse we bought specifically because of her DNA. We while genome sequence horses before we buy them. A first in the industry. We don't look at just a basic polygenic score across traits. We look at many aspects of the genome, rare variants, functional gene burdens, optimal inbreeding and so much more. I truly believe the only way to understand genotype->phenotype is a multifaceted model and our models correlate with performance records.

Sorry for the rant this morning just really excited for the next year and just so amazed at how fast the team at Embryo Corp is moving.


“He's now teaching his three kids, including his 16-year-old daughter, how to invest based on what he learned owning SpaceX stock. His daughter is already a stakeholder in Meta and a handful of other companies.

If given the chance to talk to Musk, Hernandez said he'd thank him for helping him realize a dream he didn't know he had.

‘He made it a possibility for somebody like us, you know, the cook or … electrician. He's making all these lives much better and meaningful for their families as well."

CBS News

                      @CBSNews

                    Jun 13

                  Before Juan Hernandez became a welder at SpaceX, he had never heard of the company.

But just over 10 years later, that leap of faith is paying off following the company's $75 billion initial public offering. cbsn.ws/445TrCm


Haven't read that one yet. I love the authors though!


Met with a really great founder out of Bangalore yesterday. She met with someone at a top tier firm and was told in earnest that to fundraise she needed:

1. To dress better
2. Act more autistic
3. Be more serious and less bubbly

I prefer my founders ridiculously bubbly with light shining out of their eyeballs. Bring me your authentic essence!


Lol I love this

Replying to @zmwang @ariellezuck @LeeJacobs @jwmares @2pasc @menemazarakis


See pinned tweet!


Now THIS is dinner!


I agree! And I'll take any style of dress and on the autism spectrum or not.


"I prefer my founders ridiculously bubbly with light shining out of their eyeballs" - @DStrachman is an investor I liken to a glass light prism. She lets your light in, then bends and separates it out into a glorious rainbow for the world to see 🌈

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                      @DStrachman

                    Jun 13

                  Met with a really great founder out of Bangalore yesterday. She met with someone at a top tier firm and was told in earnest that to fundraise she needed:

1. To dress better
2. Act more autistic
3. Be more serious and less bubbly

I prefer my founders ridiculously bubbly with light shining out of their eyeballs. Bring me your authentic essence!


[media-only post: photo]


I have not been yet! She was in SF. But we have a handful of founders that we have worked with from Bangalore.


In honor of my cousin's wedding, I thought it would be good to share parts of Celtic wedding vows:

You cannot possess me for I belong to myself
But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give

You cannot command me, for I am a free person
But I shall serve you in those ways you require and the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.


Today is the 100th anniversary of artist Mary Cassatt’s death. She died on June 14, 1926, at the age of 82 in her adopted country of France. She was born in Pennsylvania to a well-to-do family in 1844. Although she never had children, Cassatt is beloved for her tender paintings of mothers and children. I first fell in love with her work when I saw a copy of “Little Girl in a Blue Armchair” as a child. One of my projects in high school art class was copying her Japanese prints!


Work on something you're as interested in as our cats are interested in this pigeon.


An excerpt from Differential Diagnosis:

autism, trauma, or Chinese
just the sum of three vectors
pointing roughly the same direction

and from inside
I can't tell the difference.

From The Petrov Test, Book 2 of spacesleftblank.com


@zslayback

Replying to @ChadCazel @BlackwingVC @Initialized @reindsummit


Can't wait to spend more time with you Linda! You are a rainbow!


For years, I was afraid to call myself an artist.
I worried that “real artists” would laugh at me, so I played down what I did and questioned whether I was good enough.
But I’ve learned that being an artist isn’t about permission, qualifications, or what anyone else thinks. It’s about creating, growing, and having the courage to share your work.
The biggest thing I’ve learned is that self-belief changes everything.
Anything is possible when you stop doubting yourself and start believing in what you can become.
The day I stopped asking for permission to call myself an artist was the day I truly became one.


I need to be more I-talian :D


That is a sweet outfit!


Never understood the Elmo love. Cookie 4 Evah!

Justin@reldrago
                  Jun 14

                Replying to @MeCookieMonster
                THATS MY FUCKING GOAT COOKIE MONSTER


This is how I feel when I cut the lettuces in my garden beds and make a fresh salad.


I love how you draw eggs!


Ohhh ordering. So many favs. Thanks Marlo!


I always carry whiteboard markers in my bag.

A few days ago, at a 1517 Fund event, the break started and the room did the usual thing. Find someone, make small talk, wait for an opening to pitch.

I found an empty whiteboard instead.

So I started writing, in the middle of a garden, outdoors. Discount rates, the two-phase covenant, the auction, terminal value, competitors, the forecast engine. Five words in the middle, “INVEST IN HUMAN POTENTIAL DIRECTLY”. Big enough to read across the lawn.

I didn't introduce myself to anyone.

By the time the break ended, 20 people had stopped. Founders, investors, recruiters, web3 developers. Nobody was being pitched. They were reading, asking, learning.

You never have to beg for attention you've made worth paying. A pitch asks people to care. The work, in the open, lets them find out they already do.

Show the work. The right people will find you in front of it.

Thank you @DStrachman for the invite, and @1517fund for hosting.

app.preflop.co


Replying to @DonKAriel @darrenmarble @VCBrags


[media-only post: photo]


Every activity my kids try (dance, gymnastics, synchro, etc.) they coaches ALWAYS want my kids to join the team

It's not because they gifted at everything -- it's because they are polite, respectful, & always give their best

If you raise your children to be delightful, they will have extra opportunities


It’s such a simple concept: Just do it.

But surprisingly, so few people do.


We're excited to announce a $4M Seed round led by @GameChangersVC, with support from incredible investors including @scooterbraun, @GuyOseary, @stellation, @SignalFire, @MaCVentureCap, and others.

A few years ago, while hosting community events and testing early products, my co-founders @WeilynChong, @NathanAhn, and I noticed a consistent pattern.

After every event, people asked the same questions:

Where are the photos? Who captured that moment? How do I reconnect with the people I met?

fortune.com/2026/06/16/photo…


Every time a company sells for tens of billions of dollars now, the first thing I do is check my DMs + email to see how many times I passed on the seed, then passed on interviewing with them during the A, then passed on 3 SPVs during their Series C, then immediately go to the founder's announcement and reply, "Huge congrats! Have been rooting for you since day 1!"


Ain't that the truth!

ً

                    @omgsidewalks

                  Jun 16

                PAPER TOWEL COMMERCIALS ARE SO FAKE. ITS ALWAYS A KID SPILLING JUICE AND NEVER A CAT THROWING UP.


Loyalty is a lost virtue

Loyalty is meaningless if dependent on mutually beneficial transactions

Loyalty means following your silliest goofiest friend into an absolutely frivolous bar fight in Detroit that he wrongfully needlessly instigated because that’s your boy


Srsly, twitter needs to stop the tears

Catherine Tinker@catherinetinker
                  Jun 17

                algorithm is showing me too much pet death

here is cocoa, who is alive and well and is being very helpful in packing a catnip toy


For the guys who think this is just funny, it's stupidly accurate. Even funnier to pause each one and really take in the expression/messages.

KAIRO

                    @TakersMaker1

                  Jun 16

                A lady is going viral for showing expressions of how her boobs will be feeling in different types of bras

Fellas, we have it easy. I just watched this and the face she made has me laughing hard 🤣

Ladies, y'all need a collective hug,if this is true.


Passed a dying fox on the highway once and have not gotten over that I could have put it out of its misery but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I think about that animal a lot and how sometimes the tough choices are the right choices.

ً

                    @omgsidewalks

                  Jun 16

                SERIOUS QUESTION: Do you feel a brief, gutting despair when you pass a deaď animal on the road?? That quiet “no” at the wrongness of it, a road cutting through their path and ending their lives. And you just hope you never hit one, because you are not sure you could live with it.


All makers and creators should see Ratatouille!

Emir Han

                    @RealEmirHan

                  Jun 16

                Anthony Bourdain once said RATATOUILLE is the best food movie of all time.

“The best restaurant movie ever made, the best chef movie. The tiny details are astonishing:

•The faded burns on the cooks’ wrists.

•The ‘personal histories’ of the cooks.

•The attention paid to the food.

•And the Anton Ego ratatouille epiphany hit me like a punch in the chest–literally breathtaking.

I saw it in a theater entirely full with adults–and the reaction to that moment was what movie making was once–a long time ago–all about:

Audible surprise, delight, awe and even a measure of enlightenment.

I am hugely and disproportionately proud that my miniscule contribution (if any) early early in the project’s development led to a ‘thank you’ in the credits. Amazing how much they got ‘right.’”


For anyone that didn’t get a made in USA @reindsummit sweater last night, we’re giving the first 1,000 away for free 🇺🇸


The Commenda team are not just competent. They’re also fun as hell. Big congrats to them on building out the rails for international capitalism @CommendaHQ 🚀


Absolutely terrible news. Josh was such a huge support in Austin becoming the technology hub it is today. Condolensces to his family and friends.

Austin Statesman

                    @statesman

                  Jun 17

                Capital Factory founder Joshua Baer, a visionary force in the Texas technology and start-up ecosystem, died Tuesday night in a private plane crash in Laredo, the organization confirmed to the American-Statesman.

"Joshua was a fearless leader, a brilliant partner, and a dear friend to so many of us," Capital Factory President Bryan Chambers said.

statesman.com/news/article/l…


I'm so so sorry JD. It is very shocking that he's gone :(


[public post with no recoverable text]


Love your writing "I remind myself what a gift it is to be exposed to the true realities of nature in such a way that we can’t kid ourselves about the truth."


"I remind myself what a gift it is to be exposed to the true realities of nature in such a way that we can’t kid ourselves about the truth."

Michael Ring

                    @RingFamilyAg

                  Jun 18

                x.com/i/article/206742032255…

                        Calving Season and The Laws of Nature.
                        I wrote this a year ago as a way to share my perspective, and it's shed light on my lifestyle for others in ways I could have never imagined.
I could see the frosty breath from the cows as I got out


Beautifully said <3

Mike Maples, Jr

                    @m2jr

                  Jun 17

                The passing of @JoshuaBaer is really hard for me to accept.

There are lots of ways to succeed. Many do it by riding the right Rocketship at the right time. Don’t get me wrong…the world benefits from their talents and they deserve their success.

But a rare few don’t ride the wave. They make the wave happen from nothing with their spirit and force of will and fundamental goodness. They make things happen that would have never happened otherwise. Josh Baer was this latter type.

One of my favorite movie quotes is “Heroes get remembered but legends never die.” I think that quote describes this notion. Sometimes you do something that transcends being successful. Sometimes you change the outcome in a way that makes you singular.

I will miss you, Josh. Thanks for being a legendary businessperson and human.  My thoughts are with Amy and your family.


Thank you!


I like it...


Nuclear batteries anyone?

1517 was the first check, don’t be the last!

Zeno Power

                    @zeno_power

                  Jun 18

                Beginning today, we are industrializing nuclear battery production at the historic Vallecitos Nuclear Center.

With this facility, we will deliver our first nuclear battery to customers in 2027 and scale production in 2028 - powering critical missions from the seabed to the lunar surface.


You loved nuclear batteries before it was cool to love nuclear batteries.


on my flight to san francisco i sat next to a 78 year old man.

travelling alone. no wife, no children. flying out for a parkinson's research test.

he told me his wife passed away last year. but before she died, someone else had volunteered for the research program. that person's contribution led to a treatment that gave him five extra years with his wife.

five years he wasn't supposed to have.

now he was doing the same thing. giving himself to the research so someone else might get five more years too.

he said it like it was obvious. like there was no other option.

i've been thinking about that conversation since i landed.

what it looks like to give yourself fully to something knowing you'll never see the result.


gm

Antidepressant Content

                    @depressionlesss

                  Jun 19

                If "not f*cking around" was a dog


new statue just dropped 🤩@MoMonuments


How to raise $ 100k-1M from @1517fund:

had a call with @DStrachman Founder 1517 and Ex-Partner @thielfellowship

According to her:
- they want to work with founders/makers who can get them in the frontier of knowledge
- founders should have hyperfluency in their domain.

I really liked the concept of "alchemy". Some founders take a resource and stretch it in a magical way. That's what they want to see.

Comment for the entire notes :)


Just found a gem of a website

"Technology-Driven Moral Panics" or how societies all the way back to Ancient Greece worried about new inventions dooming humanity


Commenda Manifesto launched! Let liberty ring!

"When a merchant in thirteenth-century Venice wanted to trade across the Mediterranean, he signed a commenda — a private contract that split the risk between an investor and the merchant who sailed, and held up wherever the ship made port. It was not issued by a king. No parliament approved it.

Merchants wrote it because it was machinery for their economic freedom. This was the precursor to the modern corporation."

Spencer Schneier

                    @spenceraviav

                  Jun 23

                Announcing our manifesto, Lex et Libertas.

The history of commerce is a history of The People writing their own rules.

When a merchant in thirteenth-century Venice wanted to trade across the Mediterranean, he signed a commenda — a private contract that split the risk between an investor and the merchant who sailed, and held up wherever the ship made port. It was not issued by a king. No parliament approved it.

Merchants wrote it because it was machinery for their economic freedom. This was the precursor to the modern corporation.

This set of norms, jus gentium, grew out of how foreign traders actually dealt with one another, not out of a sovereign's decree. The merchant law was customary, portable, and enforced in the merchants' own courts.

It still works that way, when we let it. In 2013 a startup accelerator, not a legislature, wrote the SAFE, and it now governs a huge share of how companies get funded. That is the spirit of merchant law. Yet despite all of this fantastic success, we’ve lost that spirit.

The civilization that invented the corporation is now strangling it.

The US Code of Federal Regulations ran 9,745 pages in 1950 and runs more than 190,000 today. The average large multinational holds 549 subsidiaries across 56 countries. The rules merchants once wrote for themselves now arrive from thousands of jurisdictions at once. It is impossible for it to be owned by anyone, and the price is paid after midnight by people no one is paying attention to.

Lex et Libertas is our argument for the future we are building. It is the manifesto for my life’s work.

The merchants built their own freedom technology. In dedication to these giants, we are building the only managed entity platform, enabling businesses to seamlessly operate across 100+ countries. 500+ firms including TRX, Remote, Exa AI, Seismic, and Composio have already joined us.

As we enter into the agentic era, software will form the backbone of global industry. A new legal order will emerge to facilitate the future of commerce across our planet, and beyond.

And Commenda is where it will be built. Jus agentium.


the residency

                      @theresidency

                    Jun 23

                  dr. alex gener (@Cas9Bandit) from @BiopunkLab

the dropout building evolution-proof antivirals


CMO

Replying to @aashwindev @rishhul @1517fund @thielfellowship


Banger

barbarism critic

                    @barbarismcrit

                  Jun 23


When you're forced to join Slack because Claude doesn't support Signal yet. The resistance is real.


Being chosen is the best

Antidepressant Content

                    @depressionlesss

                  Jun 23

                a cat headbutting you is the most beautiful thing you can ever ask for in this life


We have invested some in the Bangalore ecosystem :D

Replying to @sujantkumarkv @aashwindev @1517fund @thielfellowship


Existential hope is one of my favorite ideas. Mitigating risk is important but if we don't have a vision for something better we will steer into our fear.

Existential Hope

                    @HopeExistential

                  Jun 24

                It’s 2035, and AI has gone well. What could a normal day in your life look like?

Most popular AI futures are dystopias. Almost no one takes the time to seriously and vividly imagine a future that's actually worth building.

So we made a short film following one day in the life of an AI auditor in 2035, in a world radically transformed by AI for the better.

Digital twins model how people’s unique physiologies respond to illness. Sensors stop pandemics before they start. AI helps governments actually listen to citizens by synthesizing vast amounts of data into actionable policy suggestions, but humans stay in control and make the final call.

If this resonates, please share to spread the word about positive AI futures!


With the incredible and formidable @DStrachman helping an exciting new project come to life @lindazhangau

Permission granted!!


Linda Zhang

                    @lindazhangau

                  Jun 25

                A gem from our documentary interview with @DStrachman: “Permission is an infinitely scalable resource. If you can’t help a person with money, you can gift them permission” 🪄

During her time on the @thielfellowship’s founding team and currently as co-founder of @1517 fund, she’s met so many people who had everything they needed, but subconsciously were waiting for someone to say “Hey, you can just do the thing. Permission granted!”

Danielle is the fairy god mother of permission granting  🧚♀ And she’d like to pass on the message:  if you’re looking from a sign from the universe to do the thing that you’re ready… you are :)

~

Grateful to @codyad_am and @shaurya_sinha7 for your camera/audio magic and @majamediaco @zoop_design @marlouiise @nickktrannn @AmberSahdev for the behind the scenes support as documentary-making goes into full swing🙏


Got my copy this week!

Spencer Schneier

                    @spenceraviav

                  Jun 25

                Last year, when the Trump Administration launched its tariff campaign, I was amazed at how hard it was to find good information about what was really happening.

I would read one thing in the Wall Street Journal, and then go to a tax conference in Canada and hear the exact opposite from OECD officials and practitioners.

So when @rossmatican suggested that we should publish a magazine for Commenda, it was a no brainer. Doubly-so when he introduced me to @freeshreeda, our Editor-in-Chief

In this issue, we cover a lot of topics, but one thing Shreeda did an excellent job of is covering some macro themes the world is facing today.

Competitive Governance – now more than ever, jurisdictions are competing for trade, capital, and talent. From SEZs, to European corporate law, to AI and maritime governance, this is a recurring theme throughout the magazine that is deeply relevant to everyone reading it. Gone are the days when wasteful governments have large captive tax bases, and where anti-business politicians can bully corporations without risking their tax base.

The Great Game of the 21st Century – the U.S. and China are locked in a Not Cold War, and the implications of that touch every corner of the globe today. The Chinese model is predicated on centralized direction of capital towards strategic aims – a Capitalist-Marxist fusion offering of sorts, and the American model is still deciding what it wants to be.

The West has lost its understanding of its own prosperity. Industrial policy is the antithesis of what made the West great. The chaotic, bottom-up nature of markets and capitalism is exactly why we are so much more prosperous than even the most successful non-market economies. Yet we seem to have lost that.

Will Europe join the game? Will India? These are players with the capacity to play, but that have not taken the policy decisions required to do so. I explore this in my article on EU Inc, and we will be developing it more in future issues.

I had a ton of fun working with Shreeda and the writers, @JeffJMason @CalebDPetitt @Michael_J_Hil and @rjkarmayogi and am excited to share more in the coming weeks of the process and ideas that went into this first magazine

Read more below!


Big return profile lol


Doing science outside of the context of a lab turned out to be easier than we thought - it's been so fun!

marley 📐

                      @_marleyx

                    Jun 25

                  Today we’re sharing the most detailed scan ever taken of a living human brain.

None of us were ultrasound scientists before this. We worked backwards from a desire for brain interfaces and taught ourselves physics, ultrasound, electromagnetism.

This is a story four years in the making (1/n)


Who needs ruby slippers!


Purdy!

Replying to @candyflipline @levchizhov @josiezayner @William_Blake


Replying to @__douglasgreen @Alphaschool @chloebelvin @jboremus


may you heal so hard you start being creative again.


In honor of the 250th, we recreated this statue & have it on sale right now

100% USA handmade. Order now to receive the 250th sale pricing.

thank you for patriotism & patronage 🇺🇸

Presidential Wisdom@PrezWisdom
                    Jun 26

                  “The Colossus of Washington”, seen here at the 1939 World’s Fair

#POTUS 🤩


Better return profile too!


See it as a blessing in disguise. This person showed you exactly who they are. Makes filtering out the transactional ones like shooting fish in a barrel.


oh hell yeah!


Permission is scalable!

Gary Vaynerchuk

                    @garyvee

                  Jun 26

                Whose fucking permission are you waiting for? Go do your thing. You're going to die


This is the premise of the Raise conference that happens in the Presido each year. Except that the last time I was there 2 events ago, most of the "LPs" were also trying to raise money for FoF that never came together. Anyone hosting an event like this needs to make sure that the capital allocators are actually allocating capital.


It’s extremely bizarre to me how ubiquitous phones are in everyone’s lives and how completely absent they remain in dreams


I’m convinced that the most underrated trait in a romantic partner is that they bring peace into your life. Days are filled with enough chaos and uncertainty. Being able to come home to someone who defaults to emotional consistency, who creates a peace, is massively underrated.


guys, this one can't go viral

John Potter spirit/acc

                    @potterlab

                  Jun 28

                Someone told me not to show this photo to anyone again so I’m reposting it


Careful, 1517 started with 2 t-shirts from zazzle (and literally nothing else)!

Josie Zayner

                    @josiezayner

                  Jun 28

                To admire the latest tech company swag ordered from zazzle

At least put a minute amount of effort into being this cringe

I cant even with SF


WOW! And?...what'd you think?


We have them at most of our events (and we have lots of extras from past events too)!


When you think electricity might be arcing somewhere in your house and you realize it's a hummingbird.


Great way to start a week!

Elliot Roth || SF

                    @ThatMrE

                  Jun 29

                Such a magical day. Start off chatting about movements with John Law for brunch, and later sing "Don't Worry Be Happy" thanks to @DStrachman @cyantist @zmwang

...I hope afternoon/evening is just as good. Hard to top these moments. Super grateful


Edge is giving the best of the 80s and 90s vibes. People making connections (and no phones!)!

Janine Leger

                    @JanineLeger

                  Jun 29

                It's hard to put into words what this month in Healdsburg for @EdgeEsmeralda shaped up to be. But it was no short of EPIC! Thank you to the incredible team, all the Edgers and to the place for helping us continue to build an Nof1 ecosystem in the world.

What I'm most excited about coming out of this month is that it's no longer a fragile idea, the culture is taking root and I feel so lucky to be apart of it.


Amir, working to rewire the world, was part of our first cohort for Flux -- our program to unearth sci fi scientists!

His garage used to have a couple cars in it before he turned it into a lab to get started. We wrote his first venture check of $100K and followed on quickly to lead his preseed round and then followed on again to pre-empt his seed round.

Be the first check, not the last!!

Amir Mashal

                    @AmirMashal

                  Jun 30

                Today, after about a year and a half of heads-down work, I’m excited to announce that Arcturus is emerging from stealth with an $8M seed round led by Initialized Capital with participation from 1517, Toyota Ventures, Wireframe Ventures, and Climate Capital.

This all started with a realization that I couldn’t shake: the world’s asking more and more from metals that were never designed for the systems we’re building today.

EVs, drones, robotics, AI data centers, the grid. The modern world runs on copper and aluminum doing their job quietly in the background. But as power, heat, and performance demands keep rising, those materials are becoming a bottleneck.

At Arcturus, we’re building a new class of conductor materials by infusing carbon nanomaterials into metals. The goal is simple: help wires, motors, and thermal systems move more power, shed more heat, and hold up in harsher conditions, without redesigning everything around them.

Not long ago, this was just an idea in my garage in Los Angeles.

I’m incredibly grateful to our investors, partners, advisors, and early believers who helped us get here: thank you for seeing it before there was much to see. This is just the beginning and I’m so excited for what comes next!

@Initialized @zcperret @brettdg | @1517fund @William_Blake @DStrachman | @Breakthrough @bchevva | @WireframeVC @lbernicker @harsh1 | @Toyota_Ventures @lisabcoca | @climatecap @sunrock | @smathaudhu | @al_mashal @april_brady @SarahRhoades

@arcturustechinc


YOU WOULD LOVE IT! Go next year!


evilly good!


See pinned tweet!

Replying to @DeltaClimbs @EverestBrady @EricJorgenson @rsgharat


My spouse saying to the four year old about his brother, "He is telling you about it because he's excited, not because he thinks you don't know." And that, my friends, is also a lesson I need to hear.


Love the logo!


I also love that we had no idea we had invested in two brothers across two different companies...they kept it hidden for a year and half!

Amir Mashal

                    @AmirMashal

                  Jun 30

                Before the seed round, before the launch, and before any of this felt real, there was @1517fund .

When my brother @al_mashal  forwarded me 1517 Fund’s tweet about the Flux Capacitor Fellowship, I had no idea what would happen a year and a half later. That fellowship gave me the chance to go after the thing I couldn’t stop thinking about: building the materials that could rewire the world.

@William_Blake, @DStrachman, and @TheHarryGandhi   believed before everyone else and enabled me to turn conviction into a company. And when Michael came out to the garage lab, he was one of the first people to see the laser infusion demo in person.

A lot has happened since then, but 1517 was there from the very beginning. I’ll always be grateful for Danielle, Michael, and the entire 1517 team for being there before it was obvious.


A few weeks ago I was on a call with the older brother and he revealed the secret, it was pretty fun!


You are having an awe-some week!


My dad says the key to a good relationship is having your own rooms lol


How a recent high school grad started an e-sports league for math and reached 1M kids who have solved over 600M problems. @99mathgame and is currently solving 3M problems per day. Learn how a 19 year old from Talinn, Estonia put a dent in EdTech.

 teachyourkids.substack.com/p…


surprised more people aren't doing something like this

Codex now creates a "newspaper" for me every morning

Unread messages, calendar, surf report, news

Anything I can do to stay off my phone until later in the day is a priority


Blast off!

Mike Wang

                    @zmwang

                  Jul 1

                Cyan and I created some wonder at Magical, Mystical, Musical Monday event, collaborating with Danielle at 1517 (a true meeting of the minds and hearts).

I kept the location and the experience fully secret (wonder = expectations - reality). We rented a “space shuttle” to take us to the venue and closed all the curtains so people didnt know where they were going (asked folks also to not track on their phones). We used that liminal space to reflect on our intentions and what we were seeking that day.

It truly felt like a mysterious adventure + people were giddy and excited. We need more mystery and surprise in our experiences.

The experience itself = magical. But you will have to find out for yourself on a future trip.


The act itself does not move me, but In a world of 8 billion finding the other person who is the same sort of insane  to do with with you is terribly romantic

Breaking911

                      @Breaking911

                    Jul 1

                  BREAKING: Two people climbed atop the Empire State Building’s 1,454-foot spire and unfurled a banner reading, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” Police are working to bring them down safely.


If you’re a creative, you need to be embracing the endless cycles of death and rebirth. You need to be enjoying starting from scratch. You need to love the feeling of being fresh and delicate, figuring out how to walk for the first time like a delicate Bambi on still forming legs


double-blind indeed!


My biggest regret is not spending enough time there this year...next year it is!

Edge City

                    @JoinEdgeCity

                  Jul 2

                We let a few disposable cameras loose into a popup village of 500+ scientists, artists, builders, founders, and families.

This is some of what came back 📸


Been saying this since last year. Artists are going to kill it (but most don't know it yet). This is one reason we were the first investors in Atelier Missor. By Fund 6 we could be funding a majority of n-of-1 artists because that which is made by the human hand and soul will be most valuable.

sourcery

                    @sourceryy

                  Jul 2

                Former Founders Fund Partner Brian Singerman says he is "bullish  on n-of-1 human cultural iconic artifacts."

"I think the true human iconic things are going to be more and more valuable, not just from a monetary perspective, but from a mind share perspective."

"I don't really care if the algorithm of some NFT made this one thing algorithmically rare."

"But do I love a Jerry Garcia guitar that he played for like 10 years? Hell yeah."


And it will be so!

Permission is scalable and it starts with parents!

Dan

                    @KettlebellDan

                  Jul 1

                “I’m gonna be a famous chef”

- my 7 year old daughter after making her own scrambled eggs with fennel seed, cinnamon and ketchup


Can't stand the phrase "alternative education" because it puts how things are today as normal when that is anything but true.

Let's call today's normal "institutionalized education/schooling."


Lots of them out there!


Just a reminder that your pillow is killing you

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  29 Oct 2024

                Taking down Big Pillow, one sleeper at a time!


Parents in 2050:

I’m not letting you throw your life away pursuing a useless STEM degree. Why can’t you be more like your brother and do art. Employee #35 at Anthropic is buying a painting of his for $75,000. I know science is your passion but you have to earn a living too

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                      @DStrachman

                    Jul 2

                  Been saying this since last year. Artists are going to kill it (but most don't know it yet). This is one reason we were the first investors in Atelier Missor. By Fund 6 we could be funding a majority of n-of-1 artists because that which is made by the human hand and soul will be most valuable.


Love it!


Ohhh reading


Onward and upward!

Zeno Power

                    @zeno_power

                  Jul 2

                Step into Zeno's nuclear battery production facility.