Ben’s List 3

I’ve been saying that “done is better than perfect” since the birth of Startup Sesame in 2015. This is one of the productivity tips listed in this week’s reading list and a key success factor for launching Selected by Sesamers in less than a month.

Other important factors that went into that launch were our tech stack, the exciting growth of the newsletter business and the desire to control our message beyond existing social platforms that have failed us so dramatically in recent years. All these topics are also covered in this week’s post.

But what if our journey with Sesamers and our mission of giving the power back to events and attendees was merely a matter of data ownership? What can a humble business like ours learn from bigger fights led by minorities over the last century?

Check out this week’s deep dive into my brain to get some much-needed answers.

Book

Histories of Racial Capitalism

On my pre-ordered reading list & looking forward to getting it after it’s published on February 9th.

• Link: amazon.com/dp/B087T6CVRN/
• Editors: Destin Jenkins & Justin Leroy
• More: peopleofcolorintech.com/front/is-the-first-black-tech-unicorn-within-reach

Investment

1. The Hot Alternative Investments to Watch in 2021

• Link: bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-11/best-alternative-investments-to-buy-in-2021-whisky-music-rights-rewilding
• Author: Edward Robinson & Charlie Wells

2. 15 years of VC Cafe

It’s ok to not ‘crush’ it all the time with all the shit we’re going through!

• Link: https://www.vccafe.com/2021/01/07/15-years-of-vc-cafe/
• Author: Eze Vidra

Data

Frankenstein: The State of B2B Data.

Key insight: The state of B2B data (fragmented, unstandardized across vendors, lacking actual definitions) is an underreported issue that impacts all “strategic” marketing, sales, and service initiatives.

• Link: ironhorse.io/frankenstein-the-state-of-b2b-data/
• Author: Jay Famico

Policy

From Scale to Purpose? The EU’s support for startups in the global race for tech dominance

• Link bertelsmann-stiftung.de/de/publikationen/publikation/did/from-scale-to-purpose-all
• Source: Bertelsmann Stiftung

Productivity

1. 100 Tips for a Better Life

I’m a HUGE believer in #17 and have been preaching it to my team, and anyone else that will listen

• Link: lesswrong.com/posts/7hFeMWC6Y5eaSixbD/100-tips-for-a-better-life
• Author: Ideopunk

2. Creativerly’s Tech Stack

FYI in case you’re looking for alternative tools & platforms to improve your own online writing / publishing workflows.

• Link: creativerly.com/tech-stack/
• Author: Philipp Temmel

Media

1. Forbes launches massive expansion of paid newsletters

Keeping an eye on industry trends & feeling validated that we’re on the right track with Selected by Sesamers

• Link: axios.com/forbes-paid-newsletter-subscriptions-ab423ae1-0b90-4863-acad-40a373adce80.html
• Author: Sara Fischer

2. Online speech and publishing

A human editor chooses ten stories for the front page of a newspaper, and ten stories for the 9 o’clock news, but there is no-one sitting in Menlo Park choosing a hundred photos for your Instagram feed each morning.

• Link: ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2021/1/17/speech-and-publishing
• Author: Benedict Evans

Music

This musician makes $4,500 a month streaming her songwriting process on Twitch

“Here I am, an independent artist with no record label, no publishing deal, no manager, no help from anybody, literally just me and this platform, Twitch.”  – Sereda

• Link: grow.acorns.com/how-to-make-money-on-twitch/
• Author: Gili Malinsky

Gaming

Gamerbait: The mainstream is the game stream

…the most important social space for Zoomers isn’t the disco like it was for Boomers or the grunge bar like it was for Gen X or the DIY venue like it was for Millennials—it’s the Twitch stream, it’s the Discord server, it’s the video game.

• Link: 8ball.report/p/gamerbait
• Author: Sean Monahan