Circle of Competence Issue #71

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Truth - more precisely, an accurate understanding of reality - is the essential foundation for producing good outcomes.” - Ray Dalio

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Letter to Learners #1 - Incentives, Focus, and Developing your Circle of Competence (Link)

This week, I did not want to highlight any articles because it was too tough. Each one is a long, well-written piece that contains great lessons in each domain. Instead, I wanted to post my very first Letter to Learners. Going forward, in addition to my weekly commentary, I hope to write less-frequent, long-form notes on broad themes that I am learning about that have been worthy of closer study.

In my first note, I discuss the importance of incentives in biasing behavior, the importance of focus in life and relationships, and a framework for developing your circle of competence. I would greatly appreciate any feedback!

WRITTEN WORD

TOP READ: Ray Dalio predicts there is a coming economic paradigm shift where hard assets and commodities will be a hedge against 'reflation' (Ray Dalio)

History of public SaaS company returns and valuations (Alex Clayton)

Shopify and the power of platforms (Stratechery)

The latest consumer unicorn, Rothy's, makes this year's 'it' shoe - but can it fend off competitive copycats? (Forbes)

Did the micromobility bubble just burst for Bird? (PitchBook)

Rich Barton's common playbook for creating information marketplace companies like Expedia, Glassdoor, and Zillow (Kwokchain)

Fascinating research from Stanford showing the progression of online dating from non-existent to the main way people meet (Michael Rosenfeld, Stanford University)

SPOKEN WORD

TOP LISTEN: Scott Kupor discusses technology startups with Barry Ritholtz (Masters in Business)

Peter Thiel and Eric Weinstein discuss technological stagnation, institutional failure, and solutions to late modern societal problems (The Portal)

Taking a top-down value investing approach with Jean-Marie Eveillard (Value Investing with Legends)