Calm Content, Software Creators, and Unsolicited Advice

Tings Newsletter #21

Who am I? I’m Michael Karnjanaprakorn. I’m the ex-founder of Skillshare and Otis. Now, I am exploring what's next and sharing my journey. I write a newsletter about navigating modern life, work, and random tings.

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1. I recently completed 100 days of blogging. I discovered my love for writing and the importance of quality over quantity. Moving forward, I'll focus on creating calm content, which will be one well-developed piece of content each month: one long-form essay, one in-depth podcast interview, and this newsletter. Less is more when it comes to quality.

2. This meme highlights how social media algorithms often promote shallow, polarizing “junk food” content designed for quick views and engagement. The most liked and shared content is often the lowest common denominator, appealing to our worst instincts and biases. It brings out the ugly side of human nature at scale.

3. New wealth and status symbols: long attention spans, meeting-free calendar, having enough, and your biological age younger than your real age.

4. I went down the rabbit hole of Seed Stage Philanthropy—grants ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 given to young people, usually under 25, with no strings attached. Some of my favorites include the 1517 Medici Project and their Flux Capacitor (for revolutionary science).

5. I also looked into GrowSF and was impressed by their work in local politics. Their strategy is simple: build a trusted brand by publishing unbiased and well-researched voter guides and getting their community to push for reform, like recalling the school board.

6. I interviewed Dan Reich for the TKS Podcast. He is a 4x exited founder who has sold companies to Salesforce, Buddy Media and P&G. We discussed his playbook for building a venture studio. He also gave me advice on how to navigate what I want to do next.

7. I went on the Idea Maze Podcast to speak with Rob Go (the lead investor in my last company). We discussed founder motivations, ego, and the traps that can befall repeat entrepreneurs.

8. This "secret" took me a decade to realize, but Eric Paley summarizes it well as the two laws of startup physics: capital compound both positive and negative formulas, and all positive systems compound at diminishing rates of return.

9. Chris Paik's "The End of Software" essay has been making the rounds. He argues that AI will drive the cost of creating software to zero, leading to an explosion of software, similar to how user-generated content changed media.

10. AI applications are becoming as ubiquitous as bottled water, raising the question: what will be the new AI moats? I believe it will combine proven moats like data, network effects, and brand, coupled with new moats like deeptech integrations, interoperability, and proprietary algorithms. Companies that create reinforcing flywheels will be the winners.

11. I’m excited about the rise of Software Creators. As Anu predicts, “The future will see a blend of professional and non-professional creators, with software made by everyone, for everyone, serving a wide range of needs and preferences.” This will be the digital “small business.”

12. I wrote about the misalignment of incentives in large VC funds. These big funds will earn more from their 2% management fees than from actual performance. For example, managing $10B will bring in around $200M in annual fees, with most of the money going to a few partners. This creates an incentive to stack fees and achieve just enough performance to raise the next fund. Dave McClure offers a reasonable solution.

13. Unsolicited Advice: How to Win In Your 20s from Greg Isenberg, Dan Go, and me. My favorite: “When you turn 40, you'll see a divide between those who took care of their bodies & those who didn't.”

14. As I approach my 42nd birthday, I found Kevin Dahlstrom's advice for turning 50 insightful: “The goal is not to retire and do nothing; it’s to build a great day-to-day life that you don’t want to escape. A life of leisure is a slow death. Happiness isn’t possible without a little struggle, uncertainty, and skin in the game.”

15. This is Marc Randolph’s (co-founder of Netflix) definition of success: “The thing I’m most proud of in my life is not the companies I started; it’s the fact that I was able to start them while staying married to the same woman; having my kids grow up knowing me and (best as I can tell) liking me, and being able to spend time pursuing the other passions in my life. That’s my definition of success.”

16. This took me 41 years to learn (and I’m still learning it). From Justin Welsh: “You can get a lot of free time back simply by not having an opinion on everything.”

17. Diplo’s house in Jamaica is mad decent! It’s a jungle paradise on 50 acres of land that took 10 years to bring to life. Would love to work out of his music studio.

18. Speaking of homes, this article chronicles the entire story of how Kanye West bought an architectural treasure and then…. “Ye revealed to Saxon—although not all at once—that he wanted no kitchen, bathrooms, A.C., windows, light fixtures, or heating.”

19. Dustin Poirier is one of my favorite UFC fighters, and his hot sauce is A+. Like any good Cajun sauce, the “recipe starts with the best aged Cayenne peppers and vinegar.” Laissez les bons temps rouler.

20. Happy Father’s Day from U-N-C-L-E S-N-O-O-P.

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That’s a wrap!

If you have any ideas, suggestions, or feedback, hit the reply button.

Until the next one…

Michael