FAFO
Tings Newsletter #30
Who am I? I’m Michael Karnjanaprakorn. I run Choop, my personal holding company for weird ideas. Before that, I founded Skillshare and Otis. Now exploring what's next and sharing my journey. Every month, I write this newsletter about life, business, and random tings. If someone forwarded this to you, join 5K+ other readers by subscribing here.
I’m currently in Europe. A few things stand out so far: no A/C and lots of bottled water. But in exchange you get lots of culture, history, and delicious food.
If I could give new parents one tip: take more videos, especially in the first 3 years. Videos are what make you feel like you’re back in that moment.
FAFO Parenting Style. I’m just going to copy and paste the excerpt from the WSJ article: “She threw him in the pond, clothes and all. Some of the best lessons in life are the hard ones. The internet calls it “FAFO,” short for “F—Around and Find Out.” It’s a child-rearing style that elevates consequences over the “gentle parenting” methods that have helped shape Gen Z.”
I can relate to this: “You’re not depressed. You just need a quest.” Researchers found we spend almost half our time thinking about something other than what we’re doing, and we’re usually less happy when we do. Mind-wandering is one of the strongest predictors of unhappiness, no matter what’s going on in our lives.
Two big waves are crashing at the same time right now. If I were in my 20s and trying to build wealth, I’d pick one of two plays: build an AI app if I wanted to be an operator, or invest in crypto if I was more of an investor. I oscillate between both, but lately I’ve been leaning toward building ideas I’d like to see in the world, using fun as my compass.
It’s a great time to build. We’re in the bootstrapped solo founder era, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this chart crosses 50% soon.
The reason it’s such a good time to build is because of leveraged beta. When I was building, you had to make something 10x better than what was already out there. But in the AI era, where the models keep improving on their own, you just need to build something good enough. “The smart money isn't on building the best product - it's on being the default option when the underlying tech finally works.”
There’s a new trend around seed-strapping: raise one seed round, sprint to profitability, and never raise again. Falling compute costs and open-source models make it possible to hit meaningful revenue fast. And in today’s Silicon Valley, revenue is the new status symbol, not fundraising.
Here’s how to create wealth in the new economy from an OpenAI Researcher. Hyung Won Chung calls AI the ultimate form of leverage. “Humans underestimate gradual changes; AI amplifies output via learning acceleration, agents (scalable labor/code hybrid), and scientific synthesis.” It lowers the barrier to learning anything but raises the cost of not learning.
I’m pretty excited about crypto right now. The GENIUS Act was just signed into law, which establishes unified standards for stablecoin issuance and reserves. The CLARITY Act passed by the House allows for a migration path from the SEC to CFTC jurisdiction (a big deal because it pulls crypto out of legal limbo). And soon, U.S. retirement accounts will be able to invest in crypto. It’s the kind of regulatory progress that could finally make crypto feel legit in the U.S.
Arthur Hayes predicts we’re entering “QE for the average person” — a wartime-fueled credit boom that’s insanely bullish for crypto. Unlike traditional quantitative easing, which funnels money into banks and asset markets, his thesis is that governments will guarantee loans to critical industries like energy, defense, and semiconductors. This credit then flows into the real economy (to the average person) before eventually chasing scarce assets like Bitcoin. Add in retirement accounts being able to invest in crypto and stablecoins purchasing T-bills (funding US deficits), it makes for a strong bull case for crypto.
Thiccy’s latest essay, “The Jackpot Age,” argues we’ve shifted from measured risk-taking to worshiping jackpots — chasing rare, life-changing wins even when the math guarantees most people go to zero. This “Jackpot Paradox” explains why SBF, 3AC, and millions of meme-stock gamblers blew up: they were all flipping a negative-compounding coin flip. Social media is supercharging this mindset, making upward mobility feel like a lottery. His advice: stop chasing jackpots, play the long game, and maximize your median outcome instead of pursuing extreme results.
I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. But I do love me a fridge cigarette.
An obsessive parent moved his family to Austin to test Alpha School and came away convinced. The school is not really “AI-powered” (more like spaced-repetition apps), isn’t teacher-free (guides are highly paid and essential), and isn’t really “2 hours” of learning (closer to 3.5 hours including breaks). But the results speak for themselves: students are improving MAP test scores (a national benchmark for math and reading) about 2.6x faster than peers, with gifted kids hitting 5x. The secret lies in the incentives and culture. Kids earn “Alpha Bucks” to spend on stuff, get immediate feedback, and advance through levels only by mastering skills, rather than simply aging up. If this works, it changes everything we think we know about school.
Matt Bateman is piloting a Montessori-tech hybrid in Austin, based on Alpha School's 2 Hour Learning (2HL) platform. A kid might learn multiplication with bead cabinets then practice to fluency on 2HL (where students are testing 2-3 grade levels ahead).
Careless People is a fascinating read on the inner workings of Facebook. It reveals how the story you see from the outside differs dramatically from what's actually happening behind the scenes. A must-read for anyone working in tech who wants to know what it's really like to work closely with Mark and Sheryl.
So glad the Clipse are back together! They recently performed a Tiny Desk Concert, opening with “Virginia” about their hometown (mine too) and closing with my all-time favorite, “Grindinggggggggg!”
Building the Band is an excellent Netflix show that combines Love is Blind with Making the Band (Who are the five best rappers of all time?). If you enjoy this format, Pop Star Academy is also worth watching.
This isn’t up for debate. Korean fried chicken is the best fried chicken.
A US company, Pattern, has built an AI that can translate cat meows into human language with 95% accuracy. It listens, analyzes sound patterns, and tells you if your cat is hungry, wants attention, or something else. Imagine a world where you can have real conversations with your cat 🐈
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Honestly, I always look forward to your Substack - I get giddy when a new post is up lol
How is it with no A/C? Is it hard to sleep at night in the summer?