The hottest Substack posts right now

according to Hacker News
Category

The Big Reset in Seed to Series A Graduation Rates is Real and Permanent

Venture Reflections • 35 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Market Trends Investor Relations Fundraising Startup Ecosystem
  1. There is a significant drop in the percentage of seed-stage companies graduating to Series A rounds.
  2. The Series A market has been quiet in the past 18 months, especially outside of AI-related investments.
  3. The venture landscape is shifting towards more capital-efficient seed-stage companies with challenges in raising Series A rounds.

The behavioural biases of fund managers

Klement on Investing • 3 implied HN points • 06 Aug 25
💰 Finance Risk Analysis Investing Behavioral Finance Fund management Market Trends
  1. Fund managers often struggle with behavioral biases just like everyone else. This means they can make mistakes based on emotions and perceptions.
  2. Loss aversion is a significant issue for fund managers, especially in hedge funds and money markets, but it's less of a concern for those managing equities.
  3. Interestingly, the size of the fund influences a manager's risk behavior, with larger funds being managed by individuals who tend to take fewer risks when facing potential losses.

Is Retribution Illegitimate?

Gideon's Substack • 38 implied HN points • 14 Sep 23
📖 Philosophy Justice Authority Free will Ethics
  1. Retribution as a basis for a justice system is considered illegitimate by some, who argue that justice systems should focus on reducing harm, not retribution.
  2. Punishment should be justified on pragmatic grounds, such as minimizing harm and preventing future harm, rather than retribution for its own sake.
  3. Retributive justice can be seen as a form of restorative justice, aiming to heal societal breaches caused by crimes, but may need to balance with considerations of rehabilitation and societal impact.

The Week In Repair: May 22-28

Fight to Repair • 19 implied HN points • 31 May 22
🕹 Technology Repair Circular Economy Right-to-repair EVs Open Source
  1. There is pushback on Apple's self service repair program due to the massive repair kit shipped to customers, with critics calling it excessive and expensive.
  2. Deere tractor owners are resorting to hacking due to restrictions on repairs and modifications set by the company, sparking the need for open source projects like Open Source Ecology & Farm Hack.
  3. Nike's new sneaker design embraces the circular economy by creating a disassemblable product to improve recycling rates, offering a more sustainable approach to footwear.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

TWH#48: OKRs Are Not OK

The Hagakure • 53 implied HN points • 02 Mar 23
💼 Business Leadership Organizational Behavior Startups Strategy Management
  1. OKRs are commonly used in startups but often fail to work effectively due to misuse and lack of context.
  2. Senior leaders typically use OKRs for control and predictability, focusing on execution rather than learning and exploration.
  3. The VC-backed startup model emphasizes predictability and control over complex systems, which can hinder innovation and adaptive learning.

2. Vote with your feet

Insight Axis • 39 implied HN points • 27 Jul 21
💼 Business Decision-making Career development
  1. Consider how your environment influences your success and well-being. Changing your environment can improve your situation.
  2. If you find yourself in a role or organization that doesn't align with your qualities or needs, don't hesitate to leave. Find a better fit to thrive.
  3. Voting with your feet - leaving a situation that doesn't work for you - is a powerful way to take control of your life and find fulfillment. Don't feel obligated to stay and fix a broken system; prioritize your own well-being and success.

Building for the Block, Not the Feed

Kathy PM • 7 implied HN points • 30 Mar 25
🕹 Technology Software Development Urban Design Public Policy AI Tools Community Engagement
  1. Creating simple tools can make it easier for people to take action on local issues, like biking safety. By providing ready-to-use message templates, more people can easily express their support.
  2. Fast and focused coding can lead to impactful solutions that address specific community needs. You don't need large projects to make a difference; sometimes, small changes have a big effect.
  3. Listening to your community's needs and building tools to address them can spark meaningful conversations and connections, helping people feel more involved in local matters.

Equal Ventures Hiring Insurtech/Fintech Associate

Equal Ventures • 39 implied HN points • 10 Aug 21
💼 Business Hiring Venture Capital Networking Investment Insurtech
  1. Equal Ventures is hiring an Insurtech Associate to focus on research, investments, and supporting founders in the insurtech space.
  2. Ideal candidates should have experience in consulting, equity research, or private equity, and a strong interest in startups and the venture ecosystem.
  3. Applicants are required to submit responses to specific questions along with their LinkedIn profile/resume for consideration.

Announcing: Re-launching "Impact through Influence"

The Caring Techie Newsletter • 9 implied HN points • 29 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Engineering Education Influence Leadership Career growth
  1. The course 'Impact through Influence' focuses on helping tech professionals build their influence without needing formal authority. It's great for engineers who want to lead and motivate their teams.
  2. Participants will learn how to build their reputation, foster trust, and persuade others effectively. The course includes practical exercises to apply what you learn in real situations.
  3. This re-launch includes new features like hands-on exercises and cheat sheets for every module. It's designed to make the content more accessible and directly applicable to everyday challenges.

#30: Fear of failure

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 99 implied HN points • 27 May 20
💼 Business Emotional Intelligence Leadership Corporate strategy Organizational Behavior Innovation
  1. Fear of failure stops big companies from being creative and trying new things. They worry too much about losing their reputation.
  2. Innovation often leads to failure, but it is also essential for success. Big companies need to accept that some failure is part of the process.
  3. Leaders in large organizations know innovation is necessary but might hold back because they fear taking risks that could lead to failure. This can lead to less exciting results in their work.

Airbnb’s Algorithmic Odyssey: Balancing Automation, Pricing, and User Trust

Gad’s Newsletter • 35 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
💼 Business Customer Service Market Dynamics Processes Technology
  1. Airbnb's core pillars for a great service include affordable prices, reliability, and customer support during issues.
  2. Airbnb faces challenges with customer support, especially with cancellations and non-existent listings, impacting trustworthiness.
  3. Achieving 'product and process market fit' is crucial for companies like Airbnb to align product value with operational processes to meet market demands.

Software engineering practices you should probably be following in 2024

The Tech Enabler • 3 HN points • 27 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Security Infrastructure Testing Culture Coding
  1. Prefer statically typed languages over dynamically typed ones as they offer better reliability and help catch errors earlier.
  2. Utilize automatic code formatting tools for consistent code style and to save time on debating formatting during code reviews.
  3. Consider using queues as data sources in event-driven systems for better scalability and leverage infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform for repeatable and manageable infrastructure.

The power of a trusted brand

Klement on Investing • 3 implied HN points • 05 Aug 25
💰 Finance Investing Branding Asset management Market research Consumer behavior
  1. People often confuse their personal success with the strength of their company's brand. When they switch jobs, they might be surprised that not many clients follow them.
  2. Investors generally trust well-known brands more, and they expect higher returns from funds associated with those brands. This trust can significantly influence investment decisions.
  3. Once a brand's reputation is damaged, it can be hard to recover. Renaming the fund might help, but strong brands should keep their name to maintain investor confidence.

Run your 1:1 with your manager the best way

Askwhy: UX Research, Product Management, Design & Careers • 50 implied HN points • 11 Apr 23
💼 Business Productivity Management Career development Communication Professional development
  1. Your 1:1 with your manager is crucial for building trust and working on your relationship.
  2. Set clear goals for your 1:1 meetings, including understanding priorities, receiving feedback, and discussing career development.
  3. Organize your agenda, prepare in advance, and follow up effectively to make the most out of your 1:1 meetings.

Gis a job

A Bit Gamey • 27 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
💼 Business Job search Career development Personal Branding Networking
  1. Building connections through uncommon commonalities can create strong bonds that stand out and make one fit in.
  2. Demonstrating value to employers by focusing on what you can offer them rather than what they can do for you can lead to opportunities.
  3. Developing a personal brand through online presence, like optimizing LinkedIn profiles and creating personal websites, can enhance job prospects and credibility.

UX Roundup: Designing AI Voices | AI Narrows Skill Gaps | New Music Video | Talk to Santa | Misadventures in Image Prompting | Bezos 95% AI | Multi-Tool AI Workflow | AI-UX Jobs

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 11 implied HN points • 16 Dec 24
🕹 Technology UX Design Video creation Employment Trends AI
  1. AI voice design can now express emotions, allowing users to create custom voices with specific feelings like enthusiasm or assertiveness. This could be especially valuable for brands looking to connect with their audiences more effectively.
  2. Recent studies show that AI helps less skilled users improve more than skilled users, meaning it can level the playing field. AI acts like a mental forklift, making complex tasks easier for everyone.
  3. Combining different AI tools is often necessary to create things like music videos, as each tool has its strengths. There's a big opportunity for new AI products that simplify this process and focus on user intent.

Getting Started With Unreal Engine 5 For Developers, Part 1: Building Blocks

Load-bearing Tomato • 16 implied HN points • 21 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Game Development Digital Art Game Engines Programming Languages Software Engineering
  1. In Unreal Engine 5, Actors and Components are the main building blocks. Actors are objects in the game world, while Components add specific features to those Actors.
  2. Inheritance is a key concept in creating different types of objects. You can create child classes for specific behaviors while still sharing common features from a parent class.
  3. Functions and Events help organize code. Use Functions for reusable code and Events for actions triggered by certain events in your game.

Is Inflation In 2024 Fueled By Supply Or Demand?

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 11 implied HN points • 13 Dec 24
💰 Finance Supply Chain Monetary Policy Economics Inflation
  1. Inflation in 2024 could be caused by supply issues, like hurricanes and strikes, which disrupt the availability of goods and services.
  2. Much of the high inflation seen after the pandemic was actually driven by demand rather than just supply problems.
  3. As supply conditions improve, inflation rates might decrease, but currently, tighter monetary policy and slowed spending suggest that inflation could remain high.

How to Deploy a Java Application Using Supervisor and Set Up Log Rotation

Vasu’s Newsletter • 13 implied HN points • 18 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Software DevOps Java Cloud
  1. Use Supervisor to keep your Java application running smoothly. It automatically restarts your app if it crashes.
  2. Set up log rotation to manage log files effectively. This helps prevent your system from running out of disk space by rotating and compressing logs.
  3. Make sure to test both the application and the log rotation. Checking logs regularly ensures everything is working as expected.

A Brief History of MLOps in Three Acts

Laszlo’s Newsletter • 54 implied HN points • 20 Feb 23
🕹 Technology MLOps Data science Machine Learning
  1. The evolution of MLOps tools started from handling big data and SQL to deployment, feature stores, model monitoring, and more
  2. The increasing complexity of ML models led to the development of tools like XGBoost, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and the need for distributed computing
  3. Machine Learning Engineers play a crucial role in navigating the ever-changing landscape of MLOps tools and technologies

'Brink of Catastrophe' As Federal Interest Payments Reach $750 Billion

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 27 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
💰 Finance Gold Personal Finance Investing Government Economics
  1. The Federal interest payments reaching $750 billion are a significant concern and a sign of a fiscal danger zone.
  2. Peter Schiff emphasizes the immediate threat of the national debt crisis, warning that the problem is not in the distant future but happening right now.
  3. It's crucial to shift the mindset from fixating on ideal dollar exit points to viewing gold as a form of genuine wealth preservation regardless of the dollar value.

The DX Core 4 Framework

Fish Food for Thought • 11 implied HN points • 11 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Data Analysis Engineering Practices Productivity Metrics Software Development
  1. The DX Core 4 Framework helps companies measure developer productivity by looking at four main areas: Speed, Effectiveness, Quality, and Impact. This balanced approach provides a complete picture of how well teams are performing.
  2. It includes a Developer Experience Index (DXI) that shows how developers feel about their work, helping identify areas for improvement. This means companies can catch issues before they become bigger problems.
  3. The framework focuses on connecting developer productivity to business goals, making it easier for all levels of the organization to understand how engineering work impacts the company's success.

Vesuvius Challenge is hiring!

Vesuvius Challenge • 9 implied HN points • 21 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Infrastructure Data science Computer Vision Software Engineering Machine Learning
  1. The Vesuvius Challenge is looking for team members to help recover texts from ancient scrolls. They need people for two key roles: research in computer vision and platform engineering.
  2. The computer vision role focuses on using advanced tech to read the scrolls, which involves solving complex problems with CT scan data.
  3. The platform engineering role is about creating tools and systems to manage and share large datasets, making research easier for the community.

More Upmass!! (Or, Small Launch=Little Business)

Ill-Defined Space • 9 implied HN points • 31 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Satellite Technology Space Industry Rocket launches Aerospace Engineering
  1. Heavy-class rockets are the most popular choice in 2024, with more than half of all launches using them. They are often needed for bigger payloads like satellites.
  2. China has a wide range of rockets, launching more different types than the U.S. and other countries combined. This shows their strong focus on space operations.
  3. Small rockets are the least used, even though many startups are trying to develop them. This highlights a challenge in the market for small satellite launches.

Cross-Discipline Approaches

Fish Food for Thought • 9 implied HN points • 29 Jan 25
💼 Business Innovation Problem Solving Team Dynamics Adaptability
  1. Cross-disciplinary approaches help solve complex problems by combining insights from different fields. This way, we can see things from new angles and come up with better solutions.
  2. Drawing inspiration from areas outside our main expertise can lead to innovative ideas. For example, a surgeon used aviation checklists to improve safety in surgeries.
  3. Diverse teams are more adaptable and can tackle challenges more effectively. Different perspectives lead to more creativity and better outcomes in problem-solving.

#4: Strategic uncertainty

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 119 implied HN points • 27 Nov 19
💼 Business Management Strategy Innovation Leadership Entrepreneurship
  1. Recognizing and managing uncertainty is becoming a rare and valuable skill, both for individuals and organizations. Those who develop this 'uncertainty mindset' can gain a strategic advantage.
  2. To improve adaptability in uncertain environments, organizations should rethink job roles to allow for improvisation and flexibility. This means creating expectations for employees to explore and adapt their responsibilities.
  3. Real learning about managing uncertainty happens through real experiences, rather than traditional corporate training. Leaders need to create work cultures that encourage exploration to build the uncertainty mindset among employees.

The 20/20 Workweek

Working Theorys • 29 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
💼 Business Workplace Trends
  1. The 20/20 Workweek suggests a happy medium between purposeful and flexible work.
  2. Workweek philosophies include the mainstream 40-hour week, the martyr 80-hour week, and the minimizer 4-hour week.
  3. People are questioning traditional workweek norms and seeking a more balanced approach.

Ask questions about your single cell data with natural language

LatchBio • 11 implied HN points • 12 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Biotech Data Analysis Machine Learning Research tools Cloud Computing
  1. Single cell sequencing helps scientists understand individual cells better. This technique is key for studying diseases and biological processes.
  2. Bench scientists need simple tools to analyze single cell data without needing extensive computational skills. This will help them work more independently and quickly.
  3. Providing scientists with easy access to their data will lead to new questions and insights in research. This can improve drug development and other important biological discoveries.

Simplify your product design — borrow familiar patterns

amivora • 9 implied HN points • 30 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Product Design User Experience Software Development Interface Design Tech Innovation
  1. Making product design simple helps users feel comfortable and familiar, just like using everyday items. This means users can start using your product without needing to learn it first.
  2. Using familiar patterns in your design, like placing buttons where users expect them, makes the product easier to navigate. This creates a predictable experience, so users know what to do without guessing.
  3. Borrowing well-known interfaces can help new technologies become popular quickly. When users see something they already understand, they’re more likely to try it out without feeling overwhelmed.

Bitvana or the bitcaust

Gray Mirror • 51 implied HN points • 22 Mar 23
🔮 Crypto Monetary Policy Financial system Cryptocurrency Bitcoin
  1. Belief in financial systems is crucial for their stability - don't always trust the doomsayers predicting collapse.
  2. Understanding the true nature of inflation and the power of the Fed in the financial system provides insight into market dynamics.
  3. Capital flight to assets like Bitcoin can occur due to factors like dilution, destruction, and compression - but the end game must be stability to be effective.

December Newsletter

RSS DS+AI Section • 11 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Data science Research Ethics Machine Learning AI
  1. There are ongoing discussions about the ethical use of AI, especially in healthcare and military. It’s important to think about privacy and the implications of these technologies.
  2. New developments in data science and AI research are exciting, such as improved models for training and reasoning. It's a fast-paced field with many recent breakthroughs.
  3. Generative AI is evolving quickly, with many companies working on new models and applications. This includes features like AI-generated summaries of content you're watching.

The Story of Bayard Bay

The Daily Bud • 12 implied HN points • 06 Nov 24
💼 Business Startups Apparel Marketing Consumer Goods Entrepreneurship
  1. The idea for Bayard Bay started with a genuine desire to improve golf apparel, focusing on what real female golfers need, rather than just starting a business for profit.
  2. The process of creating the product involved a lot of trial and error, especially with manufacturing, to ensure features like the back pocket for yardage books were just right.
  3. As Bayard Bay launches, it relies on word of mouth and team deals to grow, aiming to meet the needs of female golfers through functional and stylish designs.

Undertstanding Kafka [System Design Sundays]

Technology Made Simple • 19 implied HN points • 03 Jul 22
🕹 Technology System Design Open Source Tools Cloud Computing Tech news
  1. Apache Kafka is an open-source distributed event streaming platform used for handling large amounts of data generated by multiple sources simultaneously.
  2. Kafka's key functions include publishing and subscribing to streams of records, storing records in order, and processing streams in real-time, making it essential for real-time streaming data pipelines and applications.
  3. Kafka offers 5 APIs (admin, producer, consumer, streams, connector) for managing topics, publishing streams, subscribing, implementing stream processing, and building data connectors, demonstrating its versatility and usability in system design.

Data Update 3 for 2022: Inflation and its Ripple Effects!

Musings on Markets • 39 implied HN points • 27 Jan 22
💰 Finance Investment Strategies Inflation Interest Rates Asset Classes
  1. Inflation has been high for a while, affecting how investors view the market. People are worried it won't just go away and are trying to figure out its impact on stocks and bonds.
  2. How we measure inflation can change depending on what we look at. What's important is how the market expects inflation to behave in the future, rather than just focusing on what's already happened.
  3. Interest rates and inflation are closely linked. If inflation expectations rise, it can push interest rates up, and this also affects how different investments perform, particularly when inflation is unexpected.

The Katana V3 Upgrade is Coming Soon!

Ronin’s Newsletter • 12 implied HN points • 12 Nov 24
🔮 Crypto Blockchain Smart Contracts Exchanges Liquidity Decentralization
  1. The Katana V3 Upgrade will let users have more control over fees and reduce slippage. This is expected to happen by the end of November after a final review.
  2. Liquidity providers will be able to set specific price ranges for their assets in the new upgrade. This gives them better chances to earn rewards and helps traders get better prices.
  3. The upgrade aims to make the trading experience smoother and more efficient. It will also help support more token listings in the future.