The hottest Business Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

Leading Effective Engineering Teams

Elevate • 1074 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
💼 Business Team Dynamics Performance Metrics
  1. Google found that psychological safety is crucial for an effective team, along with dependability, structure and clarity, meaningful work, and impact.
  2. Team effectiveness is more about how team members collaborate rather than who is in the team.
  3. Creating a culture of psychological safety where team members feel comfortable taking risks and expressing themselves without fear of repercussion can significantly boost team performance.

Inside Big Cabal Media’s Ambitious Plan to Build Africa’s Next Great Media Company

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 224 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
💼 Business Media Publishing Advertising Digital Entertainment
  1. Big Cabal Media started as two blogs and has grown into a big company with 100 employees across different countries. They now do events, research, and even movies.
  2. Tomiwa Aladekomo believes in diversifying revenue sources to help the company succeed in the changing media landscape.
  3. The company faces common challenges like social media traffic drops and AI trends, as well as unique issues specific to African media.

Living Evil: Unearthed Bodies And Sacrificial Lambs

Richard Lewis • 1906 implied HN points • 17 May 23
💼 Business Ethics Leadership Management Work Environment Corporate culture
  1. Multiple reports of harassment and misconduct by key figures in the esports industry were brought to light, leading to their termination.
  2. New management at Evil Geniuses used past incidents involving employees as excuses to remove them, while also driving out senior employees who challenged their decisions.
  3. The company culture at Evil Geniuses shifted dramatically after the departure of senior staff, leading to a challenging and unbearable work environment.

The current high value of residential investment

Erdmann Housing Tracker • 210 implied HN points • 08 Dec 25
💼 Business Real Estate Housing Market Investment Construction Macroeconomics Public Policy
  1. A long shortfall in residential construction since the mid-2000s has left roughly a 15 million‑home gap and driven net residential investment down from a sustainable ~2% of GDP to about 0.6%, creating a cumulative $7 trillion deficit.
  2. That shortage has inflated land rents across many cities, acting as a regressive transfer from renters and new buyers to existing owners and raising nominal GDP and inflation without raising real GDP.
  3. Building many more homes—especially rental and 'missing middle' units bought by investors—would replace land rents with structure rents, lower housing costs over time, and shift wealth away from landowners toward renters and new homeowners.

The Impact of One Great Leader

Fish Food for Thought • 26 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
💼 Business Leadership Management Mentorship Career Organizational Behavior Personal Development
  1. A single clear sentence from a credible leader can reframe how someone sees themselves and send their career down a very different path.
  2. Powerful mentorship is often short and works by naming undervalued strengths, offering a new identity, and granting permission to act rather than giving long advice.
  3. Leaders should point out others’ potential because that recognition lowers barriers and compounds into bigger opportunities. People earlier in their careers should pay attention and act when a credible person reflects a new possibility for them.
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250 Roche Axelios Instruments In the First Year Possible?

ASeq Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
💼 Business Market research Biotech Life Sciences Healthcare Competitive Strategy Product Launch
  1. Informal polls on Discord and LinkedIn had low response and are hard to interpret, but they did identify a small group of respondents who actually have purchasing influence.
  2. Even though Roche's Axelios pricing isn't much better than Illumina's, the product still appears compelling to a subset of potential buyers.
  3. Using rough assumptions about market size (>2000 instruments) and the poll results, a back‑of‑the‑envelope projection yields about 250 Axelios units in the first year, but that number relies on several optimistic assumptions and substantial uncertainty.

How I'm Building My Business To Run Without Me

VERY GOOD PRODUCTIZED GUIDES • 179 implied HN points • 04 Jul 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Management Productivity Marketing Operations
  1. Many business owners think their business can't run without them due to fear of losing quality. But with the right systems, it can thrive even in their absence.
  2. Bottlenecks come from controlling client communication and deliverables too tightly. Letting go and empowering others can free up time and improve efficiency.
  3. Creating clear processes and hiring help allows business owners to focus on growth. Shifting to scalable models can also help in generating consistent income.

Unlocking the Open Innovation Toolbox

The VC Corner • 299 implied HN points • 31 May 24
💼 Business Innovation Entrepreneurship Investment Startups Networking
  1. Open innovation helps companies grow by using ideas and skills from both inside and outside their organization. This makes them quicker and more competitive in their market.
  2. It's important for corporates, startups, and investors to connect with others in the open innovation network. These connections can lead to funding, mentorship, and new business opportunities.
  3. There are many service providers that support open innovation, like innovation centers and corporate hubs. These places help businesses develop new ideas and technologies.

High-performance engineering managers

Elevate • 1113 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Data Analytics Training Employee engagement
  1. Effective managers have key traits that significantly impact employee performance, happiness, and retention, as proven by Google's Project Oxygen.
  2. Soft skills like coaching, communication, and support are more valued than technical expertise by employees, emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence in management.
  3. Using rigorous people analytics, organizations can identify and develop high-impact management behaviors specific to their unique culture, leading to improved leadership and employee satisfaction.

Talent is the key in an AI Age.

The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past • 80 implied HN points • 11 Jan 26
💼 Business Talent Management Human Resources Leadership Strategy Workforce Development AI adoption Employee engagement
  1. Talent is the primary sustainable advantage: skilled, motivated people create and preserve innovation, service, and brand experiences. AI and other tools only multiply value when they are in the hands of well-trained talent.
  2. Firms must invest heavily in training, reskilling, and rewarding people alongside their AI spending, because technology and data alone won't create differentiation. Leaders and managers should be measured and compensated on how well they attract, develop, and retain talent.
  3. To attract, retain, and help people thrive, focus on pay, recognition, and autonomy; purpose, values, and connection; and freedom, identity, and growth. Employees also act as advocates and their satisfaction should be tracked with tenure, turnover, surveys, and other people metrics.

How to mine without mining

Irina Slav on energy • 1002 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
💼 Business Mining Commodities Investment Environment Clean Energy
  1. Copper prices are forecasted to jump by 75% in 2025 due to energy transition and decline in the U.S. dollar.
  2. There are concerns about copper shortages, but traders often don't consider long-term impacts when trading commodities.
  3. Mining companies are facing challenges from resource nationalism and must find ways to mine sustainably to support the global transition to clean energy.

You Can Meet 6-Figure Fiverr Writer Maya Sayvanova Who Got Featured in Business Insider LIVE

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 539 implied HN points • 08 Apr 24
💼 Business Freelancing Writing Marketing Entrepreneurship Content creation
  1. Maya Sayvanova is a successful freelancer on Fiverr who has earned over $200,000. She went from making just $5 to becoming a top-rated writer, showing how hard work pays off.
  2. Despite her success, she faced challenges and failures along the way. It's important to keep pushing through tough times and not let setbacks define you.
  3. There's a live event where you can learn from Maya's experience and ask her questions. It's a great chance to get inspired and improve your writing skills.

MBAs and the death of credentialism

Hot Takes • 1041 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
💼 Business Education Employment Experience Networks Knowledge
  1. In the internet age, real-world experience like running a business is more valuable than just academic theory.
  2. In creative fields like marketing, MBAs are becoming less relevant due to a lack of real experience and understanding.
  3. With the democratization of knowledge online, the necessity of a fancy MBA degree is diminishing, and real-world contributions hold more weight.

Why Most Online Advertising Benchmarks Are BS (And What To Do Instead)

Nail It and Scale It • 119 implied HN points • 22 Jul 24
💼 Business Marketing Advertising Data Analysis E-commerce Growth Strategies
  1. Many online advertising benchmarks are unreliable because they don't account for differences in pricing and offers. This means you might be comparing apples to oranges, leading to wrong conclusions.
  2. To get better benchmarks, focus on two key metrics: Cost-Per-Click (CPC) and Conversion Rate. These give you a clearer picture of how your ads are performing compared to others.
  3. Joining groups or talking to industry experts can help you find more accurate conversion rates for your products. Sharing data with peers is a good way to understand what's normal in your field.

A good analogy can sell boring

Creative Samba • 19 implied HN points • 04 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing Investing Finance Branding Advertising
  1. ETFs can be a smarter way to invest than buying individual stocks. They let you own a piece of many companies without the hassle of picking each one.
  2. ETFs are cheaper and accessible for everyday people, unlike traditional investing options that often favor big investors. This means anyone can get involved in the market.
  3. Using good analogies in marketing can make dull products exciting. For iShares, a clever ad strategy helped them reach a new audience when they were losing market share.

Reflecting on 2025 + Reader Survey | #318

Boundless by Paul Millerd • 115 implied HN points • 30 Dec 25
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Publishing E-commerce Monetization Content creation Community Building
  1. Prioritized family and creative projects over chasing business growth; spending lots of time with a young child was the year's highlight and brought real joy.
  2. Betting on a premium hardcover and direct-to-reader sales paid off—about 325 copies sold and the launch covered much of the upfront cost, making future sales mostly cash flow positive; expanding store bundles and collectibles looks promising.
  3. The business kept operating but felt like treading water with lower income year-over-year, so the plan is to simplify, experiment with formats and the community, and take a mini-sabbatical to regain focus and momentum in 2026.

Homepage Teardowns: What 6 Top SaaS Companies Get Right (and Wrong)

Startup Business Tips 🚀 • 43 implied HN points • 01 Feb 26
💼 Business Marketing Sales Product Strategy Growth Design
  1. Make your homepage instantly clear about who the product is for and what it does, use contextual social proof and realistic product visuals, and guide visitors to deeper pages with CTAs and FAQs instead of dumping too much detail.
  2. A sales-led motion can work below €10k ACV if you meet the right metrics: fast CAC payback (ideally under 6–12 months), enough ARR per AE, win rates above ~20%, short sales cycles, and mostly inbound-driven demos.
  3. Use early sales as a learning channel: document a simple visual sales process with clear CTAs, qualification rules, and next steps so you can learn how customers buy, improve positioning, and scale repeatably.

Resetting expectations for VC investing in health tech

Second Opinion • 1729 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Health tech Investing Entrepreneurship Funding
  1. Not every startup in health tech needs to be backed by venture capital.
  2. Health tech industry may not yield many billion-dollar exits, but there are numerous smaller exits ranging from $40 to $500 million.
  3. Venture capitalists should consider alternative sources of capital like private equity, government grants, family offices, and angel investors for health tech startups.

Some big news about The Mill

The Mill • 1808 implied HN points • 30 Aug 23
💼 Business Media Investment Expansion Journalism Funding
  1. The Mill has successfully raised a total of £350,000 in funding from supporters to hire journalists around the country.
  2. The funding will be used for expanding the company and hiring new staff members in different cities.
  3. The success of The Mill's funding round is attributed to the support and belief of paying members and prominent figures in the media industry.

Guest Essay: VC Contagion

Newcomer • 1808 implied HN points • 31 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Startup funding Business Models Market Trends Investor behavior
  1. Venture capital supports unsustainable models to achieve scale, like with tech giants Apple, Google, and Amazon.
  2. Companies like Uber and Airbnb, initially fueled by VC funding, now face challenges as they struggle with profitability.
  3. VC funding has fueled a culture of excessive capital consumption, leading to concerns about sustainability and the future of innovation.

How the Product Bubble Burst

Cold Water • 20 HN points • 10 Sep 24
💼 Business Economics Finance Investment Corporate strategy Market Trends
  1. The Product Management bubble is bursting because the real economy and asset economy are becoming more disconnected. Investors were putting money into tech stories that weren't delivering real value.
  2. After years of inflated asset prices, investors now require proof of value rather than just potential. This shift is leading to a tougher environment for tech and startups.
  3. The rise of interest rates means tech companies can no longer just rely on good narratives without tangible results. Many jobs in the tech sector are at risk because of this change.

Estimating Roche Shipments

ASeq Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
💼 Business Biotech Market Sales Forecasting Competition Instruments
  1. You can bound Roche's first-year instrument shipments by comparing to historical first-year shipments of similar sequencing platforms.
  2. Historical examples vary a lot — from roughly 20 units up to about 500 units in their first year — so Roche could plausibly fall anywhere in that range.
  3. Producing a useful estimate will require more data and clear assumptions about market demand, pricing, and manufacturing capacity.

What GTM teams are doing with ChatGPT

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 851 implied HN points • 30 Jul 25
💼 Business Marketing Growth Sales Product Management Content creation
  1. GTM teams are increasingly using ChatGPT because it helps streamline many tasks, making it the go-to tool for marketers. Instead of juggling multiple tools, many prefer this single platform for various needs.
  2. ChatGPT is versatile and can be used for a variety of functions like persona research, new product positioning, and creating content outlines. This flexibility helps teams save time and improve productivity.
  3. Using AI like ChatGPT reduces costs and enhances marketing efforts, such as localizing content and generating targeted event invitations. It allows teams to operate more efficiently and effectively reach their audience.

Why don't media outlets personalize their homepages?

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 224 implied HN points • 21 Nov 25
💼 Business Media Technology Entrepreneurship Publishing Marketing
  1. Most major news outlets haven't personalized their homepages like social media has, which feels surprising given the tech advancements. Publishers often think their audiences prefer a curated experience instead of individualized content.
  2. Patreon is focusing on content discovery outside big tech companies, promoting quality over sensationalism. This could help creators earn more money without relying on engagement-driven algorithms.
  3. The Guardian has gained a strong membership base in the U.S. by directly confronting right-wing extremism, which sets it apart from many American news outlets that shy away from such stances.

Movers, Shakers, & Money Makers (8/12)

Human Capitalist • 119 implied HN points • 13 Aug 24
💼 Business Job Market Career Changes Human Resources Corporate strategy Workforce Trends
  1. Many people are changing jobs in interesting ways, showing shifts in the job market. It’s worth noting when top talent moves to new companies.
  2. Some companies are aiming for global expansion, which adds to their value. This can affect how businesses compete and grow.
  3. The ongoing competition between Lyft and Uber highlights the importance of both financial performance and talent management in the ridesharing industry.

4th Look at Local Housing Markets in December

CalculatedRisk Newsletter • 62 implied HN points • 26 Jan 26
💼 Business Real Estate Housing Market Home Sales Market Data Local Markets
  1. The NAR moved to an earlier monthly reporting schedule, which reduces the early sample available for projections and makes larger revisions to reported sales more likely.
  2. Inventory is rising — active single-family listings are up week-over-week and substantially up year-over-year, suggesting inventory may have bottomed early and that the usual spring pickup in March could be stronger.
  3. Sales and new listings remain muted overall — December showed small YoY gains on an unadjusted basis but 2025 had the weakest annual sales since 1995, and new listings are still well below 2019 levels in many markets.

Lessons From Over 13 Million Naira Worth of Organic WhatsApp Sales

Day One • 758 implied HN points • 24 Feb 24
💼 Business Sales Marketing Content creation Data Analysis Customer Support
  1. Building trust and authority through valuable content is essential for selling products or services online
  2. Utilizing testimonials and free high-quality content can greatly persuade potential customers to make a purchase
  3. Addressing objections, providing ongoing support, and reducing buyer's remorse are key to maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty

CROSSPOST: NOAH SMITH: The AI Bust Scenario That No One Is Talking About

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 169 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
💼 Business Tech industry Corporate Finance Capital Markets Market Competition Business Models Infrastructure
  1. AI could be widely useful but still be a low-profit industry, with most of the value flowing to downstream complementors and users rather than to model makers or operators.
  2. Huge, debt-fueled data-center buildouts risk a finance-driven bust if the economic returns take many years to materialize, even if the technology itself keeps improving.
  3. A total technological flop like VR is unlikely given rapid adoption, but big incumbent platforms can block rivals by giving good-enough AI features away for free, preventing startups from capturing big rents.

Successful Startups Grow Quadratically, Not Exponentially. | VC Jobs

Venture Curator • 239 implied HN points • 11 Jun 24
💼 Business Startups Venture Capital Marketing Job Opportunities Product Development
  1. Successful startups grow quadratically, not exponentially, debunking the common misconception about their growth pattern.
  2. A framework for finding the right customers for your MVP involves focusing on a special subset of users who are excited about the long-term vision of the product.
  3. Understanding the Power User Curve can help identify and cater to highly engaged users, leading to more targeted product development and growth strategies.

Networking as sending "hard to fake" signals

Optima & Outliers • 299 implied HN points • 25 May 24
💼 Business Networking Career development Recruitment Job search Personal Branding
  1. Networking is not just about meeting people; it's about sending strong signals that you are trustworthy and capable. These signals help you stand out and show your potential to employers.
  2. There are two key types of networking: informational networking to learn about a field, and evaluative networking to impress hiring decision-makers. Start by gathering information and then shift to showcasing your value.
  3. To avoid coming off as sleazy while networking, focus on having genuine conversations and showing real interest. Don’t name-drop or overly flatter others; instead, respect their time and build connections naturally.

There's a whole lot of ugly out there when it comes to growth teams.

Elena's Growth Scoop • 904 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
💼 Business Marketing Management Growth Finance Leadership
  1. The growth teams face systematic failures in the industry due to various issues like unclear growth fundamentals and bad strategic decisions from executives.
  2. Symptoms of a bad growth team include not focusing on monetization, neglecting retention, and obsessing over 'hacks' instead of building sustainable growth engines.
  3. To build a successful growth team, companies need to prioritize monetization, retention, and data-driven decision-making, and ensure alignment between departments for optimal results.

I Badly Want a Map to the Likely Consequences of the AI-Infrastructure Construction Boom

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 645 implied HN points • 19 Aug 25
💼 Business Tech industry Economic Trends Investment Strategies Market predictions
  1. The AI infrastructure construction boom is huge, with companies investing billions into data centers, but it’s unclear if these investments will pay off. Tech giants fear being outpaced by newcomers and are building defenses.
  2. While this spending is keeping parts of the economy afloat, there are doubts about whether the AI tools being developed now will actually be useful in the long run. We’re waiting to see if these investments lead to real profit or just losses.
  3. Most gains might not go to the big tech companies themselves, but instead to smaller firms that create new and useful AI applications, a bit like how those who sold shovels made money during the Gold Rush.

The VC Corner 📰 #14

The VC Corner • 739 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Startups Finance Market Trends Economic outlook
  1. Exit values for companies are dropping, which means it's harder for startups to sell and make a profit. This could affect how investors view their investments.
  2. Founder salaries are being measured more consistently, giving better benchmarks for what startup founders can expect to earn. It's important for new entrepreneurs to know this info.
  3. The overall outlook for the VC industry seems uncertain right now, with challenges ahead. Investors might need to adjust their strategies going forward.

News of the Week (February 5 - 9)

Stock Market Nerd • 825 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
💼 Business Tech Finance Earnings Macro Portfolio
  1. Cloudflare provides web optimization and security, showing strong revenue growth and expanding services beyond traditional security tools like network firewalls
  2. Spotify had a mixed quarter, with growth seen in 2023 but missed revenue estimates for Q4, leading to a focus on evolving its operations
  3. Amazon plans cost cuts in its healthcare unit, while Duolingo faces the risk of potential disruption by emerging GenAI language translation technologies