The hottest Business Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics
The Digital Leader Newsletter -- By John Rossman 216 implied HN points 02 Mar 23
  1. Focus on designing and measuring the real customer experience to win.
  2. Provide customers with an 'easy button' by ensuring a frictionless experience across all touchpoints.
  3. Integrate customer experience metrics alongside financial and operational metrics to drive operational excellence and customer obsession.
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Japan Optimist 216 implied HN points 24 Jul 23
  1. Japan's young generation is set to be economically better off than their parents due to demographic changes.
  2. As labor supply decreases, wages and job quality are increasing in Japan, leading to a rise in full-time job creation.
  3. There is a shift in Japan towards valuing and investing in human capital as the country moves towards a new golden age for its young generation.
America 2.0 (by Gary Sheng) 216 implied HN points 23 Mar 23
  1. Web3 is changing how we fund public goods by encouraging individuals to contribute to funding infrastructure.
  2. Funding individuals, or 'Public Greats,' is essential for maximizing the impact of projects and ecosystems.
  3. Supporting Public Greats through Angel Investors and Mintable Milestones can free them from traditional grant application challenges and empower them to make a significant difference.
A Letter a Day 216 implied HN points 04 Jul 23
  1. The private equity industry has evolved over the past three decades, facing challenges due to its success.
  2. Private equity firms need to start adding value to their investments from day one, not just in year two.
  3. Success in private equity today requires skilled people, disciplined approach to managing operations, and global opportunities.
Dan Davies - "Back of Mind" 216 implied HN points 31 May 23
  1. Assembling a folding bicycle involves over a thousand components and skilled bike builders for final assembly.
  2. Piecework payment system led to highly skilled assemblers who could work at incredible speeds.
  3. Transitioning to a production line system from piecework can be culturally disruptive and challenging, impacting the identity and skills of employees.
Genuine Impact - Charting Finance, Investing & Tech 216 implied HN points 30 Jun 23
  1. Lithium producers are crucial for ensuring a stable supply of lithium used in EV batteries.
  2. Battery producers focus on improving battery capacity, charging speeds, and durability for electric vehicles.
  3. Auto parts manufacturers play a vital role in developing EV technology by producing essential components like electric motors and power electronics.
Boiler Room 117 implied HN points 23 Jan 24
  1. JB Hi-Fi's growth is linked to the resurgence of vinyl sales.
  2. The chain's unique approach to retail, offering a mix of vinyl records and tech gadgets, is attracting customers.
  3. Their expansion plans include opening over 20 new stores, doubling their presence in New Zealand.
Alex's Personal Blog 98 implied HN points 01 Aug 25
  1. The economy is not as strong as it seemed, with job data showing a slowdown and rising long-term unemployment. This means we may be facing challenges ahead instead of stability.
  2. The failed acquisition of Figma by Adobe is seen as a positive outcome for Figma and its investors, allowing them to see a larger increase in value without being bought out.
  3. Increased competition in the market is beneficial for users and smaller companies, reminding us that antitrust actions can protect growing startups from larger corporations.
Human Capitalist 39 implied HN points 13 Jun 24
  1. Companies that grow their sales teams tend to see their stock prices rise. This shows that a bigger sales team can mean better future earnings.
  2. On the other hand, companies that cut their sales teams often experience a drop in market value. This suggests they may be less confident in selling their products.
  3. There may be other human capital factors that also relate to stock performance, and it's worth exploring these connections further. There could be more signs that predict how well a company will do financially.
Venture Curator 179 implied HN points 13 Nov 23
  1. One should be aware of the hidden traps of convertible notes and liquidation preference multiples, especially in funding rounds.
  2. Founder should keep the liquidation preference multiples in check to prevent undesired outcomes for themselves.
  3. To tackle the impact of multiple liquidation preferences, founders can consider issuing sub-series of preferred stock for protection.
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter 349 implied HN points 19 Nov 24
  1. Good content should always encourage people to sign up for newsletters. This helps creators grow their audience and make money.
  2. You can succeed on platforms like Substack even if you start with no followers. Many people have built their subscriber base from scratch.
  3. Partnerships can help you grow faster. Teaming up with established brands can lead to more visibility and subscribers.
Musings on Markets 619 implied HN points 10 Nov 22
  1. Accounting mistakes can misclassify expenses, affecting a company's reported profits and overall valuation. When money is wrongly categorized, it can look like a company is performing worse than it actually is.
  2. Correctly categorizing expenses like R&D can show a company’s true financial health. For example, treating R&D as a capital expense can increase reported profits and the value of the company.
  3. Understanding these accounting practices is important for investors. If investors misjudge a company due to these accounting errors, it may lead to undervaluation, making the company look cheaper than it really is.
Alex's Personal Blog 98 implied HN points 30 Jul 25
  1. Press releases are becoming more important again because companies want to share news, and AI tools are hungry for information. This makes companies release more press releases to get noticed in AI searches.
  2. With the rise of AI, press releases may start to be longer and more focused on providing a lot of information instead of being catchy for humans. This could change the way companies communicate important updates.
  3. As press releases grow more valuable, companies may make bolder claims without the usual human skepticism. This means PR work will become even busier and might lean more on AI tools.
SeattleDataGuy’s Newsletter 294 implied HN points 31 Dec 24
  1. In 2024, I gained over 100,000 subscribers on both YouTube and Substack. I really appreciate the support and plan to create even better content next year.
  2. This year showed trends like cloud data migrations and smaller, fractional data teams, which are changing how companies handle data. It's important to keep an eye on these shifts in the data world.
  3. Looking ahead to 2025, I want to finish my book on data leadership and offer more webinars and mini-courses. I'm excited to engage even more with my readers and build a community.
Human Capitalist 59 implied HN points 06 May 24
  1. Many people are changing jobs, and this can create interesting dynamics in their new companies. It’s important to keep an eye on these shifts.
  2. Some notable job changes include a move from Salesforce to Scale AI and a return to HubSpot by a tech marketing expert. Such shifts can impact the companies involved.
  3. Tracking these job changes can help investors and recruiters learn about new opportunities and talent in the market.
Not Boring by Packy McCormick 270 implied HN points 22 Jan 25
  1. As technology advances, many skills we thought were unique to humans are becoming easier for machines to do. However, this doesn't mean that humans are being made irrelevant; rather, we need to find what makes us unique.
  2. The process of commoditization means that things that were once rare and valuable are now easier and cheaper to access. This opens up new opportunities for what skills can be considered valuable in a changing economy.
  3. It’s important to adapt and use the tools at our disposal creatively. As machines take over more tasks, we should focus on our human strengths and experiences, making them central to our endeavors.
The Social Juice 26 implied HN points 30 Nov 25
  1. OpenAI is planning to introduce advertisements in ChatGPT, which could change the user experience soon.
  2. YouTube is experimenting with a new recommendation algorithm that might affect how videos are suggested to users.
  3. AI is becoming more accepted in the music industry, with music labels starting to collaborate with AI technologies.
The Generalist 260 implied HN points 07 Feb 25
  1. The Generalist has started two clubs: a Reading Club and a Deal Club to share interesting articles, books, and startups.
  2. Every Friday, members can participate in the Reading Club by sharing and discovering new information and insights together.
  3. On Mondays, the Deal Club will focus on interesting startups and funding news, allowing members to discuss and learn from each other.
Gad’s Newsletter 29 implied HN points 24 Nov 25
  1. Sonder expanded too quickly without a solid plan. They treated their hospitality business like a tech startup, which led to high costs and financial problems.
  2. Sonder struggled to make money because their fixed costs were too high. Even when occupancy rates were good, they still lost money due to ongoing expenses that kept piling up.
  3. Partnerships can fail if companies are not aligned. Sonder's deal with Marriott seemed good, but their different customer expectations and technology issues hurt both businesses.
Kristina God's Online Writing Club 419 implied HN points 10 Feb 23
  1. Writing on Medium can help you get exposure and build an audience, even if the pay isn't great. It's a good place to test your writing and try different topics.
  2. You get paid based on how much time readers spend on your stories, which means engagement is key for earnings. Even if the money is small, you can get paid quickly.
  3. Medium offers you creative freedom and flexibility to write on your own schedule. You can connect with others and even grow your reputation as a writer.