Best Conversions Come From Fixing Off‑Site Friction Early
Most of my CRO clients come to me in a panic. Sales are down, someone has asked a difficult question in a board meeting, and now we need to fix the website. Fast. So we do. We work through the usual suspects — clearer calls to action, better product photography, a headline that doesn't make you want to lie down. And it helps, genuinely. You can squeeze real improvement out of almost any site with this kind of work. But the things that make the biggest difference? They're usually not on the website at all. It's the return policy that reads like a legal threat. It's the customer support that takes four days to respond. It's the checkout asking for information nobody needs. Those things take time to fix. Time you don't have when conversion has already become a problem. I'll take the quick-fix brief and do my best with it. But I'm always a little wistful about what we could have done if they'd come to me before it became urgent. Good CRO happens before there's a crisis to manage. #UX #CRO #ConversionOptimisation
Warsh Hearing Could Shift USTs Amid Iran War
Iran war continues to dominate price action in USTs but Warsh's confirmation hearing tomorrow will likely interrupt the current narrative for a spell especially if he sticks to his recent rate dovishness and balance sheet hawkishness.
Tuesday's Triple Threat Sparks Market Volatility
This is the market right now 🤯 Ceasefire expires Tuesday. US-Iran meeting Tuesday. US Retail Sales Tuesday. Expect volatility $SPX $SPY $QQQ $DJI $CL $USO $XLE $GC $GLD $DXY
Built $1B COVID Rescue Program in Weeks
April 20, 2020 was my first day as the GM of the project management team supporting the HR division of our little ATL based airline. As you can imagine, it was an intense and crazy time. Within a week or...
Hormuz Strait Unreliable, Threatening 20% Global LNG Supply
IEA'S BIROL: HORMUZ STRAIT LOST ITS STATUS AS RELIABLE About 20% of global LNG supply is locked behind the strait
AI Crawler Patterns Boost Business Site Search Performance
Research on 68 million AI crawler visits show clear patterns that drive better AI search performance to business sites. https://t.co/Hkhd40OXNn via @martinibuster, @sejournal
US‑China Stockpiling Fuels Copper Price Surge
The entire copper industry has just returned from last week’s leading copper conference in Chile (CESCO), with participants, including the world’s largest copper traders, even more bullish that all-time-high copper prices could be tested over the coming weeks. It’s become...
IG Strategy that Drove Newsletter to 150k Subscribers
one of the best things i did on IG to grow my newsletter past 150k subs
Invest in the GP, Not Just the Fund
Most investors focus on deals. But some of the most sophisticated capital allocators invest somewhere else entirely. In The Holy Grail of Investing, Tony Robbins highlights a strategy used by institutional investors called GP stakes. Instead of investing in the fund, you invest...
AI Empowers CEOs to Code, Not Just Oversee
I came back to code because AI made it possible for me to build at a level I couldn't before. I'm not coding despite being CEO of YC. I'm coding because this is the most important technological shift since the internet...
Master Pricing Calls: Stop Sticker Shock, Build Trust
90% of B2B salespeople suck at "talking price." They either say price point blank (Hint: this gets you sticker shock). Or they beat around the bush (Hint: this kills trust). 6 tips for PERFECT pricing calls that sell:
Unending Iran War Could Stall Global Growth to Zero
My take on what would happen to world economic growth if the Iran war continues unabated @MarioNawfal: "My guess is that world growth would sink from the IMF projected 3.1%/yr to pretty close to zero, maybe even negative." FOREVER WARS = FROM...
Buy $350K Business, Earn $158K Cash Flow
The U.S. small business market did $7.95 billion in transactions last year. Median sale price: $350,000 Median cash flow: $158,950 Median revenue: $703,000 Buy a business doing $158K in cash flow for $350K is what the numbers say. With 10% down and SBA financing, that's...
Populist Pro‑Tariff Rhetoric Fails Against Manufacturing Economics
"These [pro-tariff] arguments carry populist appeal, but they falter when confronted with the economics of manufacturing and the realities of global supply chains."
Four Major Deals Showcase Hefty Premiums Across Sectors
Today's M&A notes $BLD to be acquired by $QXO for $227.25 cash per share + 11.11x shares, 23.1% premium, $17.0 billion $SILA to be acquired by $OWL for $30.38 cash per share, 19.0% premium, $2.4 billion $RUP.to to be acquired by $AEM for...
Ignoring Private Credit Risks Led to Costly Failure
In Lux's Q1 2023 letter (3 years ago) on the theme of FAILURE comes from a FAILURE to imagine FAILURE we warned of the asset class du jour of "private credit" and the explosion in inflows that would not end...
Bank Keeps AI Lending Tight, Exposure Under 1%
One bank’s approach to lending in the tech space. From Fifth Third Bank conference call Friday: “On software and data center lending, we have maintained that same disciplined posture. We believe in the long demand for AI infrastructure, but we have...
Wall Street Remains Calm Amid Iran Naval Blockade
The U.S. Navy is actively blockading Iranian ports. The $VIX is at 17.21. The $SPY is at all-time highs. Either Wall Street has priced in the geopolitical risk perfectly — or this is the most complacent market since 2007. History rarely rewards this level...
Inside Tax Firms' Review Process: Horror Stories Wanted
What's the review process like for firms that prepare a lot of tax returns? I'd love to hear some horror stories.
DoorDash Pays Gig Workers to Train Their Replacement Robots
doordash is paying 8 million gig workers to train the robots that replace them it's pretty insane once you look at the details on march 19, they launched an app called "tasks" it's basically a menu of filming jobs the menu: wash some dishes,...
Artists Defy Labels, Succeed Independently Every Day
The label system spent 50 years telling artists they couldn't do it alone. Here's exactly how thousands of them are proving that wrong every single day: https://t.co/kI1xDdCJtH
Silence Fuels Groupthink; Speaking Up Protects Integrity
Groupthink doesn't usually arrive as pressure from above; it self-generates from below…from the lower rungs of an organizational ladder. And that organizational ladder might be in a workplace, a community, or a civic or professional organization (cough…SHRM...cough). Quietly and efficiently,...
Gymnastics: Only College Sport Paying Women More Than Men
Gymnastics is the rare college sport where programs are spending substantially more money on the women's programs than the men's. In today's (free) Extra Points, we broke down all the budgets in both sports:
China Weaponizes Rare‑earth Magnets Amid US‑Japan Tensions
China. Reduces rare earth magnet exports to US and Japan. Why? A topic for Xi-Trump meeting. Counter oil supply drop from Iran? What else may China do?
Claiming No Competition Signals Incompetence or Deception
Saying "we don't have competition" is a massive Red Flag. Either you don't realize you have any (incompetence) or you're pretending you don't (dishonest).
Williams' Deals Peaked at $138M, Now Shrink
Trent Williams' Contract History 6-yrs, $60M (rookie deal) 5-yrs, $68M (rookie extension) 6-yrs, $138M (SF extension) 3-yrs, $82M (SF renegotiation) 2-yrs, $50M (SF renegotiation)
LLY Acquires Kelonia for $3.25bn After ASH25 Insights
It's official: $LLY buying Kelonia for $3.25bn + milestones. @ByMadeleineA take on the #ASH25 dataset that triggered this move: https://t.co/nVUNlq7YlO
Egypt, India Keep Floating Currencies to Shield Against Oil Shock
Egypt and India stand alone among the major EMs in allowing their currencies to adjust freely to the spike in oil prices. This will stand them in good stead. A freely-floating exchange rate helps protect you from bad shocks like...
AI Security Fundamentals Unchanged, Just Faster and Messier
I keep hearing “AI security is different.” Not sure I buy that. Most of what teams are dealing with looks very familiar, just faster and messier. Shadow AI, identity, third parties. We’ve seen all of this before. The tooling changed. The fundamentals didn’t.
AI Lead Search Eliminates Hours of Email Hunting
🚨 Wild that in 2026 you can know someone's exact title, company, tenure, and ICP fit - and still spend 2 hours hunting for a verified email. A few weeks ago I needed to build a prospect list for my media...
Silver Outpaces Gold, Hinting At
$SLV surged 6.5% in a week to $80.78 — outperforming $GLD. Silver has BOTH the monetary metal bid AND industrial demand tailwinds. When silver outperforms gold this aggressively, it's usually telling you something about where the economy is heading. https://t.co/SPn2igYPIv
Latin America Markets Surge on Expected Iran Peace, High Oil
At last week's IMF/WB meetings, markets were as bullish as I can remember on Latin America. They're trading an end to the war with Iran and oil prices staying elevated for a while, all of which benefits the region's oil...
Dodgers’ Massive Payroll Translates to Top Winning Record
Top 5 MLB Tax Payrolls and their current records 1. Dodgers, $415M, 15-6 2. Mets, $381M, 7-15 3. Yankees, $337M, 13-9 4. Phillies, $314M, 8-13 5. Blue Jays, $309M, 8-13
Use Free Templates and Basic Legal Checks for Small Deals
Question: how should creators handle contracts when the brand deal isn't big enough to hire a lawyer? https://t.co/MrgVVU9CS1
Salary Value Is All About Personal Context
Is $50K a good salary? For a seasoned executive? Probably not. For a first job out of college? Probably. For a seasoned executive who just got laid off and has no other offers right now? Maybe. For a first job out of college but...
University Refuses Retirement Bonus, Citing Cheaper Low Salary
HR at my university sometimes sends out retirement incentive plans. The one they sent me basically says "you make less than the average starting salary for an assistant professor, so we won't give you a package - it would...
Weekly Newsletters Are Essential for Digital Builders
Every digital builder needs a weekly newsletter to educate their email list and gently nudge their subscribers to buy:
Funds Dump Brent as US‑Iran Talks Spur Price Dip Expectations
Brent sees fund sales as diplomacy intensifies Investors realised profits from bullish long positions and started to accumulate bearish short ones last week, anticipating a further fall in Brent prices as the United States and Iran conducted face-to-face talks to find...
SEO Gurus Ignore AI, Stuck in 2019 Mindset
Ever notice how the SEO experts preaching "AI will never replace human creativity" haven't updated their own content strategy since 2019?
Geopolitical Tension Holds Market; One Headline Could Flip It
Monday setup: - Xi calls MBS overnight to open Hormuz (China is cracking) - Iran "maybe" talks round 2 in Islamabad - IRGC won't give up fissile material (deal killer) - SPX -50bp, NQ -40bp into the open One headline flips this market either way....
Entrepreneurship: From Overwhelming to Simple Through Perspective
The entrepreneurial journey in 3 steps: 1: This is harder than I thought 2: This is WAY harder than I thought 3: It's actually simple. I was doing it wrong (Over and over with each new level you achieve)
China Can Fund Payroll Cuts without Harming Benefits
There is obviously resistance to any move to changing the structure of taxation in China, but I would note a couple of things: 1) a holiday on payroll contributions (or a big cut) need not lead to fall in benefits; the...
China's Structural Advantage, Not Tactics, Drives US‑China Trade
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. In my latest piece for @FortuneMagazine , I argue that many CEOs and boards are asking the wrong question about the U.S.-China relationship. They are waiting for a "breakthrough" at...
From Post‑War Rubble to Global Tech Giant
Inside a ruined Tokyo after World War Two, two engineers tried to build a company everyone thought was impossible. Sony began as a tiny repair shop surrounded by rubble and hunger. Yet the world’s greatest electronics, music, movies, and games...
Evolve From Salesperson to Sales Architect
From Salesperson to Sales Architect: Navigating the Agentic Shift by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/8jjjB5tYZQ @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesTips #SalesLeader #Salesforce #SalesEnablement #ArtificialIntelligence #Marketing #MarketingStrategy #Tech #TechNews https://t.co/bYRVsDwzzh
ElevenLabs Poised to Hit $600M ARR Next Quarter
ElevenLabs is now nearing $450 million in ARR after a stellar quarter. With this growth rate, it can likely go past $600 million in ARR by the next quarter. https://t.co/pgZSN9Snsp
Japan's 1960s “Excess Competition” Crippled Profitability and Stability
For those who are interested in Japan's recent economic history, and what that may tell us about other economies that copied its growth model, it is worth noting that in Japan, the term “excess competition” (過当競争, katō kyōsō) emerged, mostly...
Success Comes From Asking Better Questions, Not Just Ideas
The founders who succeeded didn't have better ideas. They had better questions. Not "how do I build this?" — but "should I build this?" Not "how do I get customers?" — but "why would anyone choose me?" Not "how do I scale?" — but...
Removing AI-Generated News Slashes ChatGPT Citations
My latest case study is a great example of "Mt. AI" in action (and its impact on ChatGPT citations) -> When “Mt. AI” crumbles, ChatGPT can follow [Case Study] There was a big manual action applied recently after Futurism published an...
TAM Masks Profit Reality, Offers No Financial Insight
Pulak Prasad on TAM: It makes astrology-based forecasts look respectable. TAM is pointless because it does not tell us whether any profits will be made, and even if a business can be profitable, TAM is silent on who will make that...