Early Startup Days
Long‑form explainers on global financial institutions and policy (e.g., BIS, central banks), linking to broader banking/regulatory context.
From Failed Budget App to Fintech Backbone
In 2013, two young engineers hit a wall while trying to build a budgeting app. That failure pushed them to create Plaid, the unseen infrastructure that powers nearly every major fintech product in the US. It became a unicorn so critical to fintech that Visa tried to take it off the market for $5.3 billion. Here is the full story:
China Dominates EV Batteries, US Faces Supply Dilemma
The US wants millions of affordable electric cars. But the companies that make the key battery technology are almost all in China. When Ford tried to build a plant using Chinese tech, everything blew up. This is the story of how...
Managerless Company Thrives 65 Years, No Losses
A $5 billion company has operated for 65 years with ZERO managers. Employees hire their own colleagues, rank each other for compensation, and choose their own projects. This company has never had a loss-making year since 1958. Here is the breakdown:
Liberty Media Tripled F1's Value in Eight Years
In 2016, Formula One was bleeding fans and running out of road. Then Liberty Media made a bet and bought it for $8 billion. Eight years later, it's worth over $24 billion. Here's how they turned it around:
From Physics Software to $50B Gaming Empire
The world's biggest gaming platform wasn't built by Sony or Microsoft. It was made by a guy who sold physics software to schools. When that business hit a ceiling, he made one pivot. Now it's worth over $50 billion:
From Twitch to YC: 8 Startup Success Lessons
He cofounded a startup that sold to Amazon for $970 million. Now he's helped over 700 companies at Y Combinator. These are the 8 lessons he learned building Twitch and advising the world's best startups:
Choose Scalable Business Models, Not Just Great Products
Founders spend years building products that never scale. Not because the idea is bad, but because the business model is. YC partner Aaron Epstein built and sold his own startup and has now coached more than 3,000 founders inside YC....
YC Partner Debunks 7 Common Fundraising Myths
Most founders think fundraising is glamorous, complex and requires special connections. But almost everything they’ve heard is wrong. YC Partner Brad Flora breaks down the 7 biggest myths he sees founders fall for. Here’s what fundraising actually looks like today:
Startups Defy Instinct: 6 Counterintuitive Lessons From Paul Graham
Paul Graham built YC into the most successful startup accelerator in history. He says startups are counterintuitive - your instincts will lead you astray. Here are 6 things he teaches that go against everything you'd expect:
Adyen: The Silent European Giant Powering Global Payments
Every time you pay Uber, Spotify, Meta, H&M, or McDonald’s, there’s a good chance Adyen is behind it. It processes hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Yet most people have never heard of them. This is the story of...
Founder Rejects $810M, Bets on AI Beyond NVIDIA
Meta offered $810 million for a Korean AI chip startup. The founder turned it down. He believes the next phase of AI won't be won by NVIDIA. And he might be right. Here is the full story:
Product‑led Growth: Notion Scaled without Sales or Ads
Notion has 100 million users. $10 billion valuation. $400 million in revenue. They did it with no sales team, no outbound, no ads. Just a free tool that spread through companies until IT had no choice but to pay:
Fintech’s Ramp Card Silently Reshapes Corporate Finance
In 2020, Ramp launched a corporate credit card. Banks didn't take it seriously. Another fintech trying to take on Amex. Five years later, 50,000 companies run their entire finances through Ramp. Nobody saw it coming:
From Market Leader to Obscurity: HTC’s Rapid Decline
HTC once held a quarter of the smartphone market. Two years later they had almost nothing left. They went from leading Android to vanishing from the industry’s front line. This is the story of rise and fall of HTC:
Barnes & Noble's Quiet Rise and Fall Amid Market Shift
Barnes & Noble once ruled American bookselling. Then the ground shifted beneath them. A giant that seemeduntouchable began to fade. This is the quiet rise and fall of a retail empire: