(Re)Share | #10 - Carbon taxes, crypto upside and a video game for your dog
All the news that’s fit to print that I got around to reading
Stuff worth sharing
Book report - Bjorn Lomborg’s False Alarm is unlike any climate piece I’ve ever read. While the book reads pretty deny-leaning that’s not really his take. He readily accepts climate change and the risks it can bring, but strongly advocates that the net zero narrative is economically, practically and morally infeasible. Instead he argues for emissions tapering, carbon taxes and a load more R&D. Obviously I am biased to that line of thinking but if you feel your climate content diet is one-sided (as mine is) it’s still a good read.
Alice and Bob are on a break - Good overview of the current state of quantum computing. This is a space that we’ve struggled to invest in to date but the developments are promising. Lots of novel approaches listed (modular infra, coherent linkage, qudits), which may be the future of computation or maybe just Skynet.
Nevada chop shop - A very interesting deep dive on battery recycling giant, Redwood Materials. The Fly team has actively been investigating this area for well over a year and I’ve always been the naysayer, but I have to admit this article changed some of that tune. The level of scale that’s needed for EVs to really take off is staggering:
“More than 200 new mines could be needed by 2035 to provide enough material for just the cobalt, lithium, and nickel needed for EV batteries. Lithium production will need to grow by 20 times to meet demand for EVs by 2050.”
You don’t want to earn Schrute bucks? - VC buddy Mike Dempsey wrote a great post on the arguments for a digital US dollar. The soft power dynamics from a US perspective are clear and while foreign governments clearly won’t want to forfeit their monetary control they may not have a choice (i.e. citizens migrating savings). All of the convenience of digital money without the implosion risk. Plus Venmo is stupid.
FML, these KPIs - My work-in-progress investment thesis of replacing software developers brought me to the SPACE framework for developer productivity. Tl;dr: no one metric can encapsulate the nuanced artistry of coding but a balance of mostly-qualitative measurements may (Satisfaction and well-being; Performance; Activity; Communication and collaboration; and Efficiency and flow). What’s most intriguing to me is the relevance it has to investing and knowledge work generally.
Aiming high from rock bottom - A solid episode of Web3 Breakdowns on how to rebuild from the smoking crater of crypto. Good coverage of the current securities classification debate, recommended regulation and the opportunity of investing in infrastructure right now. Very much a mirror of my own views, though I am biased, considering my involvement with Fly portfolio company, Palisade.
Cold inbound to warm your heart - I’m a B2B-only investor and I got this deal sent to me and I hate being a B2B-only investor.
Literally pushing up daisies - Someone in my life who will remain nameless but may or may not be my sister sent me this podcast about post-mortem composting with the directive that her remains be disposed of in said manner. You know what most funerals really lack? 200 pounds of soil.
A bad time to be in residency: ChatGPT took the US Medical Licensing Exam and passed. To be clear, it didn’t ace the test and actually only scored around a 60%, but that’s got to be at least top quartile for Florida.
Shameless plug
One of Fly’s most talked about portfolio companies, Better Origin, released a shiny new animation that highlights just how cool their X1 (food waste + AI + robotics = insect protein) product is. The entire process is housed within a standard shipping container and can be deployed in any agriculture environment imaginable. It’s rare to have such a triple win (more cash for farmers, better health for animals, less emissions) but that’s exactly what the team has built.
Spotlight on
A very special congratulations to my very good friend Dan Glazer who just last week officially became a UK citizen. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Dan for several years now and I have yet to find someone who works longer hours yet remains annoyingly upbeat. He built London’s leading US legal advisory firm from nothing and it’s hard to think of a single person that has helped more early stage founders than him.
Asks
Last week was the first week of writing (Re)Share that I did not get any new subscribers. My working theory is that I was too aggressive in shilling my wife’s book. At the same time, I know at least one person who bought a copy as a result, so economically the shilling was rational. Still, if you’re enjoying this newsletter please share with someone else who might.