Posted on by David

Timeless Content for the Weary Investor

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“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you do read it, you’re misinformed. […] What is the long term effect of too much information? One of the effects is the need to be first, not even to be true anymore. So whatever responsibility you all have… to tell the truth, not just to be first.” — Denzel Washington

Since I’ve first started this blog, I’ve always had a bias towards sharing evergreen content. Lessons that can be applied to any era. Of course, not all my thoughts withstood, nor will withstand the test of time, but the goal was to be intentional with what I was putting out there. The bias was also due to the fact that I didn’t think I was best in class in being first to news updates (although opportunistically I could be).

And while not SEO-optimized, I find peace in delivering content that is hopefully as useful today as it will be tomorrow. In that regard, this blog will forever stay a blog, as opposed to any semblance of the traditional definition of media, which at the end of the day is the acquisition and monetization of attention. The latter of which I don’t plan to do for this blog, ever.

That said, the consumption of information is often just as if not more important than the production of information. In the words of my friend, one’s information diet. And if you’ve been around this blog long enough, you’ll be no stranger to that term. Of which about 50% of my information intake is ephemeral and 50% evergreen. But for the purpose of this blogpost, this one is less about me, but about the information diet of friends and colleagues. Where do many of the VCs and LPs I respect consume their evergreen content?

So I went around and asked the simple question:

Do you have 1-2 examples of evergreen content you love revisiting or stays in your mind rent-free?

In other words, what do you read when you need to get to the bottom of things, not just to stay on top of things?

By nature of being friends with everyone I asked, and to reduce the noise in the below list, I’ve excluded every mention of a specific blog whose first word is a synonym to ‘mug’ and a specific podcast whose name is inspired by astrophysical concepts. I asked about 20 VCs and LPs each. Whose fund sizes ranged from 7-figures to 10-figures. Whose tenures in investing ranged from five years to thirty years. Geographically, all except two I asked reside in North America, but many also invest into geographies external to the star-spangled banner and the home of the maple leaf.

There was no particular reason as to why I sampled as such, other than an availability bias. All of whom I could text or ping pretty quickly and get a response. After all, I incubated the idea for this post earlier this week. Also, by default, all recommendations were kept anonymous.

But without further ado, I’ve compartmentalized the below content into:

  1. What VCs consume
  2. And, what LPs consume

You’ll notice some do overlap, which goes to show how timeless some things are.

What VCs consume

Blogs:

Books:

Papers:

increasing conviction while saving timeDownload

Podcasts:

People to follow:

Manifestos:

Source: Holstee Manifesto

What LPs consume

Blogs:

Books:

  • The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel
  • The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future by Sebastian Mallaby
  • The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself by Sean Carroll
  • Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke
    • The amazing Jamie shared the below bullets as to why Annie Duke’s book is just that good, and Jamie’s words were too good not to include:
      • Embrace Uncertainty: I can make more rational and less emotionally driven decisions
      • Resulting: People judge the quality of a decision based on its outcome rather than on the decision-making process. THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN VC!!!! Annie argues that a good decision can lead to a bad outcome and vice versa, so it’s crucial to focus on the process rather than just the results.
      • Probabilistic Thinking: Think in probabilities rather than absolutes. By estimating the likelihood of different outcomes, individuals can make more informed decisions. This approach helps in managing risks and setting realistic expectations.
      • Learning from Feedback: Learning from both wins and losses is crucial, instead of attributing success solely to skill or failure to bad luck, understand what contributed to the outcome
      • Decision Groups: Forming decision groups where members can share insights and challenge each other’s thinking- this can help identify biases and improve the quality of decisions, I would say a key part of what happens at Screendoor 
      • Importance of process: Developing and following a structured approach, individuals can make better decisions even in the face of uncertainty.

Lectures:

Podcasts:

People to follow:

Additionally, one LP shared their more comprehensive list of content they revisit often. One that’s well-worth bookmarking.

I don’t know about you, but I know what I’m doing this weekend.

Big thanks to all the LPs and VCs I reached out to for recommendations, including Jamie Rhode, Eric Bahn, John Rikhtegar, and everyone else who shared their thoughts on short notice before we had a chance to get the compliance’s blessing.

P.S. John had probably the most unique pieces of evergreen content he regularly revisited. While I won’t spoil which, you can probably guess based on which of the above seem like recommendations off the beaten path.

Photo by Anthony Rosset on Unsplash

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The views expressed on this blogpost are for informational purposes only. None of the views expressed herein constitute legal, investment, business, or tax advice. Any allusions or references to funds or companies are for illustrative purposes only, and should not be relied upon as investment recommendations. Consult a professional investment advisor prior to making any investment decisions.

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