Welcome back!

I put this on pause for two months but now that Superpower is in a better place then ever, we’re back 🕺 

Every two weeks I share my learnings building a $100 billion company in public (in <2 minutes).

Today’s word count: 545

Read time: 1 mins 38 sec.

Musing of the Week

“OpenAI has an idea on Monday and ships on Thursday”

As a company scales, it’s hard to maintain speed.

Process gets in the way, approvals are introduced, projects that used to take a day take two weeks.

But, it’s essential to fight the pressure to slow down.

Some principles for speed:

1. Ask “if you had to do this in 20% the time, how would you do it?”

2. Delete as many processes and steps as possible; most aren’t needed

3. Accept that things will break; that’s a tradeoff for speed — welcome it

OpenAI, a $500b company, goes from an idea on Monday to production on Thursday – that’s fast. Small companies should move even faster.

Health Update of the Week

Gyokuro Green Tea

I used to drink 1-2 coffees daily. Two months ago I decided to replace this with green tea — and my life is so much better for it.

After trying dozens of green teas, I can safely say Gyokuro is the best:

• Only 0.3% of Japanese green tea is Gyokuro. it’s the highest-grade green tea

• 2-3x higher in l-theanine than sencha green tea

• Strongest umami flavors (tastes incredible)

• High in EGCG for longevity, cognition, and mitochondrial function

• Good for cardiovascular health

• Improves insulin sensitivity

• Anti-inflammatory

Green tea is a ‘super food’ not enough people talk about.

As always, my full health protocol is at maxmarchione.com/protocol

Brand of the Week

1x Tech makes AI Human

1x Tech has the most human AI brand I have seen. Their brand feels warm, normal, and has a human personality.

The first image is technology in nature. The robots gaze up in awe, a distinctly human emotion.

Every product demonstration is brilliant. Here, the robot is just a normal part of the home — the man pays no attention. 1x normalizes humanoid AI in everyday life.

Space of the Week

Villa Arca — Mid Century Modern Paradise

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with mid century modern design. I find it very soulful and warm in a culture that is increasingly sterile, minimalist, and technological.

Whenever I think of this style, the interior that first comes to mind is Villa Arca, a Belgian house constructed in 1966.

Article of the Week

What’s going on here with this human

I revisit this article about once a year.

It’s one of my favorites on understanding people and hiring.

As a teaser – some questions Graham asks references and candidates.

Questions for references

• Who was the best person at this role that you’ve ever seen?

• If you were going to hire someone to complement Jane doing the same activity, what would they be good at?

Questions for candidates

• What criteria would you use to hire someone for this job if you were in my seat?

• What are the names of your last five managers, and how would they each rate your overall performance on a 1-100?

Quote of the Week

Last Friday, I told the team we are to complete our EOY roadmap in the next two weeks.

The crazy part?

We’ll probably do it.

A maniacal sense of urgency really is our operating principle right now.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to a friend or send them maxsmusings.com.

Until next time,

Max Marchione

(P.S. Let me know what you think! I read all replies)