Welcome to Max’s Musings, Issue No. 09.

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

Today’s word count: 481

Read time: 1 mins 16 sec.

A quick update: just featured on my favorite podcast to date. We dive into company building, peptides, hiring, marketing, models for thinking, and more. Listen here.

Musing of the Week

Speed is the new stealth

If an idea is good enough, others will copy.

So you can’t just think better, you need to execute better.

Winning comes from building a structural execution advantage.

Many try to copy Tesla, but Tesla executes faster.

Great ideas are easier to copy than great execution.

At Superpower, we have turned this into a mantra: speed over stealth.

Health Update of the Week

I now start every day by making what I call ‘supercharged water’.

I noticed my biomarkers, energy levels, and mood improve as a result.

There are a few parts:

1. Filter 2L water using a reverse osmosis filter

2. Pour into a massive stainless steel water bottle

3. Add 1 tsp of ConcenTrace Trace Minerals

4. Add 1/2 tsp of Baja Gold Sea Salt

5. Drink throughout day

Why?

Tap water has all sorts of junk in it. Reverse osmosis is the best filtering you can get. Trace minerals support hormones, energy production, brain function, hydration, and overall health. ConcenTrace is from seawater from the salt lake in Utah. Baja Gold is some of the best salt out there.

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

Brand of the Week

As Hannah, our Head of Design points out, Amie, Runway, and Superpower each transitioned from award-winning websites to ones focused on conversion:

But the lesson isn’t to go for conversion right from the start; our initial ‘hype’ website was one of the best decisions we made.

Instead, the lesson is that companies need different things at different stages, typically with awareness first and conversion second.

Space of the Week

Over time, architects fall into established patterns. I love when a house breaks the mould:

• The uniqueness of the ceiling (I’m convinced ceilings are one of the most underrated parts of a room)

• The stairs that seem to organically emerge

• The mixed materiality of concrete, timber, glass, internal stone

There’s something about the space that feels relaxing and deeply embedded with nature.

Article of the Week

These internal strategy files from OpenAI are fascinating. Some highlights:

“What is our moat? No advantage lasts forever”

→ My take: Reminds me of speed > stealth. Moats don’t last forever, so you need an execution advantage.

“We have what we need to win: one of the fastest-growing products of all time, a category-defining brand, a research lead…”

→ My take: Brand is chronically underrated. It’s telling that OpenAI puts this ahead of research and compute.

Quote of the Week

Extreme people get extreme results:

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Until next time,

Max Marchione

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