Writing

Essays and interviews. Also on Substack.

Dec 2023What I talk about when I talk about boxingMaison AmateurHow two years of Saturday boxing built resilience, endurance, an eye for technique as art, and friendship, framed through Murakami’s running memoir.
Jul 2023Turning back the wheels of time; the genesisMaison AmateurHow volunteering at a retirement home sparked an interest in longevity, the ethical questions immortality raises, and daily habits for living well longer.
Apr 2023The fountain of youth: finding the elixir of immortality pt. 1Maison AmateurGrief over a grandmother’s death as the starting point for an interest in longevity science and whether aging and death can be delayed.
Feb 2023Resurrecting the Dodo, Dimension Capital Raises $350mm, and Laura Deming on Longevity: Issue #3DeepTech VCA weekly deep tech roundup: Colossal Biosciences’ de-extinction raise, other deals, Dimension Capital’s new fund, Laura Deming’s book picks, and ChatGPT news.
Jan 2023AI Chatbots, Ex-SpaceX Scientist Making Vegan Cheeses, and MIT OCW: Issue #2DeepTech VCA weekly deep tech roundup: universities rethinking teaching after ChatGPT, GPTZero, the week’s deals, a vegan cheese startup, and MIT OpenCourseWare.
Jan 2023Introducing Deep Technology Venture Capital (DTVC): Issue #1DeepTech VCLaunch issue of a weekly deep tech investing newsletter, defining the field and covering OpenAI’s tender offer talks and the week’s deals.
Jan 2023What I consumed this week (#1)Maison AmateurA list of the week’s reads, posts, videos, films, and books, from Southwest Airlines and immigration to Oldboy and Parts Unknown.
Dec 2022Welcome to Maison AmateurMaison AmateurRelaunching the Social Insights newsletter as Maison Amateur, a weekly outlet on ideas and culture, with a preview of a piece on semiconductors.
Dec 2020Questions w/ Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham, Professor of Management & Organizations (Michigan Ross)Maison AmateurInterview with a Michigan Ross management professor on managing oneself, finding happiness, academic life, and sound judgment.
Dec 2020#2: Jason Mironov, Investor at TA AssociatesMaison AmateurPodcast episode with a TA Associates director on Michigan and HBS, the pandemic’s effect on private equity, SPACs, and building relationships.
Nov 202010Qs with Rob Mather, Founder & CEO of Against Malaria FoundationMaison AmateurTen questions with the Against Malaria Foundation’s founder on how a charity swim grew into the foundation, a photography competition, and deep work.
Nov 202010Qs with Evan Jackson, COO of Intus Care (HealthTech) [Ex-Brown Athlete]Maison AmateurTen questions with Intus Care’s co-founder on balancing college sport and study, data in geriatric care, fundraising, and the COO role.
Oct 202010Qs with Devi Sahny, CEO of Ascend Now (EdTech) | Ex-Investment Banker @ Goldman SachsMaison AmateurTen questions with Ascend Now’s founder on leaving Goldman Sachs, the future of schooling, and how the company handled EdTech’s pandemic shift.
Oct 202010Qs with Mimi Tran Zambetti of Wren (YC, USV, & Paul Graham-backed)Maison AmateurTen questions with Wren’s co-founder on the climate crisis, pitching Paul Graham and USV, and building consistent habits.
Oct 2020#1: Simran Suri, Investor at Equal Ventures: Breaking Into VC & The Vitality of A Moral CompassMaison AmateurConversation with an Equal Ventures investor on breaking into venture capital, what sets great investors apart, and keeping a moral compass.
Oct 202010Qs with Jessica Li of ZagenoMaison AmateurTen questions with a Zageno growth marketer and former Soma Capital investor on identity, leaving VC for an operating role, and finding balance.
Jun 2020Addressing negative externalitiesMaison AmateurNewsletter issue on Pigouvian taxes and the Coase theorem as responses to negative externalities, with internship listings, reading picks, and 99designs.
May 2020The complex equality theoryMaison AmateurNewsletter issue on Michael Walzer’s complex equality and blocked exchanges, with job listings, a profile of Fei-Fei Li, and Tandem.
May 2020The power of mental modelsMaison AmateurNewsletter issue on first principles thinking as a mental model, through Charlie Munger, plus Cyan Banister, reading picks, and Roam Research.
May 2020Broken healthcare: analyzing a few root dilemmas amidst SARS-CoV-2 pandemicMaison AmateurWhy US healthcare wastes so much, how job-linked insurance failed people in the pandemic, and how hospital and doctor billing inflate costs.
Apr 2020Climbing the ladder to manager; key principles in becoming an effective leaderMaison AmateurPrinciples for new managers drawn from Julie Zhuo and Andy Grove: judge output, shape culture and incentives, and celebrate the team.
Apr 2020The quant revolution; Jim Simons and Renaissance TechnologyMaison AmateurHow Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies used mathematics to beat the market, drawn from Gregory Zuckerman’s The Man Who Solved the Market.
Jan 2020Transcending possibilities: sleep and the world of the lucid dreamerMaison AmateurThe science and appeal of lucid dreaming, from REM sleep and brain chemistry to Freud and Jung, and its possible mental health benefits.
Jun 2019How to build personal valueLinkedInHow to build emotional, social, financial, and intellectual wealth through EQ, weak ties, owning what you build, reading, and reflection.
Nov 2018Launching A Brighter Tomorrow: Blockchain and The UN’s Sustainable Development GoalsLinkedInHow blockchain could support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, through cases in peer-to-peer energy, digital identity for refugees, and food aid payments.

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