Oversimplified: Issue 70
Observing Marc Andreessen, Figma's master plan, and personal finance education
Hey there š
No blog post from me this week, but Iāve got a deep-dive on new user onboarding principles coming soon. Stay tuned for that.
Letās get to the best links I found on the internet this week. If youāre enjoying the newsletter, share it with a friend! If this was forwarded to you, check out some previous issues and subscribe for future updates.
š What I Read
The Observer Effect: Marc Andreessen
I stumbled on the Pmarca guides on personal productivity and career planning back when I was in high school. This interview is the first time Iāve seen Marc revisit some of these topics since then, and there are some interesting shifts in tone. I strongly recommend both.
Why Figma Wins
Another post that got a lot of hype on social media this past week. Iām always looking forward to anything new from Kevin Kwok, but this analysis of Figma is one of my favorites to date.
Seek the Challengers
I enjoyed this short read on team members who arenāt afraid to push back. The author is really honest about challengers ā They can be annoying! But they are also invaluable to your team and should be sought after.
Lessons Learned from Shutdown Startups
Greg Isenberg explores 8 different failed startups, going into why they worked, why they didnāt work, and key takeaways for you to leverage in 2020. Path and Sunrise were the most interesting ones to me.
On Coding, Ego, and Attention
āHow I learned to get out of my own way by learning about this link between ego and attention.ā Thereās a ton of great tips on learning new things to unpack in this post. Iāve got a lot to work on hereā¦
š„ What I Found Interesting
Tools & Craft: Ted Nelson
This interview with Ted Nelson, one of the pioneers of the computing industry, was simply awesome. This quote gave me chills: āItās been very lonely, but Iāve been absolutely sure of what Iāve been doing all the time"
Simple Made Easy
Iāve been watching parts of technical talks during lunch breaks while working from home. This one from Rich Hickey was on a bunch of āTop 10ā lists I found while doing some research. It lived up to the hype. Shoot me a reply if you have any recommendations. š
Personal Finance Flowchart
This image from r/personalfinance is 10x more educational than any personal finance advice I was given growing up.
š¤ Quote I'm Pondering
āThe chance to work on a big idea is a powerful reason for people to be passionate and committed. The big idea is the glue that connects with their passion and binds them to the mission of an organization. For people to be great, to accomplish the impossible, they need inspiration more than financial incentive.ā ā The Monk and the Riddle
Thanks for reading Oversimplified this week! Did anything stand out? Iād love to hear about it. Reply to this email or tweet at me and letās chat š
Until next time,
Conor