Mahesh Muralidhar

@edsuh I don’t think a traditional VC firm can ever be community first. A VC firm’s customers are the LPs. Integrity around that is critical - for the economic fly wheel. tThe primary customer of a VC is not a startup - this compromises the capacity to wholesomely deliver on community.

@edsuh We did - Phase One Ventures in NZ. We built a community first - just like YC did. And we didn’t do this to create a VC firm. The results are fantastic. 70% of startups have raised next rounds from global VCs. We are running over 3x in under 3 years.

Other than YC, is there a single example of a VC firm that’s truly built a community around their brand? So many VCs boast about their “community building” efforts with their founders. Yet all that amounts to in most cases is a handful of generic events (dinners, conferences, retreats), generic content (blog posts on GTM and hiring, mediocre podcasts no one listens to), and Slack channels that die after a few posts. YC is the only firm I’ve seen that’s built a real community which has become self reinforcing, broad, and yet still feels exclusive. Founders and alums who stay closely connected, who go out of their way to help each other, invest in each other, who for years after the program ends proudly display their batch year on all their social profiles. There is an intense sense of belonging, akin to school spirit, which continually spreads and elevates the YC brand globally. VCs who throw around that term, take note: what YC has done is real community building.

Thanks for bringing this up to my attention @david__booth . @matthewclifford good on you. This is what I think about all the time ... but for NZ.

💯 The difference between 4% growth and 2% growth is doubling the economy every 18 years vs every 36 years. For the material welfare and living standards of the citizenry, literally nothing matters more than that.

@aniobrien 9¾ Make-Believe Boulevard, Never Never Land 000.🪄

I have been asked for Chloe Swarbrick's address many times in the past 24 hours. I've no doubt I could obtain it rather easily. This is NZ after all. The thing is no matter what vile shite she spouts I would NEVER doxx her. Be better than the rabid activists. Be principled.

Wonderful to see @canva keep winning. Proud to have been part of the early journey. Congrats to everyone who’s contributed to the success so far. 👏 to OG Aussie startup pioneers @liubinskas and @philmorle, for the groundwork for Aus startupland. pollenizer.com/2017/04/02/tha…

@sama It is a work of art. Incredible. Invest into the TV series or movie @sama

pantheon is such a good show!

@ChrisPenknz Wonderful @ChrisPenknz . Commons threads are many and afar.

A very poignant and important point: Indian bravery at Gallipoli (along with Kiwi, Australian and other nations') must be honoured. Our amendment to the Anzac Day Act will address this historical anomaly and unfairness. Lest we forget.

This. And so much more.

Imagine when you can build simple tools and automation through natural language. Things start to move way faster…

@camrynpetebrown @aniobrien This survey, reporting of it - so much of it is a mess. The comparison to Aus needs to acknowledge history, population dynamics etc. And supposedly some of the results can be taken as ‘fibs by society’. Disappointing reporting all in all.

I humbly urge the 32% to reconsider

@aniobrien Yup. He’s at a temple. It’s normal to wear this garment at this type of temple. He is being respectful. Being respectful is nearly always a good thing. It’s what we tell our kids. Nuff said.

He. Is. In. India. Of course he is engaging with the local culture. Honestly some people are so obsessed with identity politics - this is the other side of the left's identity politics coin. Complaining about any engagement with other cultures.

The AI revolution is probably going to take a decade to cement. New Zealand has a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of this on many levels. Education for one - our high schoolers and Uni students should have the opportunity to be the most AI savvy in the world. Let’s do it.

Great companies design incentives first, job roles second. Full deep dive here: open.substack.com/pub/maheshakl/…

Hiring the right people isn't just about skill. It's about aligning incentives: ✅ What motivates them? ✅ Do they want autonomy, mastery, or financial upside? ✅ Do they thrive in ambiguity or structure? ✅ Can they learn fast?

💡 The most underrated hiring strategy? Incentive alignment over skillset. Most hiring managers get it wrong. They hire for "experience" when they should be optimising for aligned incentives. Let’s break this down 🧵👇

A fantastic podcast by @dwarkesh_sp with @satyanadella CEO of @Microsoft . Many times in the chat they paint the future. “People will think with AI and collaborate with their team”. “Jobs will be lost but … many more opportunities will be created”. Watch. youtu.be/4GLSzuYXh6w?si…