Hi Reader This edition contains several variations on the same story: “in theory, this should work”. In practice, as is often the case in business (and in life generally) it turns out to be slower, messier or more revealing than expected. But as a successful founder once said to me: if launching a business was easy, everyone would be doing it. Enjoy! Is AI actually being used at work? After years of spending, pilots and promises, new data suggests something more awkward is happening inside...
12 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader January can feel oddly suspended for businesses, particularly smaller ones. Decisions meant to be settled in December drift on, budgets hesitate and the post-Christmas lull hangs around longer than anyone planned. Earlier in my career, that inertia used to feel unsettling. Now I’ve seen the pattern often enough to trust it. By the end of the month, momentum returns quickly and inboxes fill almost overnight. For the moment, there’s still space to read, think and look a little ahead...
19 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader As the year gets underway, the gap between intention and execution starts to show. Tools are in place, plans are written and the pressure shifts from deciding what to do to making things work in practice. I hope that you're all busy, thriving and ready to turn ideas into reality in 2026. The insights below reflect how that shift plays out across work, technology and decision-making. Enjoy! The pressure points founders will hit next A16Z’s Big Ideas 2026 series is useful because it...
26 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader Welcome to the first Growth Mindset of 2026. The start of the year often brings a sharper focus on how work, technology and organisations are operating. The insights below look at hiring, dealmaking, writing, security and everyday systems through that lens, using specific examples rather than broad claims. Each stands on its own, but together they reflect the kinds of practical questions leaders, founders and teams are dealing with right now. Enjoy! Who trains the next generation...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader This is one of those rare weeks where the work calendar loosens its grip. The inbox is quieter, the pressure lifts and there’s room to read simply because something is interesting rather than urgent. I’ve pulled together this edition with that pause in mind – thoughtful pieces that reward a slower read, offer perspective rather than prescriptions and feel well suited to the space between one year ending and another beginning. Enjoy! Why UK boards may be mispricing non-executive...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader There’s a growing temptation to believe that scale is now mostly a tooling problem – more automation, more agents, more optimisation. But scratch beneath the surface and many of the constraints remain the same: clarity, trust, incentives, timing. What changes is the speed at which good and bad decisions now compound. This week’s reading offers a few useful reminders about where judgement still sits, even as the systems around it evolve. Enjoy! Here’s why you shouldn’t delegate...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader Every so often, a run of ideas lands that makes you rethink things you thought you understood. This week delivered a handful of those: about how brands grow, why acquisitions falter, what keeps users loyal and how quickly AI might reshape whole sectors. Let’s dive in. Enjoy! The surprising truth about how tiny brands grow The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute just published a five-year study on “tiny brands” (those under 1 per cent share), and it punctures one of marketing’s most cherished...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader Read time: 4 mins My calendar says the year is winding down; my workload strongly disagrees. If you’re also juggling strategy decks, budget conversations and the occasional festive distraction, here’s a set of ideas worthy of your time: clever research, big trend drops, pitch craft and a reminder that AI’s reality still hasn’t caught up with its mythology. Enjoy! The most interesting list you’ll read this year Every December, creative technologist Tom Whitwell drops his annual list...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader Read time: 4 mins As we slide into the month of parties, catch-ups and questionable office prosecco, I know plenty of you are still head-down making sure the business finishes the year in the shape you want. Same here. So before December turns into a blur, here are a few stories that will either make you smile, sharpen your thinking or give you something useful to take into 2026. Enjoy! Why baby steps are the way forward for AI prompts Researchers just pulled off something that...
2 months ago • 5 min read