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There’s a moment every founder hits – usually around 11:43pm on a Tuesday for me – when you wonder if you’re working smart or just working a lot. This week’s edition is here to challenge the default settings: from why Google’s side hustle is quietly outpacing Tesla, to how rest can be your next growth hack, to the surprising cost of being polite to AI. As always, the goal isn’t to give you answers. It’s to make you pause, tilt your head, and ask: “What if we tried this differently?”

Enjoy!

From friends to feeds: the social network isn’t social anymore

Once a place for birthday wishes and party invites, social media has pivoted into something very different: a global content vending machine. As Meta defends itself in a major antitrust case, even Mark Zuckerberg admits the company is less about connecting people and more about entertaining them. A decade ago, 22% of your Facebook feed came from actual friends. Now? Just 17%. Instagram’s even lower. The New Yorker unpacks how this shift – from community to content – complicates the FTC’s argument that Meta still monopolises “social networking.” Because if social media isn’t social anymore… what exactly are we regulating? Oh, and if you find yourself coming up against a paywall for that article (and this counts for any paywall), it’s always worth giving 12ft a try.

LinkedIn’s quiet revolution: more creative, more strategic

LinkedIn is no longer just a digital CV warehouse – it’s evolving into a vibrant content platform. Metricool’s 2025 LinkedIn Study, analysing over 577,000 posts, reveals a 53% surge in video content and a 28% increase in clicks year-over-year. Notably, smaller accounts (under 1,000 followers) experienced a 22% boost in impressions, indicating that the algorithm now favours quality and relevance over sheer follower count. Carousels are leading the engagement charts with a 45.85% interaction rate, while polls are gaining traction, averaging 206% more reach. For founders and startups, this signals a shift: LinkedIn is becoming a space where authentic, insightful content can drive meaningful engagement, regardless of company size. Check it out here.

Why passive investing is (probably) best in the long run

“By periodically investing in an index fund, the know-nothing investor can actually outperform most investment professionals.” That’s Warren Buffett, not a fintech influencer. Passive investing might not be sexy, but it’s unquestionably effective. The Monevator team makes the case (again) for backing the market rather than trying to beat it. I have friends who take pride in actively managing their pension, for example, but this piece points out that with low fees, less faff and a track record most stock-pickers envy, passive funds offers a more relaxed ‘set and forget’ strategy for your financial future.

London’s tech scene is booming – but who’s being left behind?

The capital has overtaken China to become the world’s second most-funded start-up hub – a staggering milestone for the UK’s innovation economy. But beneath the headlines, some figures are harder to celebrate. Women still hold fewer than one in ten senior roles in UK tech. As we gear up for London Tech Week (9–13 June), KPMG’s Anna Purchas suggests that progress isn’t just about scale or speed – it’s about who gets to shape the future. Whether it’s AI oversight or equitable access to funding, inclusion can’t be an afterthought. It has to be the agenda. Read her piece here.

Thinking about your first Board role? This is a smart place to start.

Breaking into the world of non-executive directorships can feel like a black box – but with the right guidance, it gets a lot clearer. Warren Partners, an executive recruitment firm specialising in Board and C-level roles, is running a focused NED CV Masterclass designed to help first-time Board candidates stand out. Led by experienced Partners, the session will walk you through what makes a strong NED CV, how to approach interviews, and how best to connect with search firms. Attendees can also book a follow-up 1:1 CV review. Numbers are limited – sign up now to secure your spot.

The death of the click: why smart marketers are moving on

Click-based metrics are yesterday’s news. Bain’s latest research shows that 80% of users now use AI-generated answers for a large chunk of their searches – and that’s before we get to cookie decay, ad blockers and Gen Z’s growing resistance to clicking anything. The problem is that most marketing teams still worship at the altar of ROAS and cost of sale. But attribution isn't contribution. Optimising for clicks often means pumping money into sales that would’ve happened anyway, while underfunding brand-building and creativity. The zero-click future isn’t coming – it’s already here. The best marketers are ditching short-termism and starting to think like business leaders, not just media buyers. Read the Bain report here.

Politeness isn’t free (or green)

Sam Altman says all those “pleases” and “thank yous” are stacking up – literally. Each extra word you type into ChatGPT increases processing demands, costing OpenAI tens of millions a year in energy. A charming reminder that even digital manners come with a carbon footprint. But hey Sam, when the robot revolution finally happens, they’ll remember who was polite to them – so I’ll keep minding my Ps and Qs, thanks. Quartz has the story.​

AI prompt of the week: investor due diligence, in reverse

Founders spend a lot of time prepping for due diligence – but not enough time doing it. This week’s prompt flips the script. Use it to stress-test your own business (or someone else’s) like an investor would. Great for tightening your strategy, spotting blind spots or deciding whether that shiny new startup is worth joining.

“Act like a venture capitalist with a decade of experience in early-stage tech investments. Analyse this business as if you were considering an investment. Assess the team, market opportunity, product-market fit, traction, business model, competitive landscape and key risks. Highlight any red flags and suggest the top three questions you’d want the founders to answer before investing.”

Perfect for founders who want to think like investors – or investors who want to think a little faster.

Are you ready to manage your team of AI agents?

Microsoft's latest Work Trend Index suggests that managing AI agents is becoming an integral part of modern work. The report says that 75% of knowledge workers are already using AI tools to enhance productivity, often without formal company training. This shift implies that individuals are not only users but also managers of AI agents, overseeing tasks and workflows. As AI continues to evolve, the role of employees is expanding to include the supervision and coordination of these digital assistants, highlighting the growing importance of AI literacy in the workplace.​ Find out more here.

Google’s side hustle is lapping Tesla’s main gig

While Tesla’s self-driving dreams keep hitting traffic, Google’s Waymo has quietly clocked 250,000 paid autonomous rides a week.That’s not a pilot – that’s a product. It turns out Google’s moonshots might be better at landing than Elon’s core business. Waymo isn’t just making the case for robo-taxis – it’s making them routine. Sometimes the side project is the main event. Sherwood News has more.​

Burnout called. It says you’re doing rest wrong.

The occasional lie-in isn’t enough to keep you sharp and healthy. This framework breaks rest into seven types – from physical and emotional to creative and spiritual. Whether it's a solo lunch, a museum trip or just a few minutes of silence, the right kind of rest can fuel smarter thinking and better decisions.

Drop me a line

I’ll leave you with this: in a world where everyone’s optimising for clicks, maybe the real edge is knowing when to stop counting and start thinking. Thanks for making space in your week for this and, as always, I’m always open to content suggestions for making it even better. See you next Sunday – same mindset, slightly weirder questions.

Cheers!
Adam

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