Walter Thompson

As we’ve begun building Oversubscribed Ventures, we’ve learned that the world of venture capital is way too mysterious and insular. We wanted to crack it wide open and make it accessible to everyone. So, we launched a new podcast, with Phil Schwarz. Some of you may already listen to our World’s First Podcast (and if you do, thank you!). The Oversubscribed Podcast takes a lot of what makes World’s First Podcast great and focuses on the business world. This is a business podcast for anyone and everyone who is curious about stories of success, failure, recovering from rejection, pivoting, and more. Why launch a new podcast? - The lessons that come out of talking to founders, executives, etc can apply to everyone, whether they’re starting a company or not; - We could add something to the (way too few but super impressive) female voices in the startup and venture world; and - We could inject our own personality and - admittedly - often inappropriate humor into the conversations (iykyk). We hope our Oversubscribed Podcast does all of this and more. Link below, and of course you can find it anywhere you can listen to podcasts. More to come! Link: https://lnkd.in/e2E6kynn

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Vanilla recently crossed a major milestone—10K end-clients on the platform, spanning from $1 million to over $1 billion in net worth—which brought to mind one of the phrases I learned at Amazon. "There's no compression algorithm for experience." It speaks to the irreplaceable value of hands-on experience and deep expertise. It's a philosophy that drives our work at Vanilla — our platform was created by advisors, for advisors, based on decades of real-world insight and a deep understanding of the estate planning experience. Combined with our team's deep experience building and scaling enterprise software for some of the most demanding customers and industries in the world, uniquely positions Vanilla to serve customers of all sizes from individual RIAs to the largest wirehouses and wealth management firms. We've built a platform that goes beyond document creation, supporting the entire estate planning journey. And it will continue to evolve as we rapidly innovate and iterate for customers based on their feedback and unique requirements. Modern estate planning requires more than legal documents and tax strategies. It's about understanding the nuanced desires of families and navigating complex emotions and relationships to help clients craft legacies that truly reflect their values. Our goal is to amplify the experience and expertise that advisors bring by providing the tools and context to navigate these client conversations with confidence. By doing so, we're setting a new standard for estate planning software - one that truly respects and enhances the advisor's role in shaping lasting legacies. #estateadvisory

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I'm seeing so many tech startups trying to solve the loneliness crisis through AI and it makes me feel both sad and exasperated. The only way we're going to solve the loneliness crisis is through 1) transforming the systems that shape our daily lives (like capitalism) and 2) transforming the values that those systems teach us (like the disposability of human beings and our separateness from one another.) The broken system and mindset that got us here will not save us. We need an entirely new approach. I wrote an entire book about this. You can get your copy at www.newhappybook.com—and if you're interested in actually seeing what this looks like in practice, you can join the community of over a million people that I lead, which is focused on creating real human connections between people and providing them with ways to do the above. Because human beings need human beings—not devices, not shortcuts, not products—to be happy.

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"Founder Mode" or sometimes coined "Founder Privilege" (a bit more condescending in tone imo) is getting some attention this week from the recent essay published by Paul Graham of Y Combinator. All interesting points and pushes. I have had front row seats to this mode as communications counsel. I have seen founders exit to give way for CEOs, and then return, as sometimes it can become clear -- there are things founders can do that CEO's (manager mode) can't. The debate if it should be either/or is still up for discussion - we have seen a spectrum of examples. At the end of the day, it is about assembling the right core leadership team and culture fit, complementary expertise, and open communication on all sides - so it doesn't have to be a win/lose dynamic. https://lnkd.in/gmJy_dHK

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