About that midlife crisis story this week

Sounds like we all need someone to Goldilocks our lives.

Thinking a lot about data storytelling, hiring, and early-stage infrastructure? We are too. Grab some time here and let’s chat.

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There are 10,000 things a founder can do, but only about 10 things a founder should do. The amount of time we spend obsessing over pricing, products, features, value propositions, offers, and so on makes the idea that optionality can actually be bad not really news to us. If Twitter made a dollar every time someone mentioned the Paradox of Choice, they’d probably be profitable.

I thought about this when a friend shared the NYT OpEd: Why millennials are less satisfied with their lives than previous generations. I found myself surprised that the answer was not: the endless optionality, of course.

We millennials were the first digitally native generation that had the ability to scroll through thousands of potential career paths. That’s a good thing, right? However, the article cites a Gallup poll that found that 60% of millennials are open to new job opportunities as if the grass is always greener.

Building a startup has helped me (a mostly-satisfied millennial) think about optionality differently. Optionality can kill early-stage startups: if I tried to build every feature that a user requested or pivot in every direction that came to mind, we’d have a pretty shit product. Something I am actively trying to get better at is breaking through the noise of choice: considering all options, but only committing to an option if there is an overwhelming pull towards it.

Happy weekend,

Raman at Rhetoric

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📚 What’s made me a better storyteller this week

If you haven’t listened to The Social Radars with Jessica Livingston and Carolynn Levy yet, it’s worth a save: these two 20-year YC vets have a new take on founder stories that’s sure to get your wheels turning.

More good stuff from the Duolingo camp: If you’re looking for an example of what a great feature story and roll-out looks like, Duolingo’s GPT-4 announcement is worth a read.

How words change meaning over time is a fascinating deep-dive into cultural norms and changes and how they are reflected in etymology. Be warned, though, it comes at a cost: you might also find yourself spending hours reviewing your recent communications for instances of the world “please.”