Five Links for June 2024
Every month, the five most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.
Here are five links worth reading…
No one buys books by Elle Griffin
Publishing is even more hits-driven than venture capital.
One Decade After Selling LiveRamp – What did we learn? by Auren Hoffman (me)
candid reflections on the ten-year anniversary of selling LiveRamp (now NYSE:RAMP) … with thoughts on acquisitions and founder mafias.
Six-Chart about Old Guys Rule by Bruce Mehlman
Interesting data showing how the median age for world leaders, executives and even movie stars has gone up significantly. People over 65 also now spend more than any other age demographic. The world is a changin’
Biden campaign outspending Trump and RFK Jr by 3:1 on Meta by World of DaaS
someone got all the campaign spend data on Meta and analyze what the campaign as spending, who they are targeting, and how they are crafting their message
TGS Capital - the $13 Billion Mystery Angels by Zachary Mider
A deep dive into TGS Management – the most successful hedge fund you’ve never heard of. It also spawned the fourth-largest charity in the US (after the Gates, Ford and Getty foundations).
Why Was Jamaica a Pirate Capital? by Tomas Pueyo
A “Guns, Germs and Steel” case for colonial-era Caribbean piracy. And why Jamaicans speak English while most of the Caribbean speaks Spanish.
Bonus (Listen): Masterworks CEO Scott Lynn - Data-Driven Art Investing on World of DaaS pod
Scott knows the data on his industry, the art world, better than just about anyone. good things happen when you bring data analysis to a previously opaque industry.
listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts or watch on YouTube
Bonus (Cinematic): Confessions of a Moll: A Boston Gangster’s Long-Time Girlfriend Speaks by Dave Wedge
On surviving ten years with Stephen Flemmi, one of Whitey Bulger’s right hand men who killed over a dozen people.
More reading links at https://x.com/AurenReads
All the Books I read last month (not all are recommended):
World on the Brink by Dmitri Alperovitch (recommended!)
HT: Dmitri Alperovitch
Lessons from the Titans by Scott Davis, Carter Copeland & Rob Wertheimer (recommended)
HT: Will Snellings
The Missing Billionaires by Victor Haghani & James White
Gambler by Billy Walters
Recommended TV/movies:
The Honourable Woman (2014)
Auren Hoffman is CEO of SafeGraph (geospatial data on physical places) and GP at Flex Capital ($200M VC firm). Engage on X: @auren
and please share Five Links with your friends and allies.