Read enough history on brands and you'll agree: be slow to count people out. Most of the lasting brands saw: 1/ financing woes 2/ legal issues 3/ founder mental breakdowns 4/ ruthless competition Another commonality: Founders identified a larger movement and built around it.

"My brain . . . it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I sit there and have to face myself and tell myself, ‘You’re a failure’ . . . I think that’s almost worse than death." -- Kobe Bryant, basketball legend, RIP

I’m biased but Udemy is a true underdog story + thought I’d share details we’ve never shared before. ICYMI, we announced a $50M raise at $2B valuation. Udemy almost died at least 5x. We got rejected by everyone in the Valley. Startups are never a straight line. *Read on*

Most high growth startups focus on m-o-m growth, I try to remind them... 50% annual growth for 10 yrs is 58X 60% annual growth for 10 yrs is 110X Most founders don’t put enough emphasis on 3/5/10 years out, on making choices today to sustain compounding #PowerOfCompounding

“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” — Vladimir Lenin.

What looks like a talent gap is often a focus gap. The "all star" is often an average to above average performer who spends more time working on what is important and less time on distractions. The talent is staying focused.

A difficult lesson to learn: Your most persistent distractions will seem justified to you.

11 * 11 = 121 111 * 111 = 12321 1111 * 1111 = 1234321 11111 * 11111 = 123454321 111111 * 111111 = 12345654321 1111111 * 1111111 = 1234567654321 11111111 * 11111111 = 123456787654321 111111111 * 111111111 = 12345678987654321

1/ The peak of Everest is infamously termed 'Death Zone'. Each breath contains ~ 30% of the oxygen found at the sea level. Birds, however, can easily fly over the Everest. What gives them such great lungs? They got them from the dinos. But why did the dinosaurs have them? 🧵👇🏽

In 2004 I got the opportunity to work with Jeff Bezos to develop the original Kindle. It was Amazon’s first foray into hardware and I learned a ton from my interactions with Jeff. Here’s some of the stories and lessons that I took away from that experience:

GOAT, a sneaker resale marketplace, is now valued at $1.75 billion. But did you know the founders worked at a creme puff shop less than a decade ago? This is their amazing story. Time for a thread 👇👇👇

The greatest test win. The Pants, Gills, Washingtons, Sirajs....just different

Historic day for India! Congratulations #ManishNarwal and Singhraj Adhana for winning 🥇 and 🥈respectively at #TokyoParalympics in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 Final. 🇮🇳🇮🇳 #Praise4Para

Congratulations #ArifKhan for becoming the first 🇮🇳 to qualify for Beijing 2022! Dedication despite limited resources & infrastructure - a testament to the talent and resilience of our athletes. Let us all support this unsung hero of India! 👏 #Himalayas #Kashmir #Gulmarg #Skiing

We launched Infinyte Club with a clear mission - to create a Million Millionaires. Millionaires are only created via Ownership. In order to be truly wealthy you need to own pieces of high growth businesses that compound over time

We Infinyte Club have cracked the code for ESOP Liquidity! For a startup ecosystem to thrive, ESOPs need to be liquid.

Before today, 🇯🇵's Yui Susaki held an 82-0 international record! Today, 🇮🇳's Vinesh Phogat became the first wrestler to take down the World no. 1 and Tokyo Olympic gold medallist in an international meet! #Paris2024 #Olympics

India's shinning star Saikhom Mirabai Chanu narrowly missed Olympic - Medal in Weightlifting (49kg) by small margin and come 4th at #Paris2024 but we are very proud of your achievements & always proud of you ! #Cheer4Bharat 🇮🇳

Neeraj Chopra is excellence personified! Time and again he’s shown his brilliance. India is elated that he comes back with yet another Olympic success. Congratulations to him on winning the Silver. He will continue to motivate countless upcoming athletes to pursue their dreams

new essay: Elon's Philly Special (gorklon rust) Remember the "Philly Special"? It's was the Superbowl, 2018. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Patriots Philly is the underdog vs. Tom Brady. With 1 minute left before half.. they pulled off what's now known as the "Philly Special":