Founder Fridays No. 146
The Story of SONY -- AI’s Metric Problem -- Speed Beats Perfection
Happy Friday.
If you're an Acquired podcast fanatic (like me) or just fascinated by the playbooks behind legendary companies, I've created something for you. The Acquired Briefing transforms Ben and David's brilliant four-hour deep dives into organized, actionable insights you can actually reference and apply. Subscribe here to join fellow business builders who are turning podcast gold into real strategy. This week's issue breaks down SONY's incredible rise from the ashes of WWII Japan. Check it out below.
The Story of SONY
Born in the unlikeliest of places — the terrible, wasteland-like aftermath of post WWII Japan — Sony rose to capture the imaginations (and wallets) of consumers and engineers around the world. The company produced hit after hit after hit: portable transistor radios, CDs, the Walkman, the PlayStation, DVDs, life insurance ... and yet ultimately fell behind its greatest American admirer: Steve Jobs and Apple. This is the incredible story of Sony’s human and technological optimism in the face of overwhelming odds — a story that, given recent world events, remains as relevant today as ever. Acquired Briefing (12 minutes)
AI’s Metric Problem
Measuring artificial intelligence adoption is like counting "hits" on 1990s websites — technically accurate but fundamentally meaningless. Every platform shift creates a measurement crisis where companies cherry-pick metrics that make them look best, whether it's OpenAI's weak "weekly active users" or Google's inflated "tokens generated" that could mean anything from efficiency gains to spam. The real insight isn't in the numbers themselves but in understanding that we're still too early to know what AI will actually become — embedded infrastructure like databases or user-facing tools like search engines. Smart founders focus on money and time spent rather than vanity metrics because the right measurement framework will only emerge once we understand what business we're really building. Ben Evans (6 minutes)
Speed Beats Perfection
Your biggest competitor isn't another startup — it's your own overthinking. The AI revolution demands you experiment 20-100 times per week, not per month, because while you're perfecting features, AI-powered teams are shipping and learning 10x faster. Most founders sabotage themselves by clinging to corporate-trained slowness, treating products as personal reflections rather than rapid experiments. Adopt the "fuck it" mentality: borrow what works, launch imperfect products and remember that mindset changes will accelerate you far more than productivity hacks ever could. FTX (9 minutes)
Founder FAQ: What’s the Deal with Non-Compete Clauses?
Non-compete clauses can be very useful for startups, but they are not straightforward. A non-compete clause is a legal agreement between an employer and an employee that restricts the employee’s ability to work for a competitor or start a competing business for a certain period of time after leaving the company. The goal of these clauses is to prevent former employees from using their knowledge and expertise to benefit rival companies. Conversely, non-compete clauses can have significant downsides for employees, including limiting their career growth and job opportunities. However, the use of non-compete clauses is subject to legal regulations that can vary significantly from state to state and country to country. Westaway (6 minutes)
Startup Funding Guides
I’ve put together a series of guides to equip founders to excel at fundraising. These guides break down the deal term-by-term and give you negotiation tips so that you can speak to investors with confidence.
Convertible Note: Guide / Video
Control Legal Spend
Startups suffer from unpredictable legal bills under the billable hour system. Fees fluctuate month to month without warning. Law firms drag out billable hours, but startups foot the bill. Even basic work can lead to surprisingly high legal bills. This unpredictability cripples financial planning. Budgets rarely match actual spend. With utter uncertainty around legal spend, startups cannot forecast or manage burn rates effectively. The antiquated billable hour system fails them. Our General Counsel flat, monthly fee service gives startups cost certainty. Legal spend becomes predictable with bundled services and no surprise overage bills. By switching from hourly to our flat-fee model, startups finally get confident budgeting, accurate forecasting and predictable legal spend. If you’re sick of getting surprise legal bills and are interested in controlling your legal spend, let’s talk.