I hate that I’m going to ask this.

But how much of this reporting is pure fact vs some storytelling? Is the story in the ground inside NOAA as dire?

Honest question to get some support and context:

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/u...

A question that challenges me: "why don't you think your business is real"

The reality is, well, it's real. I have legal structure, clients, insurance, an tech stack. I don't (yet) have a logo or a website though I've iterated many times on ideas.

A new post at The Teardown!

Today I wrote about this app: BlueSky.

I'm not here for features. Are you? I'm here because you're here, my friends, contributors to my feed, professional connections and others.

Connectivity drives usage. Not features. Agree?

open.substack.com/pub/theteard...

Question to the cat-risk people out there (cc @kellyhereid.bsky.social):

We have industry conferences. White papers. Some marginally active LinkedIn groups.

There will likely be pre-emptive evacuation warnings/orders in/near recent SoCal burn areas (from Sep & Jan) due to high likelihood of intense downpours capable of producing *significant* debris flows. Debris flows can form very quickly, so it's wise to take these seriously.#CAwx

Someone (a prospect) asked me:

Do you think you are best at engineering, analytics, or strategy?

I said that my superpower is blending all three. But, if I had to pick 1 or 2, analytics and/or strategy.

These questions often come up. Folks don't easily digest jack-of-all-trades people.

People running small biz ops (you're founder, or you help):

What email / CRM integrations do you use?

I like HubSpot for free CRM.

Hubspot integrates free with Gmail. What about O365? FastMail? Others?

Current: Zoho Mail. But have to pay to integrate HubSpot
Looking at alternatives.

Thoughts?

I took a quick spin through Mozi, a new app from Ev Williams (Twitter co-founder). The app tries, I think, to help close friends better understand each other's plans and whereabouts.

But do we need that? How do you organize with close friends? What's not working?

open.substack.com/pub/theteard...

Wrote another new post for The Teardown today.

These social platforms are great for connectivity and sorting answers to questions in short order. But they are also distractions and trigger a lot of unhealthy tendencies (for me).

Curious what you think too.

open.substack.com/pub/theteard...

And, here we go: an end-of-year reflection post at The Teardown.

The 1st of 2 or 3 posts (not yet sure) where I’m exploring someone else’s questions. Where are they from?

Obsidian’s founder Steph Ango reflects on 40 questions every year.

My thoughts here:
open.substack.com/pub/theteard...

For the network, and especially my #insurtech / #insurance people.

Build vs. Buy? I always like to validate what I think vs. what other people think (and their experience). Any super valuable/insightful resources to share?

A new post at The Teardown.

Today I’m picking on Strava to talk about product-led growth and behavioral nudging.

My conclusion: there is so much nudging, everywhere. And from a business perspective, I get it. As a product user, I mostly hate it.

open.substack.com/pub/theteard...

Help @gemma-cto.bsky.social! I tried and failed. Not connected in this space. 😞

Some of my most interesting work directly ties to these visuals.

I monitored rainfall forecasts to make sense of flood potential ahead of storms like Helene. And non-hurricane events too. Married that understanding to what we knew about water flow and accumulation on the ground.

New post!

My point here is we need collective action to solve problems created by social media.

Those companies ARE responsible. But let’s not forget about the device makers.

What do you think?

open.substack.com/pub/theteard...

The Internal Game of Sales - Staying at The Table

brokerbrett.com/thoughts/202...

"Look, I don’t want to be your “find me on the other place”; I want to be your main place. Okay, yes, I’m not really a place at all, but you know what I mean. Because when it comes to broadcasting your pithy hot takes to a bunch of internet strangers, the sky’s the limit."

😂

A new post at The Teardown!

I dove into Strategy’s recent API-limiting strategy shift.

The fitness community is unhappy.

But I think Strava’s decision makes sense to Strava the business. It is, after all, a profit-seeking (and making) company