Education

This summer I returned to my alma mater, ETH Zurich. It’s not all sunshine and roses, of course, but one thing is exemplary. ETH takes low single digit equity in its spin-offs, usually around 2%. And this is not some oddity, in Sweden, universities do not take any equity in spinoffs at all. In contrast, it’s been with a fanfare that Dutch universities announced common spin-off terms with equity stakes ranging from 10 to 25%, often landing around 20%. Supposedly, they expect to make some money this way, extracting means from students and employees (as is already being done via tuition in the US and the UK). ...

The Keynes vs. Hayek Debate The Keynes vs. Hayek debate centers on contrasting economic theories about how to manage economies, especially during downturns. John Maynard Keynes advocated for active government intervention, suggesting that during recessions, increased government spending can boost demand and pull economies out of downturns. Friedrich Hayek, on the other hand, argued that such interventions distort market signals and lead to inefficiencies, believing that free markets and minimal government interference lead to better economic outcomes by allowing natural corrections through the price mechanism. Essentially, Keynes emphasized short-term government action to stabilize the economy, while Hayek stressed long-term market processes and individual liberty. ...

A photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels. Writing a cover letter is like cooking for a date who is also a reviewer on the Michelin-star guide. You want to impress them but have no idea how – should you stand out with something creative? Probably not, they have seen it all. Or would they appreciate something authentic? Maybe, but it could turn out to be too simple. Unfortunately, cover letters are the necessary evil of job hunting. There are times in almost everyone’s career when we get to write one (and, sadly, usually many more). ...

In the episode #385 of Lex Fridman’s podcast, Marc Andreessen talks about what makes a great founder and what advice he would give to young people. You can watch the excerpt here: I have lot of respect for Marc Andreessen. He is a techno-optimist and visionary as well as very clear and opiniated thinker. No one can predict the future, but he gives it a fair shot for some things, and I will listen when he tries. I suggest checking his archival blog for productivity and startup logistics resources, and some of his podcast appearances to learn more about how he thinks (e.g. Conversations with Tyler #152). ...

Photo by Bram Naus on Unsplash. Many of us out there in the tech and business world will consider pursuing an MBA at one point. While this can be a rewarding experience, it comes with a hefty price tag and equally significant opportunity cost. There are plenty of reasons for pursuing a full-fledged program (social capital and prestigious stamp are just a few), but for many, a shorter course and real-world practice will do well. I am a big proponent of self-reliance and thus was delighted to learn about the book The Personal MBA: A World-Class Business Education in a Single Volume. If you are interested in how businesses work, or even considering pursuing MBA, this book a is a great starting point. Below you will find a selection of my personal major takeaways. If you find these interesting, certainly check the author’s website at personalmba.com (it’s also a great source of witty quotes). Without further ado, some things I learnt about running businesses by reading this book: ...

This is the first post in a new series where I highlight plots that I came across in scientific literature that will be interesting for a broad audience. Today I look at why poor stay poor (economic inequality), why you should move to Italy but not Singapore (labor productivity), and why buying processed foods costs you more than you think (microbiome diversity). Plot 1. Economic connectedness is by far the most impactful way to increase economic mobility (in the US) Economic connectedness is by far the most impactful way to increase economic mobility. Figure from Social capital I: measurement and associations with economic mobility This plot comes from the paper Social capital I: measurement and associations with economic mobility which, already from the title, is absolutely a stunning read. The researchers looked at what are drivers of upward economic mobility (in the US!) and concluded that one that matters by far the most is the relative share of high socioeconomic status (SES) friends, a quantity they termed economic connectedness. They find that if low-income children had the same type of friends as high-income children do, they would earn 20% more on average in adulthood! So what does this mean? You, dear reader, are probably relatively wealthy or have a good chance of being so in the future so if you care about economic inequality (and you should, because in the long run it hurst everybody!) go ahead and make friends with everyone, especially with people of relatively low SES! Equally stunningly, many places which you would have thought are great destinations to elevate one’s or one’s family SES (e.g., Bay Area) are performing very poorly on economic connectedness, and consequently you would be better off moving to plenty of other places, many of which are much cheaper to live in. If you did not think segregation or gentrification is a problem, now you know it is. You can find the map of economic connectedness in the US here: socialcapital.org. ...

Translation: Not perfect is also fine! “How did you learn Dutch so well and so quick?” I get this question often. I am in the few percent of expats who can hold fluent conversation and I got to this point in seemingly no time. And while my Dutch is by no means perfect, it gets the job done. Which is what matters to me and what I take some amount of pride in. Here I will describe how I become fluent in under half a year, without an instructor, while working a full-time job where I did not use any Dutch. What’s more, while I will give Dutch-specific references the approach can be applied to virtually any language, it can cost you as no money, and does not require you to live in place where you would use the learnt language (although that would usually help with the motivation). ...

We are nearing the end of November. For most of us this means that the Christmas mood is slowly finding way into our minds. And if you are so lucky to orient yourself still mainly by academic calendar, this also means that you are well into the second half of your autumn semester. The initial enthusiasm may be well extinguished by the sheer amount of workload. Things that were supposed to be fun are becoming an annoying routine and you are starting to wonder if you are interested in what you are supposed to learn in the first place. ...