Startup Kool-Aid; Why You’re Making Enough Money but Still Anxious; $100 Million in Odyssey Popcorn Buckets; the World’s Best Fake $50 Bill, +++ [link post]

Homebrew's Hunter Walk shares a July link digest touching on themes relevant to early-stage founders and investors. A standout piece argues that startups articulating clear, consistent core beliefs create natural market gravity — not by imposing values, but by being coherently interesting. Other links examine the decline of affordable public recreation and its K-shaped economic dimension, the surprisingly lucrative collectibles market, and psychological insights into financial anxiety. Taken together, the curation…

7/25/2026

I’ve Changed My Mind. Early Stage Venture Funds of $100 Million or Less Should Hold Almost No Reserves for Follow-On.

Homebrew co-founder Hunter Walk argues that early-stage venture funds of $100 million or less should abandon the conventional practice of reserving 20–50% of capital for follow-on investments. He contends that the proliferation of multi-stage funds and the auctionization of later rounds have eroded the informational and pricing advantages that historically justified pro-rata follow-on. With faster investment paces making early winner identification harder, Walk suggests redeploying reserve capital into more initia…

7/23/2026

Three Words That It’s Time For Us To Leave Behind: Non-Technical, Unicorn, and Oversubscribed.

Homebrew's Hunter Walk argues that three terms long embedded in startup and VC culture have outlived their usefulness. "Non-technical" is now a choice rather than a constraint, as AI tools make technical capability accessible to everyone. "Unicorn" distorts founder behavior by prioritizing a valuation milestone over genuine value creation. "Oversubscribed" is critiqued as a social-proof signal that obscures deal quality. The post points to companies like Ambrook, which builds AI literacy across its entire org char…

7/21/2026

Product Market Fit is Hard to Find, but False PMF is Even More Painful

Homebrew warns that false product-market fit can be more damaging than having no PMF at all. A talented team in a large market can force their way to Series A metrics through sheer effort, but this creates a local maximum that masks deeper structural problems. Deliberately deferring monetization can be a valid strategy, but avoiding the question of whether customers will actually pay is a red flag. Homebrew urges founders and investors to look beyond vanity growth metrics and focus on retention and genuine product…

7/14/2026

Celebrate People like Om Malik and Susan Wojcicki When They’re Alive. That’s the Best Chance We Have To Make Tech Good Again.

Homebrew co-founder Hunter Walk reflected on the recent deaths of Om Malik and Susan Wojcicki, both of whom he counted as friends. He described them as rare examples of people who achieved significant success in technology while remaining kind, approachable, and generous. Writing against a backdrop of what he sees as a shifting moral compass in the industry, Walk urged the tech community to identify the next generation of similarly principled figures and actively celebrate them while still alive, rather than waiti…

6/29/2026

Let’s Learn Together: Financial Tools Startup Ambrook Spent Six Weeks Helping Their Entire Team Adopt AI. And Now They’ve Open Sourced the Materials

Ambrook, a startup building financial tools for independent American businesses with a focus on farming and agriculture, ran a structured six-week internal program to help every team member adopt AI tooling for their individual workflows. The initiative was framed as a shared learning journey rather than a top-down mandate. Homebrew, which flagged the story, praised the open-sourcing of the training materials as an example of collaborative knowledge-sharing that benefits the broader startup ecosystem. The approach…

6/25/2026

Tips on Asking for Advice; Foreign Spies All Over Florida; Feeling Like You Don’t Have Enough Money Drives You Nuts; How to Use AI (and when not to) in Your Hiring; +++ [link blog]

6/21/2026

Technical Interviews Are Dead – What Comes Next?, The Cosmetics You Buy Online Are Fake (and Unsafe), If You Can’t Get a Job Right Now It’s Your Fault, and +++ [link blog]

Steve Yegge argues technical interviews are broken—Google recruiters once tricked engineers into rejecting their own past interviews. Sports stadiums now cater to the ultra-rich with luxury experiences, as millionaires in the US approach Florida's population size.

6/13/2026

SAFE Adjusted TVPI: How Early Stage VCs Should Communicate SAFE Note Markups to their LPs

Early stage VCs face challenges in communicating portfolio value to LPs, as traditional valuation methods don't account for SAFE notes with varying caps across multiple funding tranches.

6/6/2026

Some investors shape markets, while others are shaped by them

Many VCs blindly raise larger funds to keep up with competitors, reflecting capital commoditization. Instead, VCs should return to first principles: clarify their purpose, identify the best strategy, and determine what resources they truly need.

6/3/2026

With all the AI money sloshing around Skin in the Game isn’t enough anymore. I’m looking for Heart in the Game too.

In today's startup world, liquidity options have eroded long-term commitment. 'Skin in the game' no longer suffices. The author now seeks founders, teams, and investors with genuine passion—'heart in the game'—who pursue both financial and meaningful outcomes.

6/2/2026

When Your VC Quits, Is The Founder Screwed?, Dads Are Doing More Dadding Than Ever, VC Who Founded Multibillion Firm Thinks Employees Need More Equity, AI for Old People +++ [link post]

A curated link post covering VC departures and founder strategies, the rise of involved American fathers, progressive policies' impact on small businesses, and more timely topics.

5/9/2026

At AI Dinners, You Can Leave Before Dessert. And Other Rules for IRL IS BACK Networking

As AI-themed dinner events surge, a veteran attendee offers practical tips for hosts: clear schedules, name tags, attendee lists post-event, guided conversations, and opt-in sponsor follow-ups to improve the experience.

4/18/2026

Why I Hope I’m Wrong When I Pass on Investing in a Startup

A VC shares why passing on a startup doesn't mean stopping to root for them. False negatives are part of venture, and many founders are genuinely cheered on even without investment.

4/17/2026

EmuDeck Store Gives Retro Homebrew Games a New Place to Shine - Retro Handhelds

The EmuDeck Store offers a new platform for retro homebrew games, giving independent developers a dedicated space to showcase and distribute their creations to emulation enthusiasts.

4/6/2026

Hobbyist builds a homebrew Intel 8086 ISA accelerator card — maker’s project improves integer multiplication on these retro systems by 250% - Tom's Hardware

A hobbyist has created a homemade ISA accelerator card for the Intel 8086 processor, achieving a 250% improvement in integer multiplication performance on vintage retro computer systems.

4/5/2026

Esoteric Ebb is the closest you'll get to playing a real D&D campaign in a video game - Polygon.com

Esoteric Ebb is a video game that closely replicates the experience of playing a real Dungeons & Dragons campaign, offering an authentic tabletop RPG feel in digital form.

4/5/2026

“Having said that, it’s not a company that I’d start today.  My bar for working on meaningful problems has gone up since I was 24” – Dan Teran, on evolving from a founder to an investor, and building what matters to him.

Dan Teran, former CEO/cofounder of ManagedByQ, discusses his transition from founder to investor with his venture firm Gutter Capital, which focuses on hands-on support for 5-6 investments annually.

4/1/2026

Homebrew is great, but this open-source GUI makes it way superior - MakeUseOf

Homebrew is a popular package manager for macOS, but an open-source GUI tool makes it even better by offering a visual interface that simplifies installing and managing packages without using the command line.

3/31/2026

After 108 years, America’s oldest homebrew shop closes in Portland - The Portland Tribune

America's oldest homebrew shop in Portland has closed after 108 years in business, marking the end of a long-standing institution in the home brewing community.

3/31/2026

That top Google result for Homebrew could infect your Mac - AppleInsider

A malicious ad appearing at the top of Google search results for 'Homebrew' is reportedly distributing malware targeting Mac users, posing a serious security risk to those seeking the popular package manager.

3/30/2026

Don’t Worry 26, 34, 41 Year Old Friend In Tech. You’re Not ‘Too Old.’

A 52-year-old tech veteran reflects on age anxiety in the industry while wishing friends happy birthday on Facebook, reassuring younger colleagues that they still have plenty of time and energy ahead.

3/29/2026

F.H. Steinbart Homebrew Supply Blowout Sale and Farewell Closing Party - newschoolbeer.com

F.H. Steinbart, a historic homebrew supply store, is holding a blowout sale and farewell closing party, marking the end of its long legacy in the homebrewing community.

3/28/2026

Before You Automate It, Ask Whether You Should Even Be Doing It in the First Place

Automating suboptimal processes doesn't improve them significantly and may worsen outcomes. Once automated, processes become entrenched and less likely to be re-examined for optimization.

3/25/2026

Opting Out of the Unicorn Race; The Code Doesn’t Love You Back – former Meta/Google Exec on How Engineering is Changing; A Case Against Big Companies (Why People Are Gonna Get Laid Off); and More+++ [link blog]

Collection of personal blog posts exploring changing tech industry dynamics: former Meta/Google exec coins 'outcome engineering' concept, VC insider discusses why builders are abandoning unicorn aspirations.

3/22/2026

“If they raise VC, they usually get stuck and it’s a bad outcome for an otherwise good company.” Brad Hargreaves on which proptech companies should seek (or avoid) venture dollars. And more, from the founder of General Assembly, Common, and now, Thesis Driven.

Interview with Brad Hargreaves, founder of General Assembly, Common, and Thesis Driven, discussing his current focus on the "future of the built world" including proptech, AI's impact on real estate, and matching investors with emerging real estate operators.

3/19/2026

The Southern Vermont HomeBrew Festival turns 10 - benningtonbanner.com

The Southern Vermont HomeBrew Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of home brewing culture and community gathering in the region.

3/18/2026

“My one big tip for any of these business side roles is you still need to get close to the product. Nothing bothers me more than people that work at companies and never use their own products.” Zapier’s Corp Dev Lead Austin Johnsen on how AI is changing his job and building his own tools with Claude.

Austin Johnsen, Corporate Development Lead at Zapier, discusses how AI is transforming automation and his role. He explains Zapier's evolution from simple integrations to AI-powered workflows and shares insights on building custom tools with AI assistance.

3/17/2026

Can You Be Part of the System Without Also Being Part of the Problem? Yes but…

A tech veteran with 25+ years of experience reflects on whether one can participate in the commercial tech industry without contributing to its problems, concluding it's possible with conditions.

3/15/2026

Summer homebrew festival returning for 10th year in Bennington - news10.com

A summer homebrew festival in Bennington is celebrating its 10th anniversary, bringing together home brewers and beer enthusiasts for a community event.

3/13/2026