My irregular newsletter on work and play. Unsubscribe at the bottom. LinkedIn
More vibe coding, Portugal Blackout and some other things
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1. WORK: Biomanufacturing Event
2. VIBE CODING: AI-First Firms, Course
3. CULTURE: More White Lotus, Monte Cristo, Gates Book
1. WORK
Biomanufacturing VC/Founder Matchmaking
It is the 10th virtual matchmaking event I curated.
There are 2 more this year: Health and Climate (pre-register here).
Expected: 200 investors + 200 founders. Result: 350 investors + 450 founders.
So many things can be made with biology now!
2. VIBE CODING
After Shopify’s CEO memo, Duolingo’s CEO also announced they were now “AI-first”, and released 150 new courses thanks to AI. How many will follow suit?
How to get their team up to speed? Where to start? Should they just prompt a random LLM? Should they try to use workflow automation tools? Should they learn to code?
One thing for sure: AI literacy is a new must-have, and here to stay!
One approach is to get familiar with using LLMs to produce code for fast prototyping and personal tools. This is the purpose of the crash course I created on Udemy: in about one hour you’ll see LOTS of applications.
My course passed 700 students and has a rating of 4.6 / 5. Reviews include “Fun, interesting and fully practical course”
My talk at the VC Platform Summit was called “MONUMENTAL”
Here is a coupon with the best price ($9.99) that expires in 5 days (code: MAY2025).
If your firm is interested in AI training with vibe coding, a workshop or a talk, let me know!
3. CULTURE
SHOWS
White Lotus**** (HBO)
Seasons 2 and 3 were great as well. This show is good at planting checkov guns, plot misdirection and making characters linger in awkwardness. There is also a sentiment of watching happen multiple slow train wrecks. Good job, Mike White and crew! Likely the best show I watched this year.
The Count of Monte Cristo*** (Prime)
The Alexandre Dumas classic about revenge is quite ok, though it definitely loses some literary charm. It was apparently partly inspired by a true story, and Dumas used a researcher / co-author that history mostly forgot.
BOOKS
Bill Gates: Source Code***
A pretty good read. Gates really benefited from great timing, location and meeting other geeks before it was cool.
Then his curiosity, enormous focus, confidence in learning and various strategic decisions really worked out for him.
He also explored many ideas along the way, and was quite tactical in seizing opportunities.
It sounded like he hoped to become a pure mathematician or scientist, but did not feel he had what it took to be the top dog in this field, and went into business instead in an exciting emerging industry.
I also learned about various surprising hobbies he had, the loss of a dear friend, and that he apparently took (some) drugs (I thought he never did due to a Steve Jobs quote about him and LSD).
4. EXPERIENCES
Blackout
I experienced a 10-hours blackout in Lisbon from noon to 10pm. Among the interesting bits:
Nobody knew how long it would last.
Light, internet and most mobile networks were down.
People went for picnic in the park.
We were stocked enough with food for a week and not stressed out.
Almost every supermarket was closed. I shopped with a flashlight.
The butcher put the meat in the walk-in freezer. The ice-cream store had a queue!
Rumors spread that the cause was (a) the Russians (b) a weather event (c) some cable. We still don’t know… I suspect Big Icecream.
I am now in the market for a small solar panel and battery system :)
Scams
I can’t go into details as some are developing stories, but I’ve learned about several scams that happened in Portugal.
One “0” scam: Overcharged by an airport taxi. Extra cost: ±$10
Two “0” scam: Government services pretending that there is a charge to pay urgently. About $200
Three to Four “0” scam: Fake buyers on a classified site that manipulate sellers to authorize access to their bank’s current account, and wipe it clean. I heard stories from $2000 to $30,000+
Variable scam: the random whatsapp or dating app contact that explains she has a great crypto trading team and is happy to share her success. One used an entirely fake platform. The mark could get its initial money back with some profit, before putting the real money in.
Five “0” scam: Fake buyers of expensive properties, who arrange a kind of kickback fee before payment is made. Cost: hundreds of thousands.
I am awaiting to hear about scams in the millions. Those would likely be with companies rather than individuals.
Home Chemistry
I am still looking for 2-deoxy-D-ribose to try this experiment.
Over and out.
— Ben