#73 | Companies Go AI-First, Blackout, Scams and More

My irregular newsletter on work and play. Unsubscribe at the bottom. LinkedIn

More vibe coding, Portugal Blackout and some other things

MENU

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

#72 | A.I. Vibe Coding = New Literacy, Bio-manufacturing Event, White Lotus

My irregular newsletter on work and play. Unsubscribe at the bottom. LinkedIn

This is it - I am obsessed with “Vibe Coding” (creating software with LLMs without reading the code). More below.

MENU

1. WORK: Events, Matchup
2. VIBE CODING: Bootcamp!
3. CULTURE: White Lotus, Bill Burr, Hello Ladies

1. WORK

VC Platform Summit

• The VC Platform Summit in Miami just concluded and it is truly a remarkable event.

• Congrats to the team, especially Dan who was kind enough to put me on a big stage to talk about “Vibe Coding for VCs” where I shared examples of AI automation applied to various tasks.

Bio-manufacturing Virtual Matchmaking

• We already exceeded our goal of 200 investors and 200 startups (total over 500 now).

• This free virtual event takes place on April 21-25. Register here.

2. VIBE CODING

Shopify’s CEO told his staff that AI proficiency is now mandatory for ALL employees (Forbes). The CEO of Box concurred, and I couldn’t agree more.

• AI proficiency is the most important skill unlock of the decade.

• “Vibe Coding” is the easiest path to it.

I also believe the crash course I created on Udemy is one of the fastest ways to get started on vibe coding.

• It is nearing 300 students in only a month

• Rating: 4.8 / 5 - it has been described as:

  “Absolutely world class, terrific… I learned so much and tried so many of the examples… it was totally inspiring! This vibe coding stuff is un-fucking-believable! Amazing. Great course. Loved it.”

• Register with the coupon APR2025 (best price: only $10 for a critical new skill!)

• For fun (and learning), one of the lessons explains how to create a “Ghiblifier” - here is a trailer:

Target Users:

• Non-technical people, so they understand not only the principle of vibe coding, but get exposure to many amazing libraries and APIs (e.g. browser and GUI automation, computer vision, NLP, OpenAI and many more tools)

• Tech people who want a quick primer on the latest tech.

• Corporations who want to train their team quickly and affordable with a fun course.

=> If you’re interested in offering a fun A.I. Vibe Coding workshop or bootcamp to level up your team on AI skills, let me know!

Note: I’ve already done several workshops very well received - see www.vibecodingcourse.com for more info.

3. CULTURE

SHOWS

White Lotus**** (HBO)
The staff and clients of a luxury resort. Everyone is a bit insane but also very real. This was actually a great show. I only watched season 1 for now and hope the other 2 are just as good.

Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years (Disney+)***
Not his best but still a good show. What is it doing on Disney+ ?

Hello Ladies** (HBO)
I like Stephen Merchant (The Outlaws and of course The Office UK were great). This show was cute but not outstanding.

Nosso Sonho**
Stumbled upon this “documentary” about a brazilian musical duo who rose to fame years ago. It’s ok.

4. EXPERIENCES

Home Chemistry

A team of researchers who were studying wound treatments on mice found that hair was re-growing faster than usual. In 2024 they published a widely-cited article focused on the hair part. They used a gel with 2-deoxy-D-ribose - a naturally ocurring sugar in the human body. I’m in the market to buy some! Most labs don’t sell to individuals so I’m trying via Alibaba and my personal network. If you know a freelance pharmacist or chemist who ships to Lisbon, let me know! ;)

Skin Scan

During a visit to Paris, a department store had just installed a brand new Korean skin scanner (like this one) in their cosmetics department. It measured hydration, UV damage and more. The pictures were quite horrific - great way to sell products ;p

That’s all for today - keep vibin’ !
— Ben

#71 | Biomanufacturing Event, Vibe Coding Virtual Workshop

My irregular newsletter on work and play. Unsubscribe at the bottom. LinkedIn

The “Vibe Coding” edition - sign up here to the virtual workshop on April 1st!

MENU

1. WORK: Travels, Matchup, Event
2. VIBE CODING: Course, Apps, Workshops
3. CULTURE: Innocuous Works

1. WORK

Travels

• Hello Tomorrow in Paris was great. Looking forward to next year!

• I’ll be at VC Platform in Miami in April, running a session on “Vibe coding for VC”.

Biomanufacturing Matchup

• The next matchup will be announced shortly. The theme is Biomanufacturing - making things with biology. We expect 200+ startups and 200+ investors to join this free virtual event on April 21-25. Pre-register here.

Deep Tech Live

• SOSV launched a new series of events focused on deep tech. They take place at our NY office and are broadcasted live + shared on various podcast platforms.

• Previous session: “From the IRA to "Drill Baby Drill" with Professor Jesse Jenkins, Princeton University, co-host of the Shift Key podcast Leader of Princeton’s Zero Lab (video)

• Next sessions: “The evolution of space tech and the role of startups in shaping the next era of exploration” with Aerospace Corporation CEO Steve Isakowitz (March 27, RSVP), and “Commercializing Deep Tech for Industrial Resilience” with Dr. Vanessa Chan, Vice-Dean Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Penn Engineering + Former Chief Commercialization Officer, U.S. Department of Energy (April 2, RSVP)

2. VIBE CODING

Since it’s a serious hobby now, it will have its own section for a while. My main takeaway is that it’s a new and important skill to acquire: the ability to talk to an AI to create apps, without learning to code!

• It enables non-coders to create personal apps to automate things, even “single use” apps. Some build complete websites, automated workflows and more.

• Experienced coders can even use that to create apps that can be shared safely and scaled.

My Course

• My crash course on Udemy (discount code: MAR2025) has passed 100 students! Each sale and review is a great feeling :) (current rating: 4.8 / 5).

• Besides non-coders, I was surprised to see that experienced coders enjoyed it, as a way to learn about what is possible today.

Some apps I made recently…

• A telegram bot to send me new reviews of the course (uses the Udemy API).

• Another bot to track a crypto asset hourly (scrapes a website).

• An app to track baby feeding times and mood.

• A scraper to get a list of 2,000+ AI startups from a startup map (download wasn’t enabled so it loads the entire page, then scrapes the rendered HTML).

• A tool to create 100+ google alerts to track startups (note: since Google didn’t have an API and blocked browser automation, I used GUI automation + computer vision to click buttons).

Workshop

• I thought that meeting users in-person would be interesting so I organized a workshop in Lisbon last week, which ended up fully booked.

• I will be running another workshop at the VC Platform Summit in Miami next month.

• I will run a virtual workshop on April 1st at 6pm-7pm GMT / 2pm-3pm ET / 11am-12pm PST. You can register here (free). It will be mostly LIVE Vibe Coding, and I highly recommend to take my crash course beforehand to understand what is going on. Here is a discount code: MAR2025 (< $15).

Explorations

• I mostly use ChatGPT and VS Code but I’ve started playing with Claude (which seems to code better), Replit (1-click to deploy but every AI edit costs money, and live files are “locked”).

• I’m looking into making my first Android app thanks to vibe coding.

• I shared some thoughts on why vibe coding is the best on-ramp and up-skilling path to coding in this article.

3. CULTURE

SHOWS

Represent*** (Netflix)
A French community educator decides to run for president. Entertaining comedy that references many recent event in french politics.

The Internship** (Netflix)
An older comedy about two sales dudes landing internships at Google. Good enough if you're tired. I'm using vibe coding to build the mobile app they created during one of the challenges.

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl*** (Netflix)
While the poetry is on Miyazaki’s side and insanity on Satoshi Kon’s, I have to give Nick Park credit for consistent outstanding craftsmanship. And this time, I found the story pretty funny too. Neat and tidy!

Flow** (Prime)
How many ways to skin a cat? This indie animation is a good work considering the budget, but I did not feel much for it after they tried to kill this poor cat in so many ways.

Moana 2** (Disney+)
I’m probably not the right demographic for this, but I tried.

BOOKS

Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama**
The story of Bob Odenkirk, and how he became Breaking Bad’s one and only Saul Goodman. From standup and odd TV shows to a somewhat serious role with complex emotions to portray. Maybe he did it so well because success came late to him!

That’s all for now!
— Ben

#70 | Vibe Coding, Structures, Training Wrong

My irregular newsletter on work and play. Unsubscribe at the bottom. LinkedIn

I’ve launched a short AI course for non-techies on Udemy! (free code below for the first 100)

MENU

1. WORK: Classic Work Stuff
2. EXPERIENCES: Baby, Vibe Coding
3. CULTURE: Structures
4. THOUGHTS: Training Wrong

1. WORK

Travels

I’ll be speaking at Hello Tomorrow in Paris next week, and joining VC Platform in Miami in April.

Matchups

• Our Women’s Health VC/founder virtual matchmaking concluded with about 3x the expected number of participants — over 500 participants and 1000+ meetings. It was great to see the sharp rise in interest in this category!

• To pre-register for our events on Biomanufacturing, Health Tech and Climate Tech click here (free).

2. EXPERIENCES

Baby

My son is born and his mom and he are in good health. I won’t expand much as non-parents are unlikely to care, and parents already know the drill. Suffice to say it’s an experience!

Vibe Coding

Since I now have a baby and can’t sleep much, I put this time to good use and I created a short course (about one hour) on vibe coding.

I have shared in this newsletter my experiences learning python, and how ChatGPT has been a game changer for both creating works tools and hobby projects.

When I realized I was building things without even reading code, it looked like this was a skill anyone could (should?) learn. It’s now called “vibe coding” and is taking the world by storm (see on New York Times and Business Insider). And it’s A LOT easier than learning to code - it’s more like being a product manager.

My course was approved last night on Udemy and as part of the launch, I am offering it for free for the first 100 users — in exchange, I ask you to send me feedback by email (what you liked, what could be improved, what else would you like to see in the course?) , or even better: a review on Udemy! I hope you like it!

PS: I think it’s the first course to exist on the topic - the term “vibe coding” was coined by Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI, just a month ago!

3. CULTURE

SHOWS

Riku Oh*** (Netflix)
A Japanese drama with Yakusho Koji (a great actor) about a tabi maker venturing into sports shoes. Quite cute.

Wild Babies*** (Netflix)
A documentary on wild animal babies - lions, pangolins, bears, seals, monkeys… Some interesting parenting techniques.

Skeleton crew** (Disney+)
A Star Wars universe side story - kind of a mashup of Goonies, ET and Indiana Jones. Kids + Jude Law in there. Not bad, not amazing.

BOOKS

Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down***
Recommended by Elon via ChatGPT. I read this after the baby wakes up at night… It’s an old-ish but timeless book about how things stand up and don’t collapse. It really made me look at quite a few things around me differently:

• Why my gi breaks around the patches,

• How compressing solids could store energy,

• Why karate chops work,

• Why old people break bones (it’s not direct impact)

• The mystery of bicycle wheels

4. THOUGHTS

Training Wrong

I am realizing that I have probably been training BJJ quite wrong: too much theory, too little “live” practice. The ideal ratio — according to coach John Danaher — seems to be about 1 to 5, going from compliant training to fully resisting opponent.

I think this applies also to training with AI, and it is also what makes vibe coding so appealing: it’s almost entirely practice, with tiny bits of theory that ChatGPT sprinkles here and there if you bother to read or ask questions.

‘til next month
— Ben

#69 | Women's Health, Tokyo Vice, Coding with AI & more

My irregular newsletter on work and play. Unsubscribe at the bottom. LinkedIn

Picking up the pace this year. Shorter letter!

MENU

1. WORK: Women’s Health, Trips
2. EXPERIENCES: Making Apps, Glucose, Body Damage
3. CULTURE: Tokyo Vice, American Primeval, Franklin & more
4. THOUGHTS: Coding with AI

1. WORK

Matchups

• This week I’m running a VC/Founder virtual matchmaking event focused on Women’s Health. It’s an important theme at SOSV and we have over 20 investments in the category.

• The event sort of blew up and while we expected about 100 founders and 100 investors, we now have 350 startups and close to 200 investors signed up.

• The event is 100% virtual and free. You can register here.

• We have other similar events coming up this year on Biomanufacturing, Health Tech and Climate Tech. Pre-register here.

Travels

I’ll be speaking at Hello Tomorrow in Paris in March and joining VC Platform in Miami in April.

2. EXPERIENCES

Making Apps

• As ChatGPT has become a very capable developer, I set out to build a “Tinder-like” experience for our VC/Founder matchmaking events to increase the engagement of investors.

• The experience felt more akin to product management than programming, aside from a few manual tweaks to the code provided by GPT-4. The app is now up and running!

• I also tried to build an AI version of David Lynch to continue his weather reports. Use APIs for the weather, ChatGPT for Lynchisms, a voice clone then a video and finally publish! Or so I thought. It was all well until the video, as services prevent users from using the likeness of celebrities so I had to stop there. I still got the voice though!

Sugar Sugar

• I got a continuous glucose monitor (Abbott’s Freestyle Libre 2 - about 50 EUR for 2 weeks). It sits painlessly on the back of an arm.

• The goal was to check my glucose and especially response to various foods, sleep, exercise patterns.

• Aside from avoiding too much cake or entire bags of pao de queijo, all is well!

Body Damage

• After a few twisted fingers, damaged ears and fractured ribs over the years with BJJ, I got a septum fracture which required surgery — my first — with general anesthesia. Cost: 2,200 EUR. While the fracture and surgery were quite painless, the first 2-3 days of recovery were fairly uncomfortable.

• Side note: the ER doctor I first saw told me to wait for two weeks. I didn’t listen and quickly went to a ENT specialist, who recommended to operate ASAP.

3. CULTURE

SHOWS

Tokyo Vice (HBO)****
I really enjoyed this show, loosely based on the eponymous book by US journalist Jake Adelstein I read back in 2010 or so. He worked for the crime unit of a Japanese newspaper in Tokyo for many years. In fact, quite a few of the stories I remember hearing about when I lived there! The cast is excellent (with one exception) and the stories mostly true.

American Primeval (Netflix)***
A brutal show about a young lady with a boy traveling to the US West circa 1850. Solid story, acting, sets, etc. The author co-wrote The Revenant, so you can expect quite graphic scenes.

The Cage (Netflix)*
This show is about a young underdog MMA fighter trying to rise to the top. I don’t know what I was expecting but it didn’t have it.

MOVIES

Definitely Maybe***
Cute romcom with Ryan Reynolds.

Lion King 2**
Not bad.

BOOKS

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin***
He wrote it for his son and legacy, and likely removed what didn’t fit his intended narrative, but it was quite a surprise to learn about his upbringing, how he built businesses and community projects, invented things, got into public service… as well as his principles to improve himself, one virtue at a time. It reads very well despite being published in 1791. I tried to read Walter Isaacson’s biography after that but while I suppose Isaacson added his own research I found too many quotes from Franklin’s bio and gave up.

GAMES

Exit 8 (Quest 3)***
Still exploring the occasional VR game. The latest one being this odd game in which you’re walking in a corridor of the Tokyo subway, and have to notice anything bizarre then turn around.

FitXR***
Quite a good VR workout app, with Zumba, fitness boxing and more.

MUSIC

GoGo Penguin****
I went to see a concert by this British jazz/electronica band. It was excellent, and all played with real instruments!

4. THOUGHTS

Coding with AI

• Things are moving at breakneck speed in that space, and AI really opens up product development in a big way to amateurs.

  • Forget the careful “measure twice, cut once”.

  • In Shenzhen, the supply chain was so efficient that I learned “measure once, cut twice”.

  • With AI, changing things is so fast and cheap that you barely need to “measure” (define a clear spec). Measure once, and cut 100 times!

• I’ve heard several people say that too:

  • "It's the era of the idea guy." -- Shaan Puri, My First Million podcast

  • “It’s for the AI PM with ideas.” — Andrew Ng

  • "Find an industry that you're familiar with and build a GPT wrapper to automate some of the work there. You can do it 100 times and one of them will take off." -- Amjad Masad, Replit

• Now I’m experimenting with creating AI agents to write code, review it, create the art, etc. a bit like in the seminal publication ChatDev (already quoted over 500 times in less than a year). It actually worked quite well for simple games!

• The future is probably more about how to coordinate / manage AI agents than code, though during this transition phase, knowing some programming helps quite a lot. Along those lines, I recently gave a short presentation explaining how to get started (learning the minimum viable amount of python to use an API).

To the future!
— Ben