Case studies

Podcast

Marc Rich: how one trader broke Big Oil and invented the spot market

Founders March 10, 2019

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Case studies 10

Business models 8

• How a refugee trader dismantled Big Oil's stranglehold on global prices
• Turning $100K salary into $200M profit in three years by going independent
• Why long-term thinking destroyed his company when the zinc market collapsed

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Content marketing

YouTube

A 10-step video editing workflow for higher YouTube engagement

Ahrefs March 6, 2019

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Content marketing 9

Automation & tools 6

• Engagement, not production value, drives YouTube success
• Raw footage is typically double the length of the final cut
• Closing timeline gaps is the single biggest retention lever

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Identity & self-belief

YouTube

What successful disruptors have in common: frameworks for manufacturing luck

Bill Gallagher March 6, 2019

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Identity & self-belief 8

Business models 6

Hiring & recruitment 5

• Disruptors manufacture luck through repeatable behaviours, not chance
• Your 'ghost' — a past rejection or rival — can become your edge
• Kindergartners beat MBAs at tower-building because they skip planning

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Remote teams

YouTube

How Zapier built a 200-person fully remote company from day one

Y Combinator March 6, 2019

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Remote teams 10

Processes & SOPs 7

Culture building 6

• Remote fails on culture, not tools — fix that first.
• Hiring for 'default to action' predicts remote success better than anything.
• Async written communication beats synchronous collaboration at scale.

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Business operating systems

Podcast

Rethinking how organizations work: the operating system framework

Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life March 5, 2019

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Business operating systems 10

Management 7

Processes & SOPs 6

• Your org still runs on 100-year-old factory management assumptions.
• Roundabouts beat traffic lights — minimum rules outperform maximum control.
• Push decisions to the edge with a tiered, reversibility-based decision stack.

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Origin stories

Podcast

Benjamin Franklin's autobiography: lessons from a self-made founder

Founders March 4, 2019

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Origin stories 10

Productivity & habits 8

Bootstrapping 7

• Franklin ran away at 17 with nothing — and built an empire
• Industry and frugality compound: keeping costs low beats earning more
• America's first subscription library started as a dozen people sharing books

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