We're Recovering From 50 Years of Gordon Gekko Capitalism
This epoch in business history is abruptly drawing to a close.
Hey Friends
As Q2 begins, I find myself thinking more about what it means to be truly successful in modern entrepreneurship. What does a successful entrepreneur's life look like in 2024? What does capitalism mean anymore? Have the goalposts moved?
Allow me to confess: I wasn't always asking these questions.
Like many others, I was once an ardent disciple of the "Greed is Good" school of business thought. The Gordon Gekko mantra of Wall Street success resonated deeply in my younger years.
But somewhere along the line, a dissonance emerged.
The relentless pursuit of sales and profit, often at the expense of everything else, began to feel hollow. The core tenets of capitalism, once sacrosanct to me, started to feel cynical, craven, even immoral.
That's when I came across the idea of conscious capitalism — and my worldview changed.
It’s not about abandoning capitalism altogether. After all, commerce is still the lifeblood of our society. But it’s about acknowledging that success can be measured in more than just dollars and cents. Its about considering the impact on our communities, the environment, and the very people who contribute to the success of a business.
A concept that's gaining significant traction again in recent years is impact investing . Impact investing refers to the practice of directing your capital towards businesses and organizations that are not just financially sound, but also actively generate positive social and environmental change. Think clean energy companies, sustainable agriculture initiatives, or innovative solutions to global challenges.
It's no longer a fringe movement – it's a force reshaping the financial landscape. Commerce & Capital will be delving deeper into this paradigm shift, exploring its implications for businesses, investors, and society as a whole. We'll be featuring interviews with impact investors, success stories of companies driving change, and in-depth analyses of how you can align your entrepreneurship and life design goals with a more conscious capitalism.
Impact investing is no longer a fringe movement – it's a force reshaping the financial landscape.
People are beginning to see the cracks in the traditional capital systems, the need for our society to update its socio-economic policies, and champion common good as opposed to exclusive privilege.
It’s time to redefine the rules, rewrite the narrative, and discover a new model for commerce and capital – one with a conscience.
Onwards and upwards,
Moshe Modeira
Editor, Commerce & Capital
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Thought of the Week: On Leadership
Let's rewind a decade or so. The early 2010s was a whole different ball game.
The "brogrammer" culture was in full swing , fuelled by frothy venture capital valuations, massive egos and all-encompassing male narcissism that still to this day posits that the louder you are, the better.
A lot of business leaders saw examples of this and adopted a management style of barking orders and treating everyone like, well — not exactly equals.
Steve Jobs, for all his undeniable genius, was the poster child for this approach. An all-time icon, brilliant, influential, innovative — but also hyper-demanding, tyrannical, and laser-focused on the bottom line at all costs.
There's no denying it. This hardcore approach has shown me time and time again that it gets results — but only in the short term.
Steve Jobs was incredibly successful financially.
Apple became a trillion dollar juggernaut.
I personally never made more money than when I was in tyrant mode. But it never intrinsically felt good. I came to mirror these leadership traits because I thought amassing money and chasing sales milestones was all that mattered.
I personally never made more money than when I was in tyrant mode. But it never intrinsically felt good.
I ended up leading like a tyrant, prioritizing numbers over people. My startups hit promising success milestones and metrics, but the human cost was often brutal as I drove and micro-managed everyone to produce. People would get burned out, and leave.
Fast forward to today, we're finally seeing a cultural shift towards heart-centric leadership.
Successful leaders in 2024 build real relationships with their teams and colleagues,?creating a safe space for people to trust themselves to take risks, share ideas and produce their best work.
And the benefits? They're real.
When people feel valued, respected, and safe to take chances, amazing things happen.
Creativity explodes.
People get fired up and actually want to come to work.
They become more invested in your company's success because they feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves.?
Most importantly, it builds loyalty. In today's hyper-competitive talent market, fostering a positive work environment where people feel good about themselves and what they're doing is mission critical.
I've experienced this transformation firsthand. By evolving my approach, and embracing patient, empathetic, heart-centric leadership — I've seen the morale and cohesion of teams I work with go through the roof.
The selfish Steve Jobs / Gordon Gekko era of leadership fuelled the last 50 years. That time in history is now abruptly drawing to a close.
The future belongs to business leaders who focus on soft-skills, on relationship building, on creating workplaces where success metrics centre and prioritize health, wellness, fitness, mental acuity and spiritual well-being.
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Mission: What I’m Working On
As I mentioned in past editions, I've spent the past two decades leading cross-functional product management, sales and marketing teams on behalf of clients, brands, and customers. It's been a rewarding journey, filled with triumphs and countless lessons learned.
But as the landscape of business evolves, so do we as individuals. I'm currently in the midst of a major transition, shifting my focus from the past decade of agency work to creating evergreen educational content. This will include coaching, advisory, and consulting services, alongside a video podcast and mini-docs / video explainers exploring business case studies, sector analysis and entrepreneurship and life design. SaaS, the creator economy, startup launch, impact investing and entrepreneur life design remain my core areas of business focus.
There's no denying the daunting nature of this change and recognition of being in a new phase of my career. Re-building the brand of Moshe from the ground up, in public, is a challenge, but it's one that ignites my entrepreneurial spirit.
The work of creators like Lex Fridman , Justin Welsh , Dan Koe , Jack Butcher and Johnny Harris has inspired me to follow my heart in the same direction. These visionaries are paving the way for a new model of business leadership, one that's not just about acquiring personal success, but about lifting others towards achieving growth, self-love and accomplishment.
In the coming weeks I will be unveiling new branding and a new online home for Moshe Modeira that will become a hub where we share valuable insights about business, life design, health, fitness, spirituality and ethical leadership, alongside resources like this newsletter, digital courses and coaching/advisory.
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Life Design: Building Your Tech Stack
As a busy founders, entrepreneurs, and solopreneurs, the struggle is real. We wear a million hats, juggle a thousand tasks, and many of us enjoy escaping the confines of the traditional office. But how do we achieve the ever-coveted location independence, without sacrificing efficiency or productivity?
The answer lies in your tech stack - your online funnels and digital systems.
While we have traditionally used the phrase “tech stack” to describe the suite of online tools and platforms that power an app or software or digital platform, it’s time to start thinking about your own personal tech stack and how you automate and amplify efficiencies in your workflow.
These automated workflows are powered by SaaS tools that take repetitive business tasks off your plate, allowing you to focus on strategic thinking, client relationships, and scaling your business. The right tools, perfectly integrated, create a seamless system that allows you to publish content and backend manage your products and services.
But where do you begin? It begins with a personal needs analysis. Ask yourself:
The good news is, there's a solution for (almost) everything. We'll be diving deep into the specific SaaS products that make up my tech stack. My stack is comprised of subscription software that I have used on and off since 2020, a dizzying array of over 70 platforms. Over the coming weeks, we'll explore their functionalities, discuss their strengths and weaknesses, and help you identify if they might be the missing puzzle piece in automating your own stack.
3 SaaS products from my stack that have become critical to my workflow:
Adobe Podcast : Adobe Podcast is my favorite new tool to enhance audio, podcast and voiceover content. It analyzes audio content and generates accurate transcripts, captions, keywords, and summaries. The AI helps reduce noise, eliminate echoes, improve vocals, and automate editing tasks. Adobe Podcast is accessible as a web app, and also is in the Creative Cloud suite.
Opus Clip : Opus is a tool that helps content creators turn their long-form content, especially podcast episodes and talking-head tutorials, into short-form video clips with the help of AI. Opus Clip uses AI to surface highlight moments and find interesting conversational junctures that can become viral video clip content. Opus’ value proposition is simple - 1 long video, 10 shorts, with an available free plan limited to 1 hour of content per month.
WouldYou.Click : This is truly an amazing SaaS that helps video creators test different title and thumbnail variations to find the perfect combo that will achieve the highest click-through rate on YouTube and other social video sites.?Video titles and thumbnails look very different depending on where they're being shown. By seeing all possible placements and variations, and comparing them to other top performing videos, this tool gives you an edge before you click “Publish.”
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Commerce & Capital
AI on the Rise: Embrace the Future
Commerce & Capital Goes AI
The rising ubiquity and importance of AI will periodically command our attention in this section. This week, we delve into the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on entrepreneurs in 2024. We'll be regularly updating you on advancements in the sector, all of which will directly impact founders, startups and all business forever. Seldom have I ever used the word “forever” with any real seriousness. To say that AI will impact the world of business forever does not feel like an effusive statement from where we are sitting.
Why the AI Boom Matters
The cultural, social, political and financial implications of AI technology has been felt profoundly across civilization. AI has witnessed a meteoric rise in the past two years. 2023 saw widespread adoption across industries, and 2024 has already seen groundbreaking advancements. 65% of tech executives picked AI and its subsets machine learning (ML) and natural language processing as the top three most important tech fields for 2024.?
“Generative AI has become so prolific across all business sectors to assist in gathering data, creating reports, analyzing trends, and developing new products. The applications are limitless, including healthcare, marketing, cybersecurity, and streamlining manufacturing processes.” — IEEE Fellow Karen Panetta
Lean Into Opportunity — Not Fear
AI isn't here to replace you; it's here to augment your capabilities . AI-powered tools handle repetitive tasks, freeing you to focus on strategy and innovation. Think of innovations like AI-driven marketing campaigns that hyper-target your ideal customer. These are just a few ways AI is rapidly revolutionizing the business landscape.
The Rise of AI: 2023 witnessed a surge in Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption across industries. From marketing automation to product development, AI’s meteoric ascent has been transformative. While many fear this rapid rise, it is best to be seen as a historic opportunity for savvy companies and brands to redesign and reimagine process.
AI & Crypto: The Hot Emergent Markets of 2020-2024 Converge: The AI crypto sector is experiencing a boom in 2024. Fueled by advancements like OpenAI's Sora ?for creating realistic videos with text prompts, there's a surge in interest for crypto projects offering AI-powered solutions. Established players like SingularityNET are expanding their marketplaces, while new contenders like Scotty the AI (a meme coin with AI trading tools) and Nosana (GPU grid rental for AI projects) are grabbing attention.?This convergence of AI and blockchain technology is seen as a transformative force , with some predicting AI's role in shaping the metaverse and even allowing creation of virtual worlds through prompts and descriptions alone. The future of AI crypto is bright, with established projects and savvy newcomers vying for a stake in the rapidly growing sector.
Embrace the Opportunity: Don't be intimidated by the speed of AI development. Instead, view it as a powerful tool to augment your skills and unlock new possibilities. AI can automate repetitive tasks, freeing you to focus on strategic initiatives and creative endeavors.
Humans & AI working in tandem: As AI automates mundane tasks, entrepreneurs can focus on their core strengths – vision, leadership, and human connection. AI excels at data analysis and pattern recognition, but it can't replace human creativity and empathy. Human teams will continue to be the engine that drives most AI platforms for the foreseeable future.
AI Can Benefit Your Business Immediately: A few ways AI can be currently used by business owners, founders, brands and companies -
The Future is Now: AI is no longer a distant phenomenon; it's part of our daily reality whether you like it or not. Entrepreneurs can gain a competitive edge and unlock new venture success pathways if they open their eyes.
Here is a comprehensive Google Sheet that references the vast majority of AI-enabled platforms available to use in 2024 . Save it to your records, use it wisely. With great power comes great responsibility.
Join the Conversation: Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below. What are your current concerns about AI? How do you plan to leverage AI in your business? When we encourage each other to talk and share our thoughts, we have an opportunity to create a community of informed entrepreneurs who thrive in the age of AI.
Trending Now
?? Podcasts, Music & Social Audio
Casey Neistat x The Diary of a CEO : It’s important that people grasp the seismic impact that Casey Neistat has had on not only filmmakers and video creators — but also for entrepreneurs, founders and the entire startup ecosystem. I can personally say that without coming across Casey’s content in 2017, I would have never given myself permission to become more creative, I would have never had the courage to teach myself how to use a camera, how to edit video, or how to create digital storytelling and branded content.
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My Dad is 77 years old & not getting any younger - Dan Go : There is a saying that every time an old man dies — a library burns. This post resonated with me because it also underscores something I have been telling everyone the last several years: sit with your elderly parents and grandparents, bring a camera and microphones, press record and — interview them! Toronto’s Dan Go has turned into a pre-eminent voice on entrepreneur fitness, bringing the message of master your body, master your mind to founders everywhere. Think of this also as a Trojan Horse for you to discover his content if you haven’t already come across it.
Get This One Passport, Live in 15 Countries - Nomad Capitalist: The Nomad Capitalist team opened the eyes of many Americans and Canadians during the pandemic, encouraging them to see themselves more as global citizens. Continuing the conversation of exploring the rest of the Americas from a life-design / investment perspective, this is a great episode of the Nomad Capitalist that highlights the opportunities that arise from acquiring a multi-jurisdictional Caribbean passport .
?? Books
The Art of Focus ?by Dan Koe: I have been following Dan Koe for exacty two years now. He is an avatar of discipline, stoicism, self-restraint and focus, publishing a weekly newsletter, YouTube videos and incredibly helpful techniques and frameworks for entrepreneurial success that have really resonated with a lot of people. The book is a neat productization of his core philosophies and ideas, but this is clearly only the beginning for the story of Mr. Koe.
Working by Robert A. Caro: If you have ever read Robert Caro’s famously comprehensive biographies, you would know why he would feel compelled to publish this book that gives a window into his work process. Caro is a literary legend, his most famous books covering the lives of New York City urban planner Robert Moses as well as four biographies about American President Lyndon B. Johnson. Caro shares stories about his unique reporting techniques, and his technique for getting interview subjects to recall decades-old details from their pasts.
The Body by Bill Bryson: Imagine that you had to build a human being from scratch. How would you go about it? What building blocks would you need? How much would it cost? In 2013 the UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry undertook a curious thought experiment, estimating the specific cost of building actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Bill Bryson’s whimsically written book is reminding me how necessary to efficient life design it is to get to know everything there is to know about the meat suit you’re wearing right now.
?? Articles
Steve Mnuchin’s plan to buy TikTok has some insiders bewildered - Washington Post: Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is ambitiously proposing to acquire TikTok and rebuild the app entirely. Mnuchin suggests purchasing the app without the algorithmic code, thereby compelling his consortium to recreate the platform from scratch. Experts and industry insiders remain skeptical about the feasibility of this plan, emphasizing the complexity of rebuilding a platform as sophisticated as TikTok in such a short timeframe — and are incredulous at Mnuchin’s seemingly pedestrian understanding of how social apps actually work. It does further underscore why Elon put together a $44 billion dollar bid for Twitter in 2022: there is incredible power in ownership of these social platforms, akin to buying newspapers and physical media properties 100 years ago.
We would love to hear your thoughts! Leave your comments below. See y’all next week ??