High Stakes Par 3, Closed-Sourced vs. Open-Sourced, Brick by Brick Podcast

The Social Leverage Letter | Issue #140

Author

Ethan Berk
May 26, 2024

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READING

The Grass Clippings Open (Fund IV), held at a Phoenix-area night golf course, featured amateurs competing for a $100,000 purse in a high-stakes, par-3 format, with a $1 million prize for a hole-in-one on the 18th hole. The event, streamed live on Bleacher Report, combined competitive golf with a festival atmosphere, including concerts, food trucks, and a lively crowd, offering a unique experience for both players and spectators.

I played in golf's new high-stakes par-3 league: Did it live up to the hype?

One Golf Digest writer played under-the-lights in the inaugural Grass Clippings Open with over $1 million on the line.

The future of AI foundation models is contested between centralization with closed-source models and decentralization with open-source models. Despite open-source enthusiasm and contributions, financial and security concerns suggest that closed-source models will dominate due to their ability to leverage proprietary data, ensure data security, and offer superior economic value. Meta's open-source efforts are strategic but likely temporary, and the broader AI industry is expected to favor closed-source models for long-term advancements.

The future of foundation models is closed-source

if the centralizing forces of data and compute hold, open and closed-source AI cannot both dominate long-term

Building a startup is chaotic and challenging, requiring a team effort from founders, early employees, and investors to lay the foundation for success. The new "Brick by Brick" podcast by Garuda Ventures (SLAF I), hosted by the author and Arpan, aims to share untold stories of early startup heroics from employees, founders, and investors to provide insights and tactics for accelerating growth and avoiding pitfalls. Subscribe on YouTube or Spotify and check out their first episode featuring Aston Motes, employee #1 at Dropbox.

Introducing the Brick by Brick podcast

Learn how companies were really built directly from the people who built them

LISTENING

Closing Time: Brendan Mahony with Jenny Fielding

Episode 37 of Venture Everywhere is hosted by Jenny Fielding, Co-founder and GP of Everywhere VC,  where she catches up with Brendan Mahony, Co-founder and CEO of Sunset, a company that handles all the legal, tax, and operational burdens when a startup is winding-down, helping to avoid penalties and reduce liabilities…

open.spotify.com/episode/21ehqbhobrai6tqBp6NEOl?si=5hlfv0ctQoObaSsAO591-Q

WATCHING

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