Marvin’s Best Weekly Reads March 23rd, 2025
"In winter, I plot and plan. In spring, I move." – Henry Rollins
"Generally, Verkhovodov thinks the West has not yet fully grasped the level of development that is happening in Ukraine. In part, he says, this is because Ukraine’s society is geared towards the war effort, and with its resources stretched, it cannot spare the time and energy needed to promote its industry abroad. And defence is a conservative industry that is traditionally difficult to disrupt.
“You need face to face connections to build trust, to convey information. And you cannot really travel that easily to Ukraine,” he says."
https://globalventuring.com/corporate/ukraine-defence-tech-startups/
2. Hard to argue that Europe is the biggest loser in the last decade, especially as the world goes back to Great Power spheres of influence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5viGGlPOTg
3. Never underestimate anyone, let alone your enemies or opponents.
"Except that in the real world beyond the little X app on your phone, simply calling someone “dumb” does not actually defeat them, any more than Rachel Maddow actually “destroys Trump” when she says mean things about him on MSNBC. Maybe saying that Elon has a 110 IQ makes you feel like you beat him in your little online fantasy world, but out there in the actual world, he is still ripping up your national institutions at breakneck speed.
People who think that denigrating Elon’s capabilities will somehow defeat him or make him go away are simply fools — not low IQ, but simply unwise people reacting suboptimally to an external challenge. Elon Musk is, in many important ways, the single most capable man in America, and we deny that fact at our peril."
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/only-fools-think-elon-is-incompetent
4. "Europe, in particular, has been shielded from major disruptions thanks to steady economic growth, technological strength, strong alliances, and the absence of immediate existential threats in its neighborhood.
All of that has now changed—unfortunately, for the worse. Economic growth has stagnated, Europe has lost its technological edge in key areas, its alliance with the United States is in disarray, and a very real existential threat has emerged in the form of a revisionist, imperialist Russia that may soon come to believe aggression and war are rewarded."
https://missilematters.substack.com/p/europes-new-security-environment
5. "Entrepreneurs in the growth stage would benefit from considering how they could double their revenue without adding new headcount. What positions would remain? Which ones would be outsourced? Which roles would need to be filled by more experienced hires? What would be the advantages and drawbacks? Entrepreneurs should evaluate the relationship between in-house employees and scale earlier than they might have in the past."
https://davidcummings.org/2025/02/22/double-revenue-with-no-additional-employees/
6. Lots of tinfoil hat geopolitics. Some of it actually makes sense.
But they are correct that we are in a new world order of great power politics now. The so-called "Rules Based" consensus driven world order is over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiCAZHQPihw
7. I follow Doomberg, who is a very clear headed observer/analysts of world economics, energy and geopolitics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li_hkOdvRpk
8. Tin Foil Geopolitics analysis. Lots of illuminating ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9yJ4Lzxkig
9. Alt-Geopolitics. Don't agree with some of this but it's good to understand other points of view as we try to get what is going on right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6V0trfmTzM
10. Hope this is enough of a deterrent for the CCP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNody_rSZB8
11. Entering a multipolar world. Has been the case for the last half decade now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g66XSY6JNpw&t=1s
12. Hard to argue with any of this. Russia is laughing at America's stupidity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqdVmz8G6gQ
13. "Today marks three years since Russia’s illegal, unprovoked, and brutal invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have heroically fought the war with grit and determination, but they have also, against the odds, innovated on and off the battlefield.
In addition to establishing a defense tech initiative called BRAVE1, the country has also hosted tech conferences like IT Arena, even amid the problems caused by the war.
Ukraine is now the leader in AI-enabled drone technology and has become a magnet for Western companies and investors keen to support the country, and Europe. But is it enough? If the recent news is anything to go by, Europe is only now waking up to the fact that it will have to get closer than ever before to Ukraine if it is to maintain and defend its own security."
14. Germany the sick man of Europe. But more needed than ever. Waking up now though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X06UteSWyo0
15. "Getting things right is only half of the puzzle. Another piece is doing so at the pace of defence innovation in war time. Berezhny argued that the arms race took on such a velocity that the lifetime of any solution is roughly three months. “This speed of adaptation is what still keeps us alive,” he concluded."
https://www.resiliencemedia.co/p/dispatches-from-brave1s-defence-tech
16. "The constraints on Western industrial capacity make it difficult to provide Ukraine with the hardware and ammunition necessary to generate the firepower advantage it would need to reclaim territory. While it is already a tall order for U.S. and European industrial bases to quickly close production gaps with Russia, this challenge may become insurmountable with Beijing allegedly providing lethal aid to Moscow.
China is the most productive economy in the world by manufacturing output, and if it were to serve as a wild card—furnishing Russia with combat equipment and ammunition—the West might not be able to catch up.
Much of the modern weaponry sent to Ukraine has fallen short of expectations, failing to make the “game changing” impact on the battlefield many had promised. Sending Ukraine more will do nothing to change the reality that there are no MIRACLES in modern warfare.
The ubiquity of loitering munitions, hunter-killer drones, and GPS jamming have diminished the effectiveness of military aid to Ukraine."
https://www.adamtownsend.me/ukraine-155mm-game-changer/
17. Alt-geopolitics assessment but much of this actually makes some sense when you step back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLGtODVOgCA
18. Lots of insights and learnings on the situation on the frontlines of Ukraine. UGV & FPVs will become even more important in 2025.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O5CeEfuPgY
19. This is an important question to answer. I still think there is a chance that Trump pivots back to support Ukraine. God I hope this is the case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__lYAu2mjQ
20. Latest overview on Geopolitics around the world. Net net: chaos and change. Interregnum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-F3ufYQgNk
21. "In addition to hustle and one’s existing network, I’m always interested in whether or not a ‘needle magnet’ is being built alongside the other efforts to find startups. What’s my needle magnet definition? Some force that pulls exceptional startups to you, directly or via intermediaries, in a privileged and sustainable fashion."
22. "The problem though is that this deal still leaves the issue of specific security guarantees for Ukraine unaddressed and without those assurances any peace will not be sustainable, and neither will Ukraine’s future economic, social and political development. Actually this deal is not worth the paper it is written on without those very same assurances. No US entity will invest in Ukraine unless it feels that Ukraine is secure from future attack from Russia, which it will not be without these very same security guarantees."
https://timothyash.substack.com/p/ukraine-all-that-shines-is-not-gold
23. Cyrus Jannssen is a paid CCP shill but this interview with Stephen Roach is educational. China is rising whether we like it or not, and our engagement with them is still important.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwlrS0p9jL8
24. Great episode this week. NIA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_7sOunKt9A&t=2328s
25. We need more people like Erik Prince in the world. Educational interview here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx1Yoi3-mls
26. I like Joules Sullivan aka Sartorial Shooter. Lots of good stuff here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2kMpybodek
27. I detest both of these people for their anti-America & anti-West stance but you learn from everyone. This is a good geopolitical take. Part 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQVt0MHed6k&t=56s
28. I detest both of these people for their anti-America & anti-West stance but you learn from everyone. This is a good geopolitical take & good understanding of what is happening in Europe and China. Part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGkIG3iHVQ
29. Always fun but nutty conspiracy theorist geopolitics. Listen with a good filter but some alternative takes on geopolitics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORfzlz6avdg
30. "Independence is the best financial goal for most people. But independence is more than just financial – moral, cultural, and intellectual independence – is one of the highest levels you can reach in life. “There is only one success,” says poet Christopher Morley, “to be able to spend your life in your own way.”
Derek Sivers once put it a different way:
All misery comes from dependency. If you weren’t dependent on income, people, or technology, you would be truly free. The only way to be deeply happy is to break all dependencies.
That’s why independence – financially, intellectually, morally – is one of the highest goals you can achieve."
https://collabfund.com/blog/pure-independence/
31. Don't resist technology. Great wide-ranging conversation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zef9cdnu2zU
32. Good update on what's up in Silicon Valley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79NvO_Fi4Go
33. "And there we have it. Europe is refusing to admit that it is in an abusive relationship with Trump. Its afraid, has normalized the abuse, is ashamed of its own weakness, and is constantly the subject of intimidation. The more European leaders run to Trump for any signs of affection, the more they seriously wait to start arming to defend themselves, the more the pass off Trumpite threats and forgive his cooperation with Putin, the more difficult it will be to leave.
Europe’s only way to look after itself and deal rationally with Trump is to admit that it is in this abusive relationship—and have the self-respect to move on."
https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/why-is-europe-staying-in-an-abusive
34. "These four principles—narrow ICP, counter-positioning, aligned GTM & product, & positive brand building—don’t just help startups capture market share; they redefine markets entirely."
https://tomtunguz.com/your-icp/
35. Always wanted to visit Medellin and Colombia in general. Live Like a King in Medellin.