Jordan has a conversation with Packy McCormick, founder of the Not Boring newsletter and Not Boring Capital, an early stage venture capital fund. Packy discusses his journey from writing to investing, the techno-industrial revolution, and why integrators, not aggregators, will define the future. They also dive into the power of optimism, decentralization, and why owning the means of production is key to disrupting incumbents.

Follow Packy on X - @packyM

Follow Jordan on X - @jrwolfe

Links to Packy’s Work:

• Not Boring Newsletter - https://www.notboring.co/
• Packy’s 4-part series on Vertical Integrators - https://www.notboring.co/t/vertical-integrators
• Packy’s Human Strategy Memo - https://www.notboring.co/p/most-human-wins

People and Resources that influence Packy:

• Ben Thompson on business strategy - https://stratechery.com/
• Carlota Perez - https://carlotaperez.org/

Recent podcast Packy listened to:

• Podcast: Chris Williamson w/ Eric Weinstein

Recent books Packy has read:

• Working by Robert Caro
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• Everything and More by David Foster Wallace

00:00 - Introduction

01:09 - Making The World More Optimistic

02:44 - Techno-Industrial Revolution

04:50 - Explaining Vertical Integrators And Why They Will Define The Future

09:31 - Vertical Integrators Are Multiple Companies In One

10:34 - Carlota’s Perez Techno-Economic Paradigm And Identifying Winners

13:49 - Competing With The Incumbents

19:12 - The Middleman Economy

23:46 - Importance Of Being A Compliment, Not The Commodity

25:20 - Packy’s Journey into Writing and Investing

31:20 - Creator VCs And Getting Paid To Do The Work You Enjoy

33:39 - Packy’s Investment Focus

37:18 - Packy’s View On Decentralization As A Theme

38:20 - Importance Of Market-Based Solutions

40:54 - Future Of Manufacturing In The West and Embodied AI

44:45 - Optimism In The Age Of AI

46:33 - Packy’s Human Strategy Letter

53:45 - Influential Thinkers and Resources

57:12 - Where To Find Packy

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