The Leverage

Articles

The Weekend Leverage

6 days ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

I can’t stop thinking about Tom Cruise. With the release of the final Mission Impossible film, I’ve gone full Cruise-groupie watching interviews from over the course of his career. What makes the MI films special isn’t actually the movies themselves—though many of them are wonderful. It’s watching the behind-the-scenes, learning about Tom Cruise’s insane risk tolerance, skill, and devotion to delighting audiences. This is my pro-tip for how to best appreciate how great Mission Impossible really is.
The Leverage Investor Update

1 week ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

Author’s Note: Founder’s Tier members of The Leverage get access to my monthly investor updates. In each letter, I write about what I’m seeing in the media, the performance of The Leverage, and opportunities I’m excited about. As a celebration of the first month of The Leverage, I’m opening this post to all my readers, and offering a 20% off coupon for those who want to support independent writing. The coupon is good for the next 72 hours, so act quickly.
The Weekend Leverage

1 week ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

This was one of the craziest, most hectic weeks I’ve ever seen for technology. Multibillion dollar acquisitions, multiple AI models and product releases, plus, Elon had four more kids. That last one isn’t real, but also, maybe? Who knows with that guy. If there was one thing that this week proved, it’s that we are wholly and truly in the midst of a platform shift. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, LLMs are the next big thing.
In Defense of Starting a Bad Business

2 weeks ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

About 3 months ago, I decided that it was time for me to build The Leverage. Like any sane founder, I talked to various confidants about my idea. I yearned for a business newsletter that was beautiful, insightful, and tasteful—and felt that the world would yearn for it too. Most of my friends liked the idea, but one friend who is an investor at a Tier-1 VC fund hated it. “Why would you waste your time doing that? You’re talented enough to do something big and important.
$6.5 Billion for a Demo and a Dream

2 weeks ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

Today’s founders are the most ludicrously ambitious and audacious we have ever seen. No person embodies that better than Sam Altman. With the acquisition of Jony Ive’s consumer hardware startup “io” for $6.5 billion, Altman is going for it all.
The Weekend Leverage

2 weeks ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

Hello from Hilton Head Island, where I am taking my daughter into the ocean for the first time. I don’t post pictures of her online, but envision a baby with rolls like the Michelin Man giggling and kicking in the water. Ahhhhh cuteness. Hold that feeling close. Welcome to the fourth edition of the Weekend Leverage, my weekly newsletter where I beg the world to let me write about topics that have no political implications.
Not All Growth is Created Equal

3 weeks ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

As a startup your task is to build a company that will be worth billions in a decade, not one that is worth millions today. It’s too easy to mistake rapid early growth for long-term, defensible value in startup land. Take Tome, an AI-powered Powerpoint competitor. In a 2023 press release they the “fastest productivity tool ever to reach one million users.” On the back of that growth, they raised $43 million and received mountains of press and investor interest. The only issue?
The Weekend Leverage

3 weeks ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

The new pope is an American from the midwest, which I’ll take as a divine mark of approval on the superiority of ranch as a condiment. I am also from the midwest, but was not elected as Pope. Catholic Jesus has granted me a higher calling—sending emails to all of you. Welcome to the third edition of the Weekend Leverage.
What happens when money becomes technology?

1 month ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

Today I’m trying something new—paid subscribers get my spiciest, freshest thoughts on a recent development. Reply to this email to let me know what you think. Technology’s magic is that it makes things cheaper and/or easier. In special cases, it lets us do things that were previously impossible. Aaand that’s kinda all there is to it. I recognize that is a little trite.
The AI Promise Gap

1 month ago | gettheleverage.com | Evan Armstrong

God has let me down lately. In his creation, the earth filled with the pleasant smells of rotting mulch and joyful sounds of baby giggles, there is beauty and majesty and potential. Then, the bills come. Boston Children’s Hospital—$14,500. 60,000 mile car service—$958. Groceries are up 23.6 percent in price from 2020-2024. There is a gap, an ugly crevice, separating the promise of the world and the commercial reality of the world as I experience it.