Logo
Search
Subscribe
Oliver Buchannon
Sam Lessin
The Themes That Matter for 2026

Jan 25, 2026

•

13 min read

The Themes That Matter for 2026

We’re officially in the phase where AI turns software into a consumable commodity and interfaces into something spun up on demand. 80% of the seed market is now “synthetic beta”—perfect pricing, no edge.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Welcome To The New AI Order: $150K SaaS Killed In A Week

Jan 18, 2026

•

3 min read

Welcome To The New AI Order: $150K SaaS Killed In A Week

We’re officially in the phase where AI turns software into a consumable commodity and interfaces into something spun up on demand. 80% of the seed market is now “synthetic beta”—perfect pricing, no edge.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
The Only AI Questions That Matter for 2026

Jan 10, 2026

•

2 min read

The Only AI Questions That Matter for 2026

2026 is when the AI story stops being about a fairytale of infinity and starts being about proof. How will Meta, OpenAI, Google, and others survive the cheap-cash winter?

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
6 Predictions For 2026

Dec 19, 2025

•

3 min read

6 Predictions For 2026

Here are 6 predictions I’m not exactly comfortable making but I’ll make them anyway. Some are obvious, some are weird, and a few actively keep me up at night.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Writing AI Prompts Can't Be The Future

Dec 12, 2025

•

2 min read

Writing AI Prompts Can't Be The Future

Most people are just not good writers. I saw this firsthand during my days at Facebook, watching millions of people freeze up at the sight of a blank text box. If you want evidence, look no further than the rise of photo and video sharing

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Why OpenAI’s “Code Red” Isn’t Facebook’s 2011 Google+ Lockdown

Dec 3, 2025

•

3 min read

Why OpenAI’s “Code Red” Isn’t Facebook’s 2011 Google+ Lockdown

I can’t help but get déjà vu watching OpenAI’s “code red” response to Google Gemini. Fourteen years ago, I was in the only Facebook engineering building when Google+ launched. It truly felt like a sneak attack from a massive, well-resourced competitor. Google+ was polished, fast, and—at least on the surface—scary.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
They’re Not Dumb. You’re Just Not Paying Attention.

Nov 28, 2025

•

2 min read

They’re Not Dumb. You’re Just Not Paying Attention.

This is especially true in early-stage VC, where the real job is less about analyzing markets or products and more about deeply grokking the teams. The best investors aren’t just spreadsheet jockeys, they’re empathy machines.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Waymo’s Real Disruption: Suburban Nannies, Not Uber Driver

Nov 18, 2025

•

3 min read

Waymo’s Real Disruption: Suburban Nannies, Not Uber Driver

Everyone’s talking about autonomous cars replacing Uber drivers, but that’s missing the real story. The actual disruption? Waymo is coming for the parent-chauffeur job. It’s coming for nannies.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
The Co-Founder Myth: Why Investors Love It (But You Should Ignore It)

Nov 18, 2025

•

3 min read

The Co-Founder Myth: Why Investors Love It (But You Should Ignore It)

For the last decade, tech incubators and scaled seed investors have basically made having a co-founder a gospel: “Show me your founding team. Who are your co-founders?” If you’ve ever pitched at a YC Demo day or any of the big seed shops, you know the drill. But why is this such a big deal?

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
OpenAI is Playing Race To Becoming Too Big To Fail

Nov 8, 2025

•

3 min read

OpenAI is Playing Race To Becoming Too Big To Fail

We’ve seen this before, right? The “too big to fail” vibes are back—OpenAI’s recent comments about a government backstop were a real tell. It’s not just Silicon Valley anymore; Wall Street, sovereign wealth funds, the whole global capital stack is now in the game.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Request for Startup: Vanity Restaurant in a Box Platform

Oct 25, 2025

•

2 min read

Request for Startup: Vanity Restaurant in a Box Platform

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. It feels like we’re headed toward a bifurcated world: on one side, there are the massive franchises (think Starbucks, Chipotle, etc.), and on the other, there’s this emerging category I call “vanity spots”

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Request for Startups: Marie Kondo 2.0

Oct 16, 2025

•

3 min read

Request for Startups: Marie Kondo 2.0

Let’s be honest: if you live in America, especially if you have kids, your house is a black hole for stuff. Drawers, closets, under the bed—everywhere you look, there’s stuff. Most of it you forgot you even owned. And yet, the cycle continues: buy, accumulate, bury, repeat.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Sora Is More Truth Social Than Instagram

Oct 16, 2025

•

3 min read

Sora Is More Truth Social Than Instagram

I just spent some time with Sora’s new “social app,” and honestly, I’m left with mixed feelings. There’s some very real tech magic under the hood, but as a product and a market signal, it’s more interesting as a chess move than as an actual social network.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Memetic Warfare: Let Memes Recruit Your Army For Free

Oct 16, 2025

•

2 min read

Memetic Warfare: Let Memes Recruit Your Army For Free

Memetic Warfare is the next phase after bot farms. Blasting the internet with automated messages is yesterday’s game; today, it’s about getting real humans to do the work, because only real engagement gets into the circles that matter.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
The Real Inequality Crisis Isn’t Economic... It’s Social

Aug 22, 2025

•

3 min read

The Real Inequality Crisis Isn’t Economic... It’s Social

If you can’t demonstrate mastery locally, you’re not showing it to the people you actually interact with. That has real-world consequences: it gets harder to feel good, get along, compromise, even date and build families.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Following the Money Doesn’t Work in Startups Anymore

Aug 22, 2025

•

3 min read

Following the Money Doesn’t Work in Startups Anymore

The nice part about money? It’s supposed to be a standard API for interacting in the real world. The problem of our age is that that system is, unfortunately, breaking down. In 2025 it is critical to be precise in your interpretation of personal incentives like never before.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
How "Lawfare" Became the Ultimate Power Move

Aug 21, 2025

•

3 min read

How "Lawfare" Became the Ultimate Power Move

This is a massive, under appreciated shift in the startup and investing landscape. Now, legal resources aren’t just a cost center, they’re a strategic moat. The richest and most powerful can use lawfare to bludgeon smaller players into submission.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
The Next Big AI Power Move: Startups Buying Legacy Giants?

Aug 15, 2025

•

2 min read

The Next Big AI Power Move: Startups Buying Legacy Giants?

Strong companies right now can go out and buy AI talent at insane prices because the market rewards them for it. But here’s what’s more interesting to me—what happens if you’re not one of those companies?

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Simply Having a Large Codebase is No Longer a Moat

Aug 13, 2025

•

2 min read

Simply Having a Large Codebase is No Longer a Moat

AI tools like Cursor and large language models don’t (yet) replace deep engineering creativity—but they do dramatically accelerate the generation and manipulation of large volumes of boilerplate code. This levels the playing field...

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Great Companies Need to Be Fun

Aug 13, 2025

•

2 min read

Great Companies Need to Be Fun

Despite the downturn, successful founders (past and present) seem to share one trait: authentic enjoyment of the chaos. From Barry Piller’s profiles to Adam Neumann’s resilience, the ones who keep going are the ones having fun—not because it’s easy, but because they’re wired to love the grind.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
The Rise of Intentional Billionaire Employees

Aug 13, 2025

•

2 min read

The Rise of Intentional Billionaire Employees

Historically, a few extraordinary people might have been paid millions for their work, but no one’s labor was worth billions. The rare cases where someone ended up with billions were accidents of early equity, not deliberate shareholder-approved comp packages.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin
Prediction Markets 2.0: Betting on LLMs

Aug 13, 2025

•

2 min read

Prediction Markets 2.0: Betting on LLMs

The future of prediction markets has to look more like high-frequency trading, where machines compete by spotting tiny mispricings and trading rapidly. This isn’t just about AI for the sake of AI — it’s a natural progression.

Sam Lessin
Sam Lessin

Snailmail

By Slow Ventures