Reid Marks

Hackberry Lane - Co-Founder & CEO

[Reid Marks @Reid_Marks]

Texas is to business owners what Jeff Bezos / Amazon is to retail consumers.

They have identified and obsess over their customer.

Four out of the ten fastest growing MSAs last year were in TX. People vote with their feet - better jobs mean better quality of life.

https://t.co/6LicnRQJqR

[Reid Marks @Reid_Marks]

I'm all in on Florida, but this one is a head scratcher.

Property taxes are the primary funding source for local infrastructure, schools, and public safety. Many counties in Florida already have dubious infrastructure. Cutting the tax base doesn't just strain services, it also does nothing to add housing supply.

FL will end up with worse infrastructure and no long-term affordability gain.

If the goal is to make housing more affordable, make it easier to build more housing. Change zoning codes. Provide subsidies to builders. There is plenty of land all over Florida to do this. For physically constrained areas like Miami / Southeast FL, prices will stay high and that is the cost one must pay to be there.

Supply vs Demand is a simple equation and we shouldn't overcomplicate it.

https://t.co/D2KuHjinRa

[Reid Marks @Reid_Marks]

"This time is different" is never correct over the long run.

The AI jobs doomsday narrative is over blow. Throughout history, similar breakthroughs have repeatedly displaced jobs, only to create even more in their place.

Before computers became widely accessible in the 80s, there were ~1.1M word processors and stenographers. Now there are maybe 50k. Meanwhile, there are over 4M people in computer occupations (focused only on building and operating computer systems). E-Commerce, the Gig Economy, and much of the broader tech industry were created as a result of the computer, which has lead to the creation of tens of millions more jobs.

More relevant to my field, when Visicalc / Excel were created, 400k bookkeeper/clerk roles were eliminated, while 600k accounting roles were added due to increased capabilities / efficiency from the new technology. Per the BLS, there are now over 10.5M "Business and Financial Operations Occupations," vs 2.5M (estimate) in 1980. Many of these new jobs would not exist without excel.

This theme has repeated itself many times, whether it be the printing press, textile mechanization, or agricultural mechanization.

This time is not different. Per the WSJ, companies making the largest AI investments grew employment by roughly 10% more than otherwise similar companies that hadn’t yet adopted AI.

“The companies that I know that have adopted AI the most are also the ones hiring the most.” - Sam Altman

AI is only as good as the pilot navigating it. Mediocrity becomes less valuable, while deep expertise becomes more valuable. Individuals with deep expertise will become more effective, creating more demand for their skills. Others will need to reskill. Many jobs will come that we do not know exist yet.

https://t.co/pXeUFdWPhE

[Reid Marks @Reid_Marks]

Colleges offering real world experience - entrepreneurship incubation or corporate job opportunities - will continue to pull ahead in the ever-changing world of higher-ed.

Northeastern is a prime example of this, having seen applications double over the last decade and its acceptance rate fall to ~5%.

Much of the increased popularity is due to its co-op program, which allows students to alternate semesters of classes and full-time work experience.

AI will accelerate this trend.

https://t.co/XM7OTZrqhW