Jim Brusstar

Banker at Erebor

"Pedigreed B2B operator," according to some.

Also co-founder @treasuryprime, other stuff too.

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

Michigan!

[Patrick Collison @patrickc]

Detroit impressions:

• The downtown is full of beautiful buildings. All of them seem to have been built specifically in the 1920s. I guess that is after the city had accumulated enough auto wealth but before the twin hits of Modernism and the Depression. (I hadn't known that the GM Renaissance Center, built as a revitalization project, was at the time the largest private development in US history, and also at the time the world's tallest hotel. It may be large, but it is not pretty.) The downtown is surprisingly depopulated -- both the streets and the sidewalks feel empty. That said, it didn't feel at all unsafe. There are lots of great homes in the suburbs.

• The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is amazing, and it's worth visiting Detroit for it alone. Among many (many) other things, it contains the oldest known surviving steam engine in the world, the actual Montgomery bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, a deconstructed Model T, a deconstructed Eames Chair, and many great cars, agricultural equipment, locomotives, industrial specimens, and more. (They have the Lincoln Continental that JFK was riding in when assassinated -- which, apparently, was returned to service and used by several subsequent presidents.)

• The museum made me wonder why American car design peaked in the mid-60s. (This fact is very evident at the museum.) The LLMs blame the 1966 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. (Not quite https://t.co/ox5TEECH6N, but close.)

• Good food exists but it is hard to find.

• The Heidelberg Project also exists and is unique.

• We stayed at the Dearborn Inn, which is wonderful, and contains cottages modeled after the homes of significant American figures. Dearborn (and Hamtramck) are now predominantly Muslim, apparently for reasons that go back a century to Henry Ford's $5 wage. Dearborn felt noticeably prosperous (we stopped for coffee at a fancy Japanese cheesecake cafe); Hamtramck did not.

• https://t.co/OOkCI7DbAz says that the Hispanic population of Michigan is just 6%. Coming from California, the absence is very striking.

• The Detroit Institute of Arts is remarkable, particularly the room with the American landscapes and the section with the Dutch masters (especially The Visitation). An obvious question is why there is nothing quite like it in the Bay Area given how much richer the latter is than Detroit ever was -- we techies are just so uncultured by comparison. The Diego Rivera murals are amazing (and quite strange; you can see why they were controversial).

• Detroit is full of historic plaques -- they are truly everywhere. This is presumably due in part to the fact that Detroit has a lot of history, but it still has many more than places with comparable historical depth. Some research suggests that it might be related to generous tax credits for historic preservation. Whether or not that is true, Detroit persuades me that other places should engage in more plaquemaxxing.

• I recommend a visit! You overall leave with some sense for how exciting America must have felt in the early 20th century.

[Molly O’Shea @MollySOShea]

BREAKING: Erebor Bank hits $1.1B in deposits in 6 weeks

Unbelievable. @ereborbank @PalmerLuckey

[Rex Salisbury @rexsalisbury]

Just in - @ereborbank posted their 1st call report. In 7 weeks since opening, they've already hit $1.1 billion in deposits.

unprecedented growth for a de novo (or fintech)

For comparison
- Grasshopper Bank (also a tech-focused NYC de novo) took 7 years to reach the same number, and only got there via acquisition
- Square Financial Services, even with Block's enormous merchant base, sits at $495M after 5 years.
- Mercury took 4 years
- Chime took 6

At $1 billion this makes them ~1,000th largest bank in America (out of ~4,500).

If they want to be a top 100 bank, thats ~$20 billion of deposits. 5% of the way there in 7 weeks.

Next up...what do they do with those deposits? Will be watching how loans ramp from here!

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@gasnerpants welcome

[Antonio García Martínez (agm.eth) @antoniogm]

We are about the enter the biggest financial transformation of our lifetimes, on the order of fractional-reserve banking, joint-stock companies, and derivatives pricing theory.

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@antoniogm East coast 10 years downstream of SF again

[Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent @SecScottBessent]

As the first full-service national bank charter granted by @USOCC in 4 years, the charter of @ereborbank is an important milestone as the Trump Administration works to create more safe and sound banking choices for all Americans.

It is deeply worrisome that de novo chartering has seen an incredible decline, averaging just 6 new banks per year since 2010. In the years prior to 2008, there were 100-plus new banks chartered each year.

@POTUS is ending the bottleneck on bank charters that has fostered an environment of “too small to succeed.” We are committed to creating a dynamic banking system in which banks of all sizes and business models can prosper.

My thanks to @PalmerLuckey for taking the initiative on this important project.

[Comptroller Jonathan Gould @USComptroller]

Congratulations to the entire Erebor team! This is an exciting day for the banking system and reflects the OCC’s commitment to a dynamic and diverse financial system that remains innovative and relevant over time.

[Palmer Luckey @PalmerLuckey]

The real bank for real Americans doing real things!

The cutting-edge business model is based on next-gen concepts like "don't let your client's money disappear", "care at all about national security", and most importantly, "the market sometimes goes down".

[Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨ Lemkin @jasonlk]

Today, Thiel, Sacks and Page prepare to leave California tomorrow.

- Offices opened in Miami and Austin — today by Thiel
- Driver’s Licenses Changed
- Homes already owned

California has approximately 255 billionaires — about a quarter of the U.S. total. The tax was estimated to raise $100B from ~200 of them.

But as they scatter to Miami, Austin, and beyond, that number could shrink fast.

It has already begun.

[Garry Tan @garrytan]

@Geiger_Capital These golden eggs are so great. Let’s eat the goose.

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@gasnerpants underrated! (not sure if good, however)

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

One theory says this is why Facebook never generated a founder mafia, like PayPal did - too easy, essentially

[staysaasy @staysaasy]

There's a person who joined Stripe at $250m ARR and rode it to $5b ARR and never faced adversity during the entire way. And I can barely describe how much softer they are than the person who did $5-100m at a startup and had to choke a mf to death for every dollar on the way.

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@github @githubsupport our GitHub Actions are still down and your support team has ghosted us - need your help asap! tickets: #3916826 #3915231

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

Interestingly I used to observe this effect in programmers back when I worked for bigger companies and did a lot of interviewing.

In programmers it’s a selection effect: if you’re not good enough to get hired after undergrad you stay for the masters.

[Daniel Buck, “Youngest Old Man in Ed Reform” @MrDanielBuck]

Oh this is hilarious. Sad but hilarious.

This study finds (and others confirm) that a teacher earning a graduate degree has a NEGATIVE effect on student achievement

Attending a graduate school of education literally makes teachers WORSE at their job

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@Apple guys liquid glass is horrible why are you doing this to us

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

My son has the same watch. Shark watch undefeated.

[Henri Stern Ꙫ @sternhenri]

This will without a doubt be my most important tweet this year — https://t.co/GnbC0zYtAz

Brought to me by @shaunmmaguire and surprisingly also worn by @zcabrams — could be said to be a Stripe crypto watch.

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@0xMatt1 yo

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@rishab_hegde @iankar_ @NyxPosts good luck to the players

[Jim Brusstar @jimbru]

@daltonc @paultoo @berg @Standard_Cap killer name