Kevin Minott

Author of the novel Serpent Light

[Eli Mernit @mernit]

One piece of advice we got during YC was to explain our company using verbs instead of nouns.

Early on, I walked into a meeting and did the opposite:

“We’re building a cloud platform for AI”

No one knew that that meant, their eyes glazed over. Then I started saying this instead:

“We containerize your code and run it on GPUs in the cloud so you don’t have to manage the infra yourself”

That clicked way more. Our brains understand verbs because they’re more concrete. If you describe your company using nouns, you risk people not understanding you.

And no one buys or invests in things they don’t understand.

[Wode Maya ® @wode_maya]

Years ago, I traveled from Takoradi to Accra and spent the night outside the Chinese Embassy just to be among the first in line for a visa application.

I remember the exhaustion, the uncertainty, and the hope that all the sacrifice would be worth it. At the time, I was just another person chasing an opportunity, standing in a queue before sunrise, believing that persistence could open doors.

Today, I received an email saying the new Chinese Ambassador wants to meet me.

My first reaction was simple: “Why me?”

Life has a remarkable way of bringing moments full circle. The same place where I once waited outside, wondering whether I would even be noticed, is now inviting me inside.

This moment is bigger than me. It’s a reminder that no sincere effort is ever wasted, no journey is too small, and no dream is insignificant. Sometimes the places where we struggle the most become the places where we later discover how far we’ve come.

To everyone working quietly toward their goals: keep going. The long nights, the sacrifices, and the waiting may one day become part of a story you never imagined telling.

[Starter Story @starter_story]

My salary as an employee:

Year 1: $54K (Big 4 accounting)
Year 2: $60K (worked at startup)
Year 3: $80K (startup)
Year 4: $105K (software engineer)
Year 5: $115K (software engineer)

Then, I quit my job to build Starter Story.

My revenue as an owner:
Year 1: $0
Year 2: $12K
Year 3: $67K
Year 4: $186K
Year 5: $497K
Year 6: $752K
Year 7: $1.6M
Year 8: Sold the company.

Bet on yourself.

[Blackish Press @blackishpress]

Lupita Nyong'o reflects on the beginning of her career, family, and on identity and dignity for the podcast "What Now?"

"There was a time when my visa ran out after my undergraduate degree. I had done "12 Years a Slave", but I was on OPT when I did 12 Years a Slave. I was on a student visa, so that was only for a year, and it was running out. 12 Years wasn't out yet, and I was facing this thing of, like, do I try and stay or do I go home?

And I got this project. They offered me this role. I was going to play, like, a Nigerian maid, and it was infuriating. It was one of those stereotypical roles that I felt was just taking me backwards if I did it. But if I did it, I got to stay in the country and pursue my dream further.

And I couldn't take it. I couldn't take it.

And my mom said to me, "You have a roof over your head and people who love you in Kenya. You do not need to struggle in America for them to accept you. You are accepted here."

And being reminded of that — that I belong somewhere, I belong to a people — I think that really bolstered me. And I chose not to do that project.

And in the end, of course, everything turned out as it worked out. This is the good news.

But I think I really want to give my parents credit because they instilled in me a self-worth that I go back to again and again. And sometimes it slips, but I have my family to remind me of who I am.

Right? My value doesn't come from what I've achieved. It comes from who I am and who I'm continually trying to be."

🔗 https://t.co/dltZREqnk4

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

The human-perceived RGB is image 1 and the Tesla AI photon count reconstruction is image 2.

This is why Tesla FSD can see so well at night or through extreme glare.

[Viktor Seraleev @seraleev]

While you were sleeping, Apple pulled off a quiet revolution. They silently rolled out automated app review, their answer to the surge of apps driven by the vibe coding trend.

Auto-review is the first stage of the review process. Right now it’s rough. The system flags any SDK that collects attribution data as a signal that your app contains ads. Developers are getting hit with auto-rejections left and right.

It also automatically detects Firebase anonymous auth as a sign that your app has a login flow and asks you to provide a demo video.

The fix is simple though. Just add a note in App Review Information clarifying that your app has no ads and no login feature.

Hopefully Apple ships a fix soon and we end up with fast automated reviews for trusted accounts, similar to how Google Play already handles it.

[Chris Bakke @ChrisJBakke]

Running a company:

2020: can you survive a pandemic?

2021: still here? we’re going to give all of your competitors $100m series A rounds.

2022: wow, you made it? okay, all engineers cost $600,000/year now.

2023: nice job! okay, SVB failed and we’re going to take away your bank account.

2024: a survivor I see. but can you pivot from ai to crypto to defense tech back to ai-enabled defense tech in a 12 month period to stay relevant?

2025: unfortunately all of your competitors have raised $2b series B rounds. oh and only 500 engineers are relevant and they cost $100m/yr each.

2026: well, well, well. you’re still in business? let’s deploy the thunderclap of godlike LLMs from the heavens so all of your customers can rebuild your app in 2 hours. can you survive?

[Kyle @KyleAnthonie]

A UK/Jamaica film collab called “Duppy,” based on Jamaican folklore and set in 1998 Jamaica, has been selected for the Cannes Frontières Platform. Directed by UK-based Ajuán Isaac-George, it marks a rare horror film rooted in local Jamaican folklore. https://t.co/VmTis0WdYr

[shirish @shiri_shh]

generalists are about to win big

If you understand a little of tech, business, and people, and can connect everything fast.

you're sitting on a goldmine right now.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

FSD 14.3 is in Tesla employee beta now and will probably go to wide release end of week

[Kevin Rose @kevinrose]

I used ai to reverse-engineered anthropic’s claude code prompt architecture and turned it into a standalone playbook for building best in class LLM system prompts: layering, variable injection, trust boundaries, tool policy, verifier roles, memory, caching, and real templates.

[Sundar Pichai @sundarpichai]

2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn't need to be stuck in it.

To say goodbye to [email protected] or [email protected] (or whatever you were into at the time), go to your Google Account settings and choose any name available. You'll keep your old username and you can sign in with both.

[Kevín @KevOnStage]

Finally an app that can record vertical and horizontal video simultaneously. DualShot Recorder.

[Nikita Bier @nikitabier]

If you’re seeing a bunch of Japanese posts, here are some fun facts:

Japan has more daily active users and more time spent on X than any other country in the world.

Over two thirds of the country is monthly active on X.

X in Japan has one of the highest penetration rates of any social network in history.

[Netflix @netflix]

Damson Idris requests the pleasure of your company for THE LORDS’ DAY, a new political thriller series coming to Netflix.

Adapted from the Michael Dobbs novel, Damson plays a British spy who finds himself inside the Parliament amidst an escalating siege. Loyalties are tested, sacrifices are made. Can he use his skills to save his country?

📸 Dana Scruggs

[Garry Tan @garrytan]

Ok bro I have some news for you

[Felix Rieseberg @felixrieseberg]

We're shipping a new feature in Claude Cowork as a research preview that I'm excited about: Dispatch!

One persistent conversation with Claude that runs on your computer. Message it from your phone. Come back to finished work.

To try it out, download Claude Desktop, then pair your phone.

[Loni Love @LoniLove]

When we called Ryan to say he was our @cafemocharadio “ salute them” winner, we thought he would just leave a video message thanking us.. Ryan flew to Washington DC before heading to London in the Middle of his press tour… the students at Howard were over joyed to see him.. that is the kind of man he is.. Congratulations on your #oscar many more to come!!!!

[Boris Cherny @bcherny]

We doubled Claude usage on weekends, and outside 5–11am PT on weekdays for the next 2 weeks.

[Kevin Minott @KevinMinott]

@_alisawu Interesting take on UGC