Thanasis Delistathis

Venture Capitalist

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Chris Nolan desecrated the Odyssey so that he would be eligible for an Academy Award …

[Brivael Le Pogam @brivael]

Hello Julia, sans aucune ironie, c'est top que tu prennes le temps de te renseigner. Mais le problème quand on lit Marx aujourd'hui, c'est qu'on prend pour acquis sa prémisse de départ, alors qu'elle a été démontée scientifiquement il y a plus de 150 ans.

Toute la pensée de Marx repose sur la théorie de la valeur-travail. L'idée que la valeur d'un bien vient de la quantité de travail nécessaire pour le produire. Si tu acceptes cette prémisse, alors oui, tout son raisonnement tient. Le capitaliste "vole" la plus-value du travailleur, l'exploitation est mathématique, la révolution est inévitable.

Sauf qu'en 1871, trois économistes (Menger en Autriche, Jevons en Angleterre, Walras en Suisse) découvrent indépendamment la même chose : la valeur n'est pas objective, elle est subjective et marginale.

Un verre d'eau dans le désert vaut une fortune. Le même verre à côté d'une rivière ne vaut rien. Le travail incorporé est identique. Donc le travail ne détermine pas la valeur. C'est le consommateur qui valorise un bien selon son utilité marginale dans un contexte donné.

Exemple concret : tu peux passer 1000 heures à tricoter un pull moche que personne ne veut. Selon Marx, ce pull a énormément de valeur (beaucoup de travail incorporé). Selon la réalité, il ne vaut rien. Parce que personne n'en veut.

À l'inverse, Bernard Arnault crée des milliards de valeur non pas parce qu'il "exploite" mais parce qu'il a su anticiper et organiser des désirs humains à grande échelle. La valeur est créée par la coordination, pas extraite par le vol.

Cette découverte (la révolution marginaliste) a invalidé tout l'édifice marxiste. Pas pour des raisons idéologiques, pour des raisons scientifiques. C'est pour ça que plus aucun département d'économie sérieux au monde n'enseigne Marx comme un cadre d'analyse valide. On l'enseigne en histoire de la pensée.

Maintenant, le truc important. Si ton intention en lisant Marx c'est d'aider les pauvres (c'est une intention noble), alors tu vas être surprise par ce qui suit.

Regarde les chiffres de la Banque mondiale. En 1820, 90% de l'humanité vivait dans l'extrême pauvreté. Aujourd'hui, moins de 9%. Cette chute historique ne s'est PAS produite dans les pays qui ont appliqué Marx. Elle s'est produite dans les pays qui ont libéralisé leur économie.

Chine post-1978, Vietnam post-1986, Inde post-1991, Pologne post-1989. À chaque fois qu'un pays libéralise, des centaines de millions de gens sortent de la pauvreté en une génération. À chaque fois qu'un pays applique Marx (URSS, Cambodge, Corée du Nord, Venezuela), c'est la famine et les goulags.

Ce n'est pas une opinion, c'est l'expérience la plus massive jamais menée en sciences sociales. Plusieurs milliards de cobayes humains, sur un siècle.

Donc paradoxalement, si tu aimes vraiment les pauvres, la position la plus cohérente n'est pas d'être marxiste. C'est d'être pour la liberté économique. Parce que c'est empiriquement la seule chose qui a jamais sorti massivement les gens de la misère.

Pour creuser, je te recommande trois lectures qui vont changer ta vision :

"La Loi" de Frédéric Bastiat (court, lumineux, gratuit en ligne)
"La Route de la Servitude" de Hayek
"Économie en une leçon" de Henry Hazlitt
Bonne lecture, et vraiment chapeau de chercher à comprendre plutôt que de rester dans tes certitudes. C'est rare.

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

@ryanzip @zipline 20854

[Keller Cliffton @Keller]

Two diametrically opposed worldviews. One that teaches humans to dream, build, strive and create value for others. Another that focuses on envy, “fairness”, govt control, and zero sum games. Feels like America is on a knife edge

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

Congrats to @KIN on upsizing Hestia Re 2026-1 cat bond to $335m! Strong signal of market confidence in their reinsurance platform + reinsurance coverage beyond FL. Let's grow! #InsurTech

https://t.co/iNn9oj78V1

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

@appzen + Workday integration could reshape growth and valuation narratives. When AI meets where finance teams already work, magic happens. Strategic product moves like this are how startups win enterprise. #AppZen #EnterpriseAI

https://t.co/hG5nsP9xHL

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

I was lucky to be able to attend @ICON3DTech 's CONVERGE Tech Showcase for the Builders of Tomorrow. You can watch all the amazing presentations here: https://t.co/X2yQE2stlS

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

A robotic hand beyond human speed, performing with top tier precision.

[Keller Cliffton @Keller]

Great to host @howardlutnick and his team at our factory – the largest autonomous aircraft manufacturing facility in the US. We are at the beginning of another industrial revolution. AI and robotics will dramatically remake the world over the next 5-10 years. Done right, we can save lives, save money, and save time. Today America is the global leader in autonomous logistics and @zipline is working hard to keep it that way

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Weather report: Germany vs Greece

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

Zipline charts drone delivery expansion with $600M in new funding https://t.co/IkGRqVq62a via @techcrunch

[Steve Guest @SteveGuest]

MUST READ from the WSJ: “Something is profoundly wrong with the U.S. welfare system—a problem that runs far deeper and is more dangerous than the shocking fraud in Minnesota that has been making headlines… real federal welfare spending has soared by 765%, more than twice as fast as total federal spending, and now costs $1.4 trillion annually. Were that money simply doled out evenly to the 19.8 million families the government defines as poor, each household would receive more than $70,000 a year.”

[Zipline @zipline]

Testing our next-gen propellers to make our aircraft even quieter — after years of R&D our acoustics team has achieved a roughly -14 dBA decrease in noise since we first debuted our props in 2023

[Ursa Major @ursamajortech]

In preparation for the first flight test, Ursa Major has successfully static fired the Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator (ARMD), powered by the Draper liquid rocket engine, as part of the @AFResearchLab (AFRL) initiative to rapidly demonstrate affordable hypersonic munition concepts. In this recent ground test, Ursa Major static fired ARMD for the full-duration mission cycle and demonstrated bipropellant operations. This static fire comes just over six months after AFRL contract award.

#FlyFaster

[The Best @TheBestqueenx]

A team has gone 9 games without scoring a single goal, so its fans decided to do something. 😂😂

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

This is why @zipline exists...

[Brian Roemmele @BrianRoemmele]

Your Amazon delivery arriving, in the Congo?

[Daniel Heinen @heinenbros]

GeoSpy AI can locate an image using just a few pixels from a reflection. No metadata needed.

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

Big news from @zipline - great partnership to save lives in Africa

[Zipline @zipline]

Big news: Zipline plans to triple our life-saving drone delivery network in Africa with $150 Million from the U.S. State Department, that will be matched more than double by our country partners

[Thanasis Delistathis @tdelist]

A sad day for @PROOFVC. John was larger than life in every way — in his intellect, his personality, and his sheer enthusiasm for the people around him. Stories from his Stanford friends this week captured him perfectly: the unmistakable booming voice, the quick wit, the creativity, the kindness, the “fire” that everybody felt, and yes, the legendary feats that only John could pull off. He left an impression on everyone who crossed his path, and he lived his life with the same full-throttle spirit he brought to every conversation and every venture. Rest in peace, my friend.

[PROOF @PROOFVC]

It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of our friend and partner, @jcbackus (John Backus).

John was a profoundly influential figure in the venture community—a co-founder of our firm, a trusted mentor to countless entrepreneurs, and a voice of wisdom and integrity across the industry. His career spanned more than three decades as a builder, investor, and leader, beginning with co-founding US Order, which helped pioneer early online banking, and continuing through his many years supporting rapidly growing technology companies.

Beyond his work with us, John dedicated extraordinary energy to public service and thought leadership. He served on the Board of Overseers for the @HooverInst, on the Board of Directors for the @CllSociety, and on the Investment Committee for Stanford’s DAPER Fund. He was a former board member of the @NVCA (National Venture Capital Association), Chairman Emeritus of both the @NoVATechCouncil (Northern Virginia Technology Council) and the @Wolf_Trap (Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts), and a trusted technology policy advisor to several Virginia governors. His insights appeared in The Washington Post, TechCrunch, Fortune, CNBC, Fox Business, and many others.

Most of all, John was a remarkable human being—curious, generous, optimistic, and deeply devoted to his family and community. His kindness and clarity of thought shaped our culture, our partnerships, and the careers of many who were fortunate to know him.

We will miss him enormously, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family.

John leaves an enduring legacy, and all of us at PROOF are committed to carrying forward the values and spirit he brought to everything he touched.

[Caleb (OSH Cut) @CalebChamberla6]

I did my Master's research on drone state estimation and control. Believe me when I say that Zipline is super impressive.