Weekend Reading
Writing worth reading - 15th/16th February 2025
The mystery of Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s great disrupter by Lionel Barber
“As Korean Japanese, the son family followed tradition and lived under a Japanese name, Yasumoto. (Son later persuaded the authorities to let him combine his Japanese first name and Korean surname — a notable breakthrough.) His father Mitsunori was a bootlegger at the age of 14, later diversifying into pig breeding, loan sharking and pachinko, a form of low stakes gambling that offered a livelihood to Koreans shut out of the Japanese economy…”
Elites are genetically different by Cremieux Recueil
“The events preceding the raid were familiar to anyone who followed the news at the time: a plane was hijacked; there was a request for ransom; and then negotiations began. Yet the finer details are worth rehashing. On June 27th, 1976, Air France Flight 139 departed from Tel Aviv carrying 246 passengers and twelve crewmen. When the plane touched down in Athens, Greece, it picked up a further fifty-eight passengers, four of whom were hijackers. The plane then departed for Paris but was soon hijacked by two Palestinians from the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and two Germans from the Marxist Revolutionary Cells group. It was immediately rerouted to Benghazi, Libya…”
The Dubrovnik Interviews: Marc Andreessen - Interviewed by a Retard by Niccolo Soldo
“This guy [Niccolo Soldo] is a fucking retard. It's important that we let absolute retards like him publish at Substack because they will attract other retards who also think too highly of themselves and their own intelligence and overestimate their value to society. Retards are good for the top line and the bottom line. Don't ever, ever forget this important lesson in building a successful business. I shit successful businesses out every fucking morning, unlike your retards. You can quote me on this…”
Founders (need) Focus
This week we shared that we’re starting Founders Focus, a new membership program from 9others; a space for you to carve out time to work on the hard things that really matter. Check out the announcement here.
What does it do?
Founders Focus keeps you focused, accountable and connected.
Who it’s for?
Founders Focus will suit Solo Founders, Remote (Co) Founders, and Freelancers, CxOs and Side Hustlers.
Qs?
Read more and check out the FAQs on the 9others Notion, here.
We hope you’ll join us.
Upcoming meals with 9others
Wednesday 19th February — London — details and signup here.