FutureBlind is devoted to covering four general topics: business, investing, tech, and design. It was initially launched in 2007.

The email newsletter goes out about once a quarter, 4-5x a year. Newsletters will typically be a roundup of recent posts, my thoughts, and other interesting things I’ve found. Occasionally I’ll send out a longer essay via email.

The name “FutureBlind” comes from the fact that we can’t predict what comes next — in business, investing, and life. We cannot truly plan because we don't understand the future. Detailed plans usually fail, because the circumstances inevitably change. But what we can do is set ambitious goals while finding creative ways to make progress with minimal risk. My approach towards both inventing and investing exemplifies this view.

Here’s some examples of areas I’ll cover:

  • Technology — in particular frontier tech like AI, Space, Bioengineering, etc.

  • Progress — how we can make faster progress, in particular how we can tell better stories that drive progress.

  • Business & Investing — mental models about startups, investing, and business analysis.

  • Design — how to design better experiences and how new tools drive better design.

In general, my writing will be optimistic and pro-progress (similar views to progress studies, the abundance agenda, and American dynamism). I truly believe that with human ingenuity and a lot of of effort we can overcome any problem.

The future is exciting! Or at least we can make it exciting. There are possible outcomes that are dreary or scary . . . but it’s exciting that we have the power to do something about it.

We live in a complex world. Humans, nature, and technology coexist in an ever-adapting system of interactions. In the long-run, each needs the others to survive. This is Earth’s “superorganism”. The health of our superorganism is not zero-sum — the whole and every part can be made better over time. How do we improve our outcome? How can we make life better for humans without making sacrifices in other areas?

A little about me

My name is Max Olson. I currently run product design at Mashgin, where we’re reinventing the checkout experience. I also run Explorist Productions, a media company that published Warren Buffett’s Letters to Shareholders, and angel invest via Braewick Holdings, a fund that invests in public and private companies. I’ve been involved in and have a passion for many things: building companies, investing, programming, design, writing, storytelling, and learning anything new that comes my way.

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Notes on business, tech, design and investing.

People

Product Strategy @Mashgin. Code, business, investing, design, storytelling.