In 1991 a young intern at ScotiaBank proposed an idea to the head of strategic planning: buy $5mn of distressed Latin American bonds.

The intern was Elon Musk. It instilled in the young Elon Musk a deep sense that banks are broken, and set him on a lifetime mission to disrupt industries that are bloated, old, and inefficient.

There are two types of innovation: indulgence innovation and abundance innovation. Indulgence innovation makes us gamble, game, scroll, and buy more crap through a mobile device. Abundance innovation helps us solve big, systemic problems.

In this article I talk about how AI might help us create more abundance if we don’t screw it up.

Sam’s black hoodie set him apart from the models, moguls, and millionaires at the invite-only affair in New York’s Hudson Yards. They hovered around him asking to take selfies or if he would listen to their startup idea. He had just flown in from Hong Kong. The next day he traveled to Washington DC where he testified before Congress. He was encouraged by the warm, bipartisan reception he received at the Capitol. “I think there can be a regulatory framework that can help build a really strong industry while also providing oversight and consumer protection.” he said in an interview afterwards.

The Punks & Pinstripes usual programming will be back next week with an article called “The Two Sams: SBF, Sam Altman, and how AI can overdeliver.” That was going to be the newsletter today. Then life made other plans. I never really talk about my experience on the front lines of September 11. But sometimes my memory of that day won’t let me do anything else. So, here it is. It was one of the most formative experiences of my life. We’ll get back to our regularly scheduled programming next week. Thanks for being patient.

I think a lot of people experience what I went through that August toward the end of summer vacation. They’ve had a few weeks to ask themselves, “how am I doing?” And sometimes the answer that comes back is “not good. Get your $h*t together.”

The Entrepreneur Exodus (the corporate executives leaving large companies to launch startups) is very real and very hard.

During the Great Resignation, a record 80 million Americans quit their jobs from 2020 - 2023. But they didn’t just leave work and then sit on the beach.

CB Insights released its list of 629 US Unicorn startups last week. Here are some of the key takeaways: The US is producing fewer unicorns.

Happy Early Birthday, Liar’s Poker - In 1988, a 28 year old bond trader with an undergraduate degree in art history sat down on his sofa and recorded a two-hour voice memo recounting the crazy things he witnessed working at Salomon Brothers, the most prestigious bank on Wall St. That cassette tape would later become Michael Lewis’s debut book, “Liar’s Poker.”

From Ian Cook’s fancy 27th floor corporate office in Pittsburgh he gazed out at the dilapidated warehouse where his old startup used to be. In that moment a feeling that had been simmering for a while became totally clear: he wanted his old life back.

In January of 2015, I took the subway to work in Manhattan to quit my job as director of #innovation at Bloomberg. I grew up in NYC during the 1980s and ‘90s, when the city was a hellhole - but that was the scariest subway ride of my life.

This Week, the canned water brand Liquid Death released “Greatest Hates” an 80s themed hair metal album in which they turned their detractors’ comments into music videos. “F**k Satan. F**k Whoever Started This” Is the lead track on the album, set to a reenactment of the Salem Witch Trial.

Before Bobbie Shrivastav co-founded Docsmore and Benekiva, two of the fastest-growing enterprise tech #startups in the United States, her department’s director stood in the doorway of her North Carolina office and glared at her. “Why is your office door always locked?” he demanded to know.

It was 3am, the first week of 2022, and Rama K. Penta lay awake in a hotel room in Las Vegas, ruminating over a very big decision: should he quit his job?

In 1999 the mother of Anthony Bourdain, a 44 year-old, recovering heroin addict, chef at Les Halles brasserie in lower Manhattan, sent David Remnick, executive editor at The New Yorker, a manuscript written by her son entitled, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This.”

The most dangerous misinformation about #entrepreneurs is the myth of the dorm room startup. The reality is that the most successful entrepreneurs are over the age of 50, spent the first half of their career in executive leadership inside the Fortune 500

The innovation economy swings from FOMO to F U Pay Me every 10-15 years. When that shift happens it can be brutal for entrepreneurs.

Here’s how to navigate it.

Punks & Pinstripes, with LeadGenius analyzed over 5,000 #AI people working at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo, to determine who’s winning the war for AI Talent on Wall St?

I spent six years as a bank analyst on #wallstreet, and in 2006 was the first person to publicly predict the 2008 financial crisis. #siliconvalleybank isn’t my first #bank crisis rodeo. I dusted off my bank analysis playbook for this article.

Oh, how I wish #svb #CEO Greg Becker would bypass his lawyers and write an OpEd in the The Wall Street Journal with a headline like, “I screwed up and it’s all my fault.”