Adithya Venkatesan
July '24
Bababudangiri coffee ourobrous
I really like this (👇) coffee from Third Wave. It's the perfect combination of sweet notes and a mellow aftertaste.But, what is Babudangiri?This story ends with my old man, and the ouroboros of life 😜It all starts in the 16th century with a traveller in Yemen who has coffee for the first time. He instantly loves it.He quickly learns that the city's authorities had banned anyone from taking the c...
5 days ago
June '24
On satisficing — a bet on human irrationality
Satisficing:A cognitive heuristic to explain the behavior of decision-makers under circumstances in which an optimal solution cannot be determined.When consumers can’t determine the optimal solution, they give a brand the power of their decisions. It’s why many choose Apple, because they’ve abrogated the rationality of choice. This has to be viewed with care though. The corollary of it is valid to...
11 days ago
The laws of psychology in marketing
A short story from the book, Alchemy:The advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson, had a particular test for aspiring copywriters. One of the questions was simple: ‘Here are two identical 25-cent coins. Sell me the one on the right.’ One successful candidate understood the idea of alchemy. “I'll take the right-hand coin and dip it in a Marilyn Monroe bag”, he said. “Then I'll sell you a genuine 25 c...
13 days ago
Hela Cells
#TIL: Hela cells. The immortal cells of an African-American mother who paved the way for decades of medical research, and she, or her family, didn't get a penny for it. This is one of the most fascinating stories I've come across, and it's absolutely ridiculous when you realise the systemic inequalities and injustices in play here.The short story: Henrietta Lacks, gets cervical cancer at 31yo. Her...
14 days ago
SaaS engineer personas from a marketing pov:
1. The 'alpha' engineer: wants to experiment with the product just to critique it.2. The 'beta' engineer: likes the product, and wants it, but does not control budgets.3. The 'coaster' engineer: has the budget, but is not empowered to make decisions. Squats.4. The 'I can do it myself' engineer: after the demo, will want to build the product themselves.5. The 'visionary' engineer: understands that ...
a month ago
Org communication tooling — Orchestrated chaos
We have abundant tools to ‘communicate better’ than ever before. Yet, the more tools we have, the worse our communication gets. In fact, we do an atrociously terrible job of it. Between Slack, WhatsApp, emails and calls, you have a roundtable of chaos that showcases a version of Fredkin’s paradox. Communication tooling in an organization is orchestrated chaos. These seemingly simple choices create...
a month ago
May '24
How I work on any problem statement
Be it writing articles, playbooks, or a strategic plan, it all starts with writing.So, here’s a step-by-step guide of how I approach my work: Step 1: Start writing. Be as aimless and meandering as needed. This is brain dump. Step 2: Research: books, articles; the internet. Dump in a doc. Step 3: Read it all. Find patterns and ideas. Write these as you read them. Step 4: Talk to colleagues, friends...
a month ago
What I learnt about SaaS from coconuts
Got a bad fever after having way too much tender coconut water.So, very much extremely, sensefully, and tastefully, here are 5 key takeaways to improve your GTM goals if you're a SaaS org.1. A SaaS fact a day will keep the naysayers at bay - Wolf Von Schmack.Spit out a revenue number, a customer number above a certain ARR and you will take the mantle of the smartest person in the room.2. SaaS bhi ...
2 months ago
How to read more — habit creation
Well, start by allotting time in your calendar like it's a task you have to complete. Just 15 minutes should do. Not more. Phone on silent. Do this religiously no matter what for 2 weeks. Habits compound, and to kickstart a habit, you need discipline.It helps if you start with a racy fictional novel. That'll keep you engaged and wanting more. Buy an hourglass and push those minutes gradually. (I u...
2 months ago
April '24
Salad dressings
1. Maple mayhem: maple syrup + olive oil + mustard + salt, pepper - SHAKE and done.2. Pesto peace basil leaf + cashew + 2,3 cloves of garlic, Parmesan cheese - GRIND. 3. Apple abode: 2 spoons Apple cider + 1 lime squeeze + 3 spoons creamy Peanut butter + 2 spoons soy sauce + honey + sesame oil + Gojuchan - 1tsp - SHAKE and done4. Simple Spicy blast: Skyr + naagin chilli sauce5. Complicated spicy b...
2 months ago
