How Packy McCormick Finds His Next Big Idea - Ep. 29

One of the most influential voices in tech explains how AI helps him write and invest.

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Packy McCormick’s job is to find, articulate, and invest behind the next big idea.

He writes Not Boring, a newsletter that analyzes technology and startups for 200,000 subscribers every week. He also invests in early stage companies through his fund Not Boring Capital and is an advisor at a16z crypto.

I spent an hour with him to understand how he’s baked AI into the way he thinks, writes, and invests. We get into:

- How he uses AI to understand dense concepts and refine his arguments
- His thesis around vertically integrated businesses being the future of tech
- How Packy uses Claude Projects to edit his newsletter
- How he makes interactive graphics that represent concepts from his essays
- The tools Packy uses to research, write, and edit Not Boring
- When he thinks the next crypto bull run will take place

We also use Projects to build an AI tool that grades Packy’s essays live on the show.

This is a must-watch for writers, investors, and anyone trying to understand the cutting edge of technology.

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Teaser
00:01:24 - Introduction
00:02:40 - Packy's thesis about the future of technology
00:07:42 - What Packy quick takes on your crypto portfolio
00:14:31 - Use LLMs to validate your understanding of complex concepts
00:18:26 - How Packy used Claude Projects to write an essay he published recently
00:24:00 - Packy's process to make interactive visual graphics for his essays
00:31:10 - How to use AI to be thorough in your research
00:35:04 - How Packy uses Claude to edit his writing
00:36:44 - The tools Packy uses to create his newsletter
00:44:12 - Using Claude Projects to make a tool that grades Packy's essays

Links to resources mentioned in the episode:
Packy McCormick: https://twitter.com/packyM
Packy’s newsletter, Not Boring: https://www.notboring.co/
Packy’s fund, Not Boring Capital: https://www.notboring.co/p/introducing-not-boring-capital
One of Packy’s first essays, about natively integrated companies: https://www.packym.com/natively-integrated-companies
Anduril, the company Packy thinks is an example of a Techno-industrial: https://www.anduril.com/
Packy’s portfolio company that’s integration crypto into its product: https://v2.oncyber.io/
The interactive tool Packy made for a recent newsletter: https://goventvectorsum.replit.app/ for https://www.notboring.co/p/the-american-millennium
Packy’s essay about America’s tolerance for risk: https://www.notboring.co/p/riskophilia
Packy’s essays about Blackbird: https://www.notboring.co/p/blackbird