Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson, founder of Stratechery, shares insights celebrating a decade of his influential work at the crossroads of business and technology. He discusses pioneering subscription models that have shaped digital media, and the evolution of Stratechery into a broader content platform. Thompson elaborates on navigating audience engagement, balancing subscriber dynamics, and the transformative impact of tech on venture capital. Personal anecdotes add depth as he reflects on his journey and the cultural nuances that influence content creation.

Ben Thompson, founder of the influential blog Stratechery, dives into the business of writing and how he turned his passion into a lucrative venture. He discusses the importance of crafting compelling narratives and the art of making first drafts flow smoothly under pressure. Thompson shares insights on enhancing engagement with subscribers and navigating the digital content landscape. He also reflects on the challenges of reaching a niche audience and the impact of storytelling in both writing and speech, providing listeners with a roadmap to monetize their own writing.

Today’s guest is Stratechery author and founder Ben Thompson. If you’re an investor in Silicon Valley, work at a tech start-up, or just love to geek out on technology and business analysis, odds are good that Stratechery is on your short list of must-read blogs. What started as a side project, quickly ballooned into one of the most influential tech blogs on the web. The New York Times called Stratechery, “one of the most interesting sources of analysis on any subject.” I agree. In this interview, Ben and I cover a lot of ground. Here are a few of the things we discuss: Learn once and for all how to pronounce Stratechery. :) How Ben’s business model was developed and how he massaged it over the years to become what it is today The one metric Ben looks at each day to gauge the health of his business How Ben deals with people who rip off his work and pass it off as their own Ben’s thoughts on pricing, free trials, content and other important aspects of online membership sites How Ben structures his day to churn out such incredible content so consistently How Ben handles being wrong on his site, and his process for screening his work for confirmation bias How the internet has changed the traditional view of supply and demand, and what companies should do about it What Ben would teach an MBA class about internet strategy (if you do any business online, you need to hear this) What it would take for a start-up to overtake Google or Apple, and the vulnerabilities that all companies share, no matter how big or profitable The new era of technology and how companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and Amazon are doing it right (and what you can do in your own business to take full advantage) This is one of the most jam-packed interviews I’ve done on the Knowledge Project. Ben’s answers are so thoughtful and informative that you’re going to want to have a notebook handy.   Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/   Every Sunday our newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/   Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this fascinating conversation, Ben Thompson, author of the Stratechery newsletter, delves into the profound impact of generative AI on the tech landscape. He highlights the excitement surrounding tools like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion and contrasts AI's potential with the limitations of cryptocurrency. The discussion also navigates Google's advertising challenges, the evolving role of AI in mobile technology, and OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft. Thompson paints a picture of a transformative era in technology that will reshape our digital interactions.

Ben Thompson, author of the influential newsletter Stratechery, dives deep into the world of business strategy. He discusses his aggregation theory, exploring how digital platforms like Google and Netflix reshape industries. The nuances of platform vs. aggregator are examined with Shopify and Amazon as case studies. Thompson also addresses the cyclical nature of tech disruption and the importance of value chain thinking. His insights on building successful businesses and navigating competition offer valuable lessons for the future of technology.

Podcast host Ben Thompson shares his experience with a ChatGPT demo, discusses Meta's smart glasses and OpenAI's hardware project, and explores the concept of celebrity bundles. He also expresses annoyance at Taylor Swift's presence during sports broadcasts and chats about mooncakes and their qualities.

Discussing Open AI's text-to-video model Sora and Hollywood's reaction. Exploring disruptions in the entertainment industry, potential uses of Sora as a productivity tool. Predicting 'Dune: Part Two' box office success.

(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:28) Packy & Ben’s Businesses(00:23:08) Finding Your Audience(00:36:01) VC Hindsight(00:46:18) Creative Process(00:57:52) Web3(01:05:57) Advice for Content Creators(01:14:59) All-In and Twitter(01:23:54) One Last ThingFollow the show:https://twitter.com/3cartoonavatarshttps://www.instagram.com/3cartoonavatars/https://www.tiktok.com/@3cartoonavatars Follow the hosts:https://twitter.com/loganbartlett Mixed and edited: Justin HrabovskyProduced: Andrew Nadeau and Rashad AssirExecutive Producer: Josh MachizMusic: Griff Lawson Not Boring - The Great Online Game - https://www.notboring.co/p/the-great-online-game?s=rNot Boring – Schumpeter’s Gale - https://www.notboring.co/p/schumpeters-gale?s=rNot Boring – Ramping Up - https://www.notboring.co/p/ramping-up?s=rNot Boring – Ramp’s Double Unicorn - https://www.notboring.co/p/ramps-double-unicorn-rounds-behind?s=rStratechery – What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong - https://stratechery.com/2013/clayton-christensen-got-wrong/Stratechery – Bubble Talk Revisited - https://stratechery.com/2020/bubble-talk-revisited-it-wasnt-1999-the-big-tech-basket/ Executive Producer: Rashad AssirProducer: Leah ClapperMixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA 🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow on Socials 📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow📱 X - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow About the ShowLogan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.Tap follow and enable notifications to stay ahead of the game.

Note: If you saw this twice, this is a reissue of a previous episode, with corrected audio.Since starting his site Stratechery in 2013, Ben Thompson has established himself as one of the smartest and most thoughtful analysts at the intersection of media, business, and technology. I’ve become addicted to his commentary, as have many of my colleagues.So getting to geek out with Ben on these topics is a lot of fun. In this conversation, we discuss a couple of issues very close to my heart, including:Whether you can still make it as an individual blogger — Ben is showing you can, but the path has really changed;How to make money as a modern media company;Ben's time working for Apple and Microsoft and what he learned about both companies and their cultures;Why the Innovator’s Dilemma is worth reading even if you think you already know what it says;Why so few companies advertise on podcasts;Why the most important piece of writing on your site is the second one a reader finds;And much, much more.I enjoyed this conversation tremendously, I hope you do too. As always, please do me a big favor and share this podcast with your friends, put it on Facebook, on Twitter, Snapchat, wherever. And please send me your feedback at EzraKleinShow@Vox.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Thompson shares his journey of building a billion-dollar company, navigating economic challenges, and discussing the future of work. Insights on remote work post-COVID, startup funding struggles, and the importance of understanding SaaS unit economics. The podcast also explores favorite books, leadership qualities, space exploration, and fostering collaboration among innovators.