Archive | Blake's Newsletter

Edition 13

Oct 28, 2026

October 13 to October 26, 2026: equity efficient serial acquirers • the AI diffusion gap • growth investing is changing • ten quick shares • two podcasts • a Larry David long-form

Edition 12

Oct 13, 2026

September 29 to October 12, 2026: RealPage vs. EliseAI • impact of personal agents • PE playbook changes quantified • most stocks are losing • a bunch of charts, quick shares, podcasts, and a vault piece

Edition 11

Sep 29, 2026

September 15 to September 28, 2026: (small) language models • (not) language models • combatting AI slop • several charts, quick shares, deep dives • another permanent capital podcast

Edition 10

Sep 15, 2026

August 31 to September 14, 2026: Two six-month check-ins on the SaaSpocalypse • AppFolio's approach to "openness" in the agentic AI era • an article on understanding things • a podcast on permanent capital • a handful of quick shares and charts • A Charlie Munger piece from the vaults

Edition 9

Sep 1, 2026

August 17 to August 31, 2026: A case for the application layer • system-of-record vs. wedge wars heating up • a batch of quick shares • a new charts section • two podcasts on Rockefeller and on finishing what matters

Edition 8

Aug 18, 2026

August 3 to August 17, 2026: A different perspective on AI adoption and measuring it • a bearish case on frontier lab valuations • forecasting as the investing skill almost no one studies • a handful of quick shares • a new From the Archives section with a Howard Marks memo on why being different is required for great returns

Edition 7

Aug 4, 2026

July 21 to August 3, 2026: Open weight models • hockey as an investing lesson in measuring the right risk • a Messi analogy to small business • a podcast on why most people underperform • a handful of quick shares and deep dives

Edition 6

Jul 21, 2026

July 6 to July 20, 2026: How to invest when market structure is unknowable • 'Return on Brain Damage' • quick shares on a YC-backed company going after ERP implementations, a simple but timeless reminder from Marc Randolph, and success in today's ETA environment • a couple of deep dives in my queue

Edition 5

Jul 7, 2026

June 22 to July 5, 2026: The exception queue as a vertical AI moat • product velocity as the new growth lever • a podcast with Jeremy Giffon • quick shares on the coming AI budget reallocation, the state of the AE role, martech in the AI era, and clear presentation tips

Edition 4

Jun 23, 2026

June 8 to June 21, 2026: The 'clearinghouse for agents' moat • the fast-but-narrow software rebound • two podcasts from Bill Gurley and Benedict Evans • quick hits on live-building software, the net-retention collapse, and a Claude-built sales-capacity model