Edison’s Lab, Disney’s Studio, and Warhol’s Factory are all proof it’s possible. Utopic is my contribution to this field. This whole Utopic flywheel will be working within five years. This idea is a work-in-progress. If you’d like to riff on it, hit me up @neilthanedar on Twitter.
Author Archives: Neil Thanedar
YC for Manufacturing
Factory: Build a public factory to support a new generation of industrialists. Action: Raise $10M+ to build public factory. Fund: Invest $10K-1M+ in new startup manufacturers. Action: Raise $10M+ for accelerator fund. This accelerator will be a factory for new solutions, from commodifying desalination and decarbonization to healthier, abundant food and medicine. We could buildContinue reading “YC for Manufacturing”
Startups vs. Studios
Startup = Growth. No company can grow forever with just one product. The best startups launch, buy, and grow many products. Xerox → PARC Google → X Amazon → Grand Challenge Google → Alphabet Facebook → Meta This generation of founders is starting younger, growing faster, and staying with their companies for longer. Keeping theirContinue reading “Startups vs. Studios”
Founders vs. VCs
If you’re really ambitious in startups, there’s only ever been two paths: founder vs. VC. Founders go deep on one company. VCs get to build a broad portfolio. Startup studios are the best of both sides of the table: Founders should build a portfolio of companies themselves. “The power dynamic between venture capitalists and founders massivelyContinue reading “Founders vs. VCs”
Disraeli Drawer
You know, those people, who when they cross your mind, set off hours of revenge fantasies? Here’s how I learned a powerful, non-violent way to deal with enemies, thanks to Charlie Munger and Benjamin Disraeli: Everyone has enemies: That boss who fired you after you did all his work. That ex who thought you’d neverContinue reading “Disraeli Drawer”
Decentralized Failsafes
I have. Too many times. And I got the money back every time. That’s not how crypto is designed at all. How can we build this feature into decentralized finance (DeFi)? We need a decentralized consensus mechanism to track and reverse theft of digital assets. This idea is a work-in-progress. If you’d like to riffContinue reading “Decentralized Failsafes”
Mixed Indian Baby Names
Note: I’m Indian-American and have two half-Hmong-American boys, Kai and Ajay, so I’ve spent way too much time thinking about this very niche issue, even making two top-10 lists of all the baby boy names we considered. Hope this helps someone! Easy to pronounce in all languages. Meaningful in a native language. Here are myContinue reading “Mixed Indian Baby Names”
Recreate Ancient Foods
We have selectively bred or genetically modified most nutrients out of most foods. Rewind hundreds of years of food industrialization in a decade or less. Master Plan: Reengineer one ancient fruit. Mass produce it and sell it to the world. Use that money to industrialize the engineering of 100s of new crops. While doing above,Continue reading “Recreate Ancient Foods”
Indie Startups
Now my goal is to 100% own many $1M+ startups. Startups can always raise money later. It’s near impossible to return money raised and get your equity back. Avomeen is an LLC that was bootstrapped for 6+ years until it was acquired by a private equity firm. It has since been acquired again. Labdoor isContinue reading “Indie Startups”
Utopic Studio
Indie = 100% Ownership I’m prioritizing independence in this phase of my career. Individual startups in my portfolio can and will raise outside capital when they’re ready to be independent. But Utopic LLC, the original parent company, will always stay 100% mine. Startup = Anything I Want to Create Any funding: Bootstrapped → VC/PE AnyContinue reading “Utopic Studio”