đ Special Edition: My Favorite Content from 2021
Three books, newsletters, Twitter accounts, and TikToks I loved this year!
Welcome to the last Accelerated of 2021! If youâve been reading the newsletter for a while, you know we usually recap of our top 10 books from the year (2019, 2020).
This year, Iâm switching it up - sharing my favorite finds from 2021 across books, newsletters, Twitter, and TikTok (in descending order of seriousness). Hope you enjoy, and have a great holiday season!
đ Books
I read fewer books than normal this year, but still crossed 75 - so donât worry, these are quality recommendations!
1.) Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. This book traces the history of the opioid epidemic, painting an unflinching portrait of the family that made a fortune from aggressively marketing these drugs. Itâs incredibly detailed, thanks to thousands of documents released during lawsuits (including the familyâs bid for immunity). If you donât have time to read the full book, check out the authorâs article on the same topic.
2.) Disneyâs Land by Richard Snow. Iâm a big Disneyland fan, and loved this detailed history of the park. Itâs a story of perseverance - despite Walt Disneyâs early success in film, he faced immense skepticism (and countless obstacles) in his quest to redefine the amusement park experience. This book follows Disneylandâs journey from 100 acres of farmland to one of the most visited destinations in the world.
3.) Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. I read quite a bit of fiction, but itâs rare that a book surprises me like this one! Hench follows the story of a woman who is seriously injured during a superheroâs rescue mission. While sheâs recovering, she starts aggregating and publishing data on the collateral damage of heroesâ exploits - and sheâs eventually recruited by a supervillain to lead his mission for revenge.
đ° Newsletters
Will we soon live in a world with more newsletters than people? It doesnât feel too far awayâŠhereâs few new favorites I found this year.
1.) Protocol Pipeline by Biz Carson. This canât-miss newsletter recaps weekly happenings in startup & VC land - read it if you want to know whatâs up! The idea isnât new (which you know if youâre reading this đ), but Protocol Pipeline proves you can differentiate with quality content. Biz concisely summarizes news, features and interviews, and flags the best tweets/ posts you may have missed.
2.) Chartr. If youâre addicted to data (like me), this is your warning that Chartrâs newsletter is a massive enabler. Itâs a masterful example of how to tell compelling and relevant stories through data - youâll probably end up forwarding each edition to at least one other person. Chartr somehow manages to make almost every topic interesting, from the supply chain of coffee beans to the economics of Dollar Tree.
3.) Launched by Olivia Moore. Did you think Iâd make it through without a shameless plug for Oliviaâs newsletter? Iâm admittedly biased but I think itâs her best work - she dives into the stories behind startups like Depop, Canva, and Coinbase, tracing critical early decisions that led to success. I love the contemporary sources she finds (e.g. Reddit or HackerNews posts, tweets) to make the stories come alive!
đ» Twitter
It felt like 2021 was a very active year on Twitter. I followed many amazing accounts this year, but wanted to highlight three up-and-coming VCs who are vastly underrated (<5k followers) and posting đ„ content.
1.) Corinne Riley (@CorinneMRiley). Come for the SaaS content, stay for the memes? Corinne is an enterprise investor at Greylock, and her content is a refreshing reminder that VCs are also human. Sheâs not only hilarious, she also publishes high-quality posts with data + insights for enterprise founders & funders (her piece on community-based growth was way ahead of the curve!).
2.) Tasha Kim (@natashajuliakim). Tasha is an investor at Marcy Venture Partners, and her account features thoughtful and nuanced takes on all things consumer (both software and CPG). Lately sheâs been exploring the intersection between crypto x community x culture - sheâs a great resource if youâre curious about web3 and looking for an accessible and welcoming entry point. Definitely worth a follow!
3.) Sumeet Singh (@sumeet724). Interested in the wide world of fintech, but not sure where to start? Sumeet is an excellent person to follow - heâs a partner at a16z focused on the intersection between fintech and other categories like consumer social and healthcare. I particularly loved his takes on financial services for âside hustlersâ and how embedded fintech can increase marketplace liquidity.
đ± TikTok
Is this my way to find value in the countless hours I spend on TikTok? Maybe. Regardless, Iâm excited to highlight three accounts that are particularly great at building brands + telling stories - in very different spaces.
1.) Olivia Deng (@trilliondollartam), who recently joined Banana Capital, is the đ of VC TikTok. I expect TikTok to become an increasingly important channel for reaching young founders, and Oliviaâs laying the groundwork to be one of the most influential investors on the app. Her content also features some hilarious deep cuts for those of us already in the industry, her feed is well worth a scrollâŠ
2.) Emily Uribe (@emilyuuribe) might be one of the most fascinating people on TikTok. Sheâs a college student with a retail job who ~manifested~ her way into celebrity. During quarantine, she started filming fake interviews where she pretended to be a celeb - a skill she perfected while running fan accounts. The videos went viral, and sheâs now an invited guest at red carpet events and movie premieres!
3.) Maia Knight (@maiaknight) has had a meteoric rise on TikTok, joining the app in June and growing to 6M followers today. Sheâs a single mom of twins named Scout and Violet (somehow she holds both of them at once?), and her videos feature their adventures. You canât help but root for her - sheâs already built an incredibly engaged community of people who feel like part of the family + even cheer for her ads!
Thanks for reading! Iâd love to hear your favorite content of 2021 - comment below or tell me on Twitter @venturetwins.
jobs đ
Wreno - Chief of Staff* (Remote)
Mailchimp - Associate Product Manager (Remote)
Check - Biz Ops Associate (Remote, SF)
Clair - Associate Product Manager (Remote, Philadelphia)
Redpoint Ventures - Media Team (Remote, NYC)
Point72 Ventures - Deep Tech Associate (Seattle)
a16z - Enterprise Deal Partner (Menlo Park)
Techstars - Investment Analyst (Miami)
Tonal - Strategy & Corp Dev Associate (NYC)
*Requires 3+ years of experience.
internships đ
XRC Labs - Student Analyst (Remote)
Coinbase - Community Analyst (Remote)
TCG - Summer Investment Analysts and Strategy & Ops Analysts (Remote)
Smartsheet - PM Intern (Remote)
Club Feat - Ops Project Intern (Remote)
Mailchimp - Market Research Intern (Remote)
Canal - MBA PM, Biz Ops, and Marketing Interns, Undergrad PM Intern (SF, NYC)
Tinder - Strategy Intern (LA)
Datadog - Summer Deal Desk Intern (NYC)
Hi! đ Iâm Justine Moore, an early stage consumer & SMB investor. Iâm currently Head of GTM at Canal. Thanks for reading Accelerated. Iâd love your feedback - feel free to tweet me @venturetwins.