Toy Markets, EU is Furious with Malta, Decision Making, Instagram Story ,Where’s Larry Page, Malls 2.0 & More

While Alphabet faces existential challenges, its co-founder is exercising his right to be forgotten. Read more in Bloomberg’s “Where in the World Is Larry Page?“

Dated but very interesting. “Why I would never want to compete with Travis Kalanick” by Chris Sacca. Read here

Founders often don’t innovate because they can’t quite figure out the answer to “How big could this get?” Read more on how to think and navigate the market size aspect here #YCombinator

The union’s least-populous member nation has become a cryptocurrency and online gambling hub plagued by allegations of corruption and money laundering.Read more in “Why the EU Is Furious With Malta“

Rewind (Best of newsletter #68)
“As they re-invent themselves, malls in India are trying to become community spaces and not remain just shopping centres.” Read more in “The mall story 2.0” 

“‘The Ultimate Guide to Making Smart Decisions” by Farnam Street. Read here

Two Years Ago, India Lacked Fast, Cheap Internet—One Billionaire Changed All That. This WSJ article digs deeper into Jio. Read here #paywall

Podcast Episode of the Week: Instagram
“You can scale big with a simple idea (and a tiny team!) — but only if you catch the prevailing winds. That’s what Kevin Systrom did when he co-founded Instagram”. In this episode of ‘Masters of Scale’, Reid Hoffman goes into the history of Instagram and their journey to acquisition by Facebook.

Listen here

Startup Trivia of the Week: Google 
In 1999, Page and Brin wanted to raise investment from KPCB and Sequoia. They also wanted to firms to split the round to retain controlling stake of the firm. During the process, they gave the ultimatum for a take it or leave it offer to invest $12.5mn each. VCs took the deal and rest as they say is history.

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