What is woke math?': In Florida, public school teachers bristle at DeSantis's changes to education
If it were not for the dozens of bright-eyed, energetic fourth- and fifth-grade Florida students that Michelle Lucas teaches math and science to each and every day, she’s unsure she would have stuck with her job as a Broward County public school teacher so long. Historically low pay made more glaring by lingering inflation rates, ever-changing curriculum expectations and new laws restricting what teachers can and cannot talk about in the classroom have led Lucas to consider quitting after nea...
What is woke math?': In Florida, public school teachers bristle at DeSantis's changes to education
If it were not for the dozens of bright-eyed, energetic fourth- and fifth-grade Florida students that Michelle Lucas teaches math and science to each and every day, she’s unsure she would have stuck with her job as a Broward County public school teacher so long. Historically low pay made more glaring by lingering inflation rates, ever-changing curriculum expectations and new laws restricting what teachers can and cannot talk about in the classroom have led Lucas to consider quitting after nea...
Investing in Rutter
The ecommerce market is on fire, and the growth of online commerce and ecommerce merchants is staggering. In 2022, 21% of sales are expected to be online, up 17.9% in just 2 years. And it’s still early days. The ecommerce merchant (any brand or company that sells goods online) is one of the fastest growing new buyers, and there is a new ecommerce infrastructure ecosystem that has emerged to service their specific needs. These range from fintech companies providing financial products, SaaS com...
Investing in Rutter
The ecommerce market is on fire, and the growth of online commerce and ecommerce merchants is staggering. In 2022, 21% of sales are expected to be online, up 17.9% in just 2 years. And it’s still early days. The ecommerce merchant (any brand or company that sells goods online) is one of the fastest growing new buyers, and there is a new ecommerce infrastructure ecosystem that has emerged to service their specific needs. These range from fintech companies providing financial products, SaaS com...
Investing in Hadrian
One theory of American innovation over the last fifty years is that it’s largely a battle between atoms and bits, with bits winning the war and monopolizing progress. This framing is too simple though, because cooperation between atoms and bits has given us Tesla, SpaceX, Samsara, Flexport, Anduril and a host of incredible companies that transform the physical world with software. The better critique of innovation is that financialization causes abstraction from the real problems, as the move...
Investing in Hadrian
One theory of American innovation over the last fifty years is that it’s largely a battle between atoms and bits, with bits winning the war and monopolizing progress. This framing is too simple though, because cooperation between atoms and bits has given us Tesla, SpaceX, Samsara, Flexport, Anduril and a host of incredible companies that transform the physical world with software. The better critique of innovation is that financialization causes abstraction from the real problems, as the move...
Investing in Lightspark
FacebookLinkedInTwitterWe at a16z started investing in bitcoin in 2013, several years before we had a dedicated crypto fund. We have always been big believers in Bitcoin, its unique history and its foundational role in crypto. It’s hard to overstate the growth and impact Bitcoin has had since Satoshi published his paper in October 2008. It is now legal tender in two countries. It finds mentions in songs, TV shows and movies. Millions of people hold bitcoin as their first entry into the crypto...
Investing in Lightspark
FacebookLinkedInTwitterWe at a16z started investing in bitcoin in 2013, several years before we had a dedicated crypto fund. We have always been big believers in Bitcoin, its unique history and its foundational role in crypto. It’s hard to overstate the growth and impact Bitcoin has had since Satoshi published his paper in October 2008. It is now legal tender in two countries. It finds mentions in songs, TV shows and movies. Millions of people hold bitcoin as their first entry into the crypto...
Are Mortgages Even Necessary?
First, the economic primitive we are referring to broadly apply to any leveraged purchase where the asset can be used by the borrower, while a creditor maintains lien rights (control in the case of default) until the debt is fully repaid. We will call this a “mortgage”. Second, we will provide a brief discussion as to why such a primitive is important. To do this, we explore why land may be necessary, under what conditions it will have value, and how mortgages may be useful under those condit...
Are Mortgages Even Necessary?
First, the economic primitive we are referring to broadly apply to any leveraged purchase where the asset can be used by the borrower, while a creditor maintains lien rights (control in the case of default) until the debt is fully repaid. We will call this a “mortgage”. Second, we will provide a brief discussion as to why such a primitive is important. To do this, we explore why land may be necessary, under what conditions it will have value, and how mortgages may be useful under those condit...
