Four Things - September 2025
Norman Lewis. Europe. Christian Löffler. $3.86B.
1 / Reading
On one of my jaunts through London I popped into the London Review Bookshop to see what serendipity would bring, pausing in front of a collection of Norman Lewis's books.
I had read A Dragon Apparent before a trip to Southeast Asia to visit a friend and surface opportunities as an entrepreneur. It was excellent.
I selected Lewis's The Missionaries for its promise to explore the themes of truth and hypocrisy.
The book delivered.
I had a bedtime chat with Claude about it.
(Fascinating how large-scale matrix multiplications and statistical inference can mimic sophisticated reasoning.)
2 / Building
I traveled to Europe this month for some shoe-leather business development.
Clocked over 65 miles walking + running during a 4-day trip.
The conference that drew me to the continent was a bust, so my co-founder and I called an audible to secure meetings with the types of customers we came to see.
All in all, the trip was productive.
Over the last month we've generated and validated a multi-million-dollar sales pipeline, and have exhibited an ability to secure meetings with Tier-1 customers.
That said: ABC.
Separately, in an effort to shed some pounds and build better baseline conditioning for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I've reversed a life-long aversion to distance running.
No phone. No headphones.
Just the tranquility of twilight, constellations above, and the revelation of color at dawn.
It's marvelous to detox from the digital world and observe nature (especially birds, fawns, and the occasional fox).
Ran a 10k last weekend, and it no longer seems insane to aim for a 10-miler or half-marathon.
3 / Listening
Given the plane time, I had Christian Löffler mixes in heavy rotation.
I scooped up a signed vinyl of A Life after seeing him perform at Hafen 49 on a gorgeous evening in Mannheim with Parra for Cuva last year.
He's playing at Hafen 49 again this Sunday if you fancy a trip to Mannheim. Weather forecast looks ace.
4 / Number
$3.86 billion
Value of the top 5 private equity acquisitions of skate companies.
Source: No Comply: Private Equity and Skateboarding.
Thanks for reading!
Hit reply! I read every response.
Let me know what you’re reading, building, and/or listening to.
Abrazos,
Mike