How Packy McCormick Finds His Next Big Idea - Ep. 29

10 snips

Aug 7, 2024

Packy McCormick, writer and investor behind Not Boring and Not Boring Capital, unpacks how AI shapes his thinking and dealmaking. He discusses techno-industrial companies, using Claude and LLMs to research and edit, building interactive graphics and graders, and where crypto and AI might intersect. Short, sharp conversations on tools, workflows, and spotting the next big idea.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Techno industrials Are Integrating Hardware And Software

Packy coins "techno-industrials" as vertically integrated companies that turn invented tech into high-margin products by combining hardware and software.
He cites Anduril and SpaceX as models where integration, product-market demand, and reinvestment into R&D unlock durable businesses.

INSIGHT

Why Now For Hard Tech Varies By Category

The "why now" for techno-industrials is category-specific: AI, supply‑chain shifts, rising costs, and incumbent sclerosis create openings.
Examples: manufacturing-style nuclear startups, harder-to-discover mining deposits, and software-infused hardware incumbents ripe for disruption.

ADVICE

Use Projects To Centralize Research And Ask Targeted Questions

Use LLMs as research assistants: dump company notes, white papers, analyst reports into a single Project and ask targeted questions while you write.
Packy uses Claude Projects to summarize tokenomics, flag missing data, and surface counterarguments while drafting investment essays.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

One of the most influential voices in tech explains how AI helps him write and invest.

This episode is sponsored by Create. If you want to maximize your gains, both with your body and with ChatGPT, try creatinine gummies from Create. Place your order through this link to get a 30 percent discount: https://trycreate.co/products/creatine-monohydrate-gummies-270-count?discount=every24

Packy McCormick’s job is to find, articulate, and invest behind the next big idea.

He writes Not Boring, a newsletter that analyzes technology and startups for 200,000 subscribers every week. He also invests in early stage companies through his fund Not Boring Capital and is an advisor at a16z crypto.

I spent an hour with him to understand how he’s baked AI into the way he thinks, writes, and invests. We get into:

- How he uses AI to understand dense concepts and refine his arguments
- His thesis around vertically integrated businesses being the future of tech
- How Packy uses Claude Projects to edit his newsletter
- How he makes interactive graphics that represent concepts from his essays
- The tools Packy uses to research, write, and edit Not Boring
- When he thinks the next crypto bull run will take place

We also use Projects to build an AI tool that grades Packy’s essays live on the show.

This is a must-watch for writers, investors, and anyone trying to understand the cutting edge of technology.

If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share!

Want even more?
Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.

To hear more from Dan Shipper:
Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe
Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper

Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Teaser
00:01:24 - Introduction
00:02:40 - Packy's thesis about the future of technology
00:07:42 - What Packy quick takes on your crypto portfolio
00:14:31 - Use LLMs to validate your understanding of complex concepts
00:18:26 - How Packy used Claude Projects to write an essay he published recently
00:24:00 - Packy's process to make interactive visual graphics for his essays
00:31:10 - How to use AI to be thorough in your research
00:35:04 - How Packy uses Claude to edit his writing
00:36:44 - The tools Packy uses to create his newsletter
00:44:12 - Using Claude Projects to make a tool that grades Packy's essays

Links to resources mentioned in the episode:
Packy McCormick: https://twitter.com/packyM
Packy’s newsletter, Not Boring: https://www.notboring.co/
Packy’s fund, Not Boring Capital: https://www.notboring.co/p/introducing-not-boring-capital
One of Packy’s first essays, about natively integrated companies: https://www.packym.com/natively-integrated-companies
Anduril, the company Packy thinks is an example of a Techno-industrial: https://www.anduril.com/
Packy’s portfolio company that’s integration crypto into its product: https://v2.oncyber.io/
The interactive tool Packy made for a recent newsletter: https://goventvectorsum.replit.app/ for https://www.notboring.co/p/the-american-millennium
Packy’s essay about America’s tolerance for risk: https://www.notboring.co/p/riskophilia
Packy’s essays about Blackbird: https://www.notboring.co/p/blackbird