The Bootstrapping Byte #6 - Rompe la Piñata!
In this edition: a new llama in the AI zoo, the alarm bells for non-profitable tech firms, the push for employees to return to the office, and a masterclass on winning.
In this edition: a new llama in the AI zoo, the alarm bells for non-profitable tech firms, the push for employees to return to the office, and a masterclass on winning.
Link to the web version: https://bootstrappingdad.com/the-bootstrapping-byte-6/
🦙 3 x Llama 2 = ???
This week Meta's AI lab released Llama 2 - in 3 different versions - the upgrade of its open source LLM model. This new model, which is virtually free to use for commercial and research purposes, is a significant boon for the open-source community. The first version of Llama triggered an acceleration of the LLM landscape early this year so let's see if this one triggers a new wave of innovation in the industry.
In the meantime, OpenAI's ChatGPT - which introduced yet another feature with Custom Instructions - get criticised for declining performance. This appears to be mostly due to improvements made to ensure the safety of the models (albeit at the expense of smartness). Analyst also observed a declined in it's usage: are we done with peak of inflated expectation (see Gartner Hype Cycle)?
To dig deeper into Llama 2, I recommend reading the blog post written by Philipp Schmid, the Tech Lead at Hugging Face 👇
💣 Show me your cash-flows: a crackdown on unprofitable SaaS businesses?
Do you own tech stocks or ETFs? While the market as a whole is up, the gains are primarily concentrated among a few large tech companies, leaving unprofitable SaaS companies struggling.
David Heinemeier Hansson suggests that the era of all tech businesses reaping benefits from a bull market, regardless of their profitability, has ended, signaling more difficulties ahead for unprofitable SaaS startups.
This will be especially the case for those that raised money during the peak of the market and are now facing the need for fresh capital: "there is more pain in the pipeline". To be continued...
🏡 Catch me if you can: when bosses want employee back in the office
Many employers, particularly in the banking and tech sectors, are pushing for a return to the office. Concerns are often pointing at productivity, with (updated) studies showing remote workers can be less productive than their office-based counterparts. In the meantime, employees value the benefits of remote work, such as saved commuting time and improved work-life balance, to the extent that some would accept a pay cut to maintain these privileges.
The Economist
🎾 Good read: Learn to win ugly - Lessons from Andre Agassi's coach
Brad Gilbert was far from being the most talented player in the circuit in the 90's but still ranked 4th at the ATP. How did he achieve it? He knew better than anyone else how to win by leveraging it's strengths against the weaknesses of his opponents. After his career he successfully collaborated with Andre Agassis, helping him to win several grand slam tournaments.
This book is a masterpiece of tennis strategy with applications that go far beyond the court: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Brad-Gilbert/dp/067188400X
🍖 Putting more meat around the bones: The Bootstrapping Byte goes bi-weekly
I've been running my newsletter for 6 weeks now and it's been really fun so far! Until now it has been mainly about giving you a concentrate of weekly tech news. While I like the concept I want to put more meat around the bones and invest more time in producing original content. For this reason, I will switch to a bi-weekly model. I hope you will like it! ✌️
Thanks for reading!
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