Sam Lessin
GP Slow Ventures. Intern The Information
Subscriber since 2013
About
Sam is currently an intern at The Information and a General Partner at Slow Ventures. He has co-founded two companies, Fin and drop.io (acquired by Facebook in 2010). Between 2010 and 2014 he was a VP of product management at Facebook, where he managed the People, Places, and Things product group and the Identity product group. Sam started his career at Bain and Company, and attended Harvard ('05). In his spare time Sam enjoys skiing and kite-surfing. He is married to Jessica Lessin, founder of The Information.
Open to
Looking to invest in startups / private companies
I have been an early investor in many notable companies and projects including (solana, venmo, birchbox, makerbot, teamshares, tonkean, blockdaemon, airtable, etc.) At slow we look to back ideally things that are a bit crazy but important.
Looking to hire team members
TI is very much looking for engineers, product, design folks. Slow doesn't really have many opportunities but always open to hearing from folks.
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StartupsGoogleAmazonAppleNetflixVenture CapitalVcSemiconductorsCryptocurrencyCloudAsiaAndreessen HorowitzAirbnbEntertainmentElon MuskFacebookMark ZuckerbergSequoia CapitalSingapore Economic Development BoardEnterpriseSilicon Valley Bank (SVB)PolicyUber/LyftAmazon Web ServicesAIAutonomous VehiclesCryptoVenture-CapitalOpenAIBainE CommerceModest ProposalsFTXSvbMeta PlatformsMedia/TelecomSBFVenture CapitalStartupsSaasIdentityBitcoinLawCryptocurrencyHuman CapitalMarketsCrazy PeopleSkills
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Weekend
Favorite Vacation Spot
British ColumbiaHawaiiCape CodJackson Hole
Favorite Sports to Play
TennisSkiingSurfingFoilingKitesurfing
Favorite Sports to Watch
Mma
Favorite Books
The HobbitThe Biggest BluffSnowcrashDuneThe Hero With A Thousand FacesBusiness AdventuresThe Three Body Problem
Favorite TV Shows / Movies
Game Of ThronesCasino RoyaleCurb Your EnthusiasmIt's Always Sunny In PhiladelphiaFor All MankindLetterkennySuccessionCaddyshackBlazing SaddlesZoolander
Forum Posts
Why Media Folks Are So Outraged About Selling Blue Checkmarks & The Case For ‘Decentralized Social Networks’
Posted bySam Lessin
I have been surprised at how angry people in the media have been about the idea of ‘selling’ verification on twitter / the blue checkmark. Tons of writers and pundits in particular who have built brands on twitter and ‘earned’ that badge feel like it is an active affront vs. simply being a *meh* business idea. Here is what I think is going on. 1. There are lots of peopl...Slow Ventures
Elon’s Plan to Sell Blue Checkmarks Might Be a Good Way To Help Service Debt, But It Isn’t A Great Way To Build Value…
Posted bySam Lessin
I am a huge believer in subscription business models… after all, my wife built a pretty serious media company exclusively on subscription at a time when people literally ridiculed her for it… that said, I am not at all convinced that selling blue checkmarks will do much for Elon beyond helping service debt, which is why twitter likely hasn’t historically done it…. > CAN ...Slow Ventures
On Elon, but Not Twitter: Starlink is AWESOME… and it also is a great example of the challenges of real private monopoly.
Posted bySam Lessin
Elon and Twitter is my Kardashians… it is the best business entertainment content out there… I just eat popcorn and laugh — but Starlink is actually a way more interesting story… ### Let me start with my ode to starlink: (1) it is just a wonderful consumer service. We have it, it replaced for us earlier satellite internet — it is 10-20x faster, more reliable, and 1/10th...Slow Ventures
Why you should be ‘default out’ on investing in ‘Generative AI’ companies for the next few years.
Posted bySam Lessin
‘Generative AI’ is the narrative that has clearly backfilled for crypto-metaverse-self-driving-instant-delivery-etc. hype in the last month or so. We are in that part of the cycle, back to the ‘chat bots are the future’ part of tech / investors search for ‘what is next’ with a new twist (don’t worry, we will get back to those other narratives soon enough as the wheel continu...Slow Ventures