Planned Obsolescence

While recycling is important, it’s just one part of a comprehensive approach to environmental stewardship. Many people focus primarily on recycling without considering the even more impactful steps we can take to reduce our environmental footprint. Mountain of trash generated by my apartment building. Where does it go? No one knows.

While I typically maintain caution around predictions, I believe we’re witnessing the early stages of a significant business model evolution. An emerging category of ventures—what I call “incentive-aligned businesses”—appears positioned for substantial growth and impact in coming years. The Principle of Mutual Risk and Reward # The concept of “skin in the game” describes arrangements where participants share both risk and potential returns with their counterparties. This principle already operates in certain investment contexts—angel investors provide capital to founders, accepting significant risk in exchange for equity that may grow substantially in value if the venture succeeds. This structure creates natural alignment between parties as their outcomes become interdependent.