Why I took the job of Head of Infinite Media at O'Shaughnessy Ventures! (OSV) 💡

Big news!

First, you may be wondering about the future of this steamboat, so I’ll tell you right away:

This newsletter and podcast aren’t going anywhere! 🚢 ⚓️

In fact, because they are fueled by the interesting things I find and my experiences, I suspect they will get better because working with Jim and the amazing team at OSV will help me find more cool stuff to write about and more interesting people to talk to!

And in the other direction, the newsletter and podcast are my engine of discovery and node in the network that will help me do my new job better.

One thing that may change is that the publishing cadence will likely be more variable. I never intended to have a firm 3x/week schedule. In fact, I explicitly wrote from day one on the ‘About Page’ that I wanted to “not have a rigid schedule or format”.

But after hundreds of editions of mostly writing 3x per week, I started to mention 3x/week as a descriptive thing rather than a prescriptive thing. That may change a bit, we’ll see ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The good news is that nobody has ever accused me of writing too little, and one of the most common bit of feedback I get from unsubs is that they don’t have time to read everything.

So perhaps having fewer editions will actually be an improvement for you!

🤔 Why the big life change? Why OSV?💡

The real #1 reason is that I consider Jim to be a true friend.

Over the past few years, as I got to know him, I couldn’t help but resonate strongly with his approach to life. His joie de vivre, his curiosity about ALL THE THINGS, his builder/founder impulse, his goal to nudge the future in a better direction for his grandkids (and my kids!) while having fun and collaborating with interesting and tuned-in people.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m attempting flattery — the way you can know I really mean all this is that I’m a fiercely independent person who wasn’t looking for a job (I self-identify as that wolf in Fantastic Mr. Fox), and yet I joined the OSV mothership because all the things mentioned above are true and because the organization’s North Star is very aligned with mine. ⭐️

I want to optimize my life to do interesting and impactful things with people I admire and respect while also having the freedom to try to become the best version of myself. This seemed like a great way to do that!

In other words, I will keep doing a lot of the things I’ve been doing, but with more leverage and impact, and with the help of really great people from whom I can learn.

What is OSV? 🔍

To me, OSV is clearly an extension of Jim’s mind. Most of his interests and values are reflected in it.

OSV gives fellowships to artists, scientists, engineers, builders, educators, entrepreneurs, innovators, etc, around the world.

OSV also invests in all kinds of startups doing useful win-win things across a wide variety of fields, with a common (but not exclusive) theme of AI. I love that at OSV it’s called “Adventures” rather than “Venture Capital” — because it’s not an adventure until something goes wrong, and if things never go wrong, you’re probably not pushing into new territory!

And last but not least, there’s the media vertical — Infinite Media! — which includes one of my long-time favorite podcasts, Infinite Loops, but is growing up to become a home and friend to all kinds of talented creatives around the world and across mediums.

Books, films, newsletters, podcasts, Youtube channels… The old gatekeepers are on the way out and humanity’s creativity is being unleashed, and we want to be a part of that!

My goal at OSV is to help creators win and help audiences discover more things they love.

Your favorite thing is out there, you just haven’t found it yet.

If you want more details on the thinking behind the creation of OSV, there’s no better place to go than to the source:

Update: I recorded a podcast conversation with Jim about his origin story, career, books, and OSV:

Jim O'Shaughnessy: Origin Story, Career in Finance, Groundbreaking Books, and Future with OSV 👶 🕵️‍♂️ 🏦 ✍️📚 🚀

📬 How can you follow along? 📩

I’ll be sharing many of our OSV projects on Liberty’s Highlights. I’m a big believer in learning in public.

But you should also consider subscribing to the Infinite Loops podcast (because it’s great) and the Infinite Loops substack where all kinds of interesting stuff will be published.

If you want to keep track of OSV announcements, project launches, investments, fellowships, and job opportunities, you can sign up for the OSV mailing list at the bottom of this page.

🌳🦒🦒