Operating by John Brewton
John Brewton, Al Solano, Claudia Quintela, Wessal KhaderWeekly Reporting on the History & Future of Operating Companies
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 209 | Founded | 2 years ago | Last Issue | 3 days ago |
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operatingbyjohnbrewton.comLatest Issues
Sell the Work, Not the Tool
TL;DR
Sequoia published “Services: The New Software” on March 5, 2026. The claim: the next $1T company will sell completed work, not software tools. Companies spend $6 on services for every $1 on software. AI autopilots capture that 6x...
RIMOWA’s Aluminum Bet: When the Product IS the Marketing - OPERATING STORIES · No. 14 · June, 10 2026
How a 1950 engineering decision became a €640 million acquisition, a billion-euro business, and the definitive case study in artifact design.
New to Operating? Start with The Star Acquisition Company, Claude and the Three Decisions, and Th...
Why Enterprise AI Pilots Stall, and the 51 That Didn’t
The operator’s path is rarely a straight line. It crosses open ground, stalls at a failure point, then recovers to deliver a tangible return on investment, hopefully. The route from deployed to value is an organizational journey, and the 51...
The 17 Questions That Tell You Whether You Are AI Fluent
TL · DR (The 30-second version)
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AI fluency is not knowing what AI can do. It is changing how your work actually gets done. Knowing the capability exists changes nothing on its own.
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The research splits in two. Stanford finds 14...
The Three Practical Builds To Become AI Fluent
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
WE ARE ALL BECOMING COMPANIES. I help you build yours. Built a company to +$50M and sold it. Built audience of +50,000 so far…Harvard economics nerd writing about the future of operating companies.
Helping college educators and their institutions succeed. By Dr. Al Solano
25+ years finance. 14 years on FX trading floors. Advising hedge funds + coaching midlife professionals + writing for 40K+. Living the portfolio career I teach. Midlife Mavericks + Emerging Fund.
Entrepreneurship is your birthright. I help you claim it. 4x entrepreneur/8-fig exit. Philanthropist, activist, & owner @ Unfazed Founder™: online business coaching community for faith and family-first humans building from conviction, not convention.
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