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Lessons from a Startup Life

Doug Levin
Tens of paid subscribers

AI and enterprise adoption, governance and trust, founder and board perspectives, and the evolving dynamics of VC, PE, blockchain, and crypto—offered through a free-plus-subscription model with select essays free and deeper, real-time analysis for sub's.

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Substack
PricingFreemiumPublishesDaily
Issues681Founded5 years agoLast Issue4 days ago
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Latest Issues

AI Priorities for Boards of Directors – Version 2.0

Starting next Wednesday (9/23), Stanford Law School’s Directors College launches an updated “AI Priorities for Boards of Directors” course—now open to anyone. This five-session deep dive was built from feedback and consulting work with the...

4 days ago
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The Marketing Brain: How Founder-Led Sales Actually Scale

I’ve spent much of my career advising startups and watching founders learn a fundamental truth: in an early-stage company, the CEO is also the Chief Sales Officer.

Across the Stanford and HBS startups I work with, and the cybersecurity com...

6 days ago
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Webinar: Value Migration in the Age of AI

Day: Thursday, September 17, 2026

Time: 2:00–3:00 pm EDT

Virtual (Zoom) | Register here

Overview

As AI models commoditize, competitive advantage migrates. This webinar explores where value is actually being created...

6 days ago
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Apple Signals the Rise of Local AI

For most of the generative AI era, the assumption has been simple: AI lives in the cloud. You type a prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot or Gemini. It travels to a data center packed with GPUs or TPUs, the model runs there, and the answer...

8 days ago
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Are We Sheep?

A mathematical breakthrough solved by competing GenAIs should prompt reflection, not on the technical achievement, but on us. As warnings about job loss, cybersecurity, and existential risk flood the news, one question lingers: Are we follo...

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  • Doug Levin

    Strategic, candid startup insights from Doug Levin—HBS Fellow, 4x CEO, Black Duck founder. Cutting through AI hype for founders, operators, investors & directors who want to know what actually matters.

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