In partnership with

This edition is brought to you by Vinovest

Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is your Wednesday edition of Faster Than Normal, exploring one short story about a person, a company, a high-performance tool, a trend I’m watching closely, and curated media to help you build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself. 

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Today’s edition:

Cheers,
Alex

P.S. Send me feedback on how we can improve. I respond to every email.

Stories of Excellence

Person: Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton, the legendary country music singer, songwriter, and actress, has captured the hearts of millions worldwide with her incredible talent, infectious personality, and unwavering commitment to philanthropy. Born in 1946 in a small cabin in rural Tennessee, Parton's humble beginnings and close-knit family shaped her values and inspired her storytelling through music. With a career spanning over five decades, Parton has become one of the most successful and beloved artists in country music history, known for her iconic hits such as "Jolene," "9 to 5," and "I Will Always Love You."

Key Lessons from Dolly Parton:

• On authenticity: "Find out who you are and do it on purpose."

• On limitations: "I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else."

• On what it means to be a leader: "If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are an excellent leader."

Read More.

Company: Zoho

Zoho, a global technology company, was founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas in Chennai, India. Initially named AdventNet, the company started by providing network management software. In 2005, they launched Zoho CRM and their first office suite product, Zoho Writer. The company rebranded as Zoho Corporation in 2009, reflecting their focus on the online office suite. Despite offers from VCs, Zoho remained bootstrapped and profitable. Today, with over 80 million users across 150+ countries, Zoho offers 55+ products, generating $1 billion in annual revenue while staying true to its roots.

Key Lessons from Zoho:

• On bootstrapping: "Chasing customer satisfaction is more fruitful than chasing investors." - Sridhar Vembu. Zoho proved that a company can scale without external funding by focusing on delivering value to customers.

• On culture: "Making space to find your life's work." Zoho encourages employees to pursue their passions, leading to higher fulfillment and retention.

• On pricing: "We don't even require annual contracts, let alone 3- to 5-year deals." Zoho's flexible, affordable pricing helps it attract and retain SMB customers.

• On experimentation: "This confidence comes from the wisdom we learned during times when we had no choice but to reinvent." Zoho is not afraid to try new things and learn from failures.

Read More.

The Rising Demand for Whiskey: A Smart Investor’s Choice

Why are 250,000 Vinovest customers investing in whiskey?

In a word - consumption.

Global alcohol consumption is on the rise, with projections hitting new peaks by 2028. Whiskey, in particular, is experiencing significant growth, with the number of US craft distilleries quadrupling in the past decade. Younger generations are moving from beer to cocktails, boosting whiskey's popularity.

That’s not all.

Whiskey's tangible nature, market resilience, and Vinovest’s strategic approach make whiskey a smart addition to any diversified portfolio.

Schedule a call with a Vinovest advisor to learn more.

Accelerants

High-performance tool

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Short vs. long-term thinking

"Short vs. long-term thinking" contrasts the mindsets of prioritizing immediate gains versus pursuing long-lasting success. As Charlie Munger said, "The long-term rewards of delaying gratification are massively understated."

Short-term thinking fixates on quick wins—cutting costs, boosting short-term profits, extracting value. It's reactive, opportunistic. Long-term thinking focuses on building sustainable advantages—investing in people, innovation, brand equity. It's strategic, farsighted.

Short-term companies live quarter to quarter. Long-term companies play infinite games—their aim transcends any finite metric. Amazon reinvests profits into future growth. Netflix burned cash for years to build a streaming behemoth. Short-term losses for long-term gains.

Jeff Bezos: "If you're long-term oriented, customer interests and shareholder interests are aligned." Long-term thinking aligns all stakeholders—employees stay motivated, customers remain loyal, shareholders see compounding returns. Short-term thinking sets up zero-sum tradeoffs.

A trend I’m watching

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Digital twins - virtual replicas of physical assets, processes or systems - are rapidly gaining traction across industries. The global digital twin market, valued at nearly $9 billion in 2022, is projected to soar to $137.67 billion by 2030. Companies like Rolls Royce are already leveraging digital twins to model engine performance, predict maintenance needs, and reduce service costs[1]. As IoT adoption grows and AI advances, the power and potential applications of digital twins will only expand.

Potential opportunities riding this wave include:

• Developing user-friendly platforms that enable businesses to easily create and manage their own digital twins, without needing deep technical expertise. Startups like Akselos are pioneering this space.

• Building industry-specific digital twin solutions that integrate with existing enterprise systems. For example, creating digital twins for optimizing smart city infrastructure, supply chains, or personalized healthcare.

• Offering consulting services to help companies identify high-impact use cases, implement digital twins, and drive ROI. Deloitte is one player staking a claim here.

Tactical reads

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> When you need to get ideas
How to get startup ideas (Read it here)

> When needing to let your winners ride
Coffee Can Investing — The power of letting your winners ride while brushing off your losers (Read it here)

> When you need to improve your punctuation
How to punctuate by Julian Shapiro (Read it here)

> When thinking about the future with AI
5 AI Predictions For The Year 2030 (Read it here)

> When building wealth strategy
7 Simple Ways to Build Wealth (Read it here)

1 question

That’s all for today, folks. As always, please give me your feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want to see more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.

Have a wonderful rest of week, all.

Recommendation Zone

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Hire remote employees with confidence

Two years ago, I hired an offshore assistant for the first time. Since then, I’ve recommended many people do the same. It’s been one of the highest leverage things I’ve done, helping with everything marketing and customer support (for The Intelligence Age) and personal matters and email management.

Athyna is a service that quickly (<5 days!) finds remote employees across 150+ countries for you or your team. They cover roles from sales and marketing to creative and product, and have worked with companies like Facebook, Zoom, Uber, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Amazon.

I’ve personally used Athyna and recommended them to my Brother, Will, who runs a fashion label, and several close friends running their own businesses. To date, they’ve all had very positive experiences.

If you’re in the market for talent, visit their website to explore options and cover all your hiring needs.

Why Faster Than Normal? Our mission is to be a friend to the ambitious, a mentor to the becoming, and a partner to the bold. We achieve this by sharing the stories, ideas, and frameworks of the world's most prolific people and companies—and how you can apply them to build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself.

Faster Than Normal is a ‘state' of being’ rather than an outcome. Outlier performance requires continuous, compounded improvement. We’re your partner on this journey.

Send us your feedback and help us continuously improve our content and achieve our mission. We want to hear from you and respond to everyone.

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