This edition is brought to you by The Last Invention

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. 

If you enjoy this, feel free to forward it along to a friend or colleague who might too. First time reading? Sign up here.

Today’s edition:

Cheers,
Alex

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

Stories of Excellence

Person: Jacqueline Reses

Jacqueline Reses is a fintech titan masquerading as a community banker. She's currently building something big at Lead Bank, a small Missouri institution she's transforming into a tech-forward powerhouse. Reses, known for her roles at Square and Yahoo, brings Silicon Valley savvy to Main Street banking. Her approach? Blend traditional banking with cutting-edge technology. It's working. Lead Bank's deposits have surged, and its tech offerings are expanding rapidly. Reses stands out in the banking world - not just for her strategies, but for her style too. "I don't know many community bankers who dress like that," a colleague noted, referencing her fashionable attire. Reses is redefining what a banker looks like and how a bank operates. Her vision? Make banking accessible and innovative for all.

Key Lessons from Jacqueline Reses:

• On authenticity: "I've always operated from authenticity and the will to shape reality into something amazing."

• On blending worlds: Reses demonstrates how combining different industry experiences (tech and banking) can create unique value. Don't be afraid to cross-pollinate ideas from different sectors.

Read More.

Company: Snowflake

Snowflake was founded in 2012 by Benoit Dageville, Thierry Cruanes, and Marcin Żukowski, data warehousing experts from Oracle and Vectorwise. They aimed to build a cloud-native data platform for modern analytics. The company raised $5 million in seed funding from Sutter Hill Ventures in 2012. Snowflake launched its first product in 2014 and went public in September 2020, raising $3.4 billion - the largest software IPO at that time. As of 2024, Snowflake had over 8,000 customers and reported over $2.07 billion in revenue. The company's market cap stands at around $60 billion, with its cloud data warehousing solution revolutionizing how businesses handle and analyze data.

Key Lessons from Snowflake:

• On timing: Wait for the right moment. Snowflake spent two years in stealth mode before unveiling their product. Patience paid off. They launched when the market was ready, not when they were desperate for attention.

• On focus: Do one thing exceptionally well. Snowflake zeroed in on cloud data warehousing. They didn't try to be a jack-of-all-trades. Laser focus on a single problem led to a superior solution.

Read More.

The Next Chapter of Intelligence

We’re entering a moment where machines are beginning to think, create, and reason alongside us.

I wrote The Last Invention to explore what that really means—not through hype or fear, but with curiosity and clarity. How will intelligence reshape work, creativity, and meaning? What will remain distinctly human?

It’s a reflection on where technology is taking us and how we might navigate the transition with wisdom instead of worry.

If you’ve found value in my writing, please consider supporting my work by ordering the ebook on Gumroad or Amazon. I think you’ll genuinely enjoy it.

Read The Last Invention.

Accelerants

High-performance tool

⎯

David Allen's Getting Things Done Methodology

Insights

Tactical reads

⎯

> When identifying core personal values and principles
How to Make Your Core Values List in 15 Minutes (Over 60 Examples) (Read it here)

> When learning goal-setting wisdom from a legendary investor
What Warren Buffett Taught Me About Setting Goals (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

⎯

Build Global Teams, Save Smart

Hiring remote talent has been one of the most impactful decisions I’ve made, supporting everything from marketing and customer support to operations and admin.

I’ve used Athyna, a global talent platform that helps companies quickly hire top professionals from talent-rich regions like Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa — often delivering up to 70% cost savings. They move fast (under 5 days), and cover roles across engineering, marketing, design, and ops.

Athyna sources talent from companies like Facebook, Uber, Zoom, and Salesforce, so you’re not sacrificing quality, just unlocking global efficiency. Highly recommend giving them a look.

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.

Interested in reaching Founders, Operators, and Investors like you? To become a Faster Than Normal partner, apply here.