Build / Bet / Break

Build / Bet / Break is an anthology examining how conviction becomes impact. Books are often where conviction begins, and Build / Bet / Break uses them as case studies to decode how impactful ideas are built, funded, and scaled.

Each season curates a collection of books from the frontiers of innovation such as biotech, AI, climate, and deep tech, and reverse engineers them into first principles: the problem framed, the proof assembled, and the capital or choices that moved the work forward.

Authored by founders, investors, and researchers, these books become lenses into the mechanics of innovation. Through conversations with the people behind them, Build / Bet / Break explores the decisions that shape how ideas move from theory to impact.

At its core, the project looks at how progress unfolds through three lenses:
Build brings new systems to life through founders and creators.
Bet defines the next frontier through investors and thinkers.
Break marks the inflection points where old models give way to better ones.

What began as a casual conversation among friends has evolved into a podcast, a book club, and a newsletter - each exploring how ideas move from theory to enterprise and what those journeys teach us along the way.