Build / Bet / Break

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

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

Authored by founders, investors, and researchers, these books become lenses into the mechanics of innovation. Through long-form conversations with the people behind them, Build / Bet / Break examines the decisions that shape how ideas move from theory to durable impact. It’s best thought of as a book-club-style conversation for business and investing—intentionally niche, prioritizing depth and exceptional guests over frequency.

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 independent thinkers.
Break marks the inflection points where old models give way to better ones.

What began as a conversation among friends has evolved into a podcast, a book club, and a newsletter—each designed as a space for serious engagement with the ideas that shape how progress actually happens.

How This Works

Each season of Build / Bet / Break centers on a small, curated set of books that help us understand how people build companies, allocate capital, and think about complex systems.

The book is the starting point, not the outcome. Conversations focus on why the work was written, how the author arrived at their conclusions, the tradeoffs and constraints encountered along the way, and which ideas have proven most durable over time.

Discussions are recorded in a long-form, book-club-style format designed for depth rather than reach. Episodes are thoughtfully edited, shared with guests prior to release, and published as part of a broader seasonal anthology alongside written reflections.

The focus is on understanding how ideas move from conception to execution, and on a careful, first-principles examination of the decisions that shape their outcomes. Over time, these conversations accumulate into a shared understanding of how progress actually unfolds.