Applying ‘Unreasonable Hospitality’ to startups Book reviews

Applying ‘Unreasonable Hospitality’ to startups

I’ve just finished Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara, and it’s one of the most enjoyable business books I’ve read in a while. It's part memoir, part strategy guide as Guidara tells the story of how Eleven Madison Park became the world's best restaurant in 2017. What struck me most was how deliberately he built a culture that combined two layers: First principles done really well — the operational excellence that any hospitality business needs. On top of that, an exceptional approach to people management — not just managing staff, but empowering them to delight customers in creative ways. He talks…
Paul Miller
18 September 2025
This title is missing a Thoughts

This title is missing a

I loved this interview with author Steven Johnson. It covers a lot about the way he writes and how he structures his books and articles. It also reminded me about the piece he wrote back in 2022 on ChatGPT which has a wonderful opening paragraph that illustrates the simple premise behind Large Language Models - predicting the next word. The article still rings true even though the technology has moved on a lot. Re-reading it reinforced my view that what people are calling 'AI' is really just 'applied statistics' (as Ted Chiang calls it. That doesn't make it any less…
Paul Miller
28 February 2024
What Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter tells us about business and climate change Impact investmentThoughts

What Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter tells us about business and climate change

The FT's Lex points out that Warren Buffett's Annual Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders is riddled with inconsistencies on climate change. Even as insurers have benefited from sharply raising premiums, increasing “convective” (severe) thunderstorms or hurricanes are making insurance another business facing day-to-day climate risks. Buffett in the same letter took a bow for his stake in Occidental Petroleum, one he expects to maintain “indefinitely”. I've always had a huge amount of respect for Buffett, particularly the way he does business, based on a reputation for good and ethical behaviour. But I've also long noticed that he (and the late,…
Paul Miller
26 February 2024
Ghost writers in the machine Thoughts

Ghost writers in the machine

I get a lot of odd emails pitching me services I don't want. Private jets and yachts aren't really my thing. But one offering to 'build my audience without spending hours writing content' intrigued me so I followed the rabbit hole to see what was down there. It turns out there's a whole industry of people who will pretend to be a better version of you on social media, especially on Linkedin. I have to admit it hadn't really crossed my mind but it was only when I spotted someone I've been following as a (semi-anonymised) case study in materials…
Paul Miller
15 February 2024
Big Tech malaise Predictions

Big Tech malaise

I loved that the FT published a version of Cory Doctorow's Marshall McLuhan Lecture in the FT Magazine. On the surface it seems so 'unFT' - both in style and approach - but it's reflective of a lot of conversations I have with people in the tech and finance worlds. They're often called 'Big Tech' but the biggest tech firms aren't just big, they're ginormous - both in terms of their financial power and influence over our lives and politics. They're Big with a capital B. And I don't think it will last forever. The backlash among activists and people…
Paul Miller
13 February 2024
Weary Giants and AI Impact investment

Weary Giants and AI

The tech world has a strange relationship with regulation. Often characterised as a libertarian crowd, Silicon Valley leaders used to be vehemently against government involvement. Written in 1996, John Perry Barlow’s Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace began: “Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.” Fast forward to 2023 and the new generation of Silicon Valley’s tech leaders…
Paul Miller
19 June 2023
A campfire in the dark forest Uncategorized

A campfire in the dark forest

When I posted that I'd started blogging again, Andy Thornton posted a link to an article he's written called "Into the Woods...". It's a really interesting piece and made me pause to reflect. I wondered why I stopped blogging and using social media so much a few years ago. In my head there were many reasons - a different routine, different responsibilities a lack of time and so on. But one, if i'm honest was that I was scared. The 'woods' in Andy's title refers to the Dark Forest theory which I first came across in in Liu Cixin's books.…
Paul Miller
11 June 2023
Current email, calendar and task list setup Gadgets and tools

Current email, calendar and task list setup

I use a few tools to help me keep on top of my email, calendar and task list. These are in addition to the basic Gmail and Google Calendar services. Airmail - I've always preferred having my email in a client rather than in the browser and the cleaner and simpler the better. Airmail does the job very nicely if you're a Mac user. Sanebox - the filters/tabs for 'promotions' and so on in Gmail don't really cut the mustard for my inbox - I need something that can spot just the important messages and filter out the rest. I…
Paul Miller
30 May 2023
Some thoughts on AI and tech for good Gadgets and tools

Some thoughts on AI and tech for good

I’ve been working around the edges of machine learning and AI for many years now. We implemented some basic machine learning in the startup I was running in 2006 and I watched as many other startups implemented similar things during the 2010s. As an investor at BGV I’ve seen our portfolio companies use AI to differing extents to build successful businesses and have a positive impact.So I knew that the recent spate of LLM innovation was coming. It’s impressive to see what companies like OpenAI and others have achieved. There’s something uncanny about the interactions you have with ChatGPT or…
Paul Miller
21 May 2023
My favourite books of 2021 Book reviews

My favourite books of 2021

For the first part of 2021, my reading mainly consisted of Agatha Christie and John le Carré novels which I found were very easy to read with a tiny baby asleep on you. But as the year went on I found more time to read non-fiction and some more contemporary fiction. My top few of each were: Non-fiction Our lady of perpetual hunger by Lisa Donovan - best known as a pastry chef whose work in New Orleans gained her international acclaim, this is a book about far more than cooking. It’s a phenomenal memoir and inspiring parenting and professional…
Paul Miller
24 January 2022