RISK&REWARD
Risk & Reward is a collaborative media project about sinking skyscrapers, exploding cars, and bad science. Subscribe to hear guest collaborators from across Finance, Tech, Aerospace & Law weigh in on what makes the world tick.
MicroUsury - Risk & Reward 06
Risk&REWARD - Issue 06 MICRO USURY P2P Lending: Thanks Satan! If there’s one buzzword that should send shivers down your spine and put the fear of God in your heart, it’s “Fintech”. The “financial technology” sector is about as rife with scum and villainy as the proverbial Mos Eisley, but has evaded gaining a comparable reputation thanks to the clever use of an alternative English dictionary composed of corporate euphemisms for every known human vice. Fortunately for mankind, the cretin that...
Lowering The Bar? - Risk & Reward 05
Risk&REWARD - Issue 05 LOWERING THE BAR? Suits, Ties, & Shifting Standards Not long ago, I read about a ridiculous jury award in Corpus Christi, Texas. A drunk driver killed a family, and the bar that served the driver was held liable to the tune of $300B. Yes, you read that correctly. Three hundred billion dollars. For context: that is more than the annual GDP of Finland. When I initially read this, I was outraged. How can the legal system function this way? Is there no limiting principle...
Sunk Costs & Sinking Towers - Risk & Reward 04
Risk&REWARD - Issue 04 SUNK COSTS & SINKING TOWERS The Tower In the basement underneath 301 Mission St., San Francisco, there is a large crack running through the concrete floor. Above this basement, a 58-story mixed-use residential high-rise towers over the densely populated downtown. In the dead of night, residents hear a noise. A ghostly creaking echoes through the luxury bedrooms wrapped in wood veneer. The slightest of tremors resonates throughout the private lounges, lavish...
Playing with Fire - Risk & Reward 03
Risk&REWARD - Issue 03 PLAYING WITH FIRE A finance bro and a rocket scientist discuss fire trucks. Sam Louwrens - Perspective I Government waste is a hot button issue lately. In the United States, bureaucrats have an essentially bottomless cash pool to swim in. The consequences of this are systemic inefficiencies, gross overspending, and top-down brute-force solutions to problems that require a more nuanced approach. One interesting example of this: fire trucks. Remember the Vehicular Arms...
Paying the Pinto Price - Risk & Reward 02
Risk&REWARD - Issue 02 PAYING THE PINTO PRICE The Worst Case Scenario Thud. A rear-end collision. Crunching metal. Rushing air. Your head snaps back against the leather upholstery. A pop. A whoosh. You groan, dazed by the sudden impact. “Seriously?” You muster. Then you feel the heat. As your head clears, you realize the car is engulfed in flames. Annoyance turns to panic, and as you try to desperately open the door, you realize it has been jammed shut by the collision. You are in a prison,...
The Vehicular Arms Race
Risk&REWARD - Issue 01 THE VEHICULAR ARMS RACE An Evolving Problem Recently I had the good fortune of taking Elon Musk’s ‘Pedestrian Death Machine’ — the CyberTruck — for a joyride. Setting aside any aesthetic criticism, the CyberTruck is an impressive machine. With rear-wheel steering, a stainless-steel exterior, and an unrivaled 500 miles of range, the specs really do speak for themselves. But this vehicle is also a reflection of a growing trend in the US auto industry: size matters....
The Insane World - Issue 00
RISK&REWARD - Issue 00 THE INSANE WORLD Risk & Reward began when two friends in seemingly divergent industries realized that the world of finance and engineering had more in common than they previously thought. The Insane World History is an Ouroboros. A snake consuming its own tail, indefinitely. Lessons are learned, unlearned, relearned. Mistakes are made, then they are made again, then they are made again. I've heard it said that making the same mistake twice and expecting different...