This week’s highlights:  The Next Warby Parker, Money Laundering on Amazon, and Introverts Win at Selling

Fifteen on Friday – 04/27/18 – Issue 282

Food for Thought:

1. TheAtlantic – The Man Who Brought Down Lance Armstrong  Floyd Landis, a former teammate of the cyclist’s, just won more than $1 million in a legal case against Armstrong. Here are his thoughts on the suit, cycling, and his onetime rival.
2. NYT – Can You Pass a C.E.O. Test?  BIg thanks to Shane and the team at Farnam Street for digging up this gem.  A favorite line “If I can’t simply put what needs to be done on one page, I probably haven’t thought through it very well.”
3. Time – A Growing Cult of Millennials Is Obsessed With Early Retirement. This 72-Year-Old Is Their Unlikely Inspiration
4. Inc – Over 400 Startups Are Trying to Become the Next Warby Parker. Inside the Wild Race to Overthrow Every Consumer Category.  Wharton professors, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs are fueling an entire generation of Warby Parkers. Now there are more than 400 startups tackling products from toothbrushes to bras. What could go wrong?
5. NYT – A Lynching Memorial Is Opening.  The Country Has Never Seen Anything Like It.  The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, opening Thursday in Montgomery, Ala., is dedicated to victims of white supremacy.

Business/Economics:

1. MFR – Why All My Books Are Now Free (Aka A Lesson In Amazon Scams And Money Laundering)
2. II – After Years of Talk, MiFID II Is Live. Here’s How It’s Already Changing the Research Business.
3. II – Hugh Hendry’s Life After Hedge Funds.  The Hedge Fund world’s enfant terrible reflects back on his career.
4. TTI – An Unconstrained Investment Process Allows ‘Opportunity For Higher Alpha’ | CIO Clark Cheng, Merrimac Corp.
5. Bloomberg – The Flatter U.S. Yield Curve Is Roiling Mom and Pop Investors.  Structured notes sold as an interest rate steepener have come back to bite investors.

Culture/Tech/Science:

1. NYT – With a Glance Backward, Brooks Brothers Looks to the Future
2. FastCo – The Revolutionary Giant Ocean Cleanup Machine Is About To Set Sail  Boyan Slat dropped out of school to work on his design for a device that could collect the trillions of pieces of plastic floating in the ocean. After years of work, it’s ready to take its first voyage.
3. SA – Science Has Found a Drug-Free Way to Unlock Lucid Dreaming
4. NYT – How Windmills as Wide as Jumbo Jets Are Making Clean Energy Mainstream
5. AP – Why Introverts Have an Edge in Converting Prospects