Thinking big? Scientists have found a new use for AI: helping us figure out how reality works. In a new study, astrophysicists explain how they trained a specially-built AI on 2’000 simulated universes (to learn subtle differences in galaxy arrangement) and then used it to analyse 110 thousand real galaxies.

They claim to have found a clue to the parameters or “settings” of our universe — the Matrix or whatever — through AI’s sheer computational power.

In this Open Letter:

• Big gains: The world’s business knowledge in 10 mins a day.

• Durex’s data fumble, SA’s new unis & Discovery’s 1M users.

• Next-level business growth: Learn from the strategy masters.

• Strategies for running out of money: The results are in.

• Startup fuel: Share this 10 times and get Pro membership.

TRENDING NOW

All the World’s Business Knowledge in 10 Minutes Per Day

More people can read than ever before…

Since 1820, when only 1 in 10 people could read, reading has become by and large accessible to most people around the world – at around the 87% mark.

Now, while there are certainly some serious outliers scoring very low – Mali at 31% and South Sudan at 35% – most developed countries have a 99% literacy rate today. (South Africa’s literacy rate is around 90% these days, on track with global.)

And it’s a good thing, too, because whilst billionaires don’t often agree on anything, one thing likes of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos all agree on is in business, reading as many books as possible is the key to success.

So, the more we can read (and actually do it), the better it will be for the economy.

Business Books are Big Bucks

While it’s hard to pin down an exact market size for business-related books specifically, the global non-fiction book category’s market size is growing steadily. It’s expected to reach $15.1 billion this year – up from $14.62 billion in 2023 and is estimated to reach $16.94 billion in 2028.

Some estimate the global business/finance category could be around 25% of that, so perhaps around $3.75bn per year? (Around 80M+ or so books.)

And the information in there is good – publishers tend to take way more care in ensuring quality than what you see on podcasts, blogs and social media.

But who’s reading them?

The thing is, once you start looking into it, it’s not clear who is buying all these business books and whether people actually read them.

Studies show that roughly a third of books are bought as gifts, and it’s mainly older people buying and reading them.

In fact, if you look at the media consumption habits of most C-suite, you’ll see about 74% read on their phone in the mornings – and it’s mainly e-blasts, newsletters and web articles or podcasts.

The 6% that say they consume media at night (when most people read a book) say they predominantly watch pre-recorded TV news reports.

So how can we help more people in business access the deep knowledge in books?

Well, it’s long been known that social reading works wonders in educational settings, and a number of professionals have argued that book clubs could be a prime motivational tool for learning in business – with some suggesting every company should start a book club.

And that’s just what one local startup is trying to do, on a much larger scale…

Making reading social again…

Social reading app, Bookt is aimed at entrepreneurs to make reading simple, social and fun.

Bookt takes non-fiction business-related books and divides them into 10-minute daily reading segments called steps to help folks (like entrepreneurs, and those with full schedules) develop a regular reading habit. 

Plus, you’re able to connect with a global reading community to share notes and insights (just like the old-school book club), as they work through specific books together.

While starting as a B2C, they recently pivoted to B2B, which allows teams to create book clubs in their organisations, reading and discussing the content with each other. Using micro-prompts and discussion points, it gets readers to read the book 10 minutes a day on their phones— resulting in reading an entire book in under a month.

Its AI integration can know what book you’re reading, respond to the notes you’re making in specific sections of the book, pull in real-life examples, and even bring in YouTube videos like Ted Talks etc.

We had Bookt founder Louis-Neil Korsten on the pod this week. Check it out, it’s a real page-turner…

As our attention spans dwindle, and more and more solutions are built to counteract that, leveraging smarter ways to help people learn in shorter, sharper bursts, we’re on the cusp of a new era of learning and development. We’re watching this space… 

Podcast Highlights:

• Wanna know why they’ve limited their catalogue to individuals? Listen to Bookt’s GTM strategy.

• Get insights on tearing down a big corporate wall one book at a time… 

• Don’t be a closed book: How to handle competition in the startup ecosystem.

• Recruiting the champion within – get people inside corporates to sell your product for you.

• When to launch your product, and how some corporates working with small startups can see the bigger picture.

IN SHORT

💰 Securing the Bag. Local FinTech startup Omnisient has just raised US$7.5 million in Series A funding. The privacy-preserving data collaboration and insights platform will use the funding to expand across Africa and beyond.

🪴 Banking 1 Million. Discovery Bank has reached the 1 million user mark two years earlier than initially planned. Launched in 2019, it has grown into a completely digital, comprehensive retail banking offering, attracting over 1’000 new clients per day.

🛰️ More African Starlinks. Following the telecommunications regulator in Botswana’s approval for an operating license in May, Bots has just become SA’s THIRD bordering neighbour to launch Starlink, with Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Namibia all expected to launch by the end of this year.

🎓 Houses of learned Drs. South Africa is set to get 5 brand-spanking-new tertiary institutions including 2 new government universities (the University of Policing and Crime Detection and the University of Science and Innovation) and 3 private tertiary education hubs: Akedemia by Solidriteit, Stadio, and AdvTech.

🎈 Durex Data Dribble. Durex in India has leaked hundreds of its customers’ personal data including names, contact details, and order information due to a lack of proper authentication on its order confirmation page. Honestly, the jokes write themselves.

😎 Get Accelerated. One of our partners, OCFO, is launching the third season of Founders Foundation in partnership with Investec. Get your startup financed and market-ready with this 8-month accelerator program. Apply here

CHECK THIS OUT

Getting Paid Faster, from Anywhere

With the number of online transactions set to double between 2022 and 2027 in SA, streamlining your card payments will become vital.

That’s why you need trusted payment technology, that’s easy to set up, with 24/7 instant payouts from anywhere in the world, with human support and all at a good price.

WigWag uses Stitch’s world-class technology to offer:

• E-commerce plugins: Integrate your Shopify, WooCommerce, Webflow or Squarespace site with WigWag to seamlessly accept card payments.

• Embedded payments: Check out WigWag’s API docs if you are building a tech solution and want to embed payments.

• Global receiving: WigWag processes any Visa and MasterCard, globally, getting you paid, from anywhere in the world.

• Instant payouts: Real-time withdrawals for smooth business operations.

• Human support: WigWag is always available to help.

• Ad hoc payments: Use checkout links or add card payments to Xero invoices for payments outside of your store.

New to card payments? Check out this simple payments directory to easily guide you step by step.

Ready to simplify your payment processes? Check out WigWag today.

Engage SA’s Most Vibrant Startup Community

On Friday 6 September, we’re hosting the startup strategy pros from Metavolve on LinkedIn Live for a session on what it takes to scale like a legend. And, guess what? This one’s free and open to anyone — sign up here.

Want to unlock valuable opportunities on tap?

In the last 48 hours alone, in our online community, we…

• Discovered Nick Grey, who is a master at teaching you to host events that don’t get stale or boring.

• Tyler shared a nifty WhatsApp bot his team built that listens to your voice notes and writes the transcript for you — with notes, to-dos and availability checking coming soon.

• Learnt about a Bitcoin community empowering local businesses along the Garden Route.

And had our first awesome event in Cape Town…

Coming Up Next Week

• Wednesday 10-11: Office Hours, where we all log in and work together, + the whole Open Letter team is at members’ disposal.

• New: Free monthly startup strategy calls for all pro members.

• Support: All day, every day: unlimited introductions, recruitment, service provider referrals and business-building insights.

What You Said…

We asked if you’d use early wage access, and most here have some windfall funds…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 💰 No, I use my emergency fund (46%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💳 I use credit cards and overdrafts for emergencies (29%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🪙 I use other financial services (2%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🏡 I use friends or family (11%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📲 Yes, I use an EWA product (0)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ✅ I would love to use EWA! (13%)

Your 2 cents…

Thanks for the intro, Jennifer! 🔥

Hi Xola, yes, so many people really want a job at a company that has EWA, for that reason. And did you know that Jem’s stats show that 70-80% of people who use EWA, use it for important things like transport and groceries? 🙌