Alex Writes -> Cautious Optimism

Hello friends, and welcome to Cautious Optimism. If you are a long-time reader of Alex Writes, don’t worry. This is the same little newsletter and blog with a fresh coat of paint.

And, soon, a new cadence.

In mid-2016, I started writing a morning column after taking a few weeks off to get my life in order. At first, the series was called Editor’s Morning Note. Later, at Crunchbase News, it became Morning Markets. Most recently, at TechCrunch and TechCrunch+, it was branded The Exchange.

From AI margins to the ICO boom, the unicorn liquidity backlog, tech layoffs, venture trends, hell, even the E/ACC movement, I had a long and fun run of writing and publishing daily. I’m getting back into that motion and will be scribbling here on Cautious Optimism most weekdays starting tomorrow.

The difference between this little blog and newsletter and my old TechCrunch+ column is that I have more latitude to riff. So, expect more earnings and public market material along with late-stage startup news and IPOs, with occasional notes on topics that impact the business world, albeit less directly, like the preservation of democracy.

I’ve named this little publication Cautious Optimism because I believe there is a small gap in the business and technology media landscape. Major publications are good at covering tech giants with a critical eye. And many startup-focused publications do great work writing about tech companies when they are small and bursting with potential.

Cautious Optimism will sit between trenchant big tech and affirmative early-stage tech coverage. Benefit of the doubt for smaller companies, expectations of excellence from larger firms, and a bullish vibe on new technology is the bent I am targeting. (Alternatively, go fast but don’t be a jackass.)

The precise format of missives from Cautious Optimism will vary as I dial it in, sort out what is the most fun and what people most want to read. I am incredibly excited to write and report just for you. — Alex

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