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# Lessons from Packy McCormick
- URL: https://www.antoinebuteau.com/lessons-from-packy-mccormick/
- Published: 2026-06-26T09:24:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-18T21:45:58.000Z
- Description: Packy McCormick founded Not Boring, combining a newsletter and venture fund in a media-venture flywheel. He frames the internet as “The Great Online Game” while connecting optimism, online writing, vertical integration, and renewed investment in physical technology.
- Author: Antoine Buteau
- Tags: Profile, Hedge Funds & Investing Profiles

![Visual summary of operating lessons from Packy McCormick.](https://www.antoinebuteau.com/content/images/2026/06/lessons-from-packy-mccormick-profile-infographic.webp)

## Lessons from Packy McCormick

Writer and investor Packy McCormick founded Not Boring, a newsletter and venture fund that popularized the media-venture flywheel. He treats the internet as "The Great Online Game" and argues for a return to physical technology through vertical integration. This profile collects his ideas on how technology, optimism, and online writing create concrete business opportunities.

### Part 1: The Media-Venture Flywheel

1. **On Deal Flow:** "The newsletter’s massive reach allows him to attract founders and high-quality deal flow organically, rather than relying on outbound sales." — [*Source: \[We The Builders*](https://wethebuilders.us/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Storytelling as Value-Add:** "A central pillar of the thesis is that great companies need to tell great stories to attract talent, capital, and customers." — [*Source: \[F4 Fund*](https://www.f4.fund/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Research-Driven Investing:** "Each essay serves as a full-stack teardown, allowing him to deeply research a company or industry before, or while, deploying capital." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Bridging Media and Capital:** "He does not view his writing and investing as separate activities; they are a single engine that reinforce each other constantly." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Founder Amplification:** "Using his platform to help his portfolio companies articulate their vision helps them clarify their strategy while reaching a wider audience." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Writing as Diligence:** "Writing publicly about an investment thesis is a way to stress-test ideas and invite the market to provide feedback and corrections." — [*Source: \[Rich Tactic*](https://www.richtactic.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Content as a Magnet:** "By publishing high-quality analysis for free, you build trust at scale, which eventually converts into access to the best deals." — [*Source: \[Startup Intros*](https://startupintros.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Transparent Investing:** "Sharing the reasoning behind investments publicly helps demystify venture capital and builds a community of aligned operators." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On the Solo Operation:** "Maintaining a tight, integrated operation between the media platform and capital deployment allows for rapid, high-conviction decision making." — [*Source: \[F4 Fund*](https://www.f4.fund/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
10. **On Audience Moats:** "An engaged audience provides portfolio companies with an immediate boost in distribution that traditional venture firms cannot easily replicate." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 2: Techno-Optimism and Progress

1. **On Technological Progress:** "Technological progress is good, actually. It is a powerful force for human prosperity that should be actively accelerated." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Countering Doom:** "I intentionally create content that serves as a counter-narrative to the doom and gloom frequently found in mainstream media." — [*Source: \[Barrett Brooks*](https://www.barrettbrooks.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Rational Optimism:** "Optimism is more than a passive feeling; it is a rational conclusion drawn from spending time with people who are actively building things." — [*Source: \[Packy McCormick interview*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Packy+McCormick+interview+Not+Boring&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Human Agency:** "Technology is a tool that, when wielded by humans with clear goals, can help accomplish meaningful things and drive widespread prosperity." — [*Source: \[Miika Huttunen*](https://miikahuttunen.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Optimism During Downturns:** "Optimism is an essential ingredient for entrepreneurship and societal growth, especially during market downturns." — [*Source: \[Barrett Brooks*](https://www.barrettbrooks.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On the Builder's Mindset:** "I think it's amazing that more people are writing about weird startups and hard startups and are optimistic about the future." — [*Source: \[Barrett Brooks*](https://www.barrettbrooks.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Overcoming FOMO:** "Move beyond fear or FOMO regarding new technologies like AI. Instead, determine your personal goals and use technology as a tool to achieve them." — [*Source: \[Miika Huttunen*](https://miikahuttunen.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On the Techno-Industrial Shift:** "The name 'Techno-Industrial Revolution' was almost intentionally bombastic to force myself into a deeper analysis of the space." — [*Source: \[Barrett Brooks*](https://www.barrettbrooks.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Replacing Incumbents:** "There is a necessity to replace sclerotic incumbents with companies built on modern technology from the ground up." — [*Source: \[Reddit*](https://www.reddit.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
10. **On the Future:** "If you spend enough time looking at the bleeding edge of deep tech startups, it becomes very hard to feel pessimistic about where we are heading." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 3: Vertical Integrators and Hard Tech

1. **On Hardware and Software:** "We did atoms development for all of human history, and then 50 years of software, and now we are trying to combine hardware and software to rebuild infrastructure." — [*Source: \[Sourcery*](https://sourcery.vc/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On the Core Definition:** "Vertical Integrators integrate cutting-edge-but-proven technologies into systems that can compete directly with slow-moving incumbents." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Moats in Hard Tech:** "If the Vertical Integrator can pull all of the hardware and software complexity off, all of those challenges become a moat, and advantages compound." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On the Benefit of Chaos:** "Vertical Integrators are building physical systems to compete with incumbents who are most vulnerable to crises that rearchitect supply chains." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Controlling the Value Chain:** "Instead of outsourcing components, these companies control the entire value chain to ensure speed, quality, and structural advantages." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Capital Intensity:** "While vertical integration is difficult and highly capital-intensive upfront, it creates massive long-term competitive advantages." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Displacing Paradigms:** "It becomes very hard to displace a Techno-Economic Paradigm's first big winners until a new paradigm emerges decades into the future." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Atoms Industries:** "The biggest opportunities are now in atoms-based industries like energy, construction, and defense, rather than purely digital software." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Solving Hard Problems:** "We need companies willing to tackle long R&D cycles and deep technical innovation to solve significant real-world challenges." — [*Source: \[Mac Venture Capital*](https://macventurecapital.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
10. **On Structural Superiority:** "The goal is to combine new technologies in just the right way to create a much better solution with structurally superior unit economics at scale." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 4: The Great Online Game

1. **On Recognizing the Game:** "The Great Online Game is free to play, and it starts simply: by realizing that you're playing a game. Every tweet is a free lottery ticket." — [*Source: \[Read Something Great*](https://readsomethinggreat.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Fearless Play:** "Play with the fearlessness of someone playing a game. These are internet strangers. At worst, they'll ignore you; at best, they'll open new doors." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Absurd Outcomes:** "Getting good at the Great Online Game makes seemingly absurd things happen, like your business icon sliding into your DMs." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Infinite Mechanics:** "There is no final winner in this game; the objective is simply to continue playing, learning, and building relationships over time." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Identity and Work:** "The internet has eroded the traditional boundaries between work, play, and personal identity. Playing online builds career capital." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Asymmetric Upside:** "The cost of a tweet that receives no engagement is near zero, while the potential upside of meeting a co-founder or investor is practically limitless." — [*Source: \[Walletburst*](https://walletburst.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Career Fluidity:** "When people ask my title, I don't have a good answer. Writer? Founder? Investor? Playing the Game is about opening doors you didn't know existed." — [*Source: \[Packy McCormick interview*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Packy+McCormick+interview+Not+Boring&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Creating Luck:** "By consistently publishing your thoughts and engaging with others online, you dramatically expand your surface area for serendipity." — [*Source: \[Write of Passage*](https://writeofpassage.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Community Building:** "The network you build by playing the game authentically becomes your most valuable professional asset over a long enough time horizon." — [*Source: \[Bobby Voicu*](https://bobbyvoicu.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
10. **On Opting In:** "You don't need permission to start. The internet allows anyone with a connection to opt into the global talent market and start building equity." — [*Source: \[Meda*](https://meda.io/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 5: Compounding and Accelerating Returns

1. **On the Pace of Change:** "The rapid pace of technological change often makes the world feel crazy, but this acceleration is a feature of compounding, rather than a temporary bug." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Exponential Progress:** "Technological progress is exponential rather than linear. Each new invention becomes a building block for the next, speeding up the overall rate of innovation." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Composability:** "Composability—the ability to combine existing building blocks in new ways—is the primary driver of this accelerated human progress." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Existential Optimism:** "Despite the feeling of chaos and high market volatility, we maintain an existential optimism that we are in the early stages of a massive shift." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Early Innings:** "Everything is moving so fast out there. What if it's just getting started? We may be vastly underestimating the compounding effects of recent breakthroughs." — [*Source: \[The PNR*](https://thepnr.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Adapting to Speed:** "Organizations and individuals that understand the mathematics of compounding will outcompete those relying on linear models of growth." — [*Source: \[Strategy of Security*](https://strategyofsecurity.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Cumulative Knowledge:** "The internet allows human knowledge to compound globally and instantaneously, removing friction from the innovation cycle." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Patience and Conviction:** "Because the biggest returns in compounding come at the very end, investors and builders must develop the conviction to hold on through volatility." — [*Source: \[Medium*](https://medium.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Building Blocks:** "Once a technology becomes composable infrastructure, it allows the next generation of founders to build exponentially more complex products." — [*Source: \[Superteam*](https://superteam.fun/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 6: Liquid Super Teams and Modern Work

1. **On Team Fluidity:** "Liquid Super Teams are like bubbles in a lava lamp. People float in and out, join forces when it makes sense, and bounce away when it doesn't." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On The Avengers Model:** "Think of it like The Avengers. Each has unique powers and can survive on their own, but when it's time to do something big, they join forces without formal contracts." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Purpose-Built Coalitions:** "Liquid Super Teams are purpose-built for a specific task and a finite period—a very different mindset than being part of a permanent functional team." — [*Source: \[CMS Wire*](https://www.cmswire.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Retaining Optionality:** "They offer a superior alternative to full-time employment for people who want flexibility and individualism while utilizing a specialized network." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Social Norms Over Contracts:** "Without employment contracts, social norms dictate participation. It is much easier for a Liquid Super Team to drop freeriders than it is to fire someone." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Fractional Commitment:** "It's a team of people with different strengths, most of whom wouldn't quit their job full-time, committing a few hours a week where everyone has upside." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Squads in the Online Game:** "If we're playing the Great Online Game, these Liquid Super Teams are our squads, teaming up to use combined skills for high-impact projects." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On the Cooperation Economy:** "We are entering a cooperation economy where trust and reputation matter more than corporate hierarchies in organizing top talent." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Talent Allocation:** "By allowing the best people to work across multiple projects simultaneously, Liquid Super Teams solve the inefficient allocation of talent in traditional firms." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 7: Writing and The Idea Maze

1. **On Anchoring the Weird:** "Use familiar frameworks like Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers to explain complex, weird, or emerging technologies, making dense topics accessible without losing depth." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Navigating the Maze:** "Writing is a way to navigate an idea maze—deeply researching a trend to understand its history, technical details, economics, and future paths." — [*Source: \[Sourcery*](https://sourcery.vc/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Learning from Builders:** "Prefer learning from people actively building in the field—founders, researchers, and creators—rather than relying solely on business books or academic theory." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On the Content Pyramid:** "Writing is a way to create a content pyramid where work compounds over time, bridging the gap between being an analyst and an investor." — [*Source: \[Substack*](https://substack.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Writer-Led Interest:** "A key to consistency is writing about things you are genuinely interested in. If the writer is bored, the audience will likely be bored too." — [*Source: \[Nathan Barry*](https://nathanbarry.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Format Evolution:** "Over time, the process should adapt from frequent publishing to more intensive, long-form deep dives that synthesize years of accumulated research." — [*Source: \[Growth in Reverse*](https://growthinreverse.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Leveraging AI for Writing:** "AI tools can be used to help refine arguments and identify sections that drag or feel too defensive, acting as an always-available sparring partner." — [*Source: \[Every*](https://every.to/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Community Origins:** "The foundation of a great newsletter often starts in small group chats and private writing communities where ideas can be safely tested and refined." — [*Source: \[Every*](https://every.to/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On the Multi-Disciplinary Approach:** "The best essays combine history lessons, strategy memos, and forward-looking analysis to explain why a specific trend will matter in a decade." — [*Source: \[We The Builders*](https://wethebuilders.us/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 8: Business Strategy and Moats

1. **On the Necessity of Moats:** "Companies that have the best products, most talented people, and fastest growth are precisely the ones for which moats are most important." — [*Source: \[Glasp*](https://glasp.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On the Loss of Uncertainty:** "As soon as success seems obvious, startups lose their training wheels moat—uncertainty—and should have the foundations of more permanent moats in place." — [*Source: \[Glasp*](https://glasp.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Worldbuilders:** "Look for Worldbuilders—founders who are executing complex, ambitious strategies and have long-term, multi-decade visions for their industries." — [*Source: \[Startup Intros*](https://startupintros.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Instinct vs. Intellectualizing:** "While rigorous analysis is important, it is necessary to balance it with a reliance on gut instinct to avoid over-intellectualizing the investment process." — [*Source: \[Sourcery*](https://sourcery.vc/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Avoiding Dogma:** "Investment strategies should be intentionally flexible. Avoiding rigid dogma allows you to adapt as the market changes and new paradigms emerge." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Long-Term Horizon:** "The biggest threats to incumbents don't look like obvious competitors today, but on a long enough time horizon, they will completely reshape the market." — [*Source: \[Solana*](https://solana.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Scale and Complexity:** "Startups that can manage extreme complexity at scale build natural defenses against competitors who attempt to enter the market later with simpler solutions." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Compounding Strategy:** "True competitive advantage originates from layering multiple strategic moats that reinforce one another over time, rather than a single brilliant move." — [*Source: \[Not Boring*](https://www.notboring.co/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*