The sustainable tech moat is dead

PLUS: Trump’s $5M ‘gold card’, Microsoft kills Skype, NZ’s economic slump, and Instagram’s next move

Welcome to a new week!

Last week, I went totally off the grid, tucked away in the hills of the Tallebudgera Valley, high above the Gold Coast…close enough to see the ocean, far enough to actually switch off. Along with alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and dairy, I also gave up digital devices for the week. And not to be that person, but seriously… you don’t realise how overstimulated we all are until you strip it all away. Everything felt lighter, and my whole nervous system hit reset. Well, it was reset… until I turned my phone back on yesterday. What a day to rejoin the world.

It was such a powerful shift that I’ll probably write more about it…if you’re keen. Every single health marker in my body changed in just one short week.

Not going to lie, it’s been rough swapping sunrise Qigong on a quiet mountaintop with the birds for early-morning doomscrolling. But let’s all try to find a moment of calm today. In that spirit, we won’t be reporting on the biggest news story in the world. Thanks for understanding 🤭

Here’s your Daily Shot of news:

• A powerful Q&A with Blackpearl CEO Nick Lissette on why AI is Killing the Tech Moat and Only Speed Will Keep You Alive

• Trump’s $5 Million ‘Gold Card’ – A Shortcut to US Residency or Just a Cash Grab?

• Is New Zealand Falling Behind? What We Can Learn from Ireland and Norway

• NZ corporate earnings disappoint as market struggles for bright spots

• Microsoft is shutting down Skype after 21 years as it shifts focus to Teams

• Instagram may launch a standalone Reels app to take on TikTok

• Meta apologises after Instagram error floods users' feeds with graphic content

• Microsoft's Majorana Breakthrough: The First Step Toward a Million-Qubit Quantum Computer

P.S. Wow, you kept subscribing. Thank you for backing the small players trying to cut through the noise with what actually matters.

P.P.S. PLEASE send us the good news stories that will help remind us all of the important things happening. Optimism is the true rocket fuel of this startup community of ours 💪🏼

And breathe…

Lauren & the CAFFEINE team