Ari Akerstein

Writing

Chemolog

In 2018, as a new dad, I battled a blood cancer. I PM'd my own treatment and wrote about it.

Read →PDF

Personal Blog

Notes, talks, and reflections on building, health, and life.

Read →Talks

Tech Products

AI toolkit for cancer patients. Translates records, finds trials, helps you ask the right questions.

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Daily Scrolls

News wrapped in steelmanned opposing views, historical parallels, and what's being omitted.

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Axestack

AI-powered founder tools. Validate ideas, build decks, ship or kill.

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Writing Dojo

Vim-powered writing coach with real-time scoring.

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Community & Physical

Cancer Hacker Lab

Accelerator for cancer-focused healthtech founders. 15+ portfolio companies.

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West Acton Sauna

Backyard sauna and cold plunge I built. Open to the community.

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SKLZ CoreWheels

Fitness product I invented. Dual-wheel design for core training.

View review →

Construction Projects

Living room, bulkhead, garage, sauna & patio — designed, project-managed, and built by hand.

View all projects →

Some Things I Believe

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  Pull over push. Enthusiasm matters a lot. Energy is the critical ingredient, both for your own productivity and to motivate teams.
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  Retirement and financial freedom are related but different. The dream is to have work and play converge. Childish curiosity and maturity are not in opposition!
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  Things that compound are virtuous. Momentum needs focus. Full immersion gets the flywheel revving. The week is probably the right atomic unit; a week is 2% of the year.
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  Speed matters. Artificial deadlines avoid extraneous nonsense. Bumping against reality is the best corrective to self-delusion. Do it often.
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  Ripple and learn, quickly. The world will give you signal. Take that signal. Ripple again with the new knowledge.
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  Do not shave spikes. Kids and adults spike in interesting ways. Nurture those, especially in children.
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  Sin is mostly opportunity cost. Our actions ripple through the universe. What kind of ripples are we putting out there?
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  The things that matter most come from immersion. To bring back fire you must have first gone to get it.
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  We are information. While alive, and more importantly after we're gone. What kind of information would you like others to carry about you?
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  You'll never feel ready to have kids. But your parents and grandparents were probably less ready than you. Just do it!
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  Rebel against bloat. Empower great individuals and smaller teams to do great work.
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  Earn your dopamine. Push for breakthroughs and challenges and hard work.
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  Create new blueprints. The laws of physics are the only limit. What invisible beliefs are holding you back?