EP #1 of the “Just Built Different”

If you're reading this - congratulations, you're early! Even better, if you're receiving this (currently private) newsletter, it means you've made a meaningful impact on my life. I'm grateful our paths have crossed, and I'm excited to share this next chapter with you.

What's in store?

This newsletter will reflect my core obsessions while embracing my ever-changing interests: startups, technology, Ai, marketing/sales strategy, financial markets, health & wellness, spirituality, mindset, travel, art, books I’m reading, sports, & more.

My promise? To share what I'm learning and let you run with it however you see fit.

With Optimism,

Justin Novak

Headlines, Markets, and 🏄‍♂️ ing the Web

• 🏈 Super Bowl Ad Costs Hit Record High: A 30-second commericial spot during the 2025 Super Bowl commanded an average price of $8 million, marking an all-time high.

• OpenAI Hostile Takeover SZN: Over the past year OpenAI has faced significant public scrutiny after converting from a non-profit to a for-profit organization. This was further exacerbated with Elon Musk’s(who was previously oust by OpenAI) most recent bid to purchase controlling stake of OpenAI for nearly $100B. Sam Altman shot back by offering to buy Twitter/X for $9.74B. Will be interesting to see how this saga plays out…

• 🤖 Bloomberg’s $10B+ Terminal Business Faces AI Disruption: After decades of dominance with their $25k/year terminals (~85% of revenue), OpenBB emerges as a potential threat to the Bloomberg legacy. This new AI-powered financial terminal pulls from 400+ sources and includes AI assistance - all at a fraction of Bloomberg's cost.

• 🎥 LinkedIn Shorts the Next Big Opportunity: LinkedIn Shorts are THE blue ocean opportunity right now. Video viewership jumped 36% last quarter, and the platform is going ALL IN on the format. Missed the TikTok and YouTube wave? This might be your second chance to catch lightning in a bottle...

The Real Secret to Marketing Success: Living on the Edge

After a decade+ of building and operating startups at T Minus Studios, I've learned one crucial lesson that hits different:

Or in marketing speak: "Net new revenue is realized at the edge of your marketing function's comfort zone."

So - what does pushing past your comfort zone really look like?

Let's start with what it's NOT:

• Arts & crafts branding exercises

• Posting on social media

• Press releases

• Marketing plans that look like last year’s with a cheap facelift and a 20% budget increase

• Boosting a post

• Chasing vanity metrics

Don't get me wrong - these are table stakes. You should have them in place. But they won't take you to the promised land alone. Why? By the time you're implementing them, market saturation has already eaten away at their ROI.

Here's the truth: Any jr marketer can execute these cozzzy evergreen strategies. The real magic? It happens when you step into the unknown and tap into cutting-edge marketing strategies before the masses catch on.

Being an early adopter gives you access to juicy arbitrage opportunities with massive ROI potential. Think:

• Google Ads (early 2000s)

• Micro-influencers (mid-2010s)

• Dropshipping + White labeling + Shopify (mid-2010s)

• Buyer Intent Signals (2015 - current)

• Zero Party Data Collection to deanonymize web traffic (2022 - current)

• Self-perpetuating content ecosystems (2022 - current)

• Synthetic Media Marketing (2023 - current)

• AI-Powered personalized outreach at scale via Clay (2023 - current)

• LinkedIn Shorts (The time is RIPE)

So the billion-dollar question is...what's the new cutting edge? 👀 

👉 Respond to the email and let me know - would love to hear your perspective on where the puck is heading!

Also, I’ve been experimenting with some new strategies which I plan to share in future newsletters. Stay tuned!

Are Smartphones Our Generation's Cigarettes?

I fear smartphones & tablets will be our generation's cigarettes. They CAN'T be good for you... or am I drinking too much Kool-Aid? Not in a carcinogenic, lung cancer-producing way, but perhaps in a way that's even more damaging.

Just think about it: endless screen time, blue light blaring in our eyes before bed, non-ionizing radiation, warning messages when wearing AirPods too long, and most importantly, how phones are shredding the social fabric of society.

Is it too late to go analog?

Stop Worrying, Start Winning

Had a major revelation that transformed my outlook: I was spending massive energy worrying about hypothetical problems that might never happen.

The breakthrough? Redirecting that same intense energy toward the goooooood happening right here & now, in the present moment. We've all been guilty of barely acknowledging wins before moving on - seeing your startup’s first viral post, having a belly laugh with a best friend, a special moment with a loved one, landing a new client or bonus, or crushing that gym PR you’ve been chasing for months.

Instead of letting these moments slip by, I started intentionally dwelling on them with the same intensity I used to give to worries. The impact? Transformational.

⚡️Your challenge: Try this for one week. When something good happens, don't just acknowledge it - really sit with it & celebrate it! Give it the same obsessive energy you'd give to that 2 AM thought spiral. Watch how it shifts your entire perspective.

Reflecting on my adolescence, there were truly only 4 subjects that I enjoyed in school: gym class, art, creative writing, & math.

And yeah, I already know what you’re thinking(my teachers said it too) - ‘art is just a hobby that dies on the altar of real career building. NOT THIS TIME SATAN!

Art has been an integral part of building businesses online the past decade. Between scroll stopping creative for paid social, designing high converting landing pages, building memorable brand identities, and now AI powered media - the creator economy is eating the world. Being able to think visually isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore, it’s becoming a superpower for builders.

Furthermore, these past few years, art's become my secret weapon for shutting down the monkey mind. You know that feeling when you're so locked in that time just... disappears?

Speaking of getting lost in the creative zone, here's a little collection I whipped up for my mom this holiday season.

Hello Pittsburgh 📍

Back in Pittsburgh full-time-ish. This is the first time I've truly laid roots here since 2016. These past few years, I've been splitting time between California, the 'Burgh, and digital nomading.

Moving back to Pittsburgh has taught me a valuable lesson about relationships: no matter how long you go without seeing and/or talking to your real friends, you always pick right back up where you left off.

Feels like it's just a matter of time before the travel bug bites again. But for now, these salt-of-the-earth yinzers are keeping me grounded.

This newsletter is a living, breathing experiment I’m building in public - and your takes actually matter.

Want startup stories? Marketing sauce? AI tutorials? Spicier takes? Travel content? Mindset? Or something completely different? I'm all ears.

👉 Drop a reply and tell me which section resonated most.

Thanks,

Justin