The Profile: America’s entrepreneurial visionary & the women who hacked a dating app

This edition of The Profile features Priscilla Chan, Palmer Luckey, Floyd Mayweather, and others.

Good morning, friends!

It’s been one month of life with four kids under 4 years old. I’m currently writing this column at 10:51 p.m. on Saturday as I scroll through emails all containing a similar question: “How do you have time for anything?”

Let me attempt to answer this.

In my profiles, I often find people defined by paradox. Saquon Barkley takes extraordinary risks in order to create safety. Ryan Serhant’s ambition builds an empire that also threatens to consume him. Anthony Scaramucci is the ultimate insider who only wins by staying on the outside.

Parenthood has its own paradox: the less time I have, the fuller life feels.

Before kids, I thought abundance meant more — more time, more success, more control. But it’s actually quite the opposite. Moments of abundance are found in realizing just how scarce your resources are. I’ve cut out everything that doesn’t matter so what remains actually does.

I’ve talked about writing in “the edges of time,” and now with four kids, I’ve realized that time doesn’t stretch anymore. Time is now compressed to its bare bones. I’m finding it in between feeds and naps, in the two quiet minutes before someone cries (and someone always cries), and n the half-written sentence that somehow still finds its way to completion.

You know how they say people with a lot of kids seem calmer? I think it’s because they have the ability to slow down in the midst of chaos. What do you zoom in on — the apartment being a mess or your kids laughing with each other?

So how do I have time? I don’t. But somehow, in the thin edges of each day, I find enough of it to be with my family, to do work that keeps me anchored to myself, and to show up here with all of you every Sunday.

See you next week,

— Polina

PROFILES.

— The philanthropist betting billions to end disease [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The entrepreneurial visionary
— America’s most provocative artist
— The boxer seeking generational wealth
— The women who ‘hacked’ a dating app

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The philanthropist betting billions to end disease: Priscilla Chan wants to “cure, prevent, and manage all disease” by 2100, and she’s serious. A former pediatrician turned co-leader of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, she’s building virtual cell models powered by AI to help scientists outsmart illness at the molecular level. With Mark Zuckerberg as her partner, Chan is quietly steering one of the boldest scientific moonshots of our time. (WSJ Magazine)

“I want to feel good about the world.”

The entrepreneurial visionary: This profile is from last year, but it’s worth a re-read. Palmer Luckey went from trailer-park tinkerer to Oculus wunderkind before getting booted from Facebook after a Trump donation scandal. He resurfaced with Anduril, a $14 billion defense-tech rocket ship building autonomous weapons and AI systems while he moonlights on wild side projects (neural hacks, “game-over” VR, subterranean machines). Palmer is a vengeance-powered builder trying to rewire how America deters wars. Here’s what his second act entails. (Tablet Mag)

“The one thing money can’t buy is people who liked you before you had money.”

America’s most provocative artist: Richard Prince breaks a decade of silence with Folk Songs, a bold new series born from isolation, lawsuits, and reflection. The artist behind Cowboys, Nurses, and the infamous Instagram portraits turns his legal battles into art with Deposition, a six-hour film, and builds a secret Catskills art town he calls “Richardville.” It’s a dark, funny, and defiant look at legacy from one of America’s most provocative artists. (Vanity Fair)

“There’s an opportunity there, but I don’t know how to frame it yet.”

The boxer seeking generational wealth: Floyd “Money” Mayweather just launched a new side hustle — a flashy line of dietary supplements called One of One. Despite already earning over $1 billion in the ring, Mayweather keeps chasing new ways to expand his empire, exploring areas like real estate, luxury rentals, and exhibition fights. Known for cutting out middlemen and striking deals directly with CEOs, he sees each venture as part of building “generational wealth.” (Bloomberg; alternate link)

“I’m too busy counting money.”

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

The women who ‘hacked’ a dating app: Hinge has gone from “the dating app designed to be deleted” to a casino-style platform that hides good matches behind paywalls and roses. Frustrated users like TikToker Eve Tilley-Coulson have begun “hacking” the algorithm — deleting profiles, timing boosts, and rejecting everyone to game visibility — with some claiming hundreds of new matches. But as one dater discovers, even if you can outsmart the app, you can’t hack human connection. (New York Magazine; alternate link)

“I’m not exaggerating. I got 300 likes in a week.”

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