Julian Shapiro is a venture capital investor at Deep Checks who built one of the web's most-read free handbook libraries where each handbook takes around 500 hours to research and rewrite, and created Velocity.js, a widely adopted animation engine used by companies like Samsung, Uber, and WhatsApp. He runs Deep Checks as a productized deeptech investing platform that routes founders to 50+ specialized VCs while also operating Julian Capital as a hands-on fund that becomes portfolio companies' growth team, builds their websites, and provides a proprietary CRM network of thousands of scientist-founders for introductions to customers and suppliers.

• A strong focus on deep technology and hard sciences. There is a clear preference for funding and analyzing startups tackling complex engineering challenges in fields like hardware, robotics, energy, and space. A significant portion of the recent commentary dissects a company called Reflect Orbital, which aims to use orbiting mirrors to reflect sunlight onto solar farms at night, detailing the physics and economics enabled by reduced launch costs.
• An obsession with rigorous product testing and optimization of consumer goods. He dedicated years and thousands of dollars to systematically testing top-rated items on Amazon to find the absolute best version of everyday goods. This resulted in a curated list of superior products ranging from specific protein bars and salsas to dog treats, emphasizing high performance even in mundane categories.
• A philosophy that storytelling is a critical growth engine for startups. The analysis suggests that distribution relies heavily on how value is perceived through narrative rather than just the product features itself. He highlighted a concept regarding origin stories using an education company called Synthesis as an example, noting how they succeeded by marketing themselves as a spinoff of a school Elon Musk originally created for his own children.
• Insights into content strategy and audience psychology. He argues against the common belief that people have short attention spans, suggesting instead that they have short consideration spans. The advice is that creators should not fear producing deep, long-form work, as people willingly consume hours of content, provided the first minute effectively hooks them.