Completing 4 years today at @huggingface today! I am deeply grateful to call it my workplace 🤗 It has enabled a kind of growth that I wouldn't have thought for myself otherwise, even in my wildest dreams. But more importantly, it has made me kinder, more compassionate, and less complacent. I have nothing but gratitude. I am writing this with a lot of emotions. They say "emotion clouds your judgement". But emotions only grow out of genuine places and this place is nothing but genuine! Genuine people, genuine work, and genuine impact (even the banters are genuine)! I felt like it's a good time to remind myself of this portion from McConaughey's famous speech at the Oscars: "So, to any of us, [...], whatever it is we look up to, whatever it is we look forward to, and whoever it is we're chasing, to that I say, 'Amen.' To that I say, 'Alright, alright, alright.'"

Subtitle of next essay. See if you can guess which company I am writing about. Their god complex is starting to wear thin, just as their valuation is declining, and their true colors are starting to come out.

A CALL FOR ATTENTION TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP President Donald Trump, I am writing to bring to your attention the difficult situation I am facing in Ogun State, Nigeria. I am currently experiencing severe financial hardship (what we call “Sapa” — a severe lack of money). I appeal to the United States and the international community to please assist me with any amount of money that can help me sustain myself. I do not want to lack basic needs or the things required to live a decent life. Please help me.
@realDonaldTrump @UN

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APPLE $AAPL CEO TIM COOK JUST SENT HIS LAST LETTER TO APPLE EMPLOYEES AS CEO: This is what he said via Bloomberg "Team, Today is my last day as CEO of Apple. This is a moment I always knew would come one day, and yet it is still hard to believe it has arrived and I am writing these words. I love this company and the team behind it, and I couldn’t let this day pass without sending a note to you to tell you how grateful I am for the outpouring of affection you’ve sent my way, for the way you’ve shown up each and every day, and most of all, for the privilege of a lifetime serving as your leader. The truth is, whatever there is to say about my success, I know it is all because of you. You have brought out the best in me. In all my life, I have never seen or been with such an extraordinary team of people before, and every day I get to see more examples of that. There is something truly special about Apple. I am most proud of what an annual report could never capture. This place is proof that culture triumphs over everything. We share a belief that what we build matters and that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it. That purpose is part of what makes this place extraordinary. Apple helps nurture it, but I believe it lived within each of you long before you arrived here. It is what brought you to this company and what continues to drive the work you do every day. Together, we have created something far greater than any one of us could have imagined or accomplished alone. And that’s the secret to our success. We bring out the best in each other. We lift each other up. We have made it possible to leave our “dent in the universe,” as Steve once described it, because of who we are and what we believe, because of what we value and how we see the world. How fortunate we are. How fortunate I am. As you know, I am not leaving Apple. But I am stepping away from a role that I have loved deeply. I will miss this work in ways I can only begin to imagine, even as I remain completely at peace with my decision. I will miss leading you and being with you for every step, even as I take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John. Few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does and I could not be more excited for his leadership. I hope you know how much I appreciate you and what an honor it has been to be your CEO. Most of all, I hope you will continue to be proud to be part of this remarkable place we call Apple and always give it your very best. When we bring our whole selves to this work, with care for one another and for the people we serve, there is no limit to the profound difference we can make. I look forward to seeing you in my new role at Apple Park and around the world. With all I have and all I am, I am always. Yours, Tim"

💌 9.39PM Hello Villains, This is Gun-il I think this will probably be my last greeting to you as a member of Xdinary Heroes. I really wanted to remain Xdinary Heroes until the very end, and I wanted to protect the six-member Xdinary Heroes. But as you all know, I had no choice but to accept the company’s decision Even now, it still doesn’t feel real to me. There are so many things I want to say to Villains. I still don’t know where or how to begin. But now that I am no longer a member of Xdinary Heroes, I don’t want to hide the truth or make excuses with lies just to protect myself. I believe there are things that I need to tell you myself, which is why I am writing this. First of all, the person who wrote the post that started all of this was someone I met through an acquaintance and we dated for about two weeks. At the time, I was mentally very exhausted because of the malicious comments and false rumors about me that had been going on for some time, as well as the various concerns I had about XDIZ’s music and performances. Rather than burdening the people close to me by opening up about how I was feeling, I was at a point where it felt easier to vent my frustrations to a stranger who didn’t really know me. The person who made the inappropriate remarks about fans in the phone recording that was made public to Villains was indeed me. Regardless of the reason, the fact that I said those things does not change. I sincerely apologize to everyone who was disappointed and hurt by what I said. However, I want to honestly explain what kind of situation and emotional state I was in at the time and who those words were directed toward. Earlier this year, sasaeng fans broke into our dorm, and they even put a tracking device on my personal vehicle and followed me around. After experiencing things like that, I developed a lot of fear and resentment toward certain malicious fans, and I went through a very difficult time emotionally. But because I was the leader and also the oldest hyung, I couldn’t easily talk about my fears or anxiety. I tried my best to control my emotions and carry on. Then, in June of this year, I prepared for the Inspire Arena concert with the members, wanting to give Villains the absolute best performance we could. We prepared incredibly hard, and after finishing the first day’s performance, I checked social media with excitement and anticipation. Of course, no performance can ever be perfect, and I believe we need to acknowledge our shortcomings and continue improving. However, that day, I saw a lot of malicious posts that went beyond criticism or opinions about the performance, things that were difficult for us to understand. Because it was a performance I had prepared with all my heart, I think I broke down emotionally a lot when I saw the unexpected criticism and malicious comments. That said, I didn’t want to cause worry to the company people or the members, so I couldn’t easily open up about my feelings. In the end, I poured out the emotions I had been holding back to someone I had only met not long ago, and in the process, I blurted out expressions that were too strong and wrong without hesitation. I never thought that conversation would be recorded and made public. However, regardless of whether it was made public, I am fully aware that the very fact that I said such a thing was wrong. There is only one thing I absolutely want to say. At the time, the people I was speaking about emotionally were some malicious fans who, hiding behind anonymity, recklessly blamed us and violated our privacy. It was never what I said to all the villains who believed in and supported us. I believe that because I have tried to show you the image of a diligent and reliable leader, the disappointment and sense of betrayal you may have felt through this matter must have been even greater. I sincerely feel very sorry about that.

Notes like this are the best part about starting a company: Hello Brian & Dharmesh,  I joined HubSpot in March 2013 as one of the early DubSpot team and after 13 incredible years this is my last month. Many times I've heard Brian talk about building a company that your grandkids can be proud of. I am writing this email partly to give you an insight into the incredible impact you've had on my life and partly because I imagine it is difficult for your family to appreciate the impact HubSpot has had on so many like me. I hope you share this with your family.  I joined HubSpot at 26 yrs old as a Level 1 Sales Rep. I was early in my sales career, highly motivated and eager to learn. HubSpot gave me an opportunity I couldn't have imagined and I didn't fully appreciate until later. I worked hard, learnt fast and chased targets. I moved to Manager and later moved to Sales Director. In January 2014, Nisha Anand joined as a Level 1 Support Rep. We met, fell in love and got married. She also worked hard, learnt fast and chased promotions. She is now a Principal Solutions Engineer on UK Corp.  Financially HubSpot has transformed our lives but it is more than that. Our friends are HubSpotters. At our Wedding there were tables of HubSpotters. There are family and friends in Leitrim and Belfast that still cannot explain what HubSpot does but they follow it in the news, check the stock price and ask us "what's happening at the big American company?". HubSpot is part of our life story. At every step of our lives HubSpot has been there:  - We timed our Wedding so we could take our sabbaticals for our Honeymoon.  - We sold HUBS shares to buy our first home - When Covid hit we continued progressing our careers working from home - We used tuition reimbursement to up-skill and learn at Harvard, UCD and Oxford. - We used the Temporary Mobility policy to work from London for 1 month during fertility treatment. It worked and we got pregnant. - When our twins girls arrived 10 weeks early and spent a month in hospital, HubSpot supported us. I had 6 weeks for Paternity leave plus used my 2nd sabbatical to be there for my family - My wife took 12 months of maternity leave plus her 2nd sabbatical and returned to continue progressing her career and recently triggered another promotion. - We sold HUBS again to move into a bigger home. My father tells me that I have spent one third of my working career at HubSpot. It is almost impossible to explain the impact HubSpot has had on my life. What an amazing company. I hope you and your family are incredibly proud of what you have built. For the rest of my life I will be grateful to you and HubSpot. Wishing you and your family all the best in the future.