The Art of Incentives

Art of Incentives

Incentives run the world. Most people never see them.
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What this is

Every deal has a hidden
architecture. Most people never look.

Every week, one company, one deal, one industry — pulled apart. Not to prosecute. Not to outrage. To understand. The incentive structures that shape how money moves, who wins, and why the obvious answer is almost never the real one.

Format
One topic. Deep analysis. No fluff.
Tone
Fascinated analyst — not gotcha journalist.
Cadence
Weekly on Substack. Carousels on LinkedIn & Instagram.

Recent topics

All issues
Real Estate · Fast Food
McDonald's
The world's largest fast food chain is actually a real estate company. The burger is the rent collector.
Streaming · Music
Spotify
Artists get fractions of a cent. Labels get equity. Understanding who Spotify was actually built for.
Aviation · Fees
Ryanair
The cheapest seat in the air is a loss leader. The real product is everything that comes after you click "book".
AI · Investment
Amazon & Anthropic
A $4B investment that isn't really an investment. How cloud commitments blur the line between customer and backer.
Fitness · Subscriptions
Gym Memberships
Gyms are only profitable if you don't show up. The business model that depends on your good intentions failing.
Publishing · Academia
Academic Publishing
Researchers write it for free. Peer reviewers check it for free. Universities pay billions to read it back.

Start seeing
the mechanics.

Every week, one incentive structure explained clearly. Free on Substack. No noise — just the analysis.

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