Name the criteria
What matters to this choice?. A comparison should show the shape of the decision, not only its final order.
A place for a more considered decision
Think itthrough.
The criteria you can name.
The weights you can inspect.
The assumptions that change the choice.
An independent publicationVol. 01 / 54 notesChicago, Illinois
01 / The premise
A place for comparing ideas without hiding the judgments behind the numbers.
Name your criteria. Surface your assumptions. See what changes your choice.
The work is not the score. The work is knowing what the score is made of.
Read the standardsNo matter the unknown,
we will find it.
- 01The criteria you can name.
- 02The weights you can inspect.
- 03The assumptions that change the choice.
- 04The option you almost chose.
- 05The evidence behind the score.
- 06The reason you can defend.
A decision is a set of visible judgments.
02 / The method
Name the criteria.
Show the weight.
Keep a way back.
A comparison is only useful when you can see the assumptions inside it. The board keeps the criteria, the weights, and the calculation in the same room.
Board / model 01Show the weight
How much weight does it deserve?. A comparison should show the shape of the decision, not only its final order.
Keep a way back
What could change your mind?. A comparison should show the shape of the decision, not only its final order.
03 / The field notes
Mission after mission:
reasons worth keeping.
01Decision methods
TypeSafe AI Raises $870M at $7.5B, One of 2026's Largest Series A Rounds
The round size relative to stage signals investors are pricing AI infrastructure bets years ahead of revenue proof, not behind it.
02Comparison method
Etched Draws $40-50B Takeover Talk Before Any Term Sheet Exists
Reported offer range for the AI chip startup sits far ahead of a signed deal, and that gap is the story.
03Evidence study
CADDi raises $114M Series D, hits $1.2B valuation
The manufacturing-data startup's new round pushes total funding to $234 million, a jump that tests how far investors will stretch multiples on industrial software.
04
Option screening
OpenAI Puts $1 Billion Behind AI Security for Power Grids, Utilities
The pledge signals where frontier AI vendors expect regulatory and liability pressure to land first, and it gives operators a new budget line to scrutinize.
05Field guide
Accel Talks Value Thinking Machines at $40B on $100M Run Rate
A reported funding round would price the Mira Murati startup at roughly 400 times its disclosed revenue run rate, a multiple that tests how far AI lab valuations can stretch beyond lab economics.
06
Field guide
Wonderful Doubles Valuation to $5B on $550M Series C Burn Rate
The jump in under six months tests whether hiring forward-deployed engineers ahead of revenue can justify a private markup this steep.
Drag or scroll the field notes →
04 / The board
Engineered for
every need.
Maximum transparency, faster comparison, or a record you can defend. Whatever the decision, there is a way to show the working.
- Criteria
- Named, weighted, editable
- Sensitivity
- See which weights change the winner
- Record
- Inputs and calculations, exportable
Live calculationSensitivity / weight +0.05
HS-01 / decision surface05 / The publisher
Made in Chicago.
Made to be inspected.
Steady Ideas is an independent publication by Awesome Patel. It publishes practical guides and a browser comparison board for decisions with visible criteria, assumptions, and tradeoffs.
Read the standardsA question to keep
What would
change your mind?
Start with the criteria. Leave with a reason you can defend.
Try the comparison board↗