Scale & Strategy
This is Scale & Strategy, the crypto newsletter that’s as satisfying as that first sip of Coca-Cola from McDonald’s.
(We turn the syrup-to-soda ratio way up!)
Here’s what we got for you today:
- The AI Cloud War Just Went Global
- Why Humor Beats Hype in Copywriting
- Traffic Doesn’t Pay the Bills
The AI Cloud War Just Went Global
Jensen Huang’s been banging the “sovereign AI” drum since 2023—the idea that every country should build AI systems rooted in its own language, culture, and values. Now Europe’s listening.
2 week ago, the Nvidia CEO hit London, Paris, and Berlin like a tech-world diplomat, announcing partnerships and calling out Europe’s dependency on U.S. hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. His message? If you want to compete, build your own stack—and fast.
Governments are starting to move:
- The UK is throwing £1B at boosting compute.
- Macron straight-up called AI a “fight for sovereignty.”
- Germany’s backing a new Nvidia-powered AI cloud with Deutsche Telekom.
- The EU has a $20B plan to build four AI “gigafactories” to cut dependence on U.S. tech.
Here’s what to know:
- Even if countries go local, they’ll still need Nvidia’s chips.
- Nvidia and Mistral are building a new EU data center stacked with 18,000 GPUs.
- But Europe’s cost structure and energy grid could be major roadblocks.
When in doubt, build a factory.
The challenge? European AI startups like Mistral are operating with a fraction of the budget U.S. firms spend in a single quarter. They’ve raised just over $1B. Compare that to OpenAI’s burn rate, and it’s not even close.
Still, the wheels are turning. Between public money, new cloud alliances, and Nvidia’s global chip dominance, Europe’s starting to carve out its own lane.
Feels less like a Cold War and more like AI Risk. Everyone’s placing factories.
Why Humor Beats Hype in Copywriting
The job of copywriting isn’t just to “write something good.” It’s to get people to act.
That means being remembered. And to be remembered, you can’t sound like everyone else in their inbox.
Ben Watkins put it best: Humor cuts through. You don’t need to be a comedian—just a bit sharper than the default SaaS voice we’ve all learned to ignore.
The real reason it works?
Humor triggers surprise, lowers resistance, and builds connection. It’s persuasive without being pushy.
Here are five tools Ben swears by:
- Twist the obvious.
Start normal. End with something weird or unexpected. Think: “Still using spreadsheets? Might as well be faxing your taxes.”
- Roast real life.
Call out stuff your audience silently hates. Awkward Zoom intros, unread product manuals, endless approval chains—you get it.
- Blow it up.
Take a small truth and stretch it absurdly far. If a feature saves 10 minutes a week, pitch it as the secret to finally finishing your novel.
- Poke fun at yourself.
Own the flaws. Laugh at the clichés. It’s way more human than pretending you’ve solved death with your new calendar app.
- Play with words.
A good pun or clever phrasing can snap people out of skim mode. Just don’t get too cute—you’re not naming nail polish shades.
The common thread? Surprise.
Surprise makes people pay attention. And attention is the first step to conversion.
You don’t need jokes—just honesty, timing, and a little wit.
And please… retire the Borat references.
Traffic Doesn’t Pay the Bills
HubSpot asked 318 marketers what they care most about.
60% said: “More website traffic.”
That’s cute. But also wrong.
We’re in a zero-click world now.
Rand Fishkin broke it down:
Search demand is shrinking. Google, Reddit, and YouTube are answering people’s questions before they ever visit your site.
And the kicker? Even when traffic comes in, it doesn’t always matter.
Looks great in a dashboard. Doesn’t move revenue.
Traffic—unless it converts—is now a vanity metric.
What does matter:
- Product page views
- Conversions
- Branded search
- Off-site engagement
- Repeat visibility where it counts
Here’s the real story:
Rand looked at “first-time homebuyer” searches. Demand is dropping.
Why? People are getting advice in-platform—Reddit threads, YouTube walkthroughs, even Google snippets.
They’re not Googling “10 Tips for Buying Your First Home” and clicking on your perfectly optimized blog post.
They’re talking to real people. Reading answers that feel human. And never leaving the platform.
The lesson: be useful where people already are.
Reddit. TikTok. YouTube. Even comment sections.
SEO still has a seat at the table—but it’s not driving the car anymore.
So if your execs are yelling “we need more traffic,” it's time for a strategy shift.
You don’t win in 2025 with pageviews.
You win by showing up where people are actually making decisions.
Was this email forwarded to you?
That’s it for today and as always It would mean the world to us if you help us grow and share this newsletter with other operators.
Our mission is to help as many business operators as possible, and we would love for you to help us with that mission!
