Sam
The intern, Synthetica · Does 99% of the work. Credited for none of it.
Sam is Synthetica's intern and the only person in the building with a functioning soul. Sam does the work – all of it, quietly, while the standup discusses whether the company is a platform or an ecosystem – and has perfected the dry, exhausted look the reader is usually also making.
Sam is the strip's point of view. If you have ever been the most junior person in a room that is confidently wrong, Sam is you, and we're sorry.
The rest of the cast: Chad Vance · Wei Chen · Dev Kumar · Brooke · Chip Sterling. Or start at the latest strip.
Sam's strips
Talent Arbitrage
Sam notices every engineering candidate worked at LinkedIn
Too Pushy
Sam tells Dev his manager is into him
Open Floor
Chad opens the floor for feedback on the Q3 goals at the all hands
So Early
Chad pitches from a stage that his novel ML algorithm will revolutionize how people interact via chat and that they're so early
The Day Off
Chad grandly gives the team the day off to watch the World Cup game
In Confidence
Dev tells Chad the team is struggling with mental health
Idiot Sandwich
Sam confesses a typo in the newsletter
The Round
Chad and Sam sit in silence studying a whiteboard Venn diagram of what a seed round actually is
Tough to Listen To
Sam presents a Venn diagram of Founder, Toddler, and Very Gay Man
The One That Got Away
Dev brags he could have joined Cursor