Marginalia · Saturday essay
One system,
read closely.
Every Saturday I take one incentive structure apart: a bonus formula, a contract clause, a reporting line, a career decision. 800 to 1,500 words. No news cycle. No stock picks.
Free. One email on Saturday. Unsubscribe in one click.
The Saturday letter from Matteo Marinelli. 8,000+ people follow the work on X.
What arrives on Saturday
The mechanism
A clause, a formula, a reporting line, and the behavior it produced.
The trade-off
Who captured the upside, who absorbed the downside, and why the arrangement survived.
The test
A number, threshold, or structure you can check against your own organization on Monday.
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Who writes it
I'm Matteo Marinelli. I spent my early twenties brokering physical commodities and building a research business, and I'm a CFA Level III candidate.
Marginalia is where I work out the part that finance and strategy writing usually skips: the incentive structure that made the outcome inevitable.
I write for people who have to make the decision.
No pitch.
Marginalia is free and stays free. There is no course and no retainer. The letter is the product.
If an issue is useful, forward it. If it is not, unsubscribe.
Questions
How often does it arrive?
One issue every Saturday morning.
How long is an issue?
800 to 1,500 words. Usually a seven-minute read.
What is it about?
Incentives, contracts, organizational design, and the parts of a career that do not show up in a job description.
Will you try to sell me something?
No. The letter is the product. There is no course or consulting offer attached.
Can I read before subscribing?
Yes. The archive is public. Start with the latest issue.
The Saturday letter
Read one system closely.
Free, one email a week. Written for people who have to make the decision.
Free. One email on Saturday. Unsubscribe in one click.
The Saturday letter from Matteo Marinelli. 8,000+ people follow the work on X.
Privacy
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