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All I keep hearing from founders/investors is how they'll make an exit. Are these enterprises that acquire those companies so blinded that they are unable to see the agenda's of these startups. It feels like everyone (investors, founders, employees) in this together, and the entire motive of the game is make an exit. I thought we were all trying to make innovation and startup culture was meant to disrupt the entire game and not to play it very cunningly. Blind, I'm sorry about the rant, this is just a budding entrepreneur whose trying to understand this mess. Would love to hear opinions, and help me understand/evaluate what's actually happening.
Depends on the startup. You know all the big companies today were startups once right? And there's companies ipo'd and living in 5-20b mkt cap range doing okay.... You aren't talking to the right startups. There's no way snowflake founder is just talking about making an exit, right?
There's actually a shift happening at the tech VCs where they are focusing more on the psyche of the founders and not trying to weed out the uber's, but have an exit ramp pre-designed for the unscalable founders as early as profitably-possible. The psychopaths will always have a slight advantage at the startup stage, but they can't and won't scale. The art of the next two rounds of funds (2 decades) will be trying to figure out how to automate the strengths of the positive traits of psychopaths into more startups without the negative traits. It's a natural shift from chaos to standards that's happened in every industrial revolution. CS is still in its early adolescence and we're enjoying the realities of that. Learn to find founders that are primarily inspired for changing the world, not their legacy and pocketbook. Unpacking their motivation is the biggest hurdle from all perspectives, so you're not alone.
Now, this is interesting. Why do you refer to them as psychopaths necessarily? And how do you think budding entrepreneurs should proceed forward? Would you suggest they learn the trade by work up the ladder and then starting up?
It's the common term: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/15/silicon-valley-psychopath-ceo-sxsw-panel But more specifically, their primary positive trait is ability to see and act upon a future that doesn't exist (yet). They use that trait and make that future become a reality. The negative list is available on psychology.com but centers around their disdain and distuction for anyone that doesn't see the future they see in their heads. Once that future starts to materialize, a small portion of them take their position of power and destroy themselves with totally unacceptable behaviour and take thousands or millions of people's lives down with them.
Wow.. this is an interesting perspective that you have given. Just wanted to know what you do for living? And how you ended up with this viewpoints?
I'm nobody really. I've been CEO and dishwasher. I've worked at or led startups, some under a16z. Coached execs at co's as high as Fortune 10. Lived a lot of life, am blessed, and am still very optimistic.
Very cool. Would it be alright if I reach you out on topics like these?
If you're looking to be a great innovator, laser focus on the customers' problem that you're solving. Do it 10-100x better than anyone else. Only be, or work for, a leader that sees the customer delight as the #1 reason they get out of bed. And be patient to be/find them. I've been asked many times: "what's the exit strategy." I only ever answer, now, that my strategy is make the world a better place, and when I've achieved that with my current mission statement, I'll find another mission statement and do it again. My exit strategy from that is death.
The game has always been about making an exit. 1 successful exit for a VC recoups the loss of 9 shitty investments many times over. 1 successful exit for a founder means their grandkids won’t have to work. Employees, we get sold on the dream and make others rich.
I understand that, but is that the only goal. Why do these founders talk about stuff like innovation, disruption, changing the world?
They talk about stuff because they sell dreams and ideas. It's hard to sell the idea of making you rich to anyone.