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1/ I loved the @rabois episode on Invest Like The Best. @patrick_oshag has done some fantastic ones (Michael Recce, @CliffordAsness, several others) but this was my fav. Some takeaways that stuck out to me:
investorfieldguide.com/rabois/
investorfieldguide.com/rabois/
3/ So uniquely different than how most of Silicon Valley thinks about the world. He cited inspiration from
4/ “There has to be something anomalous because you don't take over the world from scratch by following a standard playbook. So unless you can see something that is special and very unusual, there is no chance that this is the top 100 companies of all time.”
5/ I don’t know that the sentiment is particularly unique but the clarity with which Keith talks I think is powerful. He made the pt as well that the business should be easier to run each year – perhaps because of network effects.
6/ “Most decisions in a startup need to be made with 70% conviction so getting really proficient at making smart decisions at 70% conviction is what makes an executive thrive.”
7/ I loved this deeply. Its something I and my co-founder have struggled with at times, team members and board members have struggled with. Its ever present and IMO so important.
8/ I see this most often getting ignored by founders/team members that are used to perfect in their lives and can’t tolerate imperfection or ambiguity. I was also reminded of this: greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/h…
9/ “10% here and there isn't going to cut it, you need zeros... Steve Jobs would talk a lot about how saying no to good ideas allowed Apple to do the 1-4 amazing ideas. if you allow people to ship the 10% ideas, they aren't going to find the 10x ideas."
10/ The quarterly OKR system and quarterly meetings sometimes let a team slip into just optimizing for that quarter’s growth, as opposed to stepping back and saying are we building something that can grow by 10x. I’ve slipped into that mistake myself many times.
11/ “Every business, when it works, is an equation (XxYxZ with some weighting). Understanding that equation in your brain and being able to manipulate the variables is the key to being strategic.”
12/ That is such a clarifying statement that reflects something I have long thought but haven’t been able to articulate as intelligently. Also love what it implies- if you don’t know the equation then perhaps you aren’t the right CEO or the business needs some major changes.
13/ “Working hard gets you ahead.” Politically incorrect in Silicon Valley for some bizarre reason but I deeply believe it.
Repeated here by @sama
blog.samaltman.com/how-to-be-succ…
Repeated here by @sama
blog.samaltman.com/how-to-be-succ…
14/ / “I think most investors forget the lessons of strategy: differentiation is your friend (YC is an exception).”
We talk a lot about product differentiation in a way that matters to the consumer. Not novel insight, but I think his language is memorable and powerful.
We talk a lot about product differentiation in a way that matters to the consumer. Not novel insight, but I think his language is memorable and powerful.
