I've been working on a theory. I call it "community is the new scarcity", or "the unbundling of venture capital"
Let's try this, hive-mind.
Let's try this, hive-mind.
1/ in the 90's and 2000's, capital was the bottleneck to starting up. You needed $5-10M from Sand Hill to build all that infrastructure.
2/ In the mid 2000s — mid 2010's, that changed. Engineering became the new scarcity. Anyone can start up... so long as you can code. Enter YC:
3/ Today, it's never been easier to start up. You can no-code your way to MVP with @webflow, @airtable... you can learn to code online with @LambdaSchool or figure it out on your own... build a brand/distribution on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter.
4/ But while anyone can now start building a company, lots of great people are still sitting on the sidelines. Why?
The scarcity has shifted.
To what?
The scarcity has shifted.
To what?
4(a)/ Access to talent and co-founders: conventional wisdom holds that founders should know each other or have worked together prior to starting a startup.
We believe this to be false: founders can be matched or meet randomly, and we engineer this serendipity at @beondeck.
We believe this to be false: founders can be matched or meet randomly, and we engineer this serendipity at @beondeck.
4(b) User attention and distribution: in an industry driven to “build something people want”, attention has never been more scarce.
Getting buy-in from a network of well-connected, committed early adopters can be the difference between life or death for a new product.
Getting buy-in from a network of well-connected, committed early adopters can be the difference between life or death for a new product.
5/ The best founders know this, and lean into it. Building as part of a strong community helps you lift above the noise.. hire the right people, build the right product. Last week @seanlinehan told me this: 
6/ Let's go deeper.
College is a bundle of three things: curriculum, credential, and community.
You leave with a credential, but community is often overlooked. Most great opportunities come from who you met, not what you learned.
College is a bundle of three things: curriculum, credential, and community.
You leave with a credential, but community is often overlooked. Most great opportunities come from who you met, not what you learned.
7/ Venture capital — and particularly the accelerator model of VC — is a bundle of three things: capital, credential, and community.
They all give you capital. The best ones also give you a credential ("backed by X"). Many talk about building community... some do it well.
They all give you capital. The best ones also give you a credential ("backed by X"). Many talk about building community... some do it well.
8/ This venture capital bundle has proven lucrative, resulting in some of the best investment returns of all time.
But over the course of history, value accrues at the transition between unbundling, and re-bundling of products and services.
But over the course of history, value accrues at the transition between unbundling, and re-bundling of products and services.
9/ But something's different here. Community — almost by definition — must be scarce. If it gets too big, if just anyone can get in, it's less intimate. Less valuable.
Figuring out how to thoughtfully scale community is probably 90% of my job at @beondeck. Story for another day.
Figuring out how to thoughtfully scale community is probably 90% of my job at @beondeck. Story for another day.
10/ When demand for components of a bundle become unbalanced, opportunity arises.
We believe entrepreneurs deserve a better community, without giving up big chunks of their cap tables.
h/t @IamBrandonHill for my new favorite catch-phrase...
We believe entrepreneurs deserve a better community, without giving up big chunks of their cap tables.
h/t @IamBrandonHill for my new favorite catch-phrase...
