Amazing podcast episode on frameworks for evaluating startup ideas with Mike Maples, Jr (Founding Partner at Floodgate, ex-Product at Silicon Graphics) on Lenny's Podcast. 🎧
Here are some fun takeaways:
📈 Pivoting to Success:
● 85% of the successes in Mike's portfolio come from startups that had a fundamental pivot in their journey. This highlights that our initial validation is only a minor chapter in a venture's lifecycle.
🔍 Breakout Concepts:
● Startups need to be radically different from incumbents to succeed.
● Inflections are external changes that promote radical change. Incremental improvements, like Moore’s Law, are not inflections. AI itself isn't an inflection, but some models, like LLMs, are.
💡 Earned Insight:
● Startups need to be both non-consensus and right.
● Insights allow startups to escape comparison traps with incumbents.
● "Live in the future & build what’s missing."
👥 Founder/Future Fit:
● Founders need to be obsessed with the future of the problem.
● Sometimes, a team lacking experience is better suited for the future, seeing new possibilities. Other times, seasoned expertise and a proven track record are crucial for building customer trust.
● Greatness hinges on how authentically a team aligns with the future they aim to create.