- I question whether it's a supply-side issue over the type of demand? I say this because of the skewed distribution of capital based on founder characteristics; and
- Why don't VCs take on more portfolio companies (similar to how some rolling funds operate)? They don't seem to be seeing this supply issue?
It's a great thesis, but I think the problems underlying the supply arise from issues surrounding what's in demand.
This resonates with me. At a high level, there are a few problems to be solved, if the end goal is to produce more great companies.
1. Mental stability to explore and take risks. This can be thought of two ways; either you are internally healthy enough to ride out the lows (economically, interpersonally, etc.) or you have the *external* backstops to provide help during those times (rich parents, loving partner, great team.) Certainly you can't have 100 externally and 0 internally; the same could be said of the inverse. How do we map out each of the internal and external problems that block individuals and fix those? How do we boost average internal and external factors and make them great?
2. The notion of a "Company" in and of itself. Companies are simply entities that people organize around to accomplish things in a capitalist society. We could either: a) get rid of capitalism or b) decouple a single entity (the Company) from value created and economic gains accrued. This "tokenization" is already happening a bit, but agree there are lots of innovations that could help provide more flexibility and unlock tons of value!
Great post! Agree that there could be a lot more founders. It's amazing to see people change from regular employee to founder, and see the personal growth they go through as part of it!
Great article - a couple of questions:
- I question whether it's a supply-side issue over the type of demand? I say this because of the skewed distribution of capital based on founder characteristics; and
- Why don't VCs take on more portfolio companies (similar to how some rolling funds operate)? They don't seem to be seeing this supply issue?
It's a great thesis, but I think the problems underlying the supply arise from issues surrounding what's in demand.
Great article. Could startup studios solve for this? Founders can take more shots and try more ideas.
This resonates with me. At a high level, there are a few problems to be solved, if the end goal is to produce more great companies.
1. Mental stability to explore and take risks. This can be thought of two ways; either you are internally healthy enough to ride out the lows (economically, interpersonally, etc.) or you have the *external* backstops to provide help during those times (rich parents, loving partner, great team.) Certainly you can't have 100 externally and 0 internally; the same could be said of the inverse. How do we map out each of the internal and external problems that block individuals and fix those? How do we boost average internal and external factors and make them great?
2. The notion of a "Company" in and of itself. Companies are simply entities that people organize around to accomplish things in a capitalist society. We could either: a) get rid of capitalism or b) decouple a single entity (the Company) from value created and economic gains accrued. This "tokenization" is already happening a bit, but agree there are lots of innovations that could help provide more flexibility and unlock tons of value!
Great post! Agree that there could be a lot more founders. It's amazing to see people change from regular employee to founder, and see the personal growth they go through as part of it!
Shameless plug: If anyone is looking for a summary of High Output Management, I wrote about 10k on it earlier this year: https://abi.substack.com/p/high-output-management-by-andy-grove