The value of being weird #startups

1. 0:00 – 0:37

   Tech’s cash influx attracts “normal” founders—and risks crowding out weirdness

   1. SPSpeaker0:00

      We do have this challenge that now that tech seems like such a money maker, and there's so much money invested in early-stage startups there are a lot of people who are not very weird, who are very attracted to this space. It's funny that I'm saying weird as like a positive, because I think in the normal context in America-

   2. SPSpeaker0:17

      Yeah

   3. SPSpeaker0:17

      ... weird isn't seen as positive. But like a lot of these ideas that worked seemed really weird, and a lot of the people, when you know them-

   4. SPSpeaker0:25

      Yeah

   5. SPSpeaker0:25

      ... are a little weird. So like how do you think about... You know, I sometimes wonder, is the tech startup wor- world as welcoming to weird people as it once was?

   6. SPSpeaker0:35

      Yeah.

   7. SPSpeaker0:36

      Well, how do you think about this?

2. 0:37 – 1:04

   Nonconformists generate ideas without asking permission

   1. SPSpeaker0:37

      I think it's a great point, and again, maybe this is just, you know, we're getting old or something.

   2. SPSpeaker0:42

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SPSpeaker0:43

      That's, that's an option.

   4. SPSpeaker0:43

      Sure.

   5. SPSpeaker0:44

      But people that are non-conformist or otherwise quirky in ways that you would describe as, uh, quirky is the nice way to say it. [laughs]

   6. SPSpeaker0:53

      [laughs]

   7. SPSpeaker0:53

      But like, like it, they, they tend to do their own weird stuff, and they don't usually need to ask permission. Like they, they constantly are generating strange ideas on their own.

   8. SPSpeaker1:04

      Yes.

3. 1:04 – 1:17

   Society and institutions suppress unconventional thinking

   1. SPSpeaker1:04

      And if anything, society tells them, "Hey, like-

   2. SPSpeaker1:07

      Ugh. [laughs]

   3. SPSpeaker1:08

      ... you know, like shut up."

   4. SPSpeaker1:09

      [laughs] Yeah.

   5. SPSpeaker1:09

      "Like we don't wanna hear-

   6. SPSpeaker1:10

      Yeah

   7. SPSpeaker1:10

      ... all your dumb ideas-

   8. SPSpeaker1:12

      [laughs]

   9. SPSpeaker1:12

      ... on how to make things work better."

   10. SPSpeaker1:14

       Yeah, yeah.

   11. SPSpeaker1:14

       Right? That's like-

   12. SPSpeaker1:15

       Yes

   13. SPSpeaker1:15

       ... like the system grinds that out of you.

   14. SPSpeaker1:17

       Yes.

4. 1:17 – 1:29

   Why weird people fit startups: uniqueness is not their bottleneck

   1. SPSpeaker1:17

      Those people tend to do well with startups, because-

   2. SPSpeaker1:19

      Yes

   3. SPSpeaker1:19

      ... they don't actually have any problems coming up with unique ideas.

   4. SPSpeaker1:22

      Yes, yes.

   5. SPSpeaker1:23

      Probably their bigger problem is filtering out, deciding which unique idea is worth their time-

   6. SPSpeaker1:27

      Yes

   7. SPSpeaker1:27

      ... 'cause they're always coming up with ideas.

   8. SPSpeaker1:29

      Yes.

5. 1:29 – 1:40

   Consensus-driven skill sets can hinder originality

   1. SPSpeaker1:29

      Versus a lot of systems or consensus machines-

   2. SPSpeaker1:32

      Yes

   3. SPSpeaker1:33

      ... and they t- and people that are really good at calibrating and triangulating consensus, those tend to be people that have the hardest time coming up with unique ideas.

Episode duration: 1:40