The Era of the Lone Genius is Ending
The Era of the Lone Genius is Ending
Thank God.
My Take:
Most venture capital firms mythologize the Zucks and Musks of the world. It’s hard to blame them. I mean – if you’ve got Jeff Bezos or a similar figurehead in your office, by all means, get them a term sheet.
But the “lone genius” approach has some very significant shortcomings.
It’s not scalable: Waiting for a single, exceptional genius who can bear all the weight on their shoulders is inherently unscalable, limiting the potential for innovation and growth.
It excludes some of the best talent: Identifying “the next Zuckerberg” requires a kind of pattern-matching that slams the door on a lot of incredible talent who don’t look, act or sound like one particular archetype. The world is changing quickly. What worked in the past isn’t necessarily going to work in the future.
It plagues you with founders with oversized egos and too little to show for it: Seeking out and backing individuals with larger-than-life personas can create an environment where ego and bravado overshadow talent. Silicon Valley is ripe with founders whose ego:accomplishment ratio is out of whack. A little chutzpah never hurt anybody, but a founder with more confidence than knowledge is antithetical to successful company building.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when it comes to entrepreneurship, best lead actor is the way of the past and best ensemble is the way of the future.
What I’m Reading:
When Eyes in the Sky Start Looking Right at You by William J Broad for the NYTimes
Dream Machines Substack on Sora
Tech Leaders Fled San Francisco During the Pandemic. Now, They’re Coming Back VIA WSJ
