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Reid Hoffman at Startup School SV 2016

From Y Combinator · Published Jul 22, 2017 · Watch on YouTube

TL;DR

Reid Hoffman predicts a high likelihood of another cognitive species (AI or new Homo genus) within 50-100 years and argues that successful product invention requires a deep theory of human nature. He emphasizes that doing one thing really right (e.g., building a strong network, testing distribution, flexible persistence) is more important than avoiding mistakes.

Key insights

  • Most people cannot articulate a robust theory of human nature, yet it is essential for inventing mass-market consumer products; Hoffman invests in “one or more of the seven deadly sins” to force found
  • “First mover” means first to scale, not first to market; the company that scales first typically wins the market.
  • If you cannot see a path to $100M annual revenue with good growth after that, you have zero chance of being a standalone tech company.

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