Candles get extinguished by the wind. Fires get bigger because of the wind. Be like the fire, not the candle.
Category: business
Future Value
Working on interesting problems entails working on something that has most of its value locked in the future. Less interesting problems (jobs) means that the value has been unlocked and you are getting the maximum bang for your work. Most up and coming businesses have their value locked in the future. For example a company… Continue reading Future Value
Karma Is BS
People often talk about how weird it is that good things seem to happen to generous people. And how bad things seem to happen to selfish people. I have the opposite view. I do not find it surprising in the least that generous people do well. Whatever you do for income, you are being rewarded… Continue reading Karma Is BS
Playing At The Edge
Few people realise that most medicinal breakthroughs were the result of complete luck and serendipity. Only about two HIV medications are the result of huge financial investments and research. Everything else, from antibiotics to chemotherapy treatments are a result of luck. After we discovered these drugs, we then figured out the science behind the medications… Continue reading Playing At The Edge
It’s Neither Either Nor Or
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. It never ceases to amaze me how few people are genuinely intellectually curious about ideas. This becomes painfully obvious when you discuss startup ideas with people. Most people don't like ideas, particularly of the new variety. So they instinctively go through a list of… Continue reading It’s Neither Either Nor Or
How To Get Great Startup Ideas
Entrepreneurs solve problems. They create a solution which people give them money for. People who haven't started a business before often look for problems to solve. A lot of the time these people can't seem to find that elusive perfect problem to solve. If you're in this situation, then stop looking! Instead become a more… Continue reading How To Get Great Startup Ideas
Is It The Same Difference?
20 x 1 = 20 & 1 x 20 = 20 The lie you've been told is that the order of events doesn't matter. You've been told that if you have the same inputs and outputs then it's all the same. But this is a lie. The sequence and order of events matter a great… Continue reading Is It The Same Difference?
We’re All Biased
You can consider optimism and pessimism as two different types of biases. "Optimists" supposedly see the world in a way where things are better than they actually are. "Pessimists" supposedly see the world in a way where things are worse than they actually are. "Realists" are meant to be the people who see the world… Continue reading We’re All Biased
Time As Arbitrage
Be very weary of anything which will reduce the time you have to accomplish something. Time is undervalued and underappreciated. Sometimes it's tempting to do something which will give you a short term gain, but that will reduce the time you have to accomplish X,Y and Z. For example if you take anabolic steroids, it may… Continue reading Time As Arbitrage
Always Aim To Beat The Competition Without Competing
Imagine you're trying to compete with Coca-Cola by creating a new soft drink. A room full of business types would probably get together and say that you need to develop a drink that you can drink a lot of, tastes better and is cheaper. But funnily enough Red Bull came along and made tiny cans,… Continue reading Always Aim To Beat The Competition Without Competing