1/14 In cutting edge startup fields, there is one predictor of success that is more important than product, idea, or even execution. It's hiring. When talent is scarce, how do you know which company will get the talent to grow to a $10B enterprise?
2/14 If you're in an emergent field, from crypto, to AI, to biotech, the compensation is massive, and so just paying top dollar doesn't matter. In fact, most execs you'll want to hire at C-Suite levels are probably already independently wealthy. So how is top talent secured?
3/14 At these early stages (seed - to Series A) it's the exact same metric that seems to drive a lot of VC decisions: -Founder Vision.
4/14 Have you ever watched a video of @sama? When I've read some of his ideas in the past (like with @worldcoin ) I flat out called it an evil villian arc and thought he simply didn't care about the issues around privacy for sake of profit
5/14 But, when you listen to him speak, and you watch him on video, you go: "Oh, shit, he really deeply believes in this stuff" And that's fundamentally important.
6/14 You see, there are lots of great founders who can make $100M businesses on execution. There are very few who can make multi-billion dollar businesses. And there are even less who can change an industry, or the world.
7/14 It's that deep passion *for* something beyond just business success that allows a business to take on fundamental risks that let it leap frog the competition. But it's also that passion and purpose that bring the best talent on board to achieve that vision.
8/14 Purpose isn't something you can buy or recreate in a lab. It's why venture studios get good runs on bases but never hit a home run. It's why no amount of VC funding turns executors into visionaries.
9/14 And this doesn't just apply for big businesses. It applies at every stage of the building process, regardless of what you want to build.
10/14 Finding the right talent for that journey, isn't just about having a good idea, or a lucrative project. It's not about job perks, or compensation (assuming the compensation isn't crap). It's about building something worth building.
11/14 And so one of the most important jobs, any founder has, is simply to sell you on the vision. Not for sake of VC dollars, or customers, but so that your company grows with believers, and not just with mercenaries. Because that changes the trajectory entirely.
12/14 It's why when folks like Sam Altman throw out crazy numbers in fundraising for ChatGPT or a chips startup, people take it seriously. But other AI startups could only fundraise a sliver of that amount. There is a tremendous power, in what we believe.
13/14 And I think that's in part why crypto innovation has slowed. Early adopters who believed in the principles of this space built incredible things that moved forward in leaps. Wealth seekers currently build things that move forward in inches.
14/14 There are still believers building businesses that aim to leap us forward. But if you want to move forward on a grand scale, find a business that believes in something. You'll move more slowly; but you'll go a lot further in the long run.
@adamscochran Why I’m a believer in the @MeritCircle_IO team.