4 ms·
I recall hearing a Peter Theil interview a couple of years ago where he hypotheses that social awkwardness is over-represented in successful founders because su
by mseebach 9y ago
I recall hearing a Peter Theil interview a couple of years ago where he hypotheses that social awkwardness is over-represented in successful founders because such people have been conditioned to heavily discount mainstream opinions. More socially integrated would-be entrepreneurs are more likely to listen to all the nay-sayers, "that's will never work", "who would want that?", "come join this investment bank/management consultancy with the cool kids" and never start the company.
- fratlas 9y agoThe older I get, the more I agree with this thinking. The best ideas I've had, business wise, have been shot down continuously by friends/coworkers.
- epicide 9y agoThis raises two other questions, though: 1) Was their success due to their idea being weird and nobody else was brave/crazy enough to pursue it or was it because they put in an inordinate amount of effort (and luck)? 2) How many others tried the same idea and failed? I imagine it was a little of both as well as a few other factors, but I find it unpalatable to basically boil it down to "being crazy enough to follow their dreams" (heavy paraphrasing, obviously).