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That is insightful but also depressing. Paraphrasing... 1) the incentives are set up to create more companies like Joon, but 2) the nature of the solution space

That is insightful but also depressing. Paraphrasing... 1) the incentives are set up to create more companies like Joon, but 2) the nature of the solution space ensures those companies tend to be parasitic on society rather than helpful. i.e. all solutions in this space will be net negative on society, but the space is too fertile so solutions will grow and find traction. Externality perfect storm. Do you think there's a way Joon can take their mindshare and pivot their audience towards healthier behaviors without tanking their business?

ChicagoBoy11 5y ago
> all solutions in this space will be net negative on society, but the space is too fertile so solutions will grow and find traction. To me, its a bit more about being stuck in a sub-optimal steady state. If we take this as an example, "the right", or optimal way to parent someone through these challenges, has become just too difficult. It is too steep a gradient to climb, so sub-optimal alternatives like this get a lot of traction. But then these sub-optimal alternatives actually change the landscape of the domain itself, making climbing the gradient to the optimal solution even tougher. It becomes self-fulfilling, and the optimal solution becomes unreachable. (I once revealed to a parent that during a lesson a child tearfully revealed that she felt that her parents didn't care about what she had to say because they would always be on their phones at dinner instead of talking to her. When I suggested revisiting that culture at home, the parent scoffed at me and ridiculed what I was suggesting, for surely no family could operate like that). If you ever see a family at a restaurant with a younger child glued to a screen, you instinctively recognize the effect I'm talking about. Surely not getting your toddler glued to a screen as you are out in the world is the right way to raise them. But it is hard. And, the fact is, you know there exists something there that can instantly get them to behave. So you gravitate towards it -- perhaps initially, JUST THIS ONE TIME. But of course now, it gets much harder not to do this again. And we're off to the races. If I can allow myself to get on a soapbox for a moment, I think the fake news phenomenon illustrates this so well. Never, in the history of humanity, has it been so easy to learn/know things. Yet it seems that at the same time, never have so many humans been certain of their completely false beliefs. At some point, you need to recognize that really the issue we have is one of demand, and sadly for us I don't think we really demand the things that we really need a whole lot of the time. This goes with these parenting apps, gyms, news, etc. Tech is just devilishly efficient at a lot of things, so I think we notice it more readily there. steps off soapbox
beepbooptheory 5y ago
Maybe there are just some things that can't be fixed in this world with the tool of venture capital. And if so, childcare and education are definitely good candidates.

ChicagoBoy11 5y ago

> all solutions in this space will be net negative on society, but the space is too fertile so solutions will grow and find traction. To me, its a bit more about being stuck in a sub-optimal steady state. If we take this as an example, "the right", or optimal way to parent someone through these challenges, has become just too difficult. It is too steep a gradient to climb, so sub-optimal alternatives like this get a lot of traction. But then these sub-optimal alternatives actually change the landscape of the domain itself, making climbing the gradient to the optimal solution even tougher. It becomes self-fulfilling, and the optimal solution becomes unreachable. (I once revealed to a parent that during a lesson a child tearfully revealed that she felt that her parents didn't care about what she had to say because they would always be on their phones at dinner instead of talking to her. When I suggested revisiting that culture at home, the parent scoffed at me and ridiculed what I was suggesting, for surely no family could operate like that). If you ever see a family at a restaurant with a younger child glued to a screen, you instinctively recognize the effect I'm talking about. Surely not getting your toddler glued to a screen as you are out in the world is the right way to raise them. But it is hard. And, the fact is, you know there exists something there that can instantly get them to behave. So you gravitate towards it -- perhaps initially, JUST THIS ONE TIME. But of course now, it gets much harder not to do this again. And we're off to the races. If I can allow myself to get on a soapbox for a moment, I think the fake news phenomenon illustrates this so well. Never, in the history of humanity, has it been so easy to learn/know things. Yet it seems that at the same time, never have so many humans been certain of their completely false beliefs. At some point, you need to recognize that really the issue we have is one of demand, and sadly for us I don't think we really demand the things that we really need a whole lot of the time. This goes with these parenting apps, gyms, news, etc. Tech is just devilishly efficient at a lot of things, so I think we notice it more readily there. steps off soapbox

beepbooptheory 5y ago

Maybe there are just some things that can't be fixed in this world with the tool of venture capital. And if so, childcare and education are definitely good candidates.