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The difference between Nvidia and Intel is that Nvidia still has its founder at its head. A founder interested in seeing his company instead of just stonks go u

The difference between Nvidia and Intel is that Nvidia still has its founder at its head. A founder interested in seeing his company instead of just stonks go up up up. I have no doubt Nvidia will start losing its way when Huang retires, like almost all other founder-less companies such as Intel.

dangus 2y ago
I don't disagree with you that Nvidia has good leadership, and that Intel has bad leadership, but I take a bit of issue with this pedestal that founders are placed on. Being a founder doesn't magically make you the best person for the job of CEO of a company. Huang happens to be a very good leader, but a lot of founders become a drag on their companies later on. It's just an anecdote, I worked for one place where the company truly outgrew the founder's abilities. He was just some guy with an art degree who was at the right place at the right time with his dorm room business idea. I would argue that his lack of ability and experience squandered a lot of the later stage growth opportunities that could have made the company into a billion dollar public corporation. I think about a company like WeWork, that's a company that would not exist today if the founder was not kicked out. Some companies like McDonald's would never have expanded to be a household name if their founders were still in charge.
- Brian_K_White 2y ago
  Their point wasn't that founders are somehow wiser. The assertion was merely that founders care about the company. Their decisions may be no more prescient than anyone else's, but their decisions are reliably in different directions than anyone else's. Their goal is different, the direction they always aim is different, and that consistent aim has an effect over time regardless what mistakes and misfortunes happen along the way. If you have a specific and clear goal on the horizon and are always aiming for that even though you have to deal with obstacles closer in front of you, over time you still get somewhere. If your goal is just chasing whatever random butterflies float by, you get nowhere.

dangus 2y ago

I don't disagree with you that Nvidia has good leadership, and that Intel has bad leadership, but I take a bit of issue with this pedestal that founders are placed on. Being a founder doesn't magically make you the best person for the job of CEO of a company. Huang happens to be a very good leader, but a lot of founders become a drag on their companies later on. It's just an anecdote, I worked for one place where the company truly outgrew the founder's abilities. He was just some guy with an art degree who was at the right place at the right time with his dorm room business idea. I would argue that his lack of ability and experience squandered a lot of the later stage growth opportunities that could have made the company into a billion dollar public corporation. I think about a company like WeWork, that's a company that would not exist today if the founder was not kicked out. Some companies like McDonald's would never have expanded to be a household name if their founders were still in charge.

Brian_K_White 2y ago
Their point wasn't that founders are somehow wiser. The assertion was merely that founders care about the company. Their decisions may be no more prescient than anyone else's, but their decisions are reliably in different directions than anyone else's. Their goal is different, the direction they always aim is different, and that consistent aim has an effect over time regardless what mistakes and misfortunes happen along the way. If you have a specific and clear goal on the horizon and are always aiming for that even though you have to deal with obstacles closer in front of you, over time you still get somewhere. If your goal is just chasing whatever random butterflies float by, you get nowhere.