I think all three options hold some weight, leaning very heavily towards Other which I picked because, as you aptly captured in your title, times are different.
I'd rank the three options in order of accuracy from top to bottoms as follows:
1. Other: Times are different.
2. Zuck is that good.
3. Modern founders are weaker.
The fact that the number of Founders & Investors today has increased significantly is the underlying factor beneath each poll option.
The initial stuff wasn't that complicated, the base idea came from the Winklevoss brothers and he had a refinement. The genius was in the recognition of the viral opportunity. Zuck is pretty damn good but it wasn't coding chops so much as business acumen.
Modern founders are buried in an avalanche of copycats, funding competitors that will drown you and massive existing products (so you have to be incredibly innovative *cough* or find a good starting niche). I don't think "weaker" is the right word.
Hey Mat,
First off, great piece!
I think all three options hold some weight, leaning very heavily towards Other which I picked because, as you aptly captured in your title, times are different.
I'd rank the three options in order of accuracy from top to bottoms as follows:
1. Other: Times are different.
2. Zuck is that good.
3. Modern founders are weaker.
The fact that the number of Founders & Investors today has increased significantly is the underlying factor beneath each poll option.
I'd love to connect directly. Let's chat!
Bomi.
Another great take!
Zuck is that good (he coded the entire first version himself) and modern founders have a simple view of founding a company.
The way new founders think things go:
Raise money -> Build team -> Build product -> Iterate/Find PMF -> Raise Money
The way most successful technical product founders launch companies:
Build product -> Iterate/Find PMF -> Build founding team -> Raise Money
Very well put. I guess i should have had an option saying both can be true. But yeah, i think this nails it.
G'day Mat
Other: time, location and luck
The initial stuff wasn't that complicated, the base idea came from the Winklevoss brothers and he had a refinement. The genius was in the recognition of the viral opportunity. Zuck is pretty damn good but it wasn't coding chops so much as business acumen.
Modern founders are buried in an avalanche of copycats, funding competitors that will drown you and massive existing products (so you have to be incredibly innovative *cough* or find a good starting niche). I don't think "weaker" is the right word.