Link: The Founder’s Guide to Understanding Investors
Marc Andreessen says “Most of the big breakthrough technologies/companies seem crazy at first: PCs, the internet, Bitcoin, Airbnb, Uber, 140 characters…you are investing in things that look like they are just nuts…it has to be something where, when people look at it, at first they say, ‘I don’t get it, I don’t understand it. I think it’s too weird, I think it’s too unusual.”
The best startup ideas are crazy and good – the world doesn’t believe it yet, but a change has just occurred in the world that switched the idea from bad to good. Discovering these ideas requires you to be a ‘tinkerer.’ Indulge your curiosity by exploring any weird idea or irrelevant question that occurs to you. Eventually, you’ll become a sufficient expert on your topic.
Sam Altman notes that a proxy for crazy ideas are those that big companies will say no to, because big companies make decisions rationally. He often asks startups, "tell me why this idea sounds bad to the big companies but actually is good?"
Top investors care about “crazy” investments because most investments that ended up being grand slams were not only right in the long term, but were initially crazy. Investing in crazy opportunities leads to grand slam returns in the event of an exit because no one else is investing in them; their prices remain low and their upside potential is game-changing.
For founders going for grand slams, you need to actively get connected to investors who are seeking out founders taking crazy swings.