The Learning Corner by Precursor
Welcome to the Learning Corner, a weekly Precursor Ventures podcast, where members of the Precursor team walk through their favorite articles and news snippets across the venture ecosystem.
Episode #59: Pivots Rarely Work, Missionary Founders, Does Seattle Hate AI?
In this week’s episode, we break down Ben Casnocha’s shift in thinking on whether good ideas matter more than good founders, Aaron Harris’ challenge to the “missionary founder” trope, and Jonathon Ready’s exploration of why AI is getting eye rolls from engineers in Seattle. We discuss how these takes intersect with early-stage investing and what signals we should be looking for as the startup landscape keeps evolving.
Key Points
- Pausing and stepping back when a startup's initial idea isn't working can help founders make better-informed pivot decisions, rather than jumping into another poorly thought-out direction.
- While founder quality is crucial, the initial idea's strength often plays a more significant role in a startup's success than investors may like to admit.
- Growing skepticism towards AI in legacy tech hubs like Seattle reflects frustration with how AI tools are deployed and mandated within large companies, rather than the technology itself.
- Why Investing in Great Founders with Bad Ideas Rarely Works – by Ben Casnocha (LinkedIn)
- Missionary Accountants – by Aaron Harris (Substack)
- Everyone in Seattle Hates AI – by Jonathon Ready (Blog)
Chapters
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| 17:32 |
Transcript
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