Molson Hart

This is the exact reason so many entrepreneurs fail. It’s fun to do big sexy things. You’re competing with many other brilliant entrepreneurs. The way to win? Ignore this mindset all together and do common things uncommonly well.https://twitter.com/mgirdley/status/1270381874502946820 …

Entrepreneurs fail because they don’t choose and test their ideas well enough and then they take unnecessary risks. Doing common things uncommonly well is irrelevant for more successful ipo VC firms - it’s the big strategy that’s important (caveat may be hiring).

Here’s an example: Airbnb. Here’s a list of things that did not matter: floor plan, business culture, salaries, location of office, logo, office expenses, advertising even. It was idea, perseverance, and distribution strategy. They were basically competing against theirself.

It’s the grindy businesses like plumbers, mechanics, mom and pop shops, restaurants that have to do the common things uncommonly well. Quite different.

99% of the wealthy people in this country werent funded by venture capital and they didn’t have new big ideas. I’m taking about real people and you’re talking about unicorns.

Fair, but I'd argue that even if you're creating a smaller business, i.e. one that will not IPO, it's probably more important to compete asymmetrically than it is to do common things uncommonly well.

I started a business doing the same thing 10+ companies were doing (and profitably) and simply answered the phone, planned ahead and made some sacrifices for a few years. Way too many people try to reinvent the wheel and fail because of it.