5 Comments

I’d love to hear more about practices that help founders with the “and right” part of nonconsensus and right. Nonconsensus seems well understood thanks to Zero to One, etc.

How can a startup founder ensure they’re “right” and not being overly stubborn and resistant to feedback? Would love to hear a theory on tactics for testing and learning!

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I'm recalling the story of the Airbnb founders struggling to get things off the ground for 6+ months pre-YC. Talk about a non-consensus idea (in the same theme as Lyft/Uber).

How should founders think about rigorously evaluating ideas that fit into that non-consensus bucket? It strikes me that 6+ months is far too long to bang one's head against the wall without some compounding growth. Were the Airbnb founders just inexperienced and didn't know how to execute? Are the founders of these non-consensus/right companies single-minded about a "wacky" idea or do they take lots of swings with high-upside exposure?

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Mike thank you. Great one! Very insightful and helpful! I shared this one with my MIT Founder Circle team already. I like to share here why we are non-consensus and right. The world is at an inflection point: millions of digital natives entering the workforce and new channels like Vision Pro are starting to facilitate easy immersive and engaging experiences. Furthermore, AI-driven 21st century demands an immersive and engaging learning strategies for humans. Our key insight: adults acquire new skills most effectively by experiencing them. Additionally, digital natives speak games.

Leveraging these insight, we’ve harnessed the power of games, AI, and smart contracts to create an experiential learning environment. Our AI-empowered platform delivers immersive, personalized learning journeys that are transformative and engaging.

How do we know if our approach is right? Because it has been resonating with thousands of individuals - we have over 3K subscribers on our Substack alone. At the same time, we are non-consensus with many early stage VC teams. Instead of getting random checks, we’ve been self-funding and have pivoted to a B2B. Some may call us, but random investors/partners will not help us get where we are heading to - so until the right partners arrive, we'll be frugal!

Currently, we’re working on our B2B PoCs with financial institutions that are onboarding digital natives, also we're seeking to increase our visibility and engaging with the WEF ecosystem. We were able to secure an investment from an MIT-affiliated fund. Our goal is to continue attracting strategic investors who share our future vision where lifelong learning is not just a necessity, but an immersive, transformative journey that fundamentally alters the way people think, feel, and act. We are looking for believers of this future! Thanks! team@rcmlabs.io

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another good one, Mike. Would love to hear more on customer development for pattern breakers, in the context of inflections, insights, etc...your overall thesis

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Insights have always driven me. I've been on a nearly ten-year journey in cybersecurity with

at least 4 or 5 significant insights that moved my thinking of the problem to a higher level. It can be very lonely having insights; you have to have at least one person to share your insights with and drive other insights. I don't know any other way to be; I live in the future, not the present. My two major influences are W. Brian Arthur's book, The Nature of Technology, and Carlota Perez's, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, helped me frame my insights.

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