Floodgate VC Mike Maples once said "great startup founders are time travellers." Great visionary CEOs invite people into a future where positive change has already happened.
👉 It's not enough to say "this market has this huge problem."
✋ It's definitely not enough to say "this is our solution."
🤘 It's not even enough to say "this is why this solution can only happen now."
🫶 The best founders communicate what that future looks like -- with deep and tangible examples -- that make potential co-founders, investors and employees see that future as inevitable and yearn to be a part of it.
I was reminded of this yesterday when I spoke with a founder who is failing to fundraise for an AR platform and spent the early part of the call talking about her solution.
I ended up being the one painting the picture for her -- I am a huge believer that, someday, widespread AR glasses will launch a hyperlocal explosion, where every person and object communicates customized information to the viewer. I talked about what it will be like at conferences and bars and grocery stores. This was all greatly influenced by the book "Daemon" by Daniel Suarez and I still remember the exact scene that made me an AR believer...
Anyway, THAT'S what more founders need to bring to their conversations. A glorious vision of a world where their company has succeeded and how that world is better than the one we live in today.
Founders spend so much time with their heads down trying to get through the day-to-day grind of building a company.
It's vital that they occasionally lift their heads to study the world that exists a decade from now, so that they can bring it back to us mere mortals.
h/t to Rich Maloy for reminding me of this quote last week.