Work backward from institutions, not solutions

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years, published once a month. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. Palmer Luckey is a relentless builder and original thinker. He founded Oculus, bringing virtual reality to the mainstream, and is now reshaping the future of defense and technology with Anduril. I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Palmer is the founder of Anduril, which makes next-generation military technology for the US and its allies. Since bringing the company to life in 2017, Palmer and Anduril have disrupted the established order in the Defense industry. Prior to Anduril, Palmer founded Oculus VR, a virtual reality business that he sold to Facebook for $2 billion.

Palmer is only in his early 30s, but he has already experienced more than most people will in a 40-year career. We talk about innovation, invention, differentiated thinking, and so much more. Please enjoy this great discussion with Palmer Luckey.

Listen to Patrick's Business Breakdowns with Anduril CEO.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:01:15) Meet Palmer Luckey (00:02:03) The importance of synthetic long-chain hydrocarbon fuel (00:08:12) Ranking America's potential for innovation (00:11:18) Why there aren't more ⁠Thiel Fellowships⁠ (00:13:31) The principles that motivate and drive him (00:16:56) What it has been like working in the world of defense after the attack on Israel (00:19:09) Surprising lessons learned when building a large company (00:22:37) How to approach a new field initially (00:27:20) Meeting other out-of-the-box thinkers (00:31:46) Inventors working backward from existing systems versus forward from their ideals (00:33:26) The most pressing issue in national security (00:39:36) What matters most for America from a defense perspective (00:42:33) How to determine which problems to prioritize (00:48:59) Lessons learned from working with AI (00:55:56) How Apple is shaping the future of VR (01:00:11) Which videogame a prospective employee should excel at (01:02:41) Why ⁠Oculus⁠ was so successful in marketing (01:09:48) The kindest thing