The tension all is trying to navigate is, I think there was just like a fundamental contradiction in the startup mindset and this cognitive dissonance where on the one hand, you have to be incredibly attentive to your problems. And to recognize the myriad ways in which your product totally sucks, right? You know, if you're kind of cheerfully whistling along, kind of Lego movie style, everything is awesome. If you're oblivious to this stuff, you know, obviously reality is going to kind of give you a rude slap in the face pretty quickly. Part of what we're trying to do is to give people kind of acknowledge this tension and to give people structural permission to be extremely critical of
Navigating uncertain economic conditions is part and parcel of running a business. Yet, throughout challenging times, it’s critical that startups stay committed to continually pushing the possibilities of what technology can deliver, says Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. That means leading with the guiding principle “micro pessimism and macro optimism.” Often, Collison says, this means having a relentless ability to be critical about the state of technology (including one’s own products) while still believing in its possibilities.That viewpoint acknowledges the structural tension companies face when trying to innovate in the context of economic reality, and can be the difference between persisting through challenging times or becoming a casualty of yet another tech boom and bust cycle. Collison joined Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman on our Iconversations speaker series to discuss Stripe’s early days and its evolution into the payment and financial services platform giant it is today, and his advice to startups for navigating the predictable unpredictability of business.
You can watch the video of the interview here: https://youtu.be/rzic-FivMfc
You can read the transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/micro-pessimism-macro-optimism/
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