Unicorns and Institutional Dynamics

10min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

This chapter analyzes the distribution of unicorns in various countries, revealing the United States' surprising rank compared to nations like Singapore and Israel. It discusses the advantages of smaller countries in fostering startup ecosystems and the necessity of competition and exit options in promoting institutional accountability. The chapter emphasizes the importance of dynamism, innovation, and competition in improving government services and addressing bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Read the full transcript here.

What mistakes do investors make when trying to predict which startups will succeed? Which matters more: a startup's team or its central idea? How do startup founders differ from other capitalists? What makes something a "pattern-breaking" idea or behavior? Are startup founders less sensitive to negative feedback than the average person? Is it possible to achieve startup success without challenging the status quo? Is it true that 90% of startups fail? What is founder-future match? At their core, what are movements? Can startup founders be too good at storytelling? Has the US become less innovative? What are Singapore and Israel doing right that enables them to have the highest number of "unicorn" startups per million people? What's the right amount of "shaking things up"?

Mike Maples, Jr. is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and the co-founder of FLOODGATE, a leading seed stage fund in Silicon Valley that invested in companies like Twitter, Twitch, Okta, and Outreach at the very beginning of their startup journeys. An eight-time member of the Forbes Midas List of Top Venture Capital investors, he was one of the pioneers of the seed investing movement, which started in the mid-2000s, and now is a mainstream part of startup funding. Follow him on Twitter at @m2jr.

Further reading: