The Logan Bartlett Show
Palmer Luckey (Founder, Oculus and Anduril): How He Got Fired For Making a $9,000 Donation in Support of Trump
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Oculus grew into a billion-dollar company due to the right timing, technology, and insights.
- The sale of Oculus to Facebook was a positive outcome that benefited the advancement of VR.
- Founding a company with a clear intention and strategic direction leads to purposeful growth.
- Following one's talents, rather than passions, is a more practical approach to career choices.
Deep dives
Founding Oculus out of passion for VR
The speaker started Oculus because of a personal passion for virtual reality (VR) and a belief that it was the future of gaming. Starting as a hobby working on VR, the speaker had ideas to make a better VR headset and improve game development. Despite not aiming for commercial success or financial gain initially, Oculus grew into a multi-billion dollar company, driven by the right timing, technology, and insights.
Selling Oculus to Facebook benefited VR industry
The sale of Oculus to Facebook was viewed as a positive outcome for the VR industry by the speaker. It provided the necessary resources, funding, and support to bring the VR headset to market and fund content creation. The speaker acknowledges that not all tactical decisions made by Facebook were agreeable, but emphasizes that Facebook's continued investment in VR sets it apart from other companies that have dropped their VR initiatives. Despite personal challenges and regrets, the speaker believes that the sale to Facebook was ultimately good for the advancement of VR.
Andrew: A deliberate and purpose-driven company
After leaving Oculus, the speaker co-founded Andrew, a new venture that was deliberately built with a mission to have a significant impact through its size and influence. Unlike Oculus, which started as a passion project, Andrew was purposefully established as a major company to pursue meaningful and impactful goals. The speaker highlights the importance of having a clear intention and strategic direction in founding a company, emphasizing the difference between accidental success and purposeful growth.
Balancing passion and talent in career choices
The speaker challenges the notion of following one's passion in all aspects of life, suggesting that it is more fruitful to follow one's talents. The speaker argues that while passion is important, not all passions align with successful careers or have a significant impact. Instead, the speaker advises focusing on one's talents and recognizing that different jobs create different levels of value for society. This perspective counters the common advice of pursuing passions and emphasizes a more practical and realistic approach to career choices.
The importance of building autonomous systems for national defense
The podcast episode explores the need for building autonomous systems in the national security and defense sector. The speaker highlights the major defense primes in the United States, such as Lockheed, Northrop, and Raytheon, lacking the talent and incentives necessary to develop advanced autonomous systems. The best AI experts are typically found in tech companies like Facebook, Snapchat, and Google, rather than within the defense industry. Additionally, the speaker emphasizes the challenge of tech companies avoiding defense contracts due to ideological reasons and their dependence on Chinese markets and manufacturing. This dependency raises concerns about the United States' ability to defend itself in case of a conflict, as major tech companies are tied to the interests of the Chinese government.
The need for geographical resilience in manufacturing
The podcast episode discusses the importance of maintaining manufacturing capabilities within the United States and its allies, particularly in the defense sector. The speaker highlights the risks associated with outsourcing manufacturing to countries like China, as it can hinder the ability to pivot and respond during times of conflict. The example of Apple's heavy reliance on Chinese manufacturing and their vulnerability to Chinese government pressure is mentioned. This dependence on foreign manufacturing poses a unique challenge in today's geopolitical landscape, as it limits the United States' ability to adapt and protect its interests effectively. The speaker argues that developing and preserving manufacturing capabilities is crucial for national security and resilience.
The role of technological superiority in ethical use of technology
The podcast episode delves into the concept that technological superiority is a prerequisite for ethical use of technology in warfare. The speaker argues that having superior technology can lead to more informed decision-making, reducing collateral damage and preventing unnecessary suffering in conflicts. A strong technological advantage allows for better strategic planning, enabling military forces to make more ethical choices. Additionally, it is emphasized that having advanced technology and capabilities acts as a deterrent, dissuading potential adversaries from engaging in conflict. The discussion also touches on the cultural differences and ethical frameworks that influence the utilization of technology and the potential risks of not preparing ahead of time in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.
Palmer Luckey is the founder of Oculus (VR headset maker that sold to Facebook for $2.3B) and Anduril (an autonomous military technology company valued at $8.5B).
In the episode, Palmer uncovers the real story of why he was famously fired from Facebook in 2017. He also shares his thoughts about the virtual reality industry and discusses why building these autonomous military defense systems leads to more ethical wars.
This discussion originally happened in September 2022. Thanks to all of the engaging details, we’ve decided to reshare it!
(0:00) Intro
(1:43) Welcome Palmer Luckey
(2:19) Being misrepresented by the media
(7:39) Choosing advancement of the VR industry over personal views
(11:24) Palmer’s donation to a pro-Trump group and the fallout
(16:42) Game studios “not” working with Oculus
(23:17) What the Facebook PR team got wrong
(31:27) Palmer's biggest takeaways from the firing
(38:14) Palmer’s background and founding Oculus
(41:09) Why you should follow your talents over your passions
(48:31) Selling Oculus
(53:15) Founding Anduril after being fired from Facebook
(1:06:51) What does Anduril do?
(1:12:38) Knowing a little about a lot
(1:14:05) Autonomous military systems
(1:16:16) How AI can improve war ethics
Mixed and edited: Justin Hrabovsky
Produced: Rashad Assir
Executive Producer: Josh Machiz
Music: Griff Lawson
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About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1
Follow on Socials
📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow
📱 X - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow
🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow
About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.
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