Invest in Insight, Not Just Product

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Successful entrepreneurship often relies on the insights that founders possess rather than their initial product implementation. Founders can start with a valid insight, but their first venture may not hit the mark; however, their deep understanding of the market allows them to pivot accurately toward the right opportunity. For instance, Lyft emerged from Zimride's corporate focus as founders recognized a larger chance in peer-to-peer ride sharing. Similarly, Zoom shifted from a consumer-oriented approach to a successful B2B model, demonstrating that possessing relevant experience and insights enables founders to navigate toward effective solutions. Ultimately, the value of investment lies in the insight and the founder's capability to leverage it for success.

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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.

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