Ben Gilbert: evaluation

Transcript context

…I think this idea you have is a really good one. The way that I think about or evaluate other ideas is definitely, Shaan, in that same that you thought about is this winner take all? Is this going to be a massive thing? Is this a moonshot idea? The scary part that always comes along with that is if this is a really good idea and now just happens to be the perfect moment in time where someone can do this, are these people the people that are going to pull it off out of all the other people who are also thinking of this rare moment in time where there’s a good idea that hasn’t yet been done? That’s almost disheartening because then you scope down the universe super narrowly. And most of the time, what you’re doing is saying, no, I’ll wait for the next one. That’s a frustrating and sometimes disheartening job. But I think finding that spot in the middle where you can believe in other people’s ideas as much as you do your own that you get excited about and apply the same amount of skeptical rigor that you do the things you’re being pitched to things you come up with, that’s where the magic lies in the middle. I would agree. Also, when you said that thing about the way you two are different, it reminded me of this framework that I heard one time that has always stuck with me. I don’t know if you guys have ever heard this but, Bill Gross, who’s the founder of Idealab. He’s like an internet OG. He gave this talk once and he’s talked about (have you heard this) the four personalities that come together to make a company?…

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