Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future
by Mike Maples Jr
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Mike Maples Jr. chats with podcast host via video
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Maples says he researched the root causes of why certain companies took off, having himself been an early investor in businesses like Twitter, Lyft, and Rappi. The book is written in two sections: how to come up with an idea, and how to execute it. Maples asserts if you want to have a breakthrough start-up idea, you need to live in the future so you can notice what’s missing. “Better” doesn’t matter in a start-up because “better” is an extension of the present, so start-ups must strive not to be better but instead to be radically different.
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Game-Thinking TV talks with author Maples via video
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Maples says that true learning comes not from validating what you already know but from seeking the truth and being surprised; he suggests being a “learn it all” instead of a “know it all.” When you get a great start-up idea, you must quickly validate if there’s genuine demand for your product or service. For example, Chegg first put up a fake website pretending that they had textbooks for rent in order to see if customers were actually desperate to rent textbooks (which they were) and what they were willing to pay.
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Sit-down author interview + vintage photos of founders
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Maples Jr. says the term “disruption” has been dumbed-down through overuse, and that great founders innovate out of a wild obsession with something in the future that they want to create, not out of a desire to disrupt. That is, Henry Ford did not want to disrupt horses but was excited to do something new that would drive humanity forward. Independent thinking and radical interest, letting go of the common belief that the future will simply be an extension of the present, are all necessary elements for start-ups.
Follow the author
Harvard Business School graduate Mike Maples, Jr. is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author based in Palo Alto, California. As a co-founding partner at Floodgate, he invests in early-stage startups. He has been listed on the Forbes Midas list of top tech investors eight times for backing companies such as Twitter, Twitch, Okta, Outreach, Rappi, Chegg, and Applied Intuition.
Publications
Wall Street Journal: ‘Pattern Breakers’ Review: Be Different, Not Better
Kirkus Reviews: Pattern Breakers: The authors make their case with conviction and intelligence, bringing new thinking to an old problem.
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