Congratulations, best of luck to you and the team! One of many things I hope you can accomplish is to help destroy the myth that serious startups only happen in Silicon Valley. As I'm sure you know, there's plenty going on in other parts of the country, this needs to be better understood and there needs to be a lot more of it.
'the most important invention in human history'...a character asks this question in one of Heinlein's SF novels. (The context is that a group of kids are stranded on a planet many light-years away, realize they may never get back to earth, and have decided to elect a leader)
One candidate, Grant, asks: “What is the prime knowledge acquired by our race? That without the rest is useless? What flame must we guard like vestal virgins?” Members of the group give various answers: fire, writing, the decimal system, the wheel.
No,” says Grant, “none of those. They are all important, but they are not the keystone. The greatest invention of mankind is government. It is also the hardest of all. More individualistic than cats, nevertheless we have learned to cooperate more efficiently than ants or bees or termites. Wilder, bloodier, and more deadly than sharks, we have learned to live together as peacefully as lambs. But these things are not easy..”
Congratulations, best of luck to you and the team! One of many things I hope you can accomplish is to help destroy the myth that serious startups only happen in Silicon Valley. As I'm sure you know, there's plenty going on in other parts of the country, this needs to be better understood and there needs to be a lot more of it.
As a non-American, I find the passion that American people have for their country truly inspiring.
Congrats on the new job, Grant. Beautiful essay. Can't wait to see what startups you invest in and what American problems you help solve.
'the most important invention in human history'...a character asks this question in one of Heinlein's SF novels. (The context is that a group of kids are stranded on a planet many light-years away, realize they may never get back to earth, and have decided to elect a leader)
One candidate, Grant, asks: “What is the prime knowledge acquired by our race? That without the rest is useless? What flame must we guard like vestal virgins?” Members of the group give various answers: fire, writing, the decimal system, the wheel.
No,” says Grant, “none of those. They are all important, but they are not the keystone. The greatest invention of mankind is government. It is also the hardest of all. More individualistic than cats, nevertheless we have learned to cooperate more efficiently than ants or bees or termites. Wilder, bloodier, and more deadly than sharks, we have learned to live together as peacefully as lambs. But these things are not easy..”
Congrats brother! Look forward to following along
Congrats Grant! The sentence 'technology is never guaranteed to succeed' gave me a literal shiver.