I look for something that's new and interesting. A business model that hasn't been tried before is always interesting, even if it's likely to fail. It might give my readers an idea they didn't have before. I like new ideas, even if they're not billion-dollar ideas. Interesting founders -- if you've done something interesting in the past, if you're extremely young or extremely old or from a country that doesn't generate a lot of entrepreneurs or there's something unique about the founder. But if you're a "me too" company, just a small twist on something that already exists, it's unlikely you're going to get written about.
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Some people are drawn to movie stars and rock stars. To me, entrepreneurs are the interesting people in this time and our society because they drive the economy. They have whacked out marginal utilities for risk in the sense that they seem to value risk instead of trying to shy away from it. They tend to walk away from high-paying jobs to do things that are highly risky just because they want to change the world and hope to make some money even though it's very unlikely they will. That's what's drawn me to this particular beat. I love blogging just because it's a direct channel to your readers that's very raw and unfiltered.
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Two-time winners are rare. Part of the reason is the best start-ups generally come from somebody needing to scratch an itch. They have a problem, and they realize there's no solution so they make it themselves. Second-time entrepreneurs usually don't have that second itch. Sometimes they don't have the hunger to prove they can do it, so maybe they don't give all they have. Now, there are exceptions. Marc Andreessen is clearly one. A lot of the Pay Pal guys have done interesting things even though they've already made a lot of money. Steve Jobs, on a much different scale, with Apple, Pixar and NeXT clearly has something. It's very rare, and those people I find infinitely fascinating.
"É mais fácil um camelo passar pelo buraco de uma agulha do que um rico entrar no reino dos céus". A frase, que foi mal traduzida do aramaico, ficou assim, na Bíblia. Mas os tempos, definitivamente, são outros. Pegue o seu camelo, dê um trato nele, enfie ele pelo buraco da agulha, ganhe muito dinheiro e torne-se uma das "infinitely fascinating people". Porque parece que o reino dos céus é aqui e agora. Quem somos nós (os pobres, sai azar!) para discordar?