“Not being stupid”
When status quo is so bad, being OK is excellent.
My colleague Eirini told me a story that has resonated with me since — not only because it was crazy, but because it became an analogy for many things in my professional life. I’ll retell the story, and then reconnect:
“My sister was just on an amazing date! She was out with a guy yesterday, and when they were walking back, he said it was a bit cold and asked if they could go to her place. She politely declined, but felt a bit bad as he would probably “guilt-trip” her. He responded that it was all ok.
I listened and then, after a couple of seconds, asked What was so great about the date?
Oh, that he didn’t guilt-trip her, behave badly, or even worse. But, he seemed to be nice and considerate.”
I was appalled, but this was wild! Eirini was serious. That was a good date. Isn’t it baffling that something that is “not bad” is considered “amazing.”
Then, I realized that low expectations are common everywhere. For example, one of the investors in our fund, Pale blue dot, ended up investing more in the fund after due diligence calls with our founders — with the comment that we were “on time, prepared, cared about the founders, and were helping them build the business.” When he said that, I had to ask, “Isn’t that par for the course?” And he said I should meet more VC…
Extending the analogy
I don’t want to pick on men, but I’ll just use it to highlight the concept of “Not being stupid: When the status quo — and what you expect — is so bad that just being OK is considered impressive.” (Your mileage with dating may vary.)
“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” — Charlie Munger
There are a lot of companies to be built with the “Not being stupid thesis.”
- An old-school industry uses (fresh and good) data for decision-making.
- Well-designed enterprise software!
- When you rent a car and get the one you expected…
- Package delivery showing up on time…
These things — and many more — can be extraordinary opportunities. Maybe to point out the obvious, but what I am saying is that instead of creating a complex business or an abstruse idea, there are plenty of things to be done by increasing the bar in an industry “above stupid.”
Does the customer care enough?
But one has to watch out. Sometimes, there are underlying reasons that the industry operates this way, which are hard to change. Sometimes, there is a Chesterton’s fence — but a lot of time, you can win by just being “OK.”
When I meet potential customers, I always want to understand not only how they are operating, but also what they have tried. If a customer has spent a lot of time and money trying to figure out a problem, there might be an opportunity. But, if they only “aspire to fix it” or are just curious about what you’re bringing, you are probably wasting your time.
I hope you have better dates than Eirini's sister had before, but also that you open your eyes to opportunities thanks to her story!
