Brian Elliott

Some midweek wisdom from Y Combinator founder, Paul Graham, on why startups shouldn't stress over competitors. According to Graham, based on Y Combinator's extensive data set, few of their startups are actually killed by competitors. He compares the protection a startup has against competitors to the vastness of space, emphasising that the market is large enough for multiple players to thrive. Graham's analogy likens encountering a competitor to suddenly finding another runner in your race lane - the best course of action? “It’s sort of like if you’re running the hundred meters and suddenly a lane appears with another runner in it. What should you do? Run as fast as you can, just like you presumably were.” #Startups #Competition #Entrepreneurship #wearehiring

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RETHINKING RETIREMENT We've been investing in the Future of Work since we launched BBG Ventures, targeting underserved segments like deskless workers (Anthill, OX) and solopreneurs (Topline Pro). Over the summer we spent time digging into another deeply underserved segment of the workforce: Boomers. By the end of this decade, the entire generation will have hit retirement age and, for the first time, Americans 65+ will outnumber those under 18. This has huge implications for every aspect of society, and it mandates that we start thinking differently about retirement. The question for all of us is this: Can we re-focus healthy Americans 60+ on a new phase of productivity, a “third act” that enables them to keep learning, keep earning, keep socially-engaged and contributing to the nation’s economic growth? And what role can AI play in helping every senior identify their unique skill set and personal priorities — and connect them with the right opportunities? We have some thoughts on how to make this happen, and we'd love you to give it a read, add your feedback, forward it to a founder who's working in this arena (or who you think might be intrigued), and share it! AgeTech has been too focused on death and decay; it's time we embrace longevity and give older Americans a way to keep working -- on their terms. cc: Carol Magalhães Isaacs, CFA Nisha Dua, Claire Biernacki, Drew Silverman Fennessy

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Shout-out to founders. Shout-out to the teams and individuals that commit to and push founder-led businesses forward. Building something meaningful is hard. Sometimes you have to play a role that does not come naturally because that’s what the business requires at the moment in time. Other times you have to make decisions that come with uncertainty and the best you can do is just figure it out…quickly. We’ve built RevBoss for 10 years, but we are in the process of re-building it for the 3rd time because that is what is required of us to deliver value to our clients. Will it be hard? Yes. Will it come with a bunch of bumps and bruises? Yes.   Will everything be okay at the end of the day? Absolutely. RevBoss exists to grow B2B founder-led businesses. I’m gearing up to talk with Adam Robinson, CEO of a founder-led business, RB2B, who also is in the business of helping B2B businesses grow. Join us on Aug 13th as we’ll be chatting about growth at founder-led companies and how to build a growth engine that works: https://lnkd.in/eVyJQjpC PS - excited to share our RevBoss journey more publicly, so feel free to follow along if you're interested.

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Thoughtful Monday read from Kellogg Insight -- We're all familiar with the concept of the gender pay gap at this point since the 1990s. However, new research from Nicola Bianci, assistant professor of strategy at Kellogg suggests that the relationship between men's and women's average #wages did indeed change in past four decades. The average man in the U.S. used to make 80% more than the average woman in 1976, and past over four decades, that gap has fallen to a 33%. Interestingly, there was no stark drop but rather a steady decline that has remained active for the long-term. So what's going on here? Some theorize that #older workers are retiring and newer workers are taking their place, relinquishing some higher paid positions. The reason why the 33% remains stagnant though, is because there's still a disproportionate amount of women in more "traditionally feminine" job positions rather than "male" careers. What do you think about this? Do you have any personal theories about the way the pay gap minimized and then #stagnated?

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"If you need to be told what to do, don't buy a company-" This is just one of many unfiltered insights from my chat with M&A expert Chelsea Wood. Join us for this profound & unapologetic discussion on The Expertise Economy. Thinking about acquiring a business? Before you do, ask yourself this: When faced with a challenge, do you wait for instructions or take action? According to Chelsea, your answer could make or break your success as a business owner. "If you're somebody that's always just figured stuff out and you'll be fine, then you'll be fine as a business owner too." But if you're not? "Don't buy a company," she warns. Whether you're actively looking to buy or just curious about this wealth-building strategy, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in now. It might just change your entrepreneurial trajectory. #TheExpertiseEconomy #MandA #Entrepreneurship #WealthBuilding

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Small businesses are always looking for ways to grow, and what better company to analyze than Amazon? As Harvard Business Review writes, scaling startups is challenging and requires many innovative strategies to get a business off the ground. One approach that I find particularly interesting is always being customer-centric. Listening to customer feedback and suggestions is one of the best ways a business can grow while building a loyal group of customers who will always return to buy. #Scaling #Growth #SmallBusiness

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"Editors note: Welcome to issue #2 of Transcriptions. Today, we’d like to present a conversation between Qasar Younis of Applied Intuition, and Bilal Zuberi of Lux Capital. We discovered Qasar recently, and find his focus and clarity of thinking to be admirable. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of their talk, first held at the Paklaunch forum." Link to transcipt: https://lnkd.in/gH4uBmPE

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What do you do when a radical new technology puts your main product right in the crosshairs of disruption? Listen to David Okuniev — co-founder of Typeform | Ask awesomely — discuss the challenges of innovation within existing structures. David shared a game-changing insight: Radical innovation is really, really difficult to do inside your own product. He emphasized the need to break free from the constraints of familiarity and embrace change from outside the box. Henrik Werdelin and I have both seen our fair share of this in our respective careers. What struck us most was how David leveraged structure to overcome the innovator’s dilemma. By creating a culture of experimentation and providing space for bold ideas, he propelled Typeform beyond incremental improvements. What other hacks have you seen or employed to help your organization overcome the innovator’s dilemma? Share your stories below! 👇 And if you want to dive deeper into our conversation, click the link in the comments to catch the full podcast episode!

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In his latest piece, Paul Graham dives into a thought-provoking realization sparked by Brian Chesky's memorable talk at a recent YC event: **what if the conventional wisdom on scaling companies is fundamentally flawed for founders?** Graham dissects why advice that works for professional managers often fails founders, leading to disastrous results. He introduces the concept of "Founder Mode" — a distinct approach to running a company that clashes with traditional management practices. Graham argues that embracing this mode could be the key to unlocking greater success for startups, potentially revolutionizing how founders scale their companies. Made me think. https://lnkd.in/exHmEE5M

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