I think all founders should back and celebrate Raygun and her hilarious Olympic performance. Yes whānau, I'm weighing in. And here are my 2 arguments from the perspective of a startup founder:
1. Our job as entrepreneurs and innovators is to bring our HYPOTHESIS about the FUTURE into the NOW with no guarantees that it will work out.
Are we completely certain that it will be the future? Of course not. But our conviction tells us yes.
Do we quit our jobs and bet the family farm to make it happen? Yes.
Do we know with complete certainty that our ventures won't crash and burn? Of course not.
Do we risk looking stupid? Well, that's part of the job.
2. Some of the people behind the ventures that shape our society today were once outsiders.
Ray Kroc (McDonald's): Originally a milkshake machine salesman, Kroc saw potential in the McDonald brothers' fast-food concept. He purchased the rights and expanded the franchise into a global fast-food empire.
Steve Jobs (Apple): A college dropout with a passion (not degree) for electronics co-founded Apple in his garage and revolutionised the personal computer industry, music industry, and smartphone market.
Just to name a few... These fullas were outsiders not industry experts. That's not a hard and fast rule, but the point is that there is no rule.
And LUCKY for them their hypothesis about the future was right, and their execution in realising their ventures worked out. If their ventures failed well... we'd be making Raygun like internet memes about Steve Jobs and Ray Kroc...
And I'd argue that Steve Jobs and Ray Kroc would use that virality to spinoff content companies and sell merchandise 🤣 ...because they couldn't care less about what you think.
To conclude, I see a lot of myself in Raygun and admire her conviction and putting herself out there... even though it didn't work out this time and the result was hilarious 😂
What happened to Raygun could happen to any founder or innovator. Our future is not guaranteed, but like her, we will execute our venture with conviction.
Do I know for sure that every building in less than 10 years will have Critical. Cleanstone in it? Of course not, but I'm damn sure it will happen and will work bloody hard to see it through.
Do I have guarantees that my venture will succeed? No. But I've bet the family farm and made it my life's work anyway...
Do I wake each day and risk looking like an idiot with a naive dream? Well e te whānau - I say this with love: I don't give a F**K what you think.
And that's my TED talk 😂 - Do you AGREE? or DISAGREE? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let's argue it out in the comments below!!!
Oh and they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery - which is the intent of this video, no cap 😂