Mike Maples Jr

Guest: Mike Maples, Jr. - Partner at Floodgate. Mike Maples, Jr. is a renowned early-stage startup investor, known for his early bets on transformative companies like Twitter, Lyft, and Twitch. He has been on the Forbes Midas list eight times and is a pioneer in seed-stage investing. Key Takeaways: Inflections: Identify external events that create potential for radical change, such as technological advancements or regulatory shifts, which can empower new business models. Insights: Develop non-obvious truths about how inflections can be harnessed to change behavior. Insights should be non-consensus and right, offering a unique advantage. Founder Future Fit: Align the founder's background and passion with the future they are creating. This alignment increases the likelihood of identifying and executing on breakthrough ideas. Movements and Storytelling: Create a movement by appealing to a higher purpose and use storytelling to draw a stark contrast between the current world and the future vision. Disagreeableness: Successful founders often exhibit a healthy level of disagreeableness, challenging norms and being willing to pursue their vision despite skepticism. Topics Covered: Inflections, Insights, Founder Future Fit, Movements, Storytelling, Disagreeableness, Startup Idea Generation, Early-Stage Investing, Asymmetric Warfare in Business, Product Market Fit, Corporate Innovation.