Naval Ravikant

@eriktorenberg Humans are hardwired to listen to authority. We're tribal / hierarchical primates. Julian James makes the arguments that the first Gods were actually dead kings whose authority we still craved. And it's the nature of society that the people on top, either politicians or business leaders, want hero worship since it gives them power. I think it just helps to be very aware that fundamentally, there are no adults. Everyone is making it up as they go along. You have to find your own path, picking, choosing, taking and discarding as you see fit. I choose mostly to learn from books - those are my "authority figures" but even there I try to be very selective.

@naval this is gold.

@naval very well put. A well rounded perspective into a independent state of mind.

@naval I find it fascinating that authority has a couple of key meanings. I have authority that can come from strength/manipulation/derived power, and/or I can be an authority on a given subject. To me the ideal leadership paradigm is one where authority over others is derived from being an authority in a non-religious sense.

@naval This is an amazing insight Naval. Thanks for being live.

@webaficionado I think we'd be slightly better off with a good .com (and we have angellist.com now) but angel.co worked at the time. It didn't hamper us.

@rrhoover Not sure anything is that unknown these days, especially given the existence of Product Hunt :-) I'm a big fan of Notational Velocity's search as you type function. Wish more apps would integrate that paradigm.

@alanaut24 Thank you!

@alanaut24 ditto

@kamilszybalski Currently reading http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Con...

@naval Thanks for that Naval.

@samhouston It has definitely had some impact, more sites and companies are doing it. The best outcome is that it lets us generate averages and data at https://angel.co/salaries . You'd be surprised how many companies hate it, though. It's controversial. In an ideal world, we could even value the stock but that's a very hard problem.

@brentsum Figure out what you're good at and start helping other people with it, give it away. Pay it forward. Karma sort of works because people are very consistent. On a long enough timescale, you will attract what you project. But don't measure, your patience will run out if you are counting...

@naval Thanks for the thoughtful answer. What do you need help with? ;)

@brentsum Scaling :-)

@lylemckeany Another book I would put in the same league is "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley. In fact, most of Ridley's books are of that caliber - Red Queen, Origins of Virtue, Genome, etc..

After Sapiens, I look at humans more as cooperating, story-telling monkeys that conquered the earth, and I realize more how much of society is just stories that we tell each other.

@naval Thanks for the reading suggestion(s)! I totally agree about society being composed mostly of stories. I told my CEO a bit about the book and how we're essentially just trying to get a lot of other people to buy into the "story" of our company. It's an interesting perspective to have on it. I'm still trying to process the book and might have to re-read it at some point. Thanks for taking the time to answer!

@naval More like gossiping monkeys :)

@sydney_liu_sl The best founders are extremely thoughtful and have an eye for quality. I don't know if there's any generic advice here that would be helpful. Startup knowledge is a moving target. Rather, suggest you associate with and help the best founders you know. On a long enough timescale, it pays off.

@d0clock Re: 1) Very complex - securities laws vary from country to country. We are trying.
2) We have funds at https://angel.co/funds . We can't do cross-collateralized since the syndicate leads underneath are paid separately and we like to have the ability to opt-out of deals. It's the quid-pro-quo of the opt-out capability.

@naval thanks for the reply.
re: (2), sure - i respect the qpq. do you think though there is a potential product-market (esp. in insto money) fit for something that wld trade deal selection in return for paying portfolio instead of deal carry?
re: (1), can i help? 😄

@m_wagenhaus We are entering an age in which what you've done (your projects, products, blog, etc) matter far more than where you got your education or what certificate you have. If the MOOC will help you learn something, do something and build something, do it. If there are other, better ways for you to learn, use those instead. Don't focus on the credentials, focus on what you know.

@naval Thank you very much for the wise words, Sir!

@chandrakalle Every other day is a low point. They're everywhere. Comes with the territory. Entrepreneurship is really hard and painful, not sure I'd recommend it for anyone who can't handle the extreme stress. The coping mechanisms are the usual ones, unfortunately. The happiest entrepreneurs that I know seem to be able to treat it as a game. Unfortunately doesn't work for me.

@noxowe Team, Product, Traction. I can usually assess a startup in 2-5 minutes flat if I have all of the info in front of me. At least well enough to know that I want to diligence the team / dig in or not.

@naval Thanks for the reply! But how do you know if the team if good enough or not? Maybe the product you are reviewing is their first job but they make a brilliant team together

@romainbarissat Don't know. I like Bitcoin / Blockchain technologies, but that ecosystem hasn't fully actualized yet.

@erikrlars Nutrition, health, relationships, speed reading, sales, public speaking, coding, logic, basic business skills, game theory, etc.

@naval Also statistics and the bias that come along with it. Skill vs. Luck continuum is a great concept as well.

@naval Hi Naval, First, great Podcast with Tim Ferriss... Which resources (books, websites, etc) and methods would you recommend to learn about/get proficient at speed reading, and game theory? Thanks! John R.

@mikelamentola That's ok, then you like the variety. Just position your life / work / career to embrace variety rather than fighting it.

@romainbarissat Points the path for decentralization. Anything centralized on the web today (identities on Facebook / Twitter, Domain Names via ICANN, App Stores, even AngelList etc) strike me as short-term abberations. Long term, identity, payments, databases, CPU, marketplaces, etc should be as decentralized as possible. Blockchains show the way.

@naval thank you very much for your answers!

@naval yes, yes, yes!

@kapilkanugo Had them all and still have them :-) An entrepreneur's job is never done, you just take on new and bigger expectations and challenges.

@joannapantages I'm sorry, but this isn't a fit for me personally right now. Can I help in some other way? (Preferably via email).

@naval sorry, just was thinking there's probably an art and form behind the "no" and wondered what the fav or 'go to' might be for you (or anyone who probably does it a lot). all good-no answer needed!!

@joannapantages That's my generic turndown line that I pasted above :-) No one can argue with it...

@naval Ha I totally just fell for it! That was pure gangsta

@toddg777 I invested in over a hundred companies and thought they were all going to be Unicorns. Imagine my disappointment...

@naval Thanks. [Edited: You already answered my follow-up question in another comment]

@ems_hodge Unfortunately not. Mostly just read when I have the time.

@dturneresq Been tried but very hard to pull off - niche, high-end, over-regulated market.

@austencollins More Mises than Keynes, that's for sure :-) Also Coase, Nash, etc.

@naval Thought so :) Things you say make too much sense. Highly unusual...