Phil Libin, co-founder and CEO of mmhmm, describes the genesis of the company during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
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“It started as a joke, just as a way to make our life on video a little bit less boring. So we just started goofing around with backgrounds and pictures and things you can do in Zoom, and pretty soon it became a product.”
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Opinion
Libin: Silicon Valley Startup Model Engineered to Benefit Top-Tier VCs
“This idea of making a startup, a Silicon Valley-style startup, the concept has been engineered to benefit top-tier VCs.”
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Insight
Great Products Get Discovered Automatically Without a Distribution Strategy
“I've never cared about discovery and about distribution. I think, like, the best stuff gets discovered automatically.”
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PredictionNot checkable as stated
Libin: Big Tech's Data Advantage Will Be a Big Nothing in Five Years
“So I think over the next, like, five years, this, like, alleged entrenched data advantage of big companies will turn out to be, you know, a big nothing.”
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AssertionPartly supported
Libin: Average Expected Return for Startup Founders Is Sharply Negative
“Because the average expected return for founders of making a startup is sharply negative.”
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Opinion
Libin: Calling an industry a relationship business signals it is immature
“A sign of, like, a non-serious business is when people in it say this is a relationship business. This is a sign of, like, it's immature, and it's not professionalized.”
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PredictionNot checkable as stated
80% of Work Software and 50% of Consumer Software Will Become Conversational
“So my guess is about 50% of what we use as consumers will become conversational, botified, and about 80% of what we do at work.”
Phil LibinJan 4, 2017▶ 12:0220VC: Evernote's Phil Libin on The Pros and Cons Of Moving To VC, The Future For Bots & Having Marc Benioff & Reid Hoffman As Mentors
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