Tech startup creativity requires problem empathy and relentless iteration
Paul English · 20VC: From Sequoia To Accel To General Catalyst: What Makes The Best Board Member & The Hiring Methodology To Attract World Class Talent with KAYAK & Lola Founder, Paul English · Jun 8, 2018 · at 6:29
Paul English, co-founder of KAYAK and Lola, discusses his core mental model for startup innovation and idea generation.
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“In tech entrepreneurship, I think most creativity comes out of people who are empaths for problems, and when you see something that irritates you, rather than just say that's irritating and move on, you kind of focus on it, and you try to think about other people who have this problem as well, and how bad a problem is this, and how might I be able to fix it, and maybe your first idea is terrible, but if you really fixate on the problem, and you first Solution doesn't work. If you're still fixated on the problem, you'll say, well, let me try something else, and let me try something else, and it's the radar lock on the problem that allows you to keep iterating and trying and trying and trying different things, so eventually you'll find something that works.”
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