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Blank: World-Class Silicon Valley Founders Are Antisocial and From Dysfunctional Families

Steve Blank · Mastering modern entrepreneurship | Steve Blank (Author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany) · Dec 21, 2023 · at 3:24

Steve Blank, author and Stanford adjunct professor, discusses the psychological makeup of outlier startup founders with Brett Berson.

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“The data says the world-class ones, at least the ones that make it in Silicon Valley and the ones that get funded are completely antisocial and probably come from usually dysfunctional families.”

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