Mike Maples, Jr., founding partner at Floodgate, recounts how an unexpected 85x windfall from Amazon's acquisition of Twitch prompted him to research startup breakthrough patterns.
“About 10 years ago, Twitch was acquired by Amazon for nine hundred and seventy million. And we made something like 85 times our money. And normally you'd think that's a really good thing. It was a good thing, but I had forgotten that I was even a shareholder at Twitch.”
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More from Mike Maples, Jr.
Insight
Maples: A correct insight lets founders navigate past failed initial implementations
“If you have the right insight and we'll get to some of this, you have a first mover advantage into the future. And so a lot of times your first implementation won't be right, but if your insight is correct, you can navigate the implementation to the right impl…”
Mike Maples, Jr.Jul 7, 2024▶ 14:48Pattern Breakers: How to find a breakthrough startup idea | Mike Maples, Jr. (Partner at Floodgate)
Insight
Maples: Pitch quality has nothing to do with whether to invest
“Just because the presentation is good or bad, it has nothing to do with whether you should necessarily invest or not. Sometimes you have to be awake to the possibility of what it's going to be, regardless of how messed up the presentation is.”
Mike Maples, Jr.Jul 7, 2024▶ 35:43Pattern Breakers: How to find a breakthrough startup idea | Mike Maples, Jr. (Partner at Floodgate)
Insight
Maples: Contrarianism is just another form of conformity
“Being non-consensus is not the same as being contrarian. You know, being contrarian is another form of conformity because it's still relative to somebody else.”
Mike Maples, Jr.Jul 7, 2024▶ 40:30Pattern Breakers: How to find a breakthrough startup idea | Mike Maples, Jr. (Partner at Floodgate)
Insight
Maples: Targeting big incumbent-defined markets is a strategic trap
“The mistake that a lot of founders make, and it's very understandable. They say, I want to go after big market opportunities. So they analyze big markets. They find unserved customers. With unmet needs in under addressed markets. So then they go build a produc…”
Mike Maples, Jr.Jul 7, 2024▶ 45:21Pattern Breakers: How to find a breakthrough startup idea | Mike Maples, Jr. (Partner at Floodgate)
Insight
Maples: Opinions About the Future Are Invalid Unless Founders Live in It
“If you're not living in the future, you don't, your opinion about it isn't valid. It's kind of like saying, I think a customer will do X and you've never talked to a customer. I'm like, okay, your opinion is interesting, but irrelevant. And so the only relevan…”
Mike Maples, Jr.Jul 7, 2024▶ 56:53Pattern Breakers: How to find a breakthrough startup idea | Mike Maples, Jr. (Partner at Floodgate)
Insight
Maples: Startups can only win where desperate demand outweighs execution quality
“The only chance for a startup to win is to win on a playing field where better doesn't matter. Where execution isn't as important as gotta have that thing. I'll take any version of it you give me because I am desperate for it.”
Mike Maples, Jr.Jul 7, 2024▶ 1:03:25Pattern Breakers: How to find a breakthrough startup idea | Mike Maples, Jr. (Partner at Floodgate)
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