Insight certainty 3/5 debate potential 2/5

Sam Lessin: Prior social app success gives no guarantee of repeating it

Sam Lessin · #20: The New Founder Mindset: The End of the Product-Focused CEO · More or Less Podcast · Oct 27, 2023 · at 18:51

Sam Lessin discusses why founders like Evan Spiegel or Kevin Systrom struggle to launch second-act social apps from scratch.

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“To make a social part of that work, yes, you have to be in Dave's list of the top 10 product people in the world, but you also need incredible luck and incredible timing. And like, it's not clear that just because you did especially social once properly and got it the right timing and the right product that you have any prayer of doing it again.”

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