Mike Maples, Jr

I passed on Airbnb in 2008. My note to Brian Chesky said I had "concerns about travel-oriented startups." A masterpiece of missing the point. I've thought about that mistake for 16 years. Here's ...

Reality Doesn't Negotiate A billionaire raised $1.75 billion for a startup. Eight months after launch, it was dead. In 2020, Jeffrey Katzenberg pitched Quibi at CES. He told a skeptical crowd: "I...

Great startups don’t just sell products—they change what people believe. Phrases like “No Software,” “Design is multiplayer,” and “Belong anywhere” didn’t describe features; they rewired how people...

Normally we stick to 0 to 1 on the Pattern Breakers podcast, but the latest episode with Eric Schmidt was a bit different. :) Instead of reminiscing on the early days of Google, Eric prefers to li...

Breakthrough startups don’t win by playing the game better. They win by refusing the game’s unspoken rules. Watching Figma’s IPO in July was a powerful reminder. -Old rule: design lives in files ...

Galileo’s crude telescope overturned centuries of belief because he questioned what the world considered fact: that Earth sat unmoving at the center. His real achievement wasn’t the tool but the ...

Kelvin Y. is building an important new startup for rebuilding financial infrastructure in the industrial economy. And he is bringing early co-conspirators onto the team. Check out the below for mor...

I passed on Airbnb in 2008. My note to Brian Chesky said I had "concerns about travel-oriented startups." A masterpiece of missing the point. I've thought about that mistake for 16 years. Here's ...

Reality Doesn't Negotiate A billionaire raised $1.75 billion for a startup. Eight months after launch, it was dead. In 2020, Jeffrey Katzenberg pitched Quibi at CES. He told a skeptical crowd: "I...

Great startups don’t just sell products—they change what people believe. Phrases like “No Software,” “Design is multiplayer,” and “Belong anywhere” didn’t describe features; they rewired how people...

Breakthrough startups don’t win by playing the game better. They win by refusing the game’s unspoken rules. Watching Figma’s IPO in July was a powerful reminder. -Old rule: design lives in files ...

Galileo’s crude telescope overturned centuries of belief because he questioned what the world considered fact: that Earth sat unmoving at the center. His real achievement wasn’t the tool but the ...

Normally we stick to 0 to 1 on the Pattern Breakers podcast, but the latest episode with Eric Schmidt was a bit different. :) Instead of reminiscing on the early days of Google, Eric prefers to li...

Kelvin Y. is building an important new startup for rebuilding financial infrastructure in the industrial economy. And he is bringing early co-conspirators onto the team. Check out the below for mor...