1. Solving important problems
Method: agnostic to
definition of “important.”
Focus: positioning oneself in
current institutional blind spots.
Metaphor: A ladder to pick well-developed,
medium-hanging fruit all the low-hanging
fruit opportunists missed.
Sam Bhagwat
CFO, Blueseed
2. Solving important problems
Solution is moderately
capital-intensive
Solution Problem
has little considered
new tech political
Solution combines
two disparate fields
Sam Bhagwat
CFO, Blueseed
3. Capital intensivity
Large Capex Blue-ocean
Corporate planning / real estate inv. Deep-pocketed eccentric / crafty pitch
High Capital
Small business Lean Startup
Banks, companies Typical Silicon Valley VC
Low capital
Old business model New business model
4. Politics vs. technology
Policy innovation Lobbying
Political
solution
Engineering Radical pragmatism
Technology
solution
Problem considered Problem considered
technological political
5. Adjacency distance (“X for Y”)
• What are the core competencies
required?
• And how far apart are they in skill-
space?
6. Adjacency distance (“X for Y”)
Communications satellite (1960) iPod (2001)
Solar Music
distribution
large
Rocketry
large
small
Communication tech Computers
Paypal (1998) Blueseed (2011)
Payment Maritime
processing
Silicon
medium Valley large
Electronic small
communication Immigration law/politics
8. Solving important problems
Solution is moderately
capital-intensive
Solution Problem
has little considered
new tech political
Solution combines
two disparate fields
Sam Bhagwat
CFO, Blueseed
9. Additional reading
• Working on important problems:
– “Good and Bad Procrastination,” Paul Graham,
http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html
• Working on important problems & capital-intensivity:
– “What Happened To The Future?”, Bruce Gibney, Founders’ Fund:
http://www.foundersfund.com/the-future
• On multiple competencies: “Career advice,” Scott Adams,
http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-advice.html
Hinweis der Redaktion
Largecapex: New cruise shipsNew airplanesReal-estate constructionEtcBlue-ocean:Minerva UniversityTeslaGoogle self-driving carsTitanic II
Radical pragmatism:India rural cellular & solarAirbnbUberHigh-speed LA-SF self-driving shuttleBlueseedPolicy innovation:Bandwidth auctioningAirline deregulationPatent reformMPG requirements for carsLobbying: lots of examplesEngineering: lots of examples
Goal: pretend like the adjacency difference is lower than it is (show video of Dario to BBC)
Goal: pretend like the adjacency difference is lower than it is (show video of Dario to BBC)
Breakthrough improvement:A. Prolonged processes:Moore’s Law20th century telephony20th century car safetyB.One-time events: PenicillinPolio vaccineCotton ginIncremental improvement:YouTube (“Flickr for video”)Facebook(“Myspace for college students, well-designed”)Moneyball(“analytics for baseball”)Repurposing:Cardboard bicycleBlueseed(“Cruise ship for international entrepreneurs, long-term”)Crazy shit: Asteroid mining (?? for ??)Google self-driving cars(Airplane autopilot for cars)
Goal: act like the adjacency difference is lower than it is (show video of Dario to BBC)
Goal: act like the adjacency difference is lower than it is (show video of Dario to BBC)