Michael Seibel Quotes

Is it a gift or a curse when half the people who’ve heard of you hate you? I guess is depends on the game you are playing.

There is an instinct among early stage investors to talk their book like all the big tech incumbents are about to be slayed by an army of $1m ARR startups. Founders, you are smart enough to know this isn’t true. Slaying an incumbent requires, time, skill, luck, and often a new technology. Don’t believe the marketing hype - this shit is hard.

When the typical outcome for a post seed, post series A, and post series B startup is death. Perhaps the best strategy is to be careful how much you copy the startups around you. Are you brave enough to think different?

The problem with public policy in America is the assumption that all problems are solvable. Government is a human institution and human institutions are imperfect. When you make the state into God, you will always be disappointed.

Post seed funding, the pursuit of sales and fundraising over learning and delivering great product to customers is the biggest midwit tarpit for most founders.

When I was younger I assumed everyone wanted everything to be more efficient. That iteration and improvement was something all people could get behind. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized this is not the case and my mistake was a core error in my mental model of the world and its institutions. Improvement has to be fought for. Status quo is by far the most popular position.

Read Twitter, get worked up, realize that’s the point, calm down, and move on with my day. Rinse and repeat :)