Jordan Cooper's Blog: startups, venture capital, etc…

Everybody Close Your Eyes

Posted on August 22, 2013. Filed under: startups, venture capital, wildcard |

Yesterday I had breakfast with one of our investors who I’ve known for a long time.  He had read my blog recently and was really excited about the future we are crafting at Wildcard.  I thanked him for his supportive words, but pushed him for harsher criticism.  I said “what are we doing wrong?  What would you be doing differently based on what you know?”  His answer was something I had not considered and it was deeply insightful.  He said “I really like the early voice you’ve established to communicate your view of the future…but don’t tell people what the future is going to be…rather invite them to help you define it together.”

This advice touches on a very subtle nuance around balancing vision and cooperation.  When I close my eyes, I see a future on mobile that is better than what we’ve got today…and everyday I come into work and try to find better language to describe it, and refine it, and bring it into reality…sometimes, when you spend all day willing something into existence, it becomes easy to become attached to the thing you see when you close your eyes…in reality, I think the process of getting to an optimal future is about making a contribution…sharing your version of the way it could be, and then listening to what others who long for an optimal future see when they close their eyes.  It’s in this dialog, that we can collectively shape something meaningful.  There is something to be said for conviction and resolve…and I do not suffer from a lack of that for sure…but Joel reminded me that if we are going to get to a mobile internet experience that is not just on par, but better than that of the desktop web…it’s going to be through a conversation with everyone who cares…

I’ll keep beating the drum for a web of cards, and the convergence of native and web on mobile…for a hybrid future, where selfishly and benevolently Wildcard will play a pioneering role, but I can’t wait to listen to the beats of thousands of other drums…may we find a rhythm together that is sweet to 14 Billion ears…

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