Billionaire Advice: The Benefits Of Operating Like An Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren't One | Forbes

Summary

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, partner at Greylock, and author of 'The Startup of You,' discusses the evolution of career strategies in the modern world. He emphasizes the importance of adopting an entrepreneurial mindset, regardless of one's career path, to navigate industry changes and personal growth. Hoffman shares insights on leveraging networks, taking intelligent risks, and adapting to the post-pandemic job market. He also touches on the future of work, the significance of systems thinking, and the value of learning from failures. Hoffman's experiences as an investor and his thoughts on Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter provide a glimpse into the mindset of successful entrepreneurs and the opportunities in AI and technology.

Takeaways

• 🚀 **Entrepreneurial Mindset**: Reid Hoffman emphasizes the importance of adopting an entrepreneurial mindset, which is beneficial not just for starting companies but also for navigating the modern world and career progression.
• 🌟 **Skills and Market Demand**: Understanding your unique skills and how they align with market demand is crucial. It's about identifying what you offer and where the opportunities lie.
• ⚖️ **Competitive Edge**: Recognizing your competitive advantages is key to standing out. It's about what you have that fewer others possess and how it can influence your market value.
• 💰 **Investing in Yourself**: Just as businesses invest in their growth, individuals should also invest in their personal development to improve and progress in their careers.
• 📈 **Adaptability**: In the face of change, being able to adapt and convert challenges into opportunities is essential for success.
• 🤝 **Power of Networking**: Building a strong network is vital. It's about nurturing allies, friendlies, and followers to create a support system that can provide advice, opportunities, and broader perspectives.
• 📱 **Modern Tools and Media**: Utilizing modern tools like social media is important for personal branding and can be a strategic move in career development.
• 🔄 **Flexible Persistence**: The combination of having a clear vision and the grit to pursue it, while also being flexible enough to adapt and learn, is a powerful approach in business and career management.
• 📉 **Risk Taking**: Intelligent risk-taking is a critical component of growth. It's about understanding the potential rewards and being prepared to navigate the risks.
• 🤔 **Learning from No's**: Receiving a 'no' should be seen as a learning opportunity. It can provide valuable feedback and insights that can be used to refine your approach.
• 🧵 **Threads of Networking**: Your network should be a tapestry of different types of relationships, from close allies to broader followers, each offering unique opportunities and perspectives.

Q & A

What was the 'aha' moment that led Reid Hoffman to write 'The Start-up of You'?

Reid Hoffman's 'aha' moment came when he was asked to give a commencement speech at his high school, The Putney School in Vermont. He realized that while he was an unusual person with a unique career path, the skills of being entrepreneurial are universally important, especially in a changing world. His speech led to encouragement from friends to write a book, which became 'The Start-up of You'.

Why did Reid Hoffman decide to update 'The Start-up of You'?

Reid decided to update 'The Start-up of You' to include modern tools and trends such as social media, gig work, and the creator economy, which were not as prevalent when the book was first published. The updated version aims to help readers navigate the modern economy and the current work landscape.

What does Reid Hoffman believe is the key to navigating a successful career in today's world?

Reid Hoffman believes that to navigate a successful career, one must adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. This involves understanding one's unique skills and how they align with market demands, identifying competitive edges, and continuously investing in self-improvement. Additionally, building and utilizing a strong network is crucial.

How does Reid Hoffman define the concept of 'flexible persistence'?

Reid defines 'flexible persistence' as the combination of having a clear vision and the grit to pursue it, while also being willing to learn, adapt, and change direction when necessary. It's about being persistent in the face of challenges but also flexible enough to adjust one's approach based on new information or changing circumstances.

What role does networking play in career development according to Reid Hoffman?

Networking plays a critical role in career development. Reid emphasizes the importance of having a diverse network that includes close allies, friendly acquaintances, and followers on social media. Each layer of the network provides different benefits, from personal support and advice to broader insights into market trends and opportunities.

What advice does Reid Hoffman give regarding taking risks in one's career?

Reid advises taking calculated risks as a way to learn and potentially uncover breakthrough opportunities. He suggests that individuals should be willing to fail initially and use those experiences as learning moments. It's also important to involve one's network in evaluating and navigating risks.

How does Reid Hoffman view the future of work, especially in a post-pandemic environment?

Reid foresees a future of work that is not entirely remote nor entirely in-person. He predicts a hybrid model where companies will use technology to support distributed work while still maintaining some form of central office. This will allow for a broader range of talent and provide employees with more flexibility.

What is Reid Hoffman's perspective on the importance of adapting to change in one's career?

Reid believes that adaptability is the new stability. He emphasizes the importance of being open to change and willing to reevaluate one's career path in response to shifts in the market or industry. This includes being open to new technologies, business models, and ways of working.

How does Reid Hoffman approach investing in start-ups?

Reid approaches investing by looking for founders with a unique idea in a market where they have a competitive differentiation. He considers the potential for the idea to be huge if successful, evaluates the risks, and assesses whether he can help the founders navigate those risks and achieve success.

What is Reid Hoffman's view on the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk?

Reid views Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter as an interesting development, given Elon's track record as an innovator. He believes that Elon's influence could bring about significant innovation to Twitter, which has been slow in its innovation. Reid also appreciates Elon's focus on human identity validation and the potential for positive impact.

Can you share any insights from Reid Hoffman's podcast 'Masters of Scale'?

Reid's podcast 'Masters of Scale' offers insights from leading entrepreneurs. He shares lessons on systems thinking across industries, the importance of being experimental, and learning from hearing the word 'no'. The podcast emphasizes applying lessons between industries and using setbacks as opportunities for learning and growth.

What is Reid Hoffman's latest venture in the field of artificial intelligence?

Reid has co-founded a new AI company with Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of DeepMind. While still in stealth mode, the company aims to help individuals discover their own 'superpowers' and navigate the world more effectively by leveraging advanced language and foundational models in AI.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Inspiration Behind 'The Startup of You'

Reed Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock, shares the story behind writing 'The Startup of You'. His journey from a multi-stage entrepreneur to an author was inspired by a commencement speech he gave at the Putney School in Vermont. Hoffman realized that everyone, not just entrepreneurs, should adopt an entrepreneurial mindset to navigate the modern world. His book offers advice on career progression and personal development, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's skills, market demand, and competitive edges. It also discusses the need for continuous self-investment and the use of modern tools like social media to build a personal brand.

05:01

🚀 Adapting to Change in the Post-Pandemic World

Hoffman discusses the surge in entrepreneurship and job shifts post-pandemic, highlighting the need to adapt to change. He suggests leveraging one's network to understand market shifts and to explore new opportunities. Hoffman also stresses the importance of experimenting with new formats and platforms, such as social media, to stay relevant. He touches on the evolving nature of work, predicting a hybrid model that combines remote work with in-person collaboration, facilitated by advanced productivity tools.

10:03

🤝 The Power of Networking for Career Success

Reed Hoffmann delves into the multi-layered nature of networking, differentiating between allies, friendlies, and followers. He emphasizes the importance of strong ties with close allies who offer direct support, the broader perspectives offered by friendlies, and the potential reach of followers on social media platforms. Hoffmann advises on being intentional about network development while maintaining human connections, suggesting regular interactions to foster relationships.

15:04

🛠 Embracing Risk and Learning from Failure

Hoffman challenges the fear of risk, advocating for intelligent risk-taking as a means of learning and discovering opportunities. He encourages individuals to experiment with new ideas and to view failures as learning opportunities. The concept of 'flexible persistence' is introduced, which combines vision and grit with the ability to adapt and learn from the market and personal experiences.

20:05

🎙️ Insights from Masters of Scale and Lessons in Overcoming 'No'

Drawing from his podcast 'Masters of Scale', Hoffman shares insights gained from interviews with successful entrepreneurs. He highlights the importance of systems thinking across industries and the value of experimentation. Hoffman also discusses the power of saying 'no' as a learning opportunity, advising on how to extract valuable feedback from rejections and use it to refine one's approach.

25:06

💡 Investing in Innovation and Reflecting on Missed Opportunities

Reed Hoffman reflects on his experience as an investor, emphasizing the importance of having a unique competitive edge and a clear understanding of why one is a good investor. He shares his process for evaluating investment opportunities, focusing on early-stage technology and the potential for massive success despite inherent risks. Hoffman also candidly discusses his regrets, such as missing out on investing in Pinterest due to a misjudgment of its potential.

🧠 The Future of AI and Co-founding a New Company

Hoffman discusses the transformative potential of AI and his involvement in the sector through board positions and investments. He reveals his co-founding of a new AI company with Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, which aims to help individuals discover their superpowers through advanced language models. Although still in stealth mode, the company represents Hoffman's first new venture since LinkedIn.

Keywords

💡Entrepreneurial Mindset

The entrepreneurial mindset refers to an individual's approach to innovative problem-solving, risk-taking, and proactively seeking opportunities. In the video, Reid Hoffman emphasizes the importance of adopting an entrepreneurial mindset not just for starting businesses, but for navigating one's career and life in a modern and ever-changing world. He suggests that this mindset is crucial for adapting to industry changes and economic shifts, such as those brought about by the pandemic.

💡Multi-Stage Entrepreneur

A multi-stage entrepreneur is someone who has started and developed multiple businesses over time, often moving from one venture to another as they grow and evolve. Reid Hoffman, as a co-founder of LinkedIn and a partner at Greylock, exemplifies this concept. The term is used in the script to highlight his journey from founding companies to becoming an investor and a thought leader in the startup community.

💡Venture Capitalist

A venture capitalist is an individual or firm that provides capital to startups and small companies in exchange for equity or ownership stake. Hoffman's transition to a venture capitalist is mentioned in the script, underscoring his role in financing and guiding early-stage companies, which is a critical aspect of fostering innovation and economic growth.

💡Author

Reid Hoffman is identified as an author, specifically of the New York Times bestseller 'The Start-up of You'. His authorship is significant as it represents his contribution to the literature on career development and personal branding, offering advice on how to manage one's career with the strategies of an entrepreneur.

💡Commencement Speech

A commencement speech is a formal address given to graduating students at an academic graduation ceremony. Hoffman was invited to give a commencement speech at his high school, the Putney School in Vermont. This event served as a catalyst for him to crystallize his thoughts on the importance of being entrepreneurial, which later influenced his decision to write 'The Start-up of You'.

💡Pandemic

The pandemic, specifically COVID-19, is referenced in the context of how it has accelerated changes in industries and job markets. Hoffman discusses the increased importance of entrepreneurial skills in a post-pandemic world, where traditional career paths have been disrupted and individuals need to be more adaptable and innovative.

💡Career Advice

Career advice is guidance provided to help individuals navigate their professional lives. In the script, Hoffman challenges traditional career advice by advocating for a business perspective on personal career development. He talks about understanding one's 'products and services', market demand, competitive edges, and the importance of continuous self-investment.

💡Social Media

Social media is highlighted as a modern tool that can be leveraged for personal branding and professional networking. Hoffman discusses the updated edition of his book to include the impact of social media on career development, emphasizing the importance of having an online presence and building a following to amplify one's career opportunities.

💡

💡Gig Economy

The gig economy refers to a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs. Hoffman touches on the gig economy as part of the modern work experience, suggesting that it offers flexibility and opportunities for individuals to diversify their skills and income sources.

💡Future of Work

The future of work encompasses the ongoing transformation of work and labor markets, driven by technology, globalization, and changing employer-employee relations. Hoffman provides insights into the future of work, suggesting a hybrid model that includes remote work, smaller physical offices, and a broader talent pool as companies adapt to new ways of working post-pandemic.

💡Flexible Persistence

Flexible persistence is the balance between having a clear vision and the grit to see it through, while also being willing to learn, adapt, and change course when necessary. Hoffman describes this concept as a key entrepreneurial skill, applicable to career management as well. It involves being persistent in pursuit of goals while remaining flexible enough to adjust strategies in response to new information or changing circumstances.

Highlights

Reed Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, partner at Greylock, and board member of Microsoft, shares insights on entrepreneurship and career development.

Hoffman's book 'The Start-up of You' emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurial skills in navigating modern career paths.

The concept of treating oneself as a business and applying entrepreneurial strategies to personal career growth is introduced.

Hoffman discusses the shift from traditional career advice to a more market-oriented approach, considering skills, market demand, and competitive edges.

The importance of continuous self-investment and improvement is compared to a business investing in better infrastructure.

Hoffman talks about the necessity of having a strong network and how it can be leveraged effectively in one's career.

The evolution of the book 'The Start-up of You' includes updates on social media and gig economy to reflect modern work experiences.

Post-pandemic changes in the job market are analyzed, with a focus on increased entrepreneurship and rapid job shifts.

Hoffman provides guidance on how to succeed in the new post-pandemic environment by converting challenges into opportunities.

The future of work is predicted to be a mix of in-office and remote work, with a focus on flexibility and broader talent acquisition.

The concept of 'flexible persistence' is introduced, combining vision and grit with the ability to learn and adapt.

Hoffman explains the different layers of networking, from close allies to broader acquaintances and followers, and their roles in career advancement.

Intelligent risk-taking is identified as a key challenge and opportunity for personal and professional growth.

The importance of learning from hearing 'no' and using it as a tool for improvement and innovation is discussed.

Hoffman shares his investment philosophy, focusing on early-stage technology companies with unique market positions.

Personal anecdotes and lessons from hosting the 'Masters of Scale' podcast, including insights from high-profile guests like Elon Musk.

Hoffman's thoughts on Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter and the potential for innovation in social media platforms.

Reid Hoffman's new AI venture, co-founded with Mustafa Suleyman, former co-founder of DeepMind, aiming to help humans discover their superpowers.

Transcripts

we're thrilled to be joined by one of

the world's most successful investors

and entrepreneurs reed hoffman you're

the co-founder of linkedin

a partner at greylock and on the

founding board member of paypal and on

the board of microsoft in addition to

the author of the number one new york

times bestseller the startup of you reid

thank you so much for joining us it's a

pleasure to be talking to you again

awesome so i would love to start up with

this book and that's the reason why

you're here in new york today um you

first wrote the startup of you over a

decade ago tell us about that aha moment

where you went from your personal

evolution of as a multi-stage

entrepreneur than to a seed angel

investor than to a venture capitalist

and now to an author what what made you

decide to write the book

so my high school which is not too far

from here the putney school in vermont

generates

you know educators artists other sorts

of folks they asked me to give the

commencement speech and i was like well

i'm a very odd person like i'm very like

i think i know in the entire history of

a putney alumni the other two that are

in the tech industry at all

and and so i was like okay i'll do it

but you know what could i possibly say

from my experience to

these people in very different walks of

life

and uh what i realized is the world has

changed uh not that we should all be

entrepreneurs some of us should be

entrepreneurs but we should all be

entrepreneurial and that skills of being

entrepreneurial are important by the way

more important now even than before

because of pandemic and

change in industries and

all these things but we should

bring the skill set of an entrepreneur

to your own life even if what you're

doing is just you know getting jobs and

working in interesting companies and

and doing the thing that's great for you

and so i gave that speech i circulated

it to some friends and they said you

need to write a book and i was like

writing a book sounds kind of retro

right like okay i guess i'll do that um

found uh had known my co-author ben

casnoka from other contexts talked to

him about it and then and we did it and

it's all the advice that

the kind of an entrepreneur would give

not for starting companies well you can

use it for that

but for kind of being smart about this

modern world and how you navigate the

progress of your career

and looking back to the original release

of the book i was going back and

watching some of the content from there

and what i found fascinating

was this video that you guys made of

this eight-minute

video talking about you know thinking

about yourself like you're running a

business as an entrepreneur and what are

some of the key takeaways that you think

um really

people should be focused on when they're

thinking about their career so

typical career advice tends to be

discover your passion what what what

motivates you and by the way that's

important of course you should because

if i hate that then you're probably not

going to be good at it you're certainly

going to be miserable right so passion

is important

but like when you think about it from a

from from a business perspective

entrepreneurship perspective it's like

well what are your what are your

products and services what are your

skills what are you offering well that's

what does the market want well maybe you

say like i'm i'm really really good at

at writing but actually speaking on

video i'm pretty good at and that's

actually in fact there's much more

demand for that

right and so so there's a what what the

market looks like there's the

competition right so like well how what

are my competitive edges what is the

thing that i have that fewer other

people have and that also helps you with

your kind of market price and then how

do you think about investing in yourself

like you say okay

as opposed to just kind of stumbling

through life thinking about it's like

you know because like a business will

invest in a nicer storefront you know

some some better chairs maybe a flyers

or something or or something else well

how do you do that in a way to make

yourself better to have progress and and

that's the course the 50 000 foot level

but then you go down into the details of

like well having a network is really

useful figuring out how to take risks

smartly is useful uh figuring out how to

kind of uh you know kind of make

decisions around how you made in social

media or all of these modern tools which

of course part of the reason why we

updated the book because because when we

did that one there wasn't so much on

social media social media right or gig

work or any of this other stuff so okay

let's make sure all of those are covered

because those are part of the modern

experience the modern economy and what

work looks like today and we were

speaking before the interview started

and i think you know i'm still of the

generation that you know our parents

taught us that you need to stay in the

same place for a long time if not you

know the majority of career it was a

prideful moment if somebody stayed at

the same company for 10 15 20 years i

stayed at my previous employer over a

decade but that's not the norm now and

that's actually not the best route to be

successful and and part of that video

that i watched was like is it the

company's responsibility to

to promote you is it your institutions

educational institutions responsibility

to educate you enough for the rest of

your career no it's it's ours and so i

think you know people feel like they're

a bit confused especially post-pandemic

we've seen this huge surge in

entrepreneurship that we haven't seen in

40 years according to the census and at

the same time people are it's you know

it's the resignation uh economy and

people are shifting jobs faster than

ever so for this new post pandemic

environment what are some key um

guidance or advice that you've noticed

that help can help people succeed

so i think

part of what you need to do is say okay

how do you convert challenges and

opportunities so like okay pandemic

economic asteroid hit a lot of

industries hit a lot of careers had a

lot of people's geography physical

locations

that means there's a shake-up but i was

also is by the way part of the reason

why thinking about like an entrepreneur

does because an entrepreneur says oh the

market's changing there's a new

technology you know the internet's

coming there's something i can do but

the same thing for you and your career

and your jobs as a way of doing that so

you the first thing you want to do is

kind of say okay well given these

changes as opposed to go

it's changing like oh

what's now possible

then you use your network right you call

smart people maybe go out to lunch with

someone that you know and go to lunch

and say hey what's going on what like

which industries are are growing and

thriving or covering which ones are a

good uh fit

you may not even be you shouldn't

necessarily just be doing that because

i'm looking for a job this week next

week obviously super important if that's

what you're doing but that general kind

of awareness and connection because like

for example you're journalist you might

say oh actually in fact in addition to

doing like podcasts maybe i should do a

youtube thing maybe i should do a tick

tock thing maybe i should be one of the

earliest journalists doing tick tock

and it's like okay that's a that's

that's an experiment right like try

things like well maybe that is maybe

there's something interesting or maybe

someone's doing it well i can talk to

them and can see what's happening and

that's bringing the entrepreneurial

mindset to the current uh time now one

of the things we did in the updated

edition because you know obviously we

talked about linkedin but we also um we

didn't talk about social media as much

and so like having followers and like

why everyone might think about like

actually in fact if i'm going and

sharing content and i'm going and

and kind of saying some things about

what i am what i'm doing what i'm seeing

it doesn't have to all be work and

professional but that kind of thing

you build uh followers who are you know

uh twitter instagram other things who

are like oh are paying attention to

what you're doing and that could be

actually also helpful in your network

and then of course we have the gig

economy and we have the creator economy

and those are all when they're relevant

to you or things that uh

possibly to do as part of how you're

navigating

and so this all naturally feeds into the

future of work something that is emerged

as a huge huge topic as we're still

companies are still trying to figure out

return to the office a hybrid work model

a full back to the office or some

industries like wall street want

everyone back in the office and have

been

back for over a year others you know

like media companies ours included um

are more flexible what do you foresee as

what the future of work will really look

and feel like over the next couple years

so

people tend to prognosticate

unfortunately in two ways they don't

even go oh it's going to roll back to

what it is exactly 2019 maybe with a

little changes or they go and now it's

all distributed and it's all going to

change

and the actual truth of the matter is

it's going to not be what it was but

also and there's going to be key things

that are persistent learning

but what's going to happen now is

there's the same impulse to get back the

office to work together

there's going to be like i don't think

headquarters will be abandoned and so

forth but now we have a whole set of

tools to actually make distributed work

work a lot better so

you could easily see i know meetings

wednesdays where people might be working

from home

you might see

places where they say well actually

we'll have a smaller office and we'll

have a lot more hoteling and people will

be moving between them and maybe that

person who generally does a lot of great

work and moved out of state

comes in a week a month and and does

that and that that now works as a

pattern

because it gives companies a broader

range of talent

gives people a broader range of options

and but it will be very idiosyncratic

the reason why there isn't one simple

thing is because while the tool set has

definitely expanded and you know all of

the internet native productivity tools

whether they're coda or figma or all

these other things will now be enhanced

and used a lot

um

the

uh there's still that human impulse of

you know in the hamilton line being in

the room where it happens

and so that will persist

one of the things you talk about in the

book and you've spoken about before is

flexible persistence can you talk to us

a little bit about that

yep so um

so one of the things that's interesting

about entrepreneurship is it's kind of a

yin and yang it's a combination of two

things

and so um uh in entrepreneurial um

uh advice you go have a vision and grit

and go there no matter what and pound

your head through the wall and stay

persistent and and challenge and work

your way through adversity

on the other hand well learn

figure out if it's product market fit

change adapt you know get get

intelligence and so oh not that plan

this one

uh persistence and flexibility and the

answer is you have to put both of them

together uh because you have to be

making these judgments about well

actually in fact if i'm pounding my head

on this wall i will get through it right

it isn't a 20 foot thick brick wall it's

a one foot foot thick brick wall and i

can get through

um

and on the other hand like learning from

well actually that is too thick of a

wall or

yeah the competition just doesn't work

or that's not just not interesting my

theory about what i was doing wouldn't

work and so you should always be

listening and learning being in

permanent beta as you know

for doing this and you bring those two

things together and that's of course the

same thing for careers because

the the question is you might say well i

actually think this industry is going to

be huge um and you say well you know uh

there'll be more pictures and and more

images than ever and the world will

continue to enhance that in media but

what you might have started at kodak and

actually effectively oh no i should be

going heading towards instagram

another thing that you talk a lot about

is the power of your network but what

sometimes it's a blanket statement

everybody says that you need a really

strong network and and that will get you

where you need to go but that's a little

bit of a of a myth in and of itself

right there's three different layers

there's the people that know you really

well and then there's various circles of

of influence and acquaintances and it's

important um to kind of marry those can

you talk a little bit about your

strategy for how to use the network most

efficiently yep and uh thank you for

having read the book

right uh yes so there's uh kind of your

allies your strong ties those are people

who would you know put some blood or

sweat into helping you those are people

who there's a very close tie of loyalty

it could be from

uh your close friends it could be that

your close colleagues could be family

members it could be you know any number

of things

and those people will

do very key things for you they'll

they'll sit down with you they might

tell you like ah your linkedin profile

needs some improvement mine does yes

right you know et cetera et cetera then

there's your friendlies uh those are

people that you know look you you like

each other you may met at a conference

maybe had breakfast or coffee sometime

you know certainly remember you know

you're um you know kind of like oh yeah

we talked about this or something uh

that gives a much broader range uh which

sociologists call weaker ties but

because that'll have a broader radar

most likely your your your um your your

your allies your your close ties if they

had a piece of advice they've already

given it to you and when you're kind of

looking up and kind of going well how's

the world changing what's going on your

friendlies are a very good way of doing

that and that's one of the reasons why

to occasionally have lunch stay in touch

you know that kind of thing is important

thing to do every so often and then your

followers right the people that you may

be like uh you know some

people don't realize how many thing ways

you can use

linkedin or twitter or instagram to

actually even having a small following

can be able to because if it's the

following and something that you're

doing like you say well

actually in fact my expertise is

thinking about how

um

you know kind of like could even be like

um social media but it could be like my

expertise is taking picture like my

hobby is taking pictures of birds well

you might have a broad

people who go oh i love birds too and

that's something i do and that can be a

connection

through um

uh through your followership that can

also even give you a broader range and

new networks and so it's really

important to have the skills it's really

important to do the work it's really

important to have achievement

but it's important to amplify that with

these layers of network layering in that

perspective can prove invaluable and and

get you to where you want to go 100 and

part of it is you can be intentional

about your network love adam grant's

work by the way you can be intentional

about your network while still being

human think of it as a dance you're

doing together it's not oh oh you're

part of my network i have your your

business card et cetera it's like no no

we are allies we are doing this together

and it's going to be very human and you

can still be conscious about it saying

oh yeah it'd be really good if we grab

coffee every so often but just be human

about it

what do you think is some of the hardest

advice to take in the book hardest

advice to implement or that you know

something that people might

misunderstand

probably is taking risk intelligently

most people

are pretty freaked out about risk most

people want stability in what they're

doing

and by the way part of our thing is

adaptability is the new stability like

learning and so forth it's it can be a

little challenging but but you can do it

actually it's it it isn't you have to be

you know jump 20 feet it's just just try

new things a little bit and be willing

to fail a little bit initially as you're

doing that and kind of do that and

that's part of

taking risk

intelligently

because

when you take risks you'll learn

something when you take risks you might

get a breakout opportunity when you take

risk

you may discover something amazing about

yourself

and so figure out how to take small

risks

intelligently life is a team sport not a

solar sport have your team help you your

allies your friendlies

evaluate the risk navigate it make it

lesser recover from it easily

but that's probably the thing that most

people would find most challenging so i

want to shift gears a little bit you are

also the host of an award-winning

podcast masters of scale and you are

personal friends and have had an

incredible incredible guest on the show

ranging from elon musk to brian chesky

to melody hobson to jack dorsey to you

name it what are some of the lessons or

observations that you know maybe you've

found from some of those individuals and

other entrepreneurs that either you've

mentored or it could also be advice that

you've given that could translate to a

broader audience things that people

could kind of implement

so one of the delights

of being the interviewer the host of

masters of scale is not just that i get

to interview my friends that's cool uh

but also i get to learn from them i get

to sit down and kind of ask questions

and learn myself and then when i'm

thinking about which of these learnings

are best to pass along that's the thing

that that becomes a show

and so and also by the way we only

released the episodes once i got yeah we

got it this is this is something i've

learned from this is i'm gonna do so

literally all of the episodes are things

that i've learned from i'd say

um you know kind of personal kind of

some great things as i um

i interviewed franklin leonard from the

blacklist and

part of it was realizing that systems

thinking isn't just a technology thing

which i do a lot of systems thinking

network thinking within technology but

he also does it within content

generation and hollywood and and how and

how that all works and so

the kind of lesson is to say you can

actually apply these kinds of lessons

between industries and between things

because you wouldn't necessarily think

oh the person who goes into hollywood

for scripts and and and and um

uh you know kind of being an agent like

what he just said i gotta read all these

scripts well maybe we just email a bunch

of people from an account and say tell

me the best scripts that you saw that

you're never going to make and then that

all iterates into the blacklist like

that's that's that's a a yeah exactly um

or

uh very early uh mariam nafisi

um and this is part of like like taking

risks and doing things with life she was

she was creating this business eve.com

and

um the per uh the parent had bought eve

for their daughter

and she was trying to negotiate the the

purchase for it

and the parent was like well you have to

negotiate with my daughter so she ended

up negotiating with a five-year-old for

the domain for her business

um which of course is just a delightful

story

but the thing that she realized she she

gave the kid a lot of money but that

wasn't what closed the deal we'll close

the deal with the trip to disneyland oh

wow

that's a good one right so so things

like that and that's the

being experimental trying new things

that you that you haven't before because

it was like i suppose no i'm going to

send the lawyers it's like no i'm going

to go do it myself and that's among the

things that makes mariam such an amazing

entrepreneur

so no the word no is something that you

hear a lot as an entrepreneur and i'm

sure you've heard it many times in your

career and it's something that people

also face whenever they're trying to

push the envelope within a company or

corporation what are some lessons

that you can get from hearing the word

no yep

and

by the way you're proving that you're

very well read because i'm certain

you've also picked that up from our

masters of scale book

and

part of the thing that people normally

go and we try to when you're trying to

help people

uh figure out how to navigate and learn

things it's take things that are

somewhat counter-intuitive because most

of those when you're not like oh it's

depressing oh no i have to walk away et

cetera actually in fact how do you learn

from those how do you

have no's be the thing that amplifies

you and it isn't the kind of classic

sales don't take no for an answer

because by the way that's sometimes

pretty irritating

depending on people i'm sure you have

had some pretty annoying

entrepreneurs be like i don't take no

for an answer yeah and

that's not good right it's people

interacting and so but what you do is

you say okay what can i learn from it

right so like for example if you're

pitching a business and someone says no

it's like okay please tell me why right

because i might learn something i might

learn something on how to pitch i might

learn something on how to refine the

idea i might learn something from

network intelligence like very early in

linkedin uh what everyone was telling me

is it's a network product you know the

first person of value second personal

value third personal value you have to

get like to hundreds of thousands of

people before it's valuable

oh that's useful to to i should steer

into that i should figure out how to

solve that in order to build that

because you're because that's network

intelligence what you're getting so when

you get knows

think about how can i learn from it how

can i adjust don't treat it as a

soul-crushing moment or

a shrink moment treat it as a learning

moment as a way to to accelerate how

you're going forward

so you've been investing since uh when

the late 90s the mid-90s uh i would say

probably late 90s because you know in

some sense i put some

a little bit of money into paypal and

that was probably my first investment

very lucky very lucky well no very smart

i mean i actually wrote a book proposal

based on the untold story of paypal so

actually know a lot about that um and

and you you did a lot of key fundamental

work there so

how do you figure out which ideas are

worth investing in

so

there's different patterns of investing

one of the things is you should

certainly if you are doing investing

have a theory about why you have a

massive competitive differentiation and

have expertise

it's a little bit like think of the

poker game if you look around the table

and you can't spot the sucker then you

are the sucker so similarly you got to

say okay why am i a differentially good

investor investing is one of those

things that's it's it people can do it

but you need to have that

so for me and there's by the way

investors who do other kinds of things

other industries other things that are

expert of that and i always you know

like warren buffett amazing different

kind of investing than what i do

so what i do is i look at a very early

stage technology a

a founder where she or he or they

might be

have a kind of a good plan

be unique in the market have a unique

kind of like an idea for what they can

do and there may be some real risks like

airbnb when i invest in that it's like

all kinds of things that could go wrong

with that but you look at all that and

you say

if it goes right it'll be huge okay

what's the chance to go right what's the

theory of the case what are the risks

how do you navigate them can these

people do it can i help them do it

and that's the kind of investment that's

my core investing

what's one big investment regret that

you have a big opportunity like airbnb

that you said no to maybe it's uber um

it's a long list yeah well tell me tell

us a few and and why

you know that if it if it makes it big

it'll be huge wasn't enough to seal the

deal

well

uh if i have that whole framework then

sometimes maybe a risk would cause it to

be not the thing um

you know one of the ones that feels most

personally painful because i really like

ben silverman and paul chiara

they came before the venture round with

pinterest and they sat down and said

look we got this interesting traction

this is really interesting thing

and i just didn't think it could be big

enough because i didn't understand pin

boards as a new media type

um and i just you know like oops

right and so and so that was kind of the

mist estimation of oh that's not that i

didn't see how it could be big right and

that's one of the things um actually

there was a funny

thing where

um you know someone i knew had told me i

met airbnb a a year later than i

otherwise would have

because i was having this conversation

oh you should hear about this thing

everybody it's great it's couchsurfing

and a lot of couchshipping is a terrible

idea right i mean because it's it's all

the weaknesses of the weirdness of

you're in the shared space and all the

rest with none of the glory the amazing

thing like running an apartment or or

renting a you know a penthouse or a

house or all these castle all these

other things and by the way still some

people the transactions running a couch

but you have to go the whole gamut of

the experience and what are the

experience of being local to the

community and so that's not interesting

and so even though brian had emailed me

earlier i was like oh i'm too busy and

it took a year to come back to

uh and then literally in the first two

minutes where brian and joe and nate

were pitching every new event i was like

okay

i'm going to make you an offer to invest

put the pitch aside let's make this a

working session what are you working on

what are the challenges what what do you

think the next problem is why is that

let's do that because i don't need to

see the rest of the pitch i already know

that i'm going to make you an offer and

were they prepared to share that with

you on the fly or yeah yeah well because

they're

all three of them they're great

entrepreneurs

so shifting gears a little bit into

what's in the news right now

there's been a lot of attention being

paid to one of your

buddies from the paypal days elon musk

purchasing twitter what are your

thoughts on that acquisition

so elon's obviously one of the

maybe the most storied and amazing

entrepreneur of our time um you know

let's revolutionize the space industry

let's revolutionize the car industry oh

this ai thing is important let's do this

neural link thing

all of these amazing things

and so um i think that the

uh and and i think twitter has been slow

on its innovation so i think that um

bringing a

great innovator

into this uh

new zone is going to be a very

interesting thing

i also think that his

you know stated idea through twitter

that of of doing more human identity

validation is i think a very good thing

one obviously has to be careful about

where this plays out to activists and

oppressive countries or even people who

are oppressed minorities within you know

well-formed democracies you have to make

sure that you're attentive that but i

think human identity validation is

generally speaking a very good thing and

a good thing that we do a lot of it

linkedin

right i mean in terms of of trying to

make sure everyone has a is there as

like you know i'm reid hoffman this is

really my my profile and who i am

and so um so i think that's all um

uh a very good thing and look i think

it's uh

you know elon always thinks big and so

jumping into what is otherwise a

horrifically difficult problem right you

know

a cultural conflict in society

freedom of speech issues how do you

balance a freedom of speech with a

we we'd like to have a society that is

that is a little kinder

right a little bit more you know

building bridges versus burning them and

how do you sort all that out very

difficult journey you know uh elon has a

lot of uh cuts

so i remember you had said that i think

he you were his second call on spacex

right

so um are there any

calls that you can share for other

investments or deals that he's maybe

made to you

uh well elon and i are friends and we

know each other well so i do get calls

um and uh i think one of the reasons is

because i don't talk about them right it

makes sense well i have to ask

and then in terms of the work that

you're doing at greylock and the venture

capital industry overall where are you

seeing the greatest amount of

opportunity right now i know you

recently started your first company

since linkedin it's an ai company can

you talk to us a little bit about that a

little we're still mostly in stealth

mode but um so i've been doing a bunch

of stuff in artificial intelligence i'm

on the

board of open ai board of microsoft um

we at greylock

have uh invested in companies like adept

and so you know ai is going to be one of

those very big uh kind of

uh transformational probably of all

industries really amazing

and so mustafa suleiman co-founder

deepmind and i were talking

about his coming and helping us at

greylock with ai and we agreed to do

that and then

uh he then came to me and said look i

also have this really interesting idea

around

not doing the kind of thing that we were

doing at deepmind so much

which is uh like how do we build this

kind of completely new artificial

intelligence that kind of uh is doing

its own thing but also how do we help

human beings discover their own

superpowers you know kind of

uh navigate the world and so on then a

set of of ways of taking these these

these these these language models and

these foundational models and doing that

and there's obviously a specific idea

unfortunately not yet ready to share but

um but let's do that um and and i said

okay look i'll fund it and so then he

said well actually in fact would you

co-found it with me and i said i think

it's important enough you know since the

first time since linkedin that i would

do that so i can come to you with my

important idea and you might co-found it

with me well i certainly wouldn't want

to call out an advertisement for that

right but if it's possibly going to

really improve the world massively at

scale then i'd certainly like to get the

call all right well i'll put my thinking

cap on then well reid thank you so much

for joining us it's been a pleasure

always a pleasure and an honor