It’s More Than Rocket Science

When I interned in early-stage venture capital, I looked at my fair share of pitch decks. Although my firm wasn’t on Sand Hill Road, I did see a lot of the classic team consisting of an ex-FAANG CTO and an Ivy League to Wall St. CEO trying to capture just 1% of some trillion-dollar market, claiming to be the Uber/Amazon/Air BnB of X industry.

I even looked at a company founded by an ex-NASA employee who literally studied rocket science. Startups are not rocket science; they are much more than that. A startup must solve a need in the market, called a “painkiller”, or is something nice to have that is so much better than incumbents that it takes off (a “vitamin”).

Prior experience is important, especially when trying to fend off competition, but not even a background in rocket science can propel a product that does not solve a problem or make the status quo materially better.

Whether you are sitting on the investor or founder side of the table, be wary of pedigree. It is a useful indicator of competence, but it is not nearly as important as the elusive product-market fit.

A grizzled veteran of the convenience store industry is probably a better founder for a D2C soda brand than an ex-NASA rocket scientist. A long-tenured UPS employee is a better fit for a logistics company than a PE associate with a gilded CV from Harvard, JPM, and KKR.