Get RICH or Sign Trying -- FAKE vs. reality & how to find what's REAL in a world of noise.

Don't be a flash in the pan. In a world where all things are showy, flashy, signal value — real recognizes real. Today we’re talking about fundamentals, so you don’t have to be a flash in the pan. Let’s get into it.

00:00 All that glitters is not gold
01:43 The Matrix: Simulacrum and Simulation
05:42 The Keynesian Beauty Contest
07:46 Is perception now reality?

I’m Garry Tan, venture capitalist and founder at Initialized Capital. We were earliest investors in billion dollar startups like Coinbase and Instacart, and I’m a Forbes Midas List Top 100 venture capitalist in the world. We want these videos to be about helping people build world-class teams and startups that touch a billion people. Our startups have gone on to create more than $100 billion in market value so far, and Initialized has over $1B in assets under management.

Please like this video and subscribe to my channel if you want to see more videos like this!

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[dianakanlee]

thank you Gary 😊 honestly as a fellow software engineer who worked in tech startups for the last 7-8 years, the distracting image problem within the industry had me jaded & burnt out for a while too. 6 months ago, i thought i was leaving tech for good to fulfill my childhood dream of being an independent film actress, and my startup background gave me the confidence to do it myself and make my first film (now in post). along the way, i found myself pulled back to a tech solution for a persistent problem artists, creators & filmmakers face. the deeper i go into the problem space, the more i find that it is something that could be universal & truly change the world, and intuively i know that this is my life's purpose, so it is time. as i continue to build out my prototype, i find myself having to let go of a lot of emotional blocks that i developed over the years and coming to terms with many things my intuition / gut tells me. your videos have given me a new hope for tech & startups. thank you 🥰

[mrniksharma]

This is so true. Thanks for the reminder on this. I feel like too many people get excited by the destination and re-orient their life entirely to get to the destination, but the real learnings, growth, and patterns you want to have all come from the journey.

[murjoshua]

"Once you are liberated, you are forced to ask who you are!"
Went through this questioning, all this year, and tbh the projections of what I really want to be are much better and clear than last year (a whole other story).
Thank you Gary!

[parwesh]

Huge truths. I see this all the time even in grad school. Choosing to seem like you are working is somehow preferable to actually creating value. Everyone is paying attention to the noise and everyone misses the signal that's needed to make real progress.

This video is a reminder to myself to stay devoted to finding signal and keep creating value.
Thanks as always, Garry!

[MrMonsterrally]

Hey Gary, I don’t know anything about business. I didn’t grow up around it and I didn’t study it in school. That’s why I love watching your videos and others in this space. I’ve found something that means so much to me and I know if it isn’t something I at least try to make a reality, I will only ever be able to think “what if” when my life is nearing its end. You mention at 1:14 that “this video will be about fundamentals so you don’t have to be a flash in the pan, ” yet, I was not able to draw a clear conclusion the entire video about what the fundamentals actually are. Instead, I found it to be more related to what they are not. If I’ve never seen a dart or dartboard and am trying to hit a bullseye, and am told it is not a couch, not a tv, not an alarm clock, how will I ever succeed?

This made me think even more. What if the reason we can’t distinguish the real from the want-to-be is because it’s something we’ve never seen before? The world had not seen a computer “in every house on every desk” before Microsoft, or cryptocurrency before Bitcoin. The bullseye we are all searching for is exactly what we do not know - foreign.


p.s. - I would still have liked to know practical tips to build a foundation that holds even in the storm. Being part of your audience from a different background, “business fundamentals” are not clear to me. Maybe a future video?

[Emilieho]

I'm shocked by how much I needed to hear this.

I work for a corporate venture in the fashion industry and throughout the past 2 years of interacting with fashion brands, I discovered a unique problem to solve for fashion designers. I have created a solution to solve that problem and so far the user feedback has been really great. However the corporate venture decides not to fund it so I'm in that intersection between bootstrapping or needing to fund raise when I only have a beta product and not looking like a successful startup.

It's a constant dilemma every day whether I spend more time looking like I have a successful startup to convince people to fund me or keep improving the product and talking to users. I'm gonna keep choosing the latter. Thank you for your authenticity Garry. This is extremely uplifting.

[darlucey]

This video needs to be shown to every startup founder. As someone who is going through the journey you described, it is a cold reminder not to stray off what you are truly looking to achieve. Thanks for an amazing video Garry

[UlisesMartinezMx]

Man your videos are getting even better by the day. So simple and yet so shaking: startup culture is based on which founder shines more at pitch day than which product actually performs..

[hectorroman]

This is exactly what my startup is experiencing when going for seed funding. I'm not the "usual" business man with their required background so they'll look aside. My team will continue to bootstrap and we'll prove a point 🙏

[samsongao]

Discovered this 3 years ago, when I was 19 at the time and stopped. Recognized that everything is filled with noise ( thanks to stocks ) . At this point, I can't even lie without feeling guilty and I'm happier than I've ever been. Also, having an unknown CNS disease for 1+ year. Definitely made myself realize that being productive matters more than talking, since I could be dead or disabled tomorrow.

[jailosalia]

Thought provoking video Garry! Substance vs Signal. Substance deserve the riches; however, signal sometimes (more than I should) wins. Peeps are too busy seeking for the easy to recognize the great. This is a fundamentally difficult problem to solve, because peeps always want what’s easy to recognize. To not have to think hard. This idea spans from employment and startups to relationships and much more. How to change this? Hmm that’s a thinker. I believe you have to a combo of both, to reduce likelihood of challenge and help position yourself in a blue sea.

[vivaankhabya]

Feel surrounded by this kind of thinking and pressure all the time. It always feels wrong, yet it’s hard to ignore. Shouldn’t be trying to compete for a contest and shiny prize, but rather create something tangible and valuable. Helpful as always!

[fienreunes]

this is the first video that I watch, and 'BAM'. So much truth in it. "All the glitters is not gold". Build the fundamentals. Signal value. I needed to hear this today. Thanks for setting the example, and share so much value.

[stuartmarsh]

Great thoughtful video. You're absolutely right about focusing on the fundamentals, but you also need to display those success signals or you'll get lost in the noise.

It's not fundamentals vs signals. It fundamentals AND signals.

[rajmudumbai]

A straight shooter in the increasingly insane world of startup funding. Hope the craziness gives way to sanity to spur real growth with less frothiness. Well done Garry!

[jinzhouyuan]

Real recognize real! well said and can't agree more. Noise is everywhere, but it doesn't drown out the shine from real. On the contrary, it makes me feel even more excited when I find a real one. It's like the excitement when the fish finally took the bait after a long wait.

[kylefranklin]

This is my favorite video of yours I’ve seen so far. Thanks.

Regarding depth from experience and trial, if we zoom out and consider the depth and trial of humans who lived before us then it recalls the proverb “there is nothing new under the sun.” Predicting the future can just be looking back to history, abstracting it and instantiating it again in today’s medium

[rationalvc]

Amazing as always Garry 👌 So much of this resonates with the message we preach and why we started our platform - we thank you for shining light on these matters and for bringing us the best content in this whole space 😀

[emmanuelonuohajnr]

Good one Garry, I feel the norm of trying to look good is becoming a major determinant of everyday life. Everybody is playing the game of protecting their legacy, public perception.
The solution for me is to make decisions that will affect society in a certain way not based on what people might think.

[Jeroenk]

That last part really connected Gary, amen! Real recognises real. ❤️