Brigadoon Weekly
August 4, 2019
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross
Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia
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Peter Thiel, Michigan Central, Chile, Hotel Lobbies, Caledonian Sleeper, Italy
ROSS RANT
21 nuggets on Peter Thiel's zero to one - Notes on startups, or how to build the future
1. Every moment in business only happens once
2. Today's "best practices" lead to dead ends; the best paths are new and untried
3. Successful people find value in unexpected places
4. Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius
5. What a startup has to do: question received ideas and rethink business from scratch
6. The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself
7. If you want to create and capture lasting value, don't build an undifferentiated commodity business
8. War is a costly business
9. Many entrepreneurs focus only on short-term growth. They have an excuse: growth is easy to measure, but durability isn't
10. Every startup should start with a very small market
11. Don't disrupt: avoid competition at all costs
12. You are not a lottery ticket
13. There are two kinds of secrets: secrets about nature and secrets about people
14. No company has a culture; every company is a culture
15. Everyone at your company should be different in the same way - a tribe of like-minded people fiercely devoted to the company's mission
16. Academic ideas about history or economics don't just sell themselves on their intellectual merits
17. Marketing and advertising work for relatively low-priced products that have mass appeal but lack any method of viral distribution
18. A product is viral if its core functionality encourages users to invite their friends to become users too
19. Computers excel at efficient data processing, nut struggle to make basic judgments that would be simple for any human
20. Most of the world dreams of living as comfortably as Americans do today, and globalization will cause increasingly severe energy challenges unless we build new technology
21. We cannot take for granted that the future will be better, and that means we need to work to create it today
-Marc
Marc A. Ross is an advisor and connector working at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics. Ross specializes in helping entrepreneurs and thought leaders make better connections and better communications. He is the founder of Brigadoon, the global community where entrepreneurs and thought leaders gather to discuss emerging issues shaping commerce and culture. Want more? Drop me an email @ marc@thebrigadoon.com.
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FIVE TO READ
Michigan Central and the rebirth of Detroit: Michigan Central was once one of the grandest railway stations in the United States - the gateway to a fabulously wealthy city, dominated by the auto industry. Thousands of workers passed through the building in search of new lives - immigrants from Europe and the Middle East along with black workers, part of the “great migration” northwards, from the prejudice and poverty of the agricultural South. But Detroit’s days of lavish prosperity are long gone. The station has been closed and abandoned for more than 30 years. Its tower, like the keep of a derelict fortress, is a poignant symbol of a once-great city’s decline. https://bbc.in/2ME8LQe
The long and rutted road: a 1,000-mile adventure in Chile: Chile’s Route 7 has a new tourist-friendly name but remains wild, lonely — and partly unpaved. https://on.ft.com/2ME8NYm
The 20 best hotel lobbies in the world: From the Ritz Carlton in Kazakhstan to the Fairmont in California, these hotel lobbies are the first space patrons see upon arrival, and they do not disappoint. http://bit.ly/2MGKPvB
Can the new Caledonian Sleeper revive the romance of rail?The £150m relaunch of the London to Scotland service finally gets underway — despite a few teething troubles. https://on.ft.com/2ME8tZE
The unwritten rules of driving in Italy: How to make that dream of an Italian road trip a reality. http://bit.ly/2MEG3yE
BRIGADOON RADIO
Brigadoon Radio: Episode 26: Brexit = Should I stay or should I go?
A recorded conversation between Dr. Mark Stellingworth and Marc Ross.
The episode explores the complexity of the EU system, how the world got here with Brexit, what it means for America, the players and policies, the importance of Dominic Cummings, and how culture and history shape economics and politics.
Listen - here.
EVENTS
Hitting the road
This fall, Brigadoon is organizing salon dinners in Annapolis, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Cincinnati.
- Small group / 20 max
- No name tags
- No powerpoints
- Conversation focused
- Distinct settings
- Special meals
More details and tickets - here.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
