Solving important problems

Sam BhagwatCFO, Blueseed

Method: agnostic to definition of “important.”

Focus: positioning oneself in current institutional blind spots.

Metaphor: A ladder to pick well-developed, medium-hanging fruit all the low-hanging fruit opportunists missed.

Solution is moderately capital-intensive

Problem considered

political

Solution combines two disparate fields

Solution has little new tech

Solving important problems

Sam BhagwatCFO, Blueseed

Capital intensivity

Corporate planning / real estate inv.

Small business

Blue-ocean

Lean Startup

New business model

Low capital

High Capital

Old business model

Large CapexDeep-pocketed eccentric / crafty pitch

Typical Silicon Valley VCBanks, companies

Politics vs. technology

Engineering

Policy innovation

Radical pragmatism

Lobbying

Problem considered political

Technology solution

Problem considered technological

Political solution

Adjacency distance (“X for Y”)

• What are the core competencies required?

• And how far apart are they in skill-space?

Adjacency distance (“X for Y”)Communications satellite (1960)

Solar

Communication tech

Rocketry

Music distribution

Computers

Maritime

Immigration law/politics

Silicon Valley

Blueseed (2011)

iPod (2001)

Paypal (1998)

large

small

large

small

large

Electronic communication

Payment processing

medium

Adjacency distance

Breakthrough improvement

Incremental improvement

Crazy sh*t

Repurposing

Technological innovation

Invention vs. repurposing

Crazy & loaded

Clever

Skilled tinkerer

Low

High

Large: Disparate

Small: Overlapping

Brilliant

Solving important problems

Solution is moderately capital-intensive

Problem considered

political

Solution combines two disparate fields

Solution has little new tech

Sam BhagwatCFO, Blueseed

Additional reading• Working on important problems:

– “Good and Bad Procrastination,” Paul Graham, http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html

• Working on important problems & capital-intensivity:– “What Happened To The Future?”, Bruce Gibney, Founders’ Fund: http://

www.foundersfund.com/the-future• On multiple competencies: “Career advice,” Scott Adams, http://

dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-advice.html