Are all founders unconventional?

What makes you an unconventional founder?

Unconventional practices?

Unconventional ideas?

Unconventional attractiveness?

Whatever that is, hear me out.

Yesterday, I came across this Instagram reel from acquired.fm:

Tingnan ang post na ito sa Instagram
Isang post na ibinahagi ni Acquired (@acquired.fm)

In the reel, they tell the story of Dee Hock, the founder of Visa, who participates in competitive debates back in college. Years later, he will apply the techniques he learned from competitive debate on his business, particularly on persuasion. All from his experience on competitive debates, an existing discipline he once specialized with.

One of his quotes demonstrates his unconventional method of borrowing from existing disciplines:

The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.

Going back to ourselves,

Do you see anything unconventional around you?

How about yourself?

Is there something worth pondering about? An existing mastery?

When faced a problem, do you try unconventional ideas?

One thing is for sure, expressing something unconventional about you and around you defines that unique trait you have, which in turn, enforces your own identity and the identities around you.

Does it mean that unconventional ideas lead to unique solutions?

It surely leads to unconventional methods, but, are unconventional methods worth trying? Short answer is yes, when faced a dead end, when something is now or never. Consider it a hail mary.

Do we really need to look into our own identity when finding an unconventional idea?

If you’re going to ask me that, as a first time founder, I will say yes.

Looking into unconventional methods tried by founders before us, you can find wins for sure. Be the judge, see if it fits your problem.

Founders are unconventional after all.

Cheers!

Raymel

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