#39 - RISHI INVITED ME TO SILICON VALLEY

ISSUE #39

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer. - Bruce Lee

THE BASICS

I am designing the first version of a series of recon missions that will test the Peoples' Impact Philosophy against the hard, cold reality of the world. Based on these confrontations, we adapt IkoCiti over and over again till it is the closest thing to a solution to eradicate generational poverty (GenPoverty). IkoCiti is all about empowering the powerless with resources to rebuild their barrios (neighborhoods) while monetizing their new-learned skills.

Seen from a different perspective, you could also say that we offer Fair-Government-As-A-Service (FGAAS).In the final stage of IkoCiti, we partner with Government to coordinate collaboration between all stakeholders in the barrio connecting people and organizations on different levels. That is why we design IkoCiti as a city with 16 districts and 50+ zones, each offering different services.

THE VALLEY

So Rishi invited me to come to Silicon Valley to spend some time with them and many other smart people, at least if I make it to the Top 50 on the leaderboard. I love the concept, summer is coming and San Francisco is a long-time item on my bucket list. So, game on, let's shuttle to the Bay Area.

Rishi here, one of the co-founders of Pioneer. We’re a network for early founders around the world. Thought you might find it useful for IkoCiti! A bit about our program: selected founders get a $20k investment, go through a 3-month remote accelerator, spend a month in San Francisco with fellow founders, get mentored by top operators/investors, and much more.

We’ve funded 130+ companies from 50+ countries who’ve collectively gone on to raise over $100M from Sequoia, a16z, General Catalyst, Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, and many more.

But it is probably not going to happen. (crying tears) IkoCiti is not your run-of-the-mill start-up. If you want to build a start-up, don’t design it like IkoCiti. It is like 10-15 independent ventures woven together in an umbrella platform. Technically, it is a more-than-doable construction of mainstream components. TECH is not the challenge. HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY is the slippery slope mountain we have to cross. You could say we are a data venture analyzing human psychology on how best to empower inexperienced people and convert them into paid changemakers that uplift the barrio.

So if our venture does not fit within the standard incubator/accelerator mold, why would Rishi bother?

CHANGING SOCIETY

Changing the world sounds a bit corny - a lot of inspirational blah-blah but too often lacking the almighty HOW. Well, IkoCiti’s underlying philosophy – Peoples’ Impact – is all about the HOW. It details the How in probably too many words (400.000 +). The goal is to change societies. If not, why bother? Let’s play some ball, have a beer, and have a good conversation. There are already way too many so-called social enterprises offering micro-solutions. No need to add to the pile. So, we are looking for the Rishis who are crazy enough to chase ventures seeking market-level or society-level change. Hopefully, they are located in Warriors’ territory under the Curry Leadership.

Although the solopreneur founder (me) is THE MAN in the initial phase, his role is not as critical for long-term success as the co-founders. They are the ones building the platform. The founders’ biggest challenge right now is to recruit a solid group of 8 -12 co-founders. And honestly, I have no fuckin’ clue how. Not yet, at least.

The average early-seed-startup investor hates long runways. Most people hate long runways. The problem with long runways is not only the time factor but having to grind along without any real confirmation of success. So you need smart, confident people who hardly need external confirmation to keep on moving. Ever heard of needles and haystacks?

SELL THE CONCEPT

Probably the lousiest strategy to get funded is to try to sell the Concept without a team. Investors hate it. They love strong teams and high-probability execution. So pursuing a sell-the-concept strategy equals losing 99.72% of potential investors. The remaining 0.28% are those able to play the long game redefining the trillion-dollar global poverty markets.

Those who seek to change the top-down, middle-class professional-led poverty sector into a bottom-up, lower-class-led industry. Those who understand that only self-propelling solutions scale globally. Those who know that only radical bottom-up solutions can generate perpetual loops of social change. Those who know that proven grand-scale solutions qualify for long-term partnerships with governments, structured to convert disadvantaged neighborhoods into places of opportunity.

The dream-like scenario (the charismatic billionaire play) is that some of the 0.28% desire a global leadership role but have no clear idea of How. A friendship made in heaven – they become the face of the franchise, deliver the resources and we deliver the HOW.

CHARISMATIC BILLIONAIRE

The reincarnation of Steve Jobs quickly gets it – the immense possibilities of IkoCiti provided it is executed well.

Probably Rishi will be laughing his ass off because who the fuck am I to paint a future so grand. He is right to doubt me. I am just an old guy – a complete outsider with no track record - who observes the world as-is trying to come up with solutions. A guy with only one Ask: judge me on the blueprint of Peoples’ Impact. I might be a fool in the Cervantes tradition but – at least - I am a fool who grinds progress.

And any venture, start-up, or concept needs a break sometimes. Meet a Rishi who comes up with a model that suits a conglomerate of independent ventures collaborating to build a self-propelling system. You cannot blame the Rishis In the world for not buying into the ultimate moonshot – eradicating poverty. So the Rishis keep on doing Rishi things and the Fool keeps on doing Fool Things. Then when the night falls and REM overtakes the eyes, it happens. I see her approaching me.

She extends her hand and says … JOBS, STEFANIA JOBS. I get it. Here is your check. You and I are going to build perpetual loops of social progress.

THE END