Sometimes you just want to rant, even it means writing in your second language.
The question:
If a group of people went to similar universities, worked at similar tech firms, read similar blogs and attended similar events, will they think alike? What if they even follow the same advice of ‘building something for yourself’?
Startupschool is good, but lack of diversity in ideas troubles me. On surface, the participants seem to come from different backgrounds, with different age and genders. But do they think differently? Revisit the question above, pause and let the question sink in a bit.
The Whatsapp founder did something magnificent, by running the company in a very anti-valley way. Good, bad, maybe? But at least we know it is different.
Different is good. Diversity is good. Diversity is good not because it makes your company looks better to the press, but because it brings resilience and adaptability. If one species is homogeneous in its genetic information, it can be wiped out by just one disease. For a recent example, look no further than the ‘banana crisis or Panama disease’. Same applies to the startup. You have to surround yourself with people who is different from you, so that you can adapt (pivot if you prefer) better. What if the Instagram founder doesn’t have a girlfriend, then nobody would suggest on the beach in Mexico, ‘oh, you should add that (the filter) to your application.’
The solution to the echo chamber? Maybe the McKinsey way — use facts, logic and common sense? Or the creative way, which I don’t know enough to comment. But at the very least, we need to acknowledge its existence and be acutely aware of how it biases our views and our decisions.
P.S. I found it ironic that this article will appear in Medium and posted on HackerNews, two of the largest echo chambers in the valley.
