Here’s to the Crazy Ones, the Misfits…

Big ideas lie somewhere between ‘a little crazy’, and ‘totally crazy’

You have to be at least a little bit crazy to imagine the future 5–10+ years out. It’s a fine line between ‘a little crazy’ and ‘totally crazy’. And straddling that fine line are some of the most amazing entrepreneurs. And VCs who end up wining big.

The biggest outcomes in tech are likely not going to be companies that seem obvious today that every VC and hedge fund you know is chasing…but those where smart, prepared minds had a POV to believe early…those ideas early on feel a little out there, but man if they work…

Even in very recent past there have been examples of such big ideas like Tesla, Waymo, Oculus, Coinbase, and others…

We have taken many similar big bets at Lux. We have a lot to prove still, but have benefitted tremendously from betting on the ‘little crazy’. For example…

• Kurion — nuclear waste management — when others were focused on solar, wind, and biofuels.
• DesktopMetal — metal 3D printing — when everyone was focused on polymers, plastics, and space was seen as ‘done’.
• Evolv Technology — physical and human security — when everyone was focused on pure software companies, and cybersecurity.
• Saildrone — autonomous ocean surface vehicles — when everyone was focused on autonomous cars and aerial drones.
• Applied Intuition — simulation for AV — when everyone was focused on vertically integrated AV companies.
• CTRL Labs — brain computer interfaces — when everyone was focused on wearables for fitness etc.
• And there are others: Auris, Latch, Primer, Science37, Benchling, Recursion, and more…

We live and die by the imagination of founders who choose to tell us about their crazy ideas, and allow us to believe in them + partner with them.

Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits…👊🏽