Mike Maples on Navigating the Idea Maze and Building Breakthrough Companies

Mike Maples (@m2jr), co-founder and partner at Floodgate, joins Erik to talk about:- Insight hacking as a scientific way to generate insights, including specific steps to take and how to “backcast.”- The types of inflections that create potentially huge companies.- How to systematically find those inflections.- Lessons from founders who have successfully created companies built on inflections.- Frameworks for thinking through whether a worthwhile company can emerge from a chosen inflection.- How to lead effectively in the earliest stages through the growth phase.- Why he says “you don’t want to be the best, you want to be the only.”- His advice on pitching.The final deadline for applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.