Welcome to the very first PTS episode! It’s been a minute in the making, and there’s a whole season of incredible guest episodes dropping over the next several weeks, including Fred Schebesta, Richard Dufty, Mark Tanner and more.
Listen on Spotify 🎧
For those of you that don’t know Adam, he is the mind behind some of the most impactful innovations of the 2000’s. He has gone 5 for 5 with startup success;
Selling Siri to Apple ($200m)
Selling Viv Labs (Bixby) to Samsung ($200m)
Selling Gameplanner.ai to Airbnb ($200m)
Founding Change.org
Founding Sentient
So naturally, I asked Adam to join me and talk through just how he’s been able to acheive this.
The conversation mostly came down to ‘picking the right idea at the right time’. This included many details, frameworks, formulas and lessons. All of which he shares throughout the episode.
TL;DR
Identify your curiosities
Make 10 bold predictions for the future, publicly
What do you know to be true in the future? and are you confident on facing scrutiny over your opinion?
Keep an eye out for trigger events (timing)
Work on a major and minor project
Target a billion users
Define what type of company/idea you’re building
Test your idea – looking for positive or negative signals (never neutral)
Create a magic presentation
Play the long game
I won’t ruin these points with too much context, because the gold is within the details, stories and examples he shares.
Go ahead and listen!
Epsiode breakdown
(00:00:00) Introduction
Adam talks about the significance of timing in entrepreneurship and gives examples of catching the wave at the right time.
(00:04:21) The scale potential of an idea
Adam discusses the importance of aiming for a big idea that can change everything and reach a large number of people.
(00:08:26) Billion, million and zero dollar ideas
Adam explains the different categories of successful software companies, including billion-dollar companies, $100 million companies, and $1 million companies.
(00:10:38) The timing of ideas
Adam discusses the different approaches to entrepreneurship and the importance of timing in picking the right idea.
(00:11:44) Types of ideas
Adam explains the concept of building a patented technology platform and how timing plays a crucial role.
(00:20:50) The importance of trigger moments
Adam discusses the significance of trigger moments in confirming predictions and identifying opportunities for entrepreneurship.
(00:21:51) Making 10 predictions
Adam shares his prediction about social networks going mainstream in 2006 and how it led to the founding of Change.org.
(00:22:57) Example of trigger events
Adam explains how he saw the iPhone as a trigger moment for innovation in accessing services and data.
(00:30:48) Minor/major projects
Adam discusses the emotional ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and how having multiple projects helps him stay motivated and productive.
(00:31:45) The formula for a perfect tech demo
Adam shares his three-step formula for creating a compelling tech demo that makes people want the product.
(00:35:13) Creating the WOW moment in presentations
Adam explains the importance of creating moments of surprise and delight in product presentations, using Steve Jobs' approach as an example.
(00:42:01 ) Showcasing what's possible
Adam discusses the importance of having differentiated use cases that provide real value.
(00:45:16) The role of luck in entrepreneurship
Adam and Tim talk about the role of luck in the entrepreneurial journey and how it can impact the success of a company.
(00:49:47) The biggest future opportunity
Adam shares his outlook on future trends, specifically the need for a combined architecture that can both "know" and "do" tasks.
(00:52:28) Float your ideas passed Adam!
Adam offers to connect on LinkedIn and share his views on entrepreneurship.
(00:52:53) Wrapping up
Tim wraps up the episode, encouraging listeners to subscribe, share, and grow together as founders on the podcast "Push to Start."
Enjoy this episode?
Please subscribe, share to your fellow founders and rate on Spotify. It helps us grow, and help other founders.
Your feedback helps me improve! If you have a moment, please reply to this email with one of the following:
🔥 – I loved it!!
👍 – Good, not great
👎 – Could be better (let me know in your email)
For the love of startups,
Tim
Are you an early-stage startup founder?
Work with me 1:1. Learn more at https://www.tjl.me/
More of PTS
Website: https://www.pushtostart.tv/
Newsletter: https://pushtostart.substack.com/
Credits
Producer & Host: Timothy James
Guest: Adam Cheyer
Editor: Justin McArthur
Intro/outro music by Plüm
Share this post