Enderpreneurship: What Andrew Wiggin Can Teach Us About Winning the Game of Entrepreneurship

This weekend's release of the cinematic adaptation of Ender's Game (and rereading the novel before going to see the movie) got me thinking about how many of Ender's experiences can be translated into lessons on entrepreneurship. As I stated in my TEDx talk:

we can take MANY lessons on entrepreneurship from popular myths and I even singled out Ender's Game in particular for one of those lessons:

The Entrepreneur's Journey from Bryan Hassin

Rereading the novel, I was inspired by many more such lessons; here are some of the first:

The Entrepreneurship "game" is exhausting, exhilarating, and profoundly impactful.

The battle room game, around which most of the novel is centered, is an excellent metaphor for the practice of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial development. There are many aspects to Battle School: classes, combat training, free time, dining, etc. but the games are what the boys live for. Entrepreneurship is itself a game with rewards and payoffs and penalties and skill and chance just like any other game. The best entrepreneurs live for the game and thrive when playing it.

Entrepreneurship must be developed experientially.

As Colonel Graff explains, though, the calculus of what makes someone succeed in the game is very poorly understood: choosing the right launchees is only so good because the tests are only so good; you've got to start putting them through the paces ASAP. And so it is with entrepreneurship, which cannot be taught in classrooms or learned in books; it must be developed experientially.

Strategic agility is crucial to a startup.

As in the battle room game, rapid experimentation, a willingness to fail, and a propensity for learning from failure is key to entrepreneurial success. Through Ender's experimentation in the battle room, he accidentally discovers how to rebound off walls, which turns out to be a crucial tactic. He similarly learns that command-and-execute toon formations are too rigid and inflexible to beat an agile, innovative opponent. So it is with entrepreneurship. As Steve Blank is fond of saying, "Big companies execute known business models," like toons executing formations, "while startups search for unknown business models," like autonomous toons able to learn from their environment (market) and react to it. Ender also finds that he must constantly adapt and innovate his strategy to keep winning games - both in the battle room and against the Formics. So, too, with startups: yesterday's winning strategy is today's losing strategy.

Measure and optimize the right metrics.

Initially Ender's individual battle room metrics are outstanding due to his limited participation. Once he becomes truly engaged in battles, those metrics go down. That's OK because they are vanity metrics - like website hits, facebook likes, or any other metric that conveys a sense of success but doesn't actually move the needle for your startup. The metric that counts for Ender - wins vs losses - keeps going up, up, up!

This is Part 1 of a three-part series. See Part 2 for more thoughts on Enderpreneurship.

The Future of Energy

Last week I was honored to be asked to give a brief talk on the future of energy at 1776, Washington DC's startup incubator. I was in town for less than 24 hours but it felt invigorating to present my ideas back in my home town.

The event was called RebootEnergy, and its purpose was to bring together entrepreneurs, policy makers, and corporate leaders to discuss trends they see in the energy industry and what their organizations are doing to capitalize on them.

After a fireside chat between Evan Burfield (1776 founder), Aneesh Chopra (former CTO of the US government), and Blake Burris (head of the Cleanweb initiative), the evening centered on lightning talks - three-minute mini-presentations given by the rest of us presenters.

I chose to focus specifically on the trend of increasing energy consumer empowerment, which is an area in which my startup is constantly breaking new ground:

The Future of Energy: Engaging the Consumer from Bryan Hassin

My lightning talk was well received (I was even quoted in the follow up press release!) and I met many new, interesting people afterward. Perhaps more interestingly, I was surprised and excited by just how many people I bumped into there whom I already knew:

Evan, the founder of 1776 and a friend from high school
Apoorv and Rob, friends from Rice
Heather, a classmate from IMD
Catherine, whom I met when I was interviewing with OPower (called Positive Energy at the time)
Blake, my collaborator on Rice's Cleanweb Hackathon - the first in Texas
Joseph, a fellow cleanweb entrepreneur whom I met in Houston in August
David, a collaborator on GIVEWATTS
and several more

Even though I was presenting professionally in DC for the first time, it felt more like a homecoming. This was good validation for me that I have been running in the right circles!

It was a great event and I was really impressed with what Evan and the 1776 team have accomplished. In stark contrast to the lack of startup culture when I joined UUNET back in 1996, DC is now bursting with startup energy. And that's a good thing because energy is exactly what my startup is trying to revolutionize!

Economic Inequality in America

Recently I've been seeing many facebook posts about a video describing the very lopsided distribution of wealth and income in the United States. The video is actually a year old but it has been given a new lease on life by upworthy and, at the time of this post, has more than 10,000,000 views.

The basic arguments of the video are:
* The US has very unequal distribution of wealth and income.
* Over time, wealth and income distribution is becoming more unequal.
* Most Americans aren't aware of how unequal and increasingly unequal wealth and income are in the US and they would prefer them to be more equitably distributed.

This has made for some good and spirited discussion among my friends. Many of my socialist-leaning European friends believe that it's a great travesty and that Americans are either ignorant about it happening or wrong in willfully letting it happen. Many of my libertarian-leaning American friends believe that it's a right and natural outcome of a meritocratic free market.

Regardless of the video and the data sources and the definitions it uses, I'm glad it has stimulated this discussion because it's not something I've really thought much about before. It leaves me with several questions:

* Is US wealth and income distribution as inequitable as the video makes it seem?
* How does the US compare with other countries? (The US looks OK in this World Bank data.)
* What should the US wealth and income distribution look like - and why?
* Is this even the right question? I've seen it argued that wealth and income mobility (the ability for someone in one group to move up to another group) is more important than a snaptshot or trend of distribution. This resonates with me as it seems to align with the American dream: that anyone, no matter where he comes from or what he has today, can make it big tomorrow.
* If mobility is the right metric to focus on, how does the US stack up there? (Not too well, it would seem from this Wikipedia article.)
* Or are there other metrics we should look at for an ideal future state and work backward from there?
* If indeed the US is out of whack with regard to the metrics we claim to hold dear, why is that so? And what can or should be done about it? What other approaches exist and what would be their tradeoffs?

What do you think about these issues? I don't have any conclusions of my own yet as I'm just starting to consider them.

Gravity

Last week Katie and I saw the movie everyone has been raving about: Gravity. Although it wasn't the best sci fi movie ever (as we had heard from some people) - and, in fact, I wouldn't classify it as a sci fi movie at all - it was quite enjoyable.

We saw the movie in IMAX 3D and I'm glad we did. It is visually quite stunning with amazing panoramic shots of the earth during both night and day. The 3D is really well done and actually heightens the flinch-worthiness of the tenser scenes. I would expect nothing less from Alfonso Cuarón, who directed my favorite of the Harry Potter films.

Although people tend to focus on the visual aspects when singing this movie's praises, the audio was quite good as well. The constant tension between the sweeping score and the silence of the vacuum of space, combined with the cinematography, really succeeded in presenting both the beauty and hostility of space.

The film was incredibly immersive and the zero-g effects were extremely believable. This is a testament not only to the production techniques (using robotic attachments to move actors around as if they were in null gravity) but also to the skill of the actors. Decades ago actors acted on real sets and interacted with real objects/people. In this movie, though, actors were in front of green screens and I'm not sure any of them were actually in the studio at the same time. This must take an extra level of skill to act believably in a completely "produced" environment.

All in all, the movie was very good and definitely worth seeing - especially in IMAX 3D. Its themes of rebirth are a bit heavy handed but it is a beautiful, compelling story about the triumph of the persisent human spirit. For those of you have seen it already, what did you think?

IMD MBA 2008 Reunion in Lausanne, Switzerland

Six years ago I first set foot in Switzerland for what would ultimately become a life-changing trip. Shortly after my exhausting, exhilarating day of interviews at IMD, I received my acceptance and decided to attend the intense, transformative one-year MBA program. And shortly after that I made my very first post on this blog! This weekend 56 members of our 90-person class (plus families) reconvened in Lausanne for our 5-year reunion.

My flight over was uneventful but was the first time I've ever flown to Geneva airport from a departure point other than Houston. On the train from the airport to Lausanne I met a delightful Australian couple who had just arrived for their first tour of Switzerland. It was fun sharing their compartment and, upon our arrival, they told me I was an excellent representative of American culture - quite a compliment for this extrovert!

Once settled in my home away from home in Lutry, I became more and more excited for our reunion kickoff dinner at Watergate along the lake. Several other classmates were also keen to get started, so I trained into Lausanne early. Despite my jet lag and lack of sleep, the thought of seeing everyone infused me with so much energy that I chose to run from the train station down to the lake instead of taking the metro.

The first classmate I was able to meet was none other than Sergei, my Belorussian teammate from my very first IMD team. What a joy to reconnect with someone with whom I shared so many significant - and often painful - leadership development experiences! We were both nearly six years older and he had with him his wife and 13-month-old son - and yet it was as if we had only been toiling away in the IMD study rooms yesterday.

Once we arrived at the restaurant it became evident that many other classmates were in a similar situation as well, joining us with partners and recently born children - apparently the IMD MBA is pretty good for fertility! Incidentally, one of the interesting side effects of attending such an international program is witnessing parents speaking baby talk to their children in 20+ different languages! We closed down the restaurant but, exhausted as I was from travel, I opted for bed in lieu of a wild night out.

Friday we spent all day on campus at IMD. It featured presentations from some of our favorite professors as well as IMD management about the status and direction of the institution. The class's four entrepreneurs were also asked to make a brief presentation about our startups so I was pleased to have a chance to catch everyone up on what I've been up to. I was somewhat surprised by how much interest my presentation generated as the rest of the day classmates kept engaging me with their ideas, feedback, offers to make useful introductions, and even a few offers of investment!

The highlights of the day were lunch and dinner, both served at IMD's famous restaurant. The food is just as amazing as I remember it - as is the post-food ping pong with classmates! After dinner several of us went out to a bar in Le Flon and, once we closed it down, then proceeded to a nearby club (L'Atelier Volant, the very first Lausanne club I ever frequented!). It has been a long, long time since I stayed out until 4 AM but, as much fun as I was having catching up with classmates, I could have stayed out indefinitely.

After the late night, morning came much too soon. Once again, though, the collective energy of the class was infectious as we boarded a morning bus for the Parc Aventure in Aigle. The adventure park is a large wooded park with ropes courses of varying difficulties between and among all the trees. We arrived, suited up in our harnesses, and spent the day challenging ourselves to make it through one obstacle course after another many meters above the forest floor (and the most difficult courses even had parts that extended out over a river!).

Much like the IMD MBA itself, it was a LOT of fun in hindsight. While I was out there grappling, tight rope walking, and zip lining, though, it was actually quite stressful - anyone who knows my [lack of] command of balance will understand why!

Saturday night we had dinner at a new restaurant started by an IMD alum from the class of 2007: Eat Me. Although we started early, we still closed the restaurant down after more than seven hours of eating, drinking, and making merry with dear friends we hadn't seen in awhile - some not since graduation.

Sunday there was a soccer match between our class and the current MBAs (which we won, of course) followed by a closing lunch at our favorite class hangout, Le Pinocchio. The weather, which had been gorgeous all weekend, continued to impress, so I took a slow jog along the lake to the park where soccer was being played and then another jog back to Lutry after lunch. Sometimes I wonder if my memory of living in Switzerland - perfect weather, beautiful views of lakes and mountains - is somewhat idealized, but days like Sunday remind me that it really is a fantastic place.

And there you have it: after a three-day sprint, our reunion is over. The reunion itself actually seemed like a microcosm of the IMD experience: late nights, intense days, and much joy in being together. Even as much time as we spent together, though, there are some people with whom I regret not catching up more.

Much has changed since we underwent the MBA journey together five years ago. Jobs have changed, families have grown, and both accomplishments and disappointments have been realized. That which has remained constant throughout the five years, however, is the bond that we all formed first by choosing to undergo (and being selected for) such a unique program and then by traveling that unique journey together.

In fact, that bond is so strong that, even though the reunion is over, those of us still in Lausanne are meeting up every chance that we get. Five years out is a good time to reflect on the IMD experience. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to attend IMD but, as this reunion really drove home, the most tremendous blessing that IMD provided is the addition of all these great people in my life.

Life in Chapel Hill

Having moved into our Chapel Hill home nearly a month ago, I now have some reasonably concrete thoughts about life here. The biggest impression made on me so far is the area's dichotomy between being a large metropolitan area of two million people but having a really small town feel.

Durham may feel a little more like a bustling city and Raleigh surely does, but Chapel Hill feels like a sleepy college town out in the country. There is low enough light pollution that the stars are dazzling at night even when we just step out on our deck. The area is densely forested - so much so that our home feels like a tree house - and everywhere you look is green, green, green. When we take Max for a walk it isn't uncommon for us to encounter deer roaming around the neighborhood. Max really, really wants to volunteer to help keep the deer population in check.

The green feel translates to the people as well. There are farmers markets available every day of the week and they are full of fresh, local, natural foods. Recycling is a big deal here too and it is actually illegal to throw away some recyclable materials. People are very active so I have joined several hiking meetup groups to meet others and explore the natural beauty all around.

Despite this small town, country feel, we are a 20 minute drive away from a major international airport (Raleigh-Durham), 15 minutes away from the largest research park in the country (Research Triangle Park), and very near multiple hubs of startup activity. I've found the people here to be very friendly and welcoming, not just on a personal level but also in providing access to the business community.

The area reminds me of Houston in many ways. Many of the locals seem to be non-natives, having moved here for school or work. This endows the region with a strong diversity of culture, opinion, and industry interest. Like Houston, the area also has incredibly low cost of living, which extends from the low real estate prices to the multitude of inexpensive, healthy, delicious food options.

In some ways, however, Chapel Hill is completely unlike Houston. At least twice since we moved in the temperature has reached down into the 60s F at night - don't they know it's August?? And, although people here complain about traffic, they apparently have no idea what real traffic is. I've been out on the major through-ways during what passes for rush hour here and you almost wouldn't know that you were driving during a peak time.

On the subject of transportation, there is very good public transportation here. The municipal buses run all over the place (with UNC Chapel Hill as the main hub) all day and are completely free. Katie and I are now a single car family (I have left my car in Houston because I am still spending so much time there.) and, even so, her car doesn't get much use. She is able to walk and/or take the bus to school and I can bus around to most places as well.

There are many aspects of the area that we still haven't explored. For example, there is a thriving craft beer scene here that I would love to get to know. A few hours to our west is great mountain hiking and a few hours to our east are some good beaches - hopefully we will have a chance to check those out soon.

In the meantime I'm still spending a great deal of time in Houston, which reduces my bandwidth for North Carolina exploration. I'm teaching two entrepreneurship courses at Rice University this semester and steering my Houston-based startup through a critical ramp up to product launch. Still, the little bit I've experienced of the Triangle so far has me quite impressed.

Rocket City, USA

En route to Chapel Hill, Katie, Max, and I stopped in Huntsville, Alabama, where I spent the first 10 years of my life. It wasn't too far out of the way and it warmed my soul to see some of my old stomping grounds for the first time in many, many years.

Huntsville made a name for itself when it led the rocketry efforts to put a man on the moon. I arrived there almost exactly a decade after the moon landing but there was still a sense of trying to achieve great things which has stuck with me throughout my life.

Over the course of two days I took Katie on a tour of the Huntsville of my past. We visited houses where I had lived - which, of course, looked quite different 20 years later - schools I attended - which had expanded and modernized - and places I used to frequent - many of which were no longer there.

The saying is that you can never go back home, that the home you remember will no longer exist. If you judge by buildings and neighborhoods and landscapes, then that is true. However, I found that it absolutely still existed due to the people we saw while we were there. We stayed with good family friends who used to keep me when my parents were out of town. We had lunch with several other family friends and even caught up with the parents of some of my elementary school friends and classmates.

My mom has a plaque that says:

"A house is made
of brick and stone.
A home is made
of love alone."

I think that applies to towns in addition to houses; it's the people who make it a hometown more than anything physical. While Huntsville is now missing many of the people - one above all - whom I associate with fond childhood memories - there are still plenty of great people there: smart, fun, good-natured, accomplished people. After all, it takes great people to accomplish the great feats for which Huntsville is known.

This brief stroll down memory lane reminded me not only of that put-a-man-on-the-moon spirit but also of how blessed Katie and I are to have such wonderful people in our lives.