EP 84: Mike Maples on pattern breakers, startup insights and the Valley vibe shift

Mike Maples is a legend in SV VC circles. As a part of SGI and then a founding partner at Floodgate ventures. He has invested in companies such as Lyft and Twitch. More than all of that, Mike is one of the clearest thinkers in tech and a dear friend. In this episode, we discuss his new book that summarizes his work on analyzing patterns around what makes startups work. We also dicuss how AI fits into this and the Valley’s recent vibe shift towards free speech.

3:19 The genesis of Mike’s book: Pattern Breakers
7:35 Patterns of successful startups
12:15 Common thread between great founders
14:38 Elon Musk’s Cybertruck: Mision vs Practicality
16:02 BEST startup insight: Don’t try to think of a startup
23:10 LLM startups as edge cases
26:48 AI is a sea change
30:11 Timing is the hardest thing to get right
34:02 Silicon Valley’s political shift
44:38 Meta can’t win with either political side
46:16 Advice for fund managers
51:29 Advice for founders