Moment 130: Shopify's President: The 1 Skill You MUST Have To Thrive In Business: Harley Finkelstein
The episode explores how to develop a unique entrepreneurial edge through "spikiness" – acquiring unobvious, complementary skills. The speaker shares personal experiences and emphasizes starting small, embracing hobbies, and partnering with diverse skill sets to build successful businesses.
Deep Dive Analysis
12 Topic Outline
Understanding 'Spikiness' and Unobvious Skills in Entrepreneurship
Law School as a Tool for Entrepreneurial Development
The Power of Unobvious and Complementary Skill Stacking
Examples of Skill Stacking Across Different Professions
The Importance of Diverse Co-Founding Teams
Lessons from DJing Applied to Business Leadership
The Unexpected Value of Hobbies and Curiosities
Harley Finkelstein's Entrepreneurial Hobbies and Their Impact
Overcoming the 'Mount Everest' Barrier to Starting a Business
The Low Cost of Entrepreneurial Failure Today
Ideal Times to Begin an Entrepreneurial Journey
Accidental Origins of Successful Shopify Businesses
3 Key Concepts
Spikiness
Refers to developing a unique, unobvious, and complementary skill set that differentiates an entrepreneur from competitors. It's about finding an 'arbitrage operation' or an 'alpha' opportunity that others overlook, making one invaluable in their field.
Skill Stacking
A strategy where individuals combine several unobvious and rare skills within an industry. By being in the top 10% of six complementary skills, one can become the best in a million people at that particular combination, creating a unique talent profile.
Polymath
An individual who possesses extensive knowledge and expertise across a wide range of different subjects or fields. This broad understanding allows them to draw connections and insights from diverse areas, often leading to innovative solutions.
8 Questions Answered
'Spikiness' refers to developing an unobvious, complementary skill set that gives an entrepreneur a unique advantage, making them more sophisticated and harder to replicate in their field.
By stacking unobvious and rare complementary skills, one can become uniquely talented; for example, being in the top 10% for six different skills can make someone the best in a million people at that particular combination.
Starting a company with people who have similar backgrounds and skill sets limits the richness and diversity of skills, whereas complementary skill sets among co-founders are incredibly valuable for building something innovative.
Hobbies, even seemingly unrelated ones like DJing or starting small side businesses, can teach invaluable transferable skills such as reading a room, negotiation, building empathy, and understanding market dynamics, making one a more valuable leader.
The cost of failure for starting a business today is very close to zero, as one doesn't typically need to take out large loans or mortgage a house, especially with platforms that allow for low-cost experimentation.
Starting a business while in school or as a side hustle alongside a job is ideal because there are fewer expectations for massive success, creating a low-pressure environment for experimentation and learning.
Many successful businesses start accidentally, often from a small 'nugget of an idea' or a personal observation about a problem, rather than from a pre-planned, extensive business strategy.
A mentor advised going to law school to acquire sophisticated skills like writing, negotiation, critical debate, and reading comprehension, which are invaluable for becoming a better and more well-rounded entrepreneur.
9 Actionable Insights
1. Develop Unobvious Complementary Skills
Sharpen your “spiky point” by acquiring unobvious, complementary skills that create an arbitrage opportunity, making you a more sophisticated and unique professional in your field. For example, a coder learning public speaking can build and sell more effectively.
2. Skill Stack for Unique Advantage
Aim to be in the top 10% of six complementary, unobvious skills within your industry, as this can make you the best in a million people at that particular thing, like Cristiano Ronaldo’s diverse football abilities.
3. Partner with Complementary Skill Sets
Avoid starting companies with people just like you; instead, seek partners with complementary skill sets from different backgrounds or faculties to build a richer, more diverse foundation for your venture.
4. Embrace Hobbies for Business Acumen
Engage in hobbies and side projects, even if they seem like distractions, as they can provide invaluable practical experience, build empathy for customers, and deepen your understanding of business tools and processes.
5. Start Small, Remove Expectations
Begin your entrepreneurial journey by removing the expectation of massive success or a fixed timeline, viewing large goals as a series of small steps, and allowing yourself to stumble forward and learn along the way.
6. Minimize Perceived Risk of Starting
Recognize that the cost of failure for starting a business today is extremely low, often comparable to minor everyday expenses, making it easier to experiment with ideas without significant financial risk.
7. Start Businesses While in School
The ideal time to start an entrepreneurial venture is while in school or as a side hustle alongside a job, as there are fewer external expectations for immediate massive success, fostering a low-pressure environment for experimentation.
8. Apply DJing Principles to Business
Leverage lessons from DJing, such as building rapport in pre-meetings to foster client trust, reading the room to adapt your strategy, and finding “hacks” to subtly guide behavior, to improve business negotiations and leadership.
9. Cultivate Curiosity for Business Ideas
Focus on exploring a “nugget of an idea” with curiosity rather than beginning with an extensive business plan, as many highly successful companies started accidentally through iterative exploration and adaptation.
8 Key Quotes
if you're just in the top 10 percent at six complementary skills you're the best in the village at that particular thing
Harley Finkelstein
most people start companies with people just like them yeah yeah most people start companies with people that they would have been friends with in high school I think that's a terrible idea
Harley Finkelstein
if you fail the cost of failure is as close to zero as it's ever been
Harley Finkelstein
taking a step away from the painting allows us to see the picture a bit clearer and also to to create that picture a bit clearer
Harley Finkelstein
we don't need more people that are shit at physics find the thing you'll get out and like double down there as career advice for an entrepreneur
Jimmy Carway
go to law school not to get good grades necessarily not to get not to become a lawyer but to effectively selfishly disseminate all this information from your classes to make you a better entrepreneur
Philip Reimer
most of the businesses on shopify that are really successful the homegrown success stories they were accidental
Harley Finkelstein
if there's an idea you have in the shower and you're having it a couple days in a row try it out
Harley Finkelstein