Marc Andreessen’s 2020 call to action urged us to build. What does that mean today?
It’s easier than ever to build and deploy software programs. In a single afternoon, a person with moderate technical abilities can develop and launch a new application that is instantly accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
However, creating great software requires more than technical ability—it demands vision and execution. In a world where a chatbot can replicate a feature or entire application on demand, how can first-movers maintain their competitive edge?
Differentiating a business with software alone is increasingly challenging. That's why I believe it's worth investing in products that are software defined and hardware enabled.
At the iPhone launch in 2007, Steve Jobs quoted Alan Kay: “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”
Working with our hands fosters creativity and innovation. What new ideas will surface?
The YC Requests for Startups sheds light on where the most innovative startups (or the best at identifying and funding them) are heading: hardware products solving big problems. Defense tech, space tech, spatial computing, and other areas that involve hardware solutions.
Don’t know how to build? No experience in manufacturing or mechatronics? Doesn’t matter.
Teenage Engineering had no prior experience in developing hardware prior to releasing the OP-1. They decided they wanted to do it, and they did. The portable synthesizer has garnered significant attention and acclaim since its release in 2011, and the company has built an iconic brand around excellent design.
Jobs and Wozniak started Apple without knowing how to manufacture personal computers at scale. Elon Musk faced similar challenges with Tesla and SpaceX.
Spatial computing hardware is evolving into specialized devices like Bigscreen Beyond and Anduril's in-development headset. This specialization is leading us to consider bigger possibilities and more niche use cases.
Personally, my short term focus will be on environmental sensing. I believe every person should have a personal dashboard that monitors the quality of the environment around them. Why should we rely on a sensor miles or tens of miles away to tell us about the air we are breathing?
It’s time to build.