#23 The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one-time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets. They're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high, so I will have at least four shots of espresso or four energy drinks before or during the show so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today, and I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. Why Jim Clark was so worthy of study was another matter, and I'll come to that soon enough. For now, I'll just say that the quirks on the man's character sent the most fantastic ripples through the world around him. Often starting with the best intentions are no intentions at all. He turned people's lives upside down and subjected them to the most vicious force a human being can be subjected to, change.
Oddly enough, he was forever claiming that what he really wanted to do was put up his feet and relax. He could not do this for more than a minute. Once he'd put up his feet, his mind would spin and his face would redden and he'd be disturbed all over again. He thought of something or someone in the world that needed to be changed. For all I knew, Clark would be remembered chiefly as the guy who created Netscape and triggered the internet boom, which in turn triggered one of the most astonishing grabfests in the history of capitalism. Maybe somewhere in the footnote, it would be mentioned that he came from nothing, grew up poor, dropped out of high school, and made himself three or four billion dollars.
So that is from the first chapter of the book I want to talk to you about today, which is The New New Thing, A Silicon Valley Story. It's by, I would say the best storyteller alive, my personal, probably favorite author, I would say, if not one of two of my favorite authors. That's Michael Lewis, who most of you guys are probably familiar with. But part of the reason I love doing this podcast so much is because I get to read about just these really wild and eccentric personalities. And Jim Clark may be the most eccentric, one of the most, definitely one of the most eccentrics of all the characters that we've covered on the podcast so far. So I'm gonna, I just want to read you this section I highlighted from the introduction. Kind of explains what Michael Lewis is doing with his entire book. So we've read, like there's been a lot of like biographies on this podcast. This is different. This is, we're gonna learn a lot about Jim Clark's personality and life, but Michael Lewis is basically telling a story that unfolds over about a two to three year period. So let's go ahead and jump right into the book.
Oddly enough, this character was at the center of one of history's great economic booms, who in effect sits with the detonator between his legs, could not describe what he did for a living. When a person sets out to find the new idea or the new technology that will A, make him rich, B, throw entire industries into turmoil, and C, cause ordinary people to sit up and say, my God, something just changed. He isn't doing science. He isn't engaged in what any serious thinker would call thought. Unless he makes a lot of money, he isn't even treated as a businessman, at least not by serious businessmen. He might call himself an entrepreneur, but that word has been debased by overuse. Interesting enough that Michael Lewis is writing these words in early 2000s, where you hear that same complaint, even, let's say what, 15 to 16 years later. So he might call himself an entrepreneur, but that word has been debased by overuse. Really, there's no good word for what he does. I first noticed this problem when I watched one of these people, a man who had made himself a billion dollars, try to fill in a simple questionnaire. On the line that asked him to state his occupation, he did not know what to write. There was no name for what he did. Searcher? He couldn't very well put that down. For that matter, there is no name for what he is looking for, which typically is a technology or an idea on the cusp of commercial viability. The New New Thing. It's easier to say what the New New Thing is not than to say what it is. It is not necessarily a new invention. It is not even necessarily a new idea. Most everything has been considered by someone at some point. The New New Thing is a notion that is poised to be taken seriously in the marketplace. It's the idea that is a tiny push away from general acceptance, and when it gets that push, will change the world.