Revenge Drives Success

Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss how negative emotions, particularly revenge and spite, can be powerful motivators for business success. They argue against the common advice of letting go of negative feelings, instead suggesting these emotions can be productively channeled into building successful ventures.

Key Points:

• Revenge as a Business Driver:

  • Sam Lesson (early Facebook employee) identified "revenge businesses" as particularly successful ventures
  • Example: Parker Conrad started Rippling after being fired from Zenefits
  • Example: Palmer Luckey founded Andral after leaving Facebook/Oculus

• Investment Philosophy:

  • "If you have in your diligence checklist 'is this company a form of deep revenge?' and the answer is yes, cut the check"
  • This counterintuitive approach has proven successful in identifying promising ventures

• Emotional Motivation:

  • Traditional advice suggests letting go of negative emotions
  • Sam Parr argues that hate and revenge can be "really useful" emotions
  • Guilt can be a powerful motivator for improvement

• Supporting Evidence:

  • Josh Wolf's phrase: "Chips on shoulders equals chips in pockets"
  • Entrepreneurs with "uncurable unhealable identity wounds" often end up being very successful
  • These emotional drivers can create unstoppable determination

• Investment Heuristics:

  • While these principles might sound "stupid or inappropriate," they've proven to be true and useful
  • Similar to Paul Graham's concept of investing in "fierce nerds" - competitive individuals with a chip on their shoulder