Is it time to build?

On April 18, Marc Andreessen published a piece called "It's Time to Build." I've read it several times and consumed much of the praise and counterarguments that came along with it.

And now, I can definitively answer the question when I ask myself, "Is it time to build?"

Yes, it is absolutely time to build.

It's taken me 10 days to be fully certain because the answer comes with significant ramifications. Not something to be taken lightly.

During this time, I've utilized many forms of distractions to kick the can down the road and allow this decision to breathe. Some of those distractions have been productive like contributing to The $1k Project and Sponsor A Quarantine, deep cleaning the entire apartment and naps in the park. Others, not so productive, but it was all part of the process.

What are the ramificiations of deciding to build?

I'll answer that question with three more questions. Do I really want to start another company fully knowing the everyday rollercoasters that come along with that? And even more so, do I really want to start another company in the middle of a global pandemic? Is now really the time to be inviting more uncertainty into my life when we already have more uncertainty that anything we've ever experienced in my lifetime?

Again, the answer to all of them is yes. While starting a new company right now may seem insane or even masochistic, I truly believe that there has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. The world has a whole new set of problems that didn't exist even a few weeks ago. And that's what entrepreneurs do, they solve problems.

One thing Marc wrote instantly jumped out to me. It's something I've been passionately talking about for the last few years.

"We need to get all the talent we can on the biggest problems we have, and on building the answers to those problems."

I've been calling this The Avengers Initiative for obvious reasons. Bring together the most talented people to solve the problems that bring humanity forward.

I've had a few false starts with getting this initiative off the ground, learned a megaton and have been secretly "recruiting" these amazing individuals for years. I certainly didn't know that we'd be in a situation quite like this, but I knew in every ounce of my being that there would be a time, many times throughout this lifetime, where we need the most talented people to build. It pains me that this initiative hasn't come together faster or that it isn't further along at this moment.

And yet, it's time to look forward and start building today.

Marc suggests that...

"Every step of the way, to everyone around us, we should be asking the question, what are you building?"

My answer to this question is something that I've been experimenting with behind the scenes based on what I learned teaching leadership around the world.

I believe that there is an opportunity to leverage technology to massively improve learning outcomes across the planet. Specifically, I believe the combination of a modern curriculum and experienced based learning can lead to a zero marginal cost education platform with radical improvements in student engagement and retention.

I will be writing more about this as the prototype for this product comes together in the next few weeks. If you interested in experimenting around how we build the future of education, let's jam.

And now we build.