What we've come to realize is that a startup isn't really a company at all. A startup is a set of founders

with hopefully a set of proprietary insights that are a result of them living in the future.

Hello and welcome. I'm Shane Parrish and you're listening to the Knowledge Project, a podcast dedicated to mastering the best of what other people have already figured out.

I'm going to help you better understand yourself and the world around you by exploring the ideas, methods, mental models, and hard-fought lessons learned from some of the most

incredible people in the world. The Knowledge Project is part of Furnham Street, a website dedicated to helping you think better and live better.

Furnham Street puts together a free weekly newsletter called Brain Food. Our team scours the internet for the most mining-spanning books, articles, and resources so you can spend less time searching and more time learning.

Discover what you're missing at fs.blog.

Today I'm talking with Mike Maple's Jr. Mike is a partner at the Venture Capital Firm Floodgate and this conversation is all about mental models.

Mike's developed a series of mental models for evaluating opportunities and he's going to pull back the curtain and show us the mental models that he uses to find the risks worth taking.

You're going to love this conversation. It's time to listen and learn.

The Knowledge Project is sponsored by Metalab. For a decade, Metalab has helped some of the world's top companies and entrepreneurs build products that millions of people use every day.

You probably didn't realize it at the time but odds are you've used an app that they've helped design or build. Apps like Slack, Coinbase, Facebook Messenger, Oculus, Lonely Planet, and many more.

Metalab wants to bring their unique design philosophy to your project. Let them take your brainstorm and turn it into the next billion dollar app from idea sketched on the back of an appkin to a final ship product.

Check them out at metalab.co. That's metalab.co and when you get in touch, tell them Shane sent you.

This episode is brought to you by Mudwater. Mudwater is a masala chai-based coffee alternative that improves your focus.

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