Scribbles from the Startup Frontlines: Expertise is overrated

Why the 'curse of knowledge' might be tripping you up as a founder.

By Serge van Dam

TLDR: Being an expert in the domain you want to change is overrated. Get on with making the world like you want it!

The Curse of Knowledge

One big question in startups is whether you need to be a domain expert to solve really hard problems.

Examples of the opposite abound:

• Elon Musk - regardless of your views of him politically or morally - was not a car designer or manufacturer upon founding Tesla. But he understood there was an opportunity.

• Jeff Bezos knew nothing about retail or how the internet works, let alone eCommerce when he founded Amazon. He was simply convinced that it would be massive.

• Travis Kalanick had never driven a taxi before starting Uber. But he had deep experience on how much taxi rides suck (especially in the USA!).

• Rod Drury knew very little about accounting practices when he committed his professional life to Xero. He perceived how antiquated the incumbent user experience was for both the small business and accountant alike.

It is very often the case that newcomers are the ones bold enough - and have sufficient conviction - to try and make major changes to any given industry, and often know very little about its specific dynamics. They don’t have the ‘curse of knowledge’.