Naval Ravikant: "Try to be one of the people who creates things"

“You should actually go out and build the thing you want to see exist—not just say ‘oh, that’s gonna happen. I’m just going to sit back and wait for somebody else to do it’… Things don’t just automatically show up. There are great men and women who go out there and create these things. So try to be one of those people who creates these things.”

If you’re going to be an investor, Naval urges you to “at least bet on things that you think may not exist without you betting on them.”

He continues:

“The other mindset — which is I’m just going to hustle ahead of other investors and slip some money in before they get there and mark it up — maybe you’ll make money, sure, but it’s a very unfulfilling life. And I would argue long term you will not make the most money because the greatest winners of the last few decades have been unexpected winners.”

He gives SpaceX, Tesla, OpenAI, and Apple Computer as examples.

“These are companies that were written off because it was believed that their dream was impossible and too expensive…. When you see these impossible dreams come true, not only is it the most fulfilling thing, it’s also where you make the most money.”

Full video: AngelList “Fireside Chat with Avlok & Naval | AngelList Confidential 2023” (Dec 2023)

P.S. We’ve put together a YouTube playlist with every Naval Ravikant insight we’ve ever shared. You can watch it here: "Best startup advice from Naval Ravikant"