Armstrong vs America, like Lance Armstrong vs Captain America, on the bike, is it an even matchup? Who’d come out on top?
Tour de France, Lance in the French Pyrenees, summer of 2005, I personally watched that man fly up a grade so steep the local 911 turbo’s skipped a beat.
I’ve never seen Captain America ride a bike, the closest approximation I’ve got is Rob Taylor. At the recent Hill Climber’s live podcast recording co-sponsored by yours truly, I heard Rob’s story. I’d been told he takes a quarterly bike trip that puts regular roadies to shame, that he travels to exotic destinations and lays down the heat.
I was not prepared for the truth, the average trip involves 1000 miles over 10-12 days with 100k-150k total vertical feet of climbing, basically 12 days of Tour de France conditions. Once in my life I rode a 110 mile day with 10k ft of climbing, I remember that day, I remember the hurt, my muscles remember the hurt, my sole remembers the hurt.
Having watched Lance over the years, as I am and remain a fan, I think it is reasonable to say he is basically bottled up ego, like someone tipped the big dipper in towards the Sun and bottled up some inferno.
Rob Taylor, a multi exit founder, prominent Texas VC, coming from the Bay Area, let’s just say I had expectations of his swagger, big boots, a shiny buckle and fiery horse. Rob presented not a single ounce of that dusty silhouette. He talked about his accomplishments with the quiet organized detachment that an accountant might talk about managing affairs “by the book”. Rob talked about the role ego plays in his decision making and some of the ways he has been opportunistic, benefiting from being in the right place at the right time.
Getting back on track… Lance Armstrong or Captain America (Rob Taylor) - motivated to ride different routes, I’d say they are each the best at what they do, one rides with furied vengeance, the other a humble commitment. I will never ride at the level of either of these two gents, my goal is to hit the kettle bells hard, lots of zone 2, no lycra all while being a million dollar dad.
My expectations of what it means to pitch to a VC will be forever changed, my perception of what it means to operate without ego has now been set in stone. No matter the route you choose, one of these monsters of performance awaits.
As a 10+ year veteran of the 0-1 tech scene, I support non-technical and first-time founders survive by shedding ego, building the highest impact features and avoiding technical traps.? If you’d like my feedback, coaching or guidance on how to approach someone like Rob at Silverton, please reach out and I’ll give you my all.
(huge thanks to Sam Huntington and the Red Fridge Society for enabling me to sponsor such a great event)
