Channeling My Inner Erlich: Finding Inspiration in 2016 from HBO's "Silicon Valley"

When HBO’s Silicon Valley premiered two years ago, I was knee-deep in getting my own technology company off the ground.  UXP Systems was two years old and we hadn’t hit a steady stride yet.  My time was spent visiting prospects and customers, building our business.   We’re now four years into our evolution and doing well enough that I can breathe once in a while. 

So over the holidays, I decided to watch a bit of TV.   

If you’re interested in technology start-ups, you’ve probably seen HBO’s cringingly accurate parody, Silicon Valley.  I was late to the game, but binge-watching brought me right up to date.  I am waiting patiently for season three.

The show’s highlight for me is Erlich Bachman (who although fictional, has a LinkedIn profile!), played by the extremely talented T.J. Miller.  He is the ludicrous caricature of a high tech persona we’ve all come to know.  I find him irresistibly inspirational.

Erlich is introduced as a dubiously successful founder, who now uses his house as an incubator for software developers with ideas.   At first we suspect he can offer his tenants nothing more than ignorance and cheap rent.   But when one of his entrepreneurs, Richard Hendricks, hits on a possible gold mine, Erlich is quick to complete Richard’s shortcomings with business-savvy.

Never the shy one to point out his strengths, he contrasts them to Richard’s weaknesses in Episode 4:

“Richard, you have no vision, no b*lls, and no game”
                                    - Erlich Bachman, Board Member, Pied Piper

 And in that one line, Erlich summarized his own inspirational qualities.  As I immersed myself into seasons 1 and 2, I found myself wishing that I too had more vision, b*lls and game, Erlich style.   

To help me do that in 2016, I thought I’d share the finer points of his approach.

Vision

Sometimes you need to be just a little blind to see the future.   Erlich seems to realize that good ideas can come from others, even if he can’t quite grasp them completely.  Haven’t we all caught ourselves seeing the reasons why someone’s new idea won’t succeed?    Having vision is just as much about trusting the vision of others around you, as it is being able to see it yourself.   As a landlord using his living room to incubate and eventually represent start-ups, Erlich makes this part of his lifestyle.

And by the end of Episode 4, when Erlich eloquently pitches “the vision in Richard Hendricks’ head”,  he shows us what mutual benefits can come from trusting the vision of others as the focus is still sharpening before your own eyes.

This year, I’ll resolve to resist the urge to let my eyes be the only ones to guide my future.  While I won’t blindly follow, I’ll try to understand why others see what they do, even if I can’t figure out how to see it yet myself. 

B*lls

In the name of decorum, let’s call this trait "courage".

It’s the little things make me wish that as a tech CEO, I had more raw courage.  Last year at the CES, while waiting to meet a Fortune 500 president, I was too timid to cross the roped off portion of his company’s booth and sit in the exec lounge.   Then I saw our head of sales, resting comfortably among the scurrying booth assistants, eating and drinking from the courtesy buffet.

As he waved me in, I said, “How did you get in here?”

 He answered, “I just walked in. If you want something, you've just gotta take it.”

That’s so Erlich, but all too often, it’s not me.   Maybe I wouldn’t go as far as to dance on stage with toga-clad models as Erlich did in Episode 2’s “Orgy of Giving”, but like founder Richard Hendricks, I could gain from being a bit more bold this year.

Game

While vision and courage are concepts more easily grasped by those of us intent on self-development, “game” is altogether nebulous.   Whatever game is, though, Erlich Bachman has it.

Game is Erlich’s not-so-subtle wardrobe evolution to Steve Jobsian turtlenecks once Pied Piper got funded.    It’s also his exaggerated turn-the-tables approach to Valley VCs, although I would never use his techniques in this regard  (you’ll have to watch the show for yourself to understand how outlandish Erlich can be ;-).

In my mind, game is adapting to the context of any situation, in a way that both makes us memorable, and drives the outcomes that we want.   

Lots of people I know have game.   Some have too much of it and nothing else.  Most others don’t have enough of it, even though they may be brilliantly talented otherwise.   Personally, I aim to develop my game this coming year without being a caricature in the eyes of my friends and peers.  It's a fine balance. 

Happy New Year!  And may your 2016 be filled with lots of vision, balls and game.    

Gemini Waghmare
Founder & CEO, UXP Systems